As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games kick off, the School of Education will be well represented. Of the six former Syracuse University student-athletes that will compete for gold this summer, three are SOE alumni.
“Having our alumni compete in the Olympic Games brings great pride for all of us in Orange Nation,” says Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack ’80. “Making an Olympic team is a testament to the commitment they displayed at Syracuse and their dedication to competing on a worldwide stage at the Olympic Games. We wish each of them all the best in their pursuit of Olympic excellence.”
Orange Olympians include:
- Katie Zaferes ’12, B.S. in physical education; Triathlon for USA.
- Kayla Alexander ’13, B.S. in social studies education/history; Basketball for Canada.
- Jenna Caira ’12, B.S. in physical education; Softball for Canada.
Katie Zaferes ’12
As a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic triathlon team, Katie Zaferes finished 18th in the Rio Games. When she lines up in Tokyo at the start of the grueling swim, cycle and run event, she’ll carry a new title with her: World champion. Zaferes captured the International Triathlon Union (ITU) world title in 2019, winning five ITU World Triathlon Series races, including the Grand Final race in Lausanne, Switzerland. “I’m most looking forward to using everything I have learned over the years, and especially since Rio, come race day,” she says. “Some big parts of that mean really taking in the Olympic experience, and the opportunity that I have, and remembering my strengths and all my preparation that enables me to say ‘I am ready’ come race day.”
For many, it may seem improbable that she only began competing professionally in elite triathlons in 2013. At Syracuse University, Zaferes (then Katie Hursey) competed in cross country and track and field, where she specialized in the steeplechase. She earned All-America honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2011 and 2012, and was identified through the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program as a prospect for the three-sport event. She was named the 2013 USA Triathlon Elite Rookie of the Year and began to climb in the World Triathlon Series overall rankings. In 2015, she placed fifth overall; in 2016, she was fourth; in 2017, she collected a bronze; and in 2018, she nabbed silver in the series and the Grand Final. All told, she’s earned 23 medals (including six golds) in the World Triathlon Series and is a five-time ITU Triathlon World Cup medalist (including four golds). She was also the 2018-19 Super League Triathlon women’s overall champion.
Zaferes first gave the triathlon a try when she was in high school at her father’s urging. Sadly, she lost her father earlier this year, but she continues to be inspired by his advice to “race hard, but most of all have fun.” That she will do, with plenty of motivation. “It feels really amazing to be able to represent USA in the triathlon for a second time,” she says. “It’s been a pretty rough start to the year with my dad passing away unexpectedly in April, so to make the Olympic team brings me and my family a lot of joy and gratitude.”
Update: Zaferes became the first Orange athlete since the 1928 Games to win multiple medals in a single Olympics. In the women’s triathlon , she claimed a bronze medal, finishing the rain-soaked course in 1:57.03. In the Olympics’ inaugural mixed relay triathlon , Zaferes helped lead the U.S. team to a silver medal.
Kayla Alexander ’13
Kayla Alexander loves basketball so much that she published The Magic of Basketball , a children’s book that she illustrated and co-wrote with her sister Kesia. That love for the game has journeyed with her from growing up in Milton, Ontario, to Syracuse University, and on to the WNBA and international play. Now she’ll pull on the red and white for Team Canada in Tokyo.
Alexander was a member of the 2020 International Basketball Federation Olympic Qualifying Tournament team that went undefeated (3-0) and locked up Canada’s third straight Olympic appearance. In June, the Canadian Senior Women’s Basketball Team, ranked fourth in the world, dropped a double-overtime loss to Brazil to take fourth in the Women’s AmeriCup 2021. Alexander scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in the game, and averaged nine points and seven rebounds in Canada’s six games of the tourney.
In 2019, Alexander helped lead Canada to a silver in the AmeriCup, averaging 15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and notching a double-double three times during the group stage. She was named to the tournament’s all-star team.
At Syracuse University, the 6-foot-4 center was a force on the court as a three-time All-Big East selection who earned an All-America honorable mention in her senior year. She is the program’s all-time leader in points (2,024), blocks (350), field goals (736), free throws made (552), free throws attempted (750) and games played (140). She also owns the Syracuse single-season marks in scoring (573, 2012-13), field goals (151, 2012-13) and blocks (96, 2011-12).
Alexander was the second ever Orange player to be selected in the WNBA Draft, when she was the eighth overall pick in 2013 by the San Antonio Stars. Since then, she’s played with the Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx. She’s also played internationally with professional teams in Australia, Belgium, France, Poland, Russia and South Korea, and has represented Canada at the junior, developmental and senior national levels.
Update: Team Canada went 1-2 in group play and failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
Jenna Caira ’12
Softball returns to the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games—and Team Canada will be in the medal hunt. The Canadians finished fourth in Beijing and are currently ranked third in the world. Orange pitching legend Jenna Caira was officially named to the Tokyo-bound team in May and will look to fire pitches past opponents in hopes of meeting those medal expectations.
The Toronto native has been representing Canada in international competitions since 2007, when she competed in the Junior Women’s World Championships. In 2009, she moved up to the senior national team and was part of three bronze-medal performances in the world championships. The Syracuse All-American, known for her fierce change-up, helped lead Team Canada to a gold in the 2015 Pan Am Games. The team clinched its Olympic berth in September 2019, when it finished second in the Americas Olympic Qualifier in Surrey, British Columbia, where it registered a 7-1 record.
On the diamond for Syracuse (2009-12), Caira relentlessly racked up records and accolades. She helped lead the Orange to two straight Big East tournament crowns—earning Most Outstanding Player honors in 2010 and 2011—and three consecutive NCAA appearances. She is the only player in Big East history to register more than 1,000 strikeouts, and she collected conference honors as 2009 Rookie of the Year and 2011 Pitcher of the Year. The two-time team captain was a third-team All-America selection in 2012 and is the Orange’s all-time leader in multiple categories, including career wins (97), lowest earned run average (1.87), strikeouts (1,051) and lowest opponent batting average (.190). Following her Syracuse playing career, she also served as an assistant coach for two years.
Update: Caira helped lead Team Canada to a bronze medal—its first medal in the sport. Canada defeated Mexico, 3-2, to earn the bronze.