Two former Vandal athletes, Liga Velvere and Alycia Butterworth, will compete in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for team Latvia and Canada, according to recent press releases from Vandal Athletics.
Velvere, who will be running for Latvia in the 800m graduated from UI in 2013 with a major in general studies. With a record of 2:01.12 in an 800m from 2019, Velvere is ranked 44th in the world. While at UI, she was an eight-time Western Athletic Conference Champion, still holding the record for the indoor 800m. Since then, Velvere has been a 13-time Latvian National Champion.
Butterworth, who will be competing in the 3000m steeplechase, ran for Idaho until 2015, graduating with a degree in marketing and human resources. She earned medals eight times in the Western Athletic Conference and once in the Big Sky Outdoor Championships. Butterworth also placed 5th in the 2011 Pan-American Championships and 26th in the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
As the 2020 Olympics were delayed to this year because of the pandemic, the games look to still be mostly TV-only, with no spectators allowed in stadiums and arenas.
The Olympics begin July 23 with round one of the women’s 800m set for July 30 and women’s 3000m steeplechase scheduled for Aug. 1.
Cody Roberts can be reached [email protected] or on Twitter @CodyRobReports