Northwestern University Athletics
Five 'Cats To Compete in 2020 Olympic Games
7/20/2021 4:23:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Swimming and Diving
TOKYO — 'Cats in Tokyo. Four former Northwestern student-athletes and one current Wildcat are set to participate in the Games of the XXXII Olympiad.
Federico Burdisso (Italy; Swimming), Andrea Filler (Italy; Softball), Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Nigeria; Basketball) and Krystal Lara (Dominican Republic; Swimming) are set to make their Olympic debut, while Jordan Wilimovsky (Swimming; United States) will make his second Olympic appearance after he represented the United States in two events during the 2016 Rio Games.
FEDERICO BURDISSO ('23) – SWIMMING – ITALY
Burdisso, who is a current member of Northwestern men's swimming team, will represent Italy in the pool this summer. The Pavia, Italy, native swam for the Wildcats as a first year in 2019-20, when he set school records in the 200 fly and 200 free in addition to claiming 18 first-place finishes. Burdisso is the Italian record holder for the 200 fly after he turned in a 1:51.98 at a regional meet in March of 2021. He will compete in the same event in Tokyo after being pre-selected by the country's committee.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Event:
Swimming — Men's 200-Meter Butterfly
Heat date and time:
July 26, 5 a.m. CT
ANDREA FILLER ('15, '16) – SOFTBALL – ITALY
Filler was a standout on the diamond for the Wildcats from 2014-16. She concluded her career ranked third in Northwestern history in doubles (40), fourth in slugging (.693), sixth in batting (.351), seventh in on-base percentage (.433) and RBI (159), eighth in total bases (316) and ninth in home runs (34) despite playing just three years in Evanston. Filler played professionally in Italy in 2017, one year after winning the 2016 National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Cowles Cup with the Chicago Bandits. She also currently serves as the director of operations for Northwestern's field hockey and softball programs.
More Information on Team Italy Softball
First game: July 20, 10 p.m. CT
PALLAS KUNAIYI-AKPANAH ('19) – BASKETBALL – NIGERIA
Kunaiyi-Akpanah ended her Northwestern career as a first team All-Big Ten performer and became only the second player in program history to accumulate over 1,000 career rebounds. She has played professionally in Italy and Belgium since graduating in 2019. She made her debut with D'Tigress, Nigerian's national women's basketball team, in 2019. Nigeria will open group play vs. the United States on Monday, July 26.
Women's Basketball - Olympics
First game: July 26, 11:40 p.m. CT
KRYSTAL LARA ('20) – SWIMMING – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Lara will compete in the 100 and 200 backstrokes in Tokyo. She made waves in the back, fly and free events for the Wildcats from 2016-20. She had a breakout senior campaign in 2019-20 when she qualified for her first NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 back. The Staten Island, N.Y., native helped Northwestern to a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Big Ten Championships by contributing 73.5 individual and 48 relay points. She made her international debut at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won a bronze and silver medal in the 100 and 200 backstroke, respectively. Lara broke five national records at the 2018 Dominican Republic Swimming Nationals, including the 100 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 back and 100 fly.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Heat dates and times:
JORDAN WILIMOVSKY ('17) – SWIMMING – UNITED STATES
Wilimovsky will make his second appearance at The Games this summer when he competes in the open water swim event on Aug. 4. The Malibu, California, native made history at the Rio Games by becoming the first American swimmer to compete in both pool and open water events. In 2016, he placed fourth in the finals of the 1,500-meter swim and turned in a fifth-place finish in the 10K open water swim. Wilimovsky won gold at the 2015 World Championships in the 10K and followed it up with a silver finish in 2017. The four-time All-American holds Northwestern records in the 500 free, 1,000 free and 1,650 free.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Competition: August 4, 4:30 p.m. CT
Federico Burdisso (Italy; Swimming), Andrea Filler (Italy; Softball), Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Nigeria; Basketball) and Krystal Lara (Dominican Republic; Swimming) are set to make their Olympic debut, while Jordan Wilimovsky (Swimming; United States) will make his second Olympic appearance after he represented the United States in two events during the 2016 Rio Games.
FEDERICO BURDISSO ('23) – SWIMMING – ITALY
Burdisso, who is a current member of Northwestern men's swimming team, will represent Italy in the pool this summer. The Pavia, Italy, native swam for the Wildcats as a first year in 2019-20, when he set school records in the 200 fly and 200 free in addition to claiming 18 first-place finishes. Burdisso is the Italian record holder for the 200 fly after he turned in a 1:51.98 at a regional meet in March of 2021. He will compete in the same event in Tokyo after being pre-selected by the country's committee.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Event:
Swimming — Men's 200-Meter Butterfly
Heat date and time:
July 26, 5 a.m. CT
ANDREA FILLER ('15, '16) – SOFTBALL – ITALY
Filler was a standout on the diamond for the Wildcats from 2014-16. She concluded her career ranked third in Northwestern history in doubles (40), fourth in slugging (.693), sixth in batting (.351), seventh in on-base percentage (.433) and RBI (159), eighth in total bases (316) and ninth in home runs (34) despite playing just three years in Evanston. Filler played professionally in Italy in 2017, one year after winning the 2016 National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Cowles Cup with the Chicago Bandits. She also currently serves as the director of operations for Northwestern's field hockey and softball programs.
More Information on Team Italy Softball
First game: July 20, 10 p.m. CT
PALLAS KUNAIYI-AKPANAH ('19) – BASKETBALL – NIGERIA
Kunaiyi-Akpanah ended her Northwestern career as a first team All-Big Ten performer and became only the second player in program history to accumulate over 1,000 career rebounds. She has played professionally in Italy and Belgium since graduating in 2019. She made her debut with D'Tigress, Nigerian's national women's basketball team, in 2019. Nigeria will open group play vs. the United States on Monday, July 26.
Women's Basketball - Olympics
First game: July 26, 11:40 p.m. CT
KRYSTAL LARA ('20) – SWIMMING – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Lara will compete in the 100 and 200 backstrokes in Tokyo. She made waves in the back, fly and free events for the Wildcats from 2016-20. She had a breakout senior campaign in 2019-20 when she qualified for her first NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 back. The Staten Island, N.Y., native helped Northwestern to a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Big Ten Championships by contributing 73.5 individual and 48 relay points. She made her international debut at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won a bronze and silver medal in the 100 and 200 backstroke, respectively. Lara broke five national records at the 2018 Dominican Republic Swimming Nationals, including the 100 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 back and 100 fly.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Heat dates and times:
- 100-Meter: July 25, 5 a.m. CT
- 200-Meter: July 29, 5 a.m. CT
JORDAN WILIMOVSKY ('17) – SWIMMING – UNITED STATES
Wilimovsky will make his second appearance at The Games this summer when he competes in the open water swim event on Aug. 4. The Malibu, California, native made history at the Rio Games by becoming the first American swimmer to compete in both pool and open water events. In 2016, he placed fourth in the finals of the 1,500-meter swim and turned in a fifth-place finish in the 10K open water swim. Wilimovsky won gold at the 2015 World Championships in the 10K and followed it up with a silver finish in 2017. The four-time All-American holds Northwestern records in the 500 free, 1,000 free and 1,650 free.
Swimming – Olympic Schedule and Results
Competition: August 4, 4:30 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
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