Gille, Meronk to represent home countries of Belgium, Poland in Paris Olympics
Two East Tennessee State University alumni will compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which begin Friday.
Representing their home countries are golfer Adrian Meronk of Poland and tennis player Sander Gille of Belgium.
Meronk, a professional golfer who has two wins on the PGA Tour, is fresh off the British Open and made his third U.S. Open appearance earlier this summer. He played golf for ETSU and graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business and finance.
Gille and doubles partner Joran Vliegan recently competed at Wimbledon, where they won their opening round.
Gille, who started playing tennis at age 6, played for ETSU and graduated in 2012 with a business degree.
During their time at ETSU, both Meronk and Gille were in the athlete monitoring program of the university’s Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education (CESSCE). The CESSCE conducts cutting-edge research focused on the development of strength, power and endurance, as well as fatigue management, injury prevention and rehabilitation. It serves sports teams at ETSU and beyond, and increases the professional preparation of coaches.
Meg Stone, director of the CESSCE, knows well what Gille, Meronk and other athletes from around the world are experiencing in the days leading up to the Olympic games. Stone is a two-time Olympian who placed in the top 10 each time. She has held the women’s discus throw record for Great Britain since 1981 and the shotput record for Scotland since 1983. The seven-time collegiate champion and holder of three Scottish titles earned gold in the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
Stone said the thoughts and feelings experienced by Olympians at this point are varied. “Some will be thrilled and pleased just to be there and be part of such an event,” she said. “Others will feel the pressure of being part of this event, and others still will have the determination and confidence to know they have a chance at a medal. And yet others will have the supreme confidence of knowing they are the best, and only their archrival stands between them and the gold, such as U.S. shotput rivals Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs.”
Athletes can do little in the way of training at this point, Stone said, but are focusing on rest, recovery and fatigue management to compete at their optimum level.
“It is a long and dedicated process to rise to the level of being an Olympian,” Stone said. “It does not come easy. Commitment, dedication and an enthusiastic work ethic are required. It takes years of understanding the technical or tactical aspects of your sport to compete in the Olympic Games and treat it like any other competition in order to be successful despite the atmosphere of such an event. But once you have the title ‘Olympian,’ you have it for life.”
The CESSCE has trained multiple other Olympians through the years. Among them are medalists Manteo Mitchell (2012 – silver, 4 x 400 relay), Steve Holcomb (2010 – gold, and 2014 – two silvers, bobsled), Steve Langton (2014 – two silvers, bobsled) and Chris Mazdzer (2018 – silver, luge). Others are Abbey D’Agostino (Cooper), track and field; Casey Eichfeld, Picky Powell and Michal Smolen, slalom canoe; Hakeem Sabour, Johnny Quinn and Dallas Robinson, bobsled; and John Daly, skeleton.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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