In his work with the U.S. Track and Field team, sport analytics major Dan Griffiths attended the New York City Grand Prix Meetâthe final meet for track and field athletes before the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics are here and representatives from the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Âé¶čÆ””ÀUniversity will have an impact on this yearâs Gamesâand, quite possibly, future Olympic Games.
The Falk College representatives who are involved in several unique ways with the Olympics and Paralympics include current Falk students Dan Griffiths and Livia McQuade, Department of Sport Management Associate Professor Jeeyoon âJamieâ Kim, and Sport Management graduates and former Âé¶čÆ””ÀUniversity student-athletes Freddie Crittenden III ’17, Kristen Siermachesky ’21 and Lysianne Proulx ’21.
Here are their stories:
Dan Griffiths spent this past academic year working with the Âé¶čÆ””ÀUniversity cross country and track and field teams.
At Âé¶čÆ””ÀUniversity and now with the U.S. Track and Field team (), sport analytics major Dan Griffiths â26 is helping to revolutionize how performance data is collected and analyzed.
When Griffiths started working with the Âé¶čÆ””Àtrack and field and cross country teams before the 2023-24 academic year, the teams werenât utilizing a data-gathering system. But the student-athletes were using Garmin wearables to track their own data, so Griffiths built his own application and a tool that transported all of their data into his application, which then created spreadsheets he used to analyze that data.
With Griffithsâ help, the Âé¶čÆ””Àwomenâs cross country team won its since 2011. Throughout the academic year, Griffiths conducted and presented his research at various national competitions and conferences, including the (he was runner-up in sport analytics research), and the inaugural Sport, Entertainment and Innovation Conference () last week in Las Vegas.
Griffithsâ success at Âé¶čÆ””Àand his interest in track and field led to his connection with USATF, which gave him the freedom to explore his areas of interest. Using a combination of the latest technology, Griffiths helped create three-dimensional models to best understand an athleteâs musculoskeletal forces.
âFor throwers (discus, shotput, javelin), my work focused on using a pose estimation model to detect patterns that could be linked to longer, more powerful throws,â Griffiths says. âFor sprinters and distance runners, I used pose estimation data to monitor overtraining and track progress throughout the season and before meets.
âI also conducted extensive research for multi-event athletes in the heptathlon and decathlon,â he adds. âThis research aimed to understand how fatigue affects scoring in multi-events and how different training sequences can reduce fatigue.â
Griffiths shared his work with the coaches, and at least two of the athletes he analyzed will be participating in the Olympics: javelin thrower Curtis Thompson and 400-meter runner Alexis Holmes. During his time with USATF, Griffiths traveled to the New York City Grand Prix Meetâthe final meet for track and field athletes before the U.S. Olympic Trialsâand the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
âThe thing we think about every morning is âHow can we win another gold medal today?â” Griffiths says. âHaving the opportunity to combine everything I’ve learned and truly be a trailblazer and innovator for USATF and those athletes, especially in a track and field biomechanics context, has made me uber-passionate about the work we are doing at Âé¶čÆ””Àand the future of AI/analytics and sports.â
The track and field events run Aug. 1-11.
Sport Management major Livia McQuade will attend the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to serve as a resource for U.S. athletes, their families and their sponsors.
Livia McQuade â25 is a sport management major and sport event management minor who has spent this summer in Loveland, Colorado, as an athlete relations intern with . Olympus is a management and marketing agency that provides top sponsorship opportunities and marketing strategies for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
In her role, McQuade has interfaced with athletes from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams and their partners, and with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other national governing bodies. Her projects have included reviewing contracts, building athletesâ personal websites and organizing outlines for athletesâ speaking engagements.
âIâve had a truly incredible experience within the Olympic and Paralympic Movement–during a Games year of all times!â McQuade says. âThrough it all, I’ve had the privilege to work with some of sport’s most impactful Olympians and Paralympians, including Apolo Ohno, Jessica Long, Noah Elliott, Sarah Adam, Alex and Gretchen Walsh, Alex Ferreira and Steve Serio.â
McQuade, the executive vice president of the in Falk College and co-chair of the clubâs 2024 , says she wants to work with the Olympic and Paralympic movement following graduation and this internship has been an invaluable step in that process. Her experience with Olympus will continue in September, when sheâll attend the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to serve as a resource for U.S. athletes, their families, and their sponsors. The Paralympic Games run from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
âI could not be more grateful and excited,â McQuade says of her upcoming experience in Paris. âMy leadership (at Olympus Sports Group)âIan Beck and ’16âhave thrown extraordinary opportunities my way, and they will remain valuable mentors long into my career.â
Freddie Crittenden III, shown here competing for Syracuse, will represent the U.S. in the 110-meter hurdles event in Paris.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials in late June, longtime U.S. hurdler  â17 qualified for his first Olympic Games by running a personal-best 12.96 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Crittenden finished second overall to teammate and three-time world champion Grant Holloway, who recorded a time of 12.86.
A public health major at Falk and former All-American for the Âé¶čÆ””Àtrack and field team, Crittenden just missed a bronze medal at the World Championships last summer and now at age 29, the Olympic Trials may have been his last opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.
âIt feels amazing. Honestly, Iâm still in shock and Iâm trying to figure out what happened,â Crittenden said immediately after his Olympic Trials run. âBut itâs an amazing feeling to come out here and accomplish what Iâve been trying to accomplish for the past 17 years. Itâs beautiful.â
Two former sport management majors and Âé¶čÆ””Àstudent-athletes, rower Kristen Siermachesky â21 and soccer goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx â21, are alternates for the Olympics with .
Proulx is Team Canadaâs third-choice goalkeeper, meaning she will be activated if either the starting or backup goalkeeper is injured. Although she didnât start at Âé¶čÆ””Àuntil her junior season, Proulx recorded the fourth-most saves (281), second-most saves per game (5.3) and seventh-most shutouts (eight) in program history.
Since graduating from Syracuse, Proulx has excelled in professional leagues in Portugal, Australia and now in the United States with of the National Womenâs Soccer League. This past February, Bay FC acquired Proulx from Melbourne City for what Melbourne City described as a record-breaking transfer fee for an outgoing A-League player.
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Proulx represented Canada in the FIFA U-17 Womenâs World Cup and FIFA U-20 Womenâs World Cup. She went to the 2023 FIFA Womenâs World Cup as Team Canadaâs third-choice goaltender behind Kailen Sheridan and Sabrina DâAngelo, who have maintained their positions for the Olympics.
Former Âé¶čÆ””Àgoalkeeper and sport management graduate Lysianne Proulx (center, with ball) is an alternate for Team Canadaâs soccer team.
Like Proulx, Siermachesky will be available to her team if an injury occurs. But unlike Proulx, her path to Canadaâs rowing team featured a different sport at Syracuse: ice hockey. She played four years as a defenseman at Âé¶čÆ””Àand recorded a black-and-blue inducing 132 blocks in 125 games for the Orange.
After graduating from Syracuse, the native of New Liskeard, Ontario, considered playing ice hockey overseas but decided to pursue her graduate degree in sports administration at North Carolina. She wanted to continue her athletics career, but North Carolina doesnât have an ice hockey team. Then-Âé¶čÆ””Àice hockey coach Paul Flanagan suggested she try rowing and contacted the Tar Heelsâ coach to make that connection.
Siermacheskyâs athleticism and potential caught the eye of the Team Canada Development Team, which asked her to move to British Columbia to train with the national team. Just three years into the sport, she is now on the cusp of competing in the Olympics and itâs likely she and Proulx will remain in the mix for the next summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
The rowing competition runs from July 27-Aug. 3, while the womenâs soccer tournament started July 24 and runs through Aug. 10.
Associate Professor Jeeyoon âJamieâ Kim at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
 is an associate professor in the Department of Sport Management who studies the long- and short-term social and economic effects of hosting the Games and other major sporting events. Kim is the former manager of the Korean Olympic Committee, and on Aug. 8 sheâll present at the 11th International Sport Business Symposium in Paris.
Kimâs presentation will focus on how the , an Olympic-style event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, can better impact their host city and support the aims of the Olympic Movement.
âThe hope for Olympic sport participation legacy is grounded on the âtrickle-down effectâ (i.e., watching Olympians compete will inspire youth to participate in sport),â Kim says in a recent Q&A. âFor the Youth Olympics, the event can also be a steppingstone for younger athletes to compete on the international stage and grow to become Olympians. Additionally, the Youth Olympics offer many grassroots-level sport opportunities (e.g., sport camps, collaboration with local schools) to encourage the general youth to learn about Olympic sports.â
To combat youthsâ dwindling interest in the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee added break dancing, sport climbing and surfing to the lineup for Paris. Kim says this is a critical time for the future of the Olympics as upcoming Games in Paris, Milan Cortina (2026), and Los Angeles (2028) will be held in traditionally strong sports markets where there are opportunities to increase interest.
âParis 2024 will be the first Olympics to include breaking in the official program,â Kim says. âWe will have to see how the event turns out. But, so far, looking at the Olympics qualifiers series and the ticket popularity, it seems like there is a lot of interest garnered for the sport.â
Kim spent five-and-a-half years with Korean Olympic Committee as a member of its International Games, International Relations and 2018 PyeongChang Olympics task force teams. While in Paris, Kim will conduct research in Koreaâs Olympic Hospitality House and share her findings with students in her Olympic Sport Management and Olympic Odyssey courses.
And Kim plans to attend the womenâs individual finals event of her favorite summer Olympic sport, archery. âKorea has been very strong in the sport historically, and it is always fun to watch a sport where my team does well,â Kim says.
Editorâs Note: This story does not include all Falk College representatives in the Olympics. If you know of someone who is involved and not mentioned, please email Matt Michael, Falk College communications manager, at mmicha04@syr.edu.
