UPDATE: SMU’s Jackie Galloway Takes Taekwondo Bronze

UPDATE: SMU’s Jackie Galloway earned a bronze medal in taekwondo for Team USA on August 20, beating France’s Gwladys Epangue at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
More about Jackie Galloway’s win:
• NBC: USA’s Jackie Galloway wins bronze
• The Wall Street Journal: Jackie Galloway Celebrates Taekwondo Bronze with U.S., Mexican Fans
• The Dallas Morning News: Dallas’ Jackie Galloway shakes off tough semifinal loss to rival, bounces back to win taekwondo bronze
By Kenny Ryan
SMU

To Jackie Galloway’s classmates, she’s just a self-described nerd in the Lyle school of engineering, frantically creating computer models and cramming for the next exam.
To those who know her well, she’s kind of a superhero. A mild-mannered student in the classroom and a world-class taekwondo expert in the ring, Galloway is better than a superhero – she’s real.
This summer, she’ll represent Team USA at the Olympic Games.
“Out of the ring, I’m nice and sweet, so when I tell people I do taekwondo and show them videos of me in the ring, they say ‘That’s you?’ and they don’t believe it,” says Galloway, who goes by the not-so-subtle handle @ikick_urface on Twitter.
“I’m a bit of a nerd, but I always compare taekwondo to a game of chess because it’s very strategic,” Galloway adds. “You get points for body kicks, points for face kicks and if you add a spin, it’s additional points, but my strategy has to adjust to who I’m

fighting based on how tall or big they are. Success comes down to having a killer instinct and a mind for strategy.”
This isn’t the 20-year-old sophomore’s first brush with the Olympics. Four years ago, the Texas-born dual citizen was an alternate on Mexico’s Olympic team, narrowly missing her chance to compete in the London games. This time around, she’s representing the red, white and blue and dreaming of gold, gold, gold.
“Winning the Olympics is not just my desire, it’s my plan,” says Galloway, who has trained with her father since childhood.
“When I was 7, I went home from training and told my mom I wanted to be world champion and an Olympian,” Galloway adds. “And when I started having success at the adult level at age 14, it became apparent to everyone else that I wouldn’t be told I couldn’t do this.”

SMU Alumni Olympic Qualifiers*

SMU alumna Lovisa Lindh has been named to the Swedish Olympic track and field team. She placed third in the 800 meters final at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, which gave her the Olympic qualifying time.

SMU Olympic Medalists

2008 Beijing
Sara Nordenstam ’06 – Norway – Bronze – Swimming, 200 breaststroke
2004 Athens
Aleksander Tammert ’98 – Estonia – Bronze – Track and field, discus
2000 Sydney
Kajsa Bergqvist ’99 – Sweden – Bronze – Track and field, high jump
Lars Frölander ’99 – Sweden – Gold – Swimming, 100 butterfly
Martina Moravcova ’98 – Slovakia – Silver – Swimming, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle
1996 Atlanta
Ryan Berube ’97 – USA – Gold – Swimming, 4×200 freestyle relay
Lars Frölander ’99 – Sweden – Silver – Swimming, 4×200 freestyle relay
Marianne Kriel ’94 – South Africa – Bronze – Swimming, 100 backstroke
1992 Barcelona
Scott Donie ’90 – USA – Silver – Diving, 10-meter platform
Lars Frölander ’99 – Sweden – Silver – Swimming, 4×200 freestyle relay
1988 Seoul
Kevin Robinzine ’86 – USA – Gold – Track and field, 4×400-meter relay
1984 Los Angeles
Michael Carter ’84 – USA – Silver – Track and field, shot put
Keith Connor ’83 – USA – Bronze – Track and field, triple jump
Jon Koncak ’85 – USA – Gold – Basketball
Steve Lundquist ’83 – USA – Gold – Swimming, 100 breaststroke and 4×100 medley relay
Ricardo Prado ’86 – Brazil – Silver – Swimming, 400 individual medley
Rich Saeger ’86 – USA – Gold – Swimming, 4×200 freestyle relay
Amy White ’90 – USA – Silver – Swimming, 200 backstroke
1972 Munich
Jerry Heidenreich ’72 – USA – Gold – Swimming, 4×100 freestyle relay and 4×100 medley relay; Silver – 100 freestyle; Bronze – 100 butterfly
1968 Mexico City
Ron Mills ’73 – USA – Gold – Swimming, 4×100 medley relay; Bronze – 100 backstroke
MORE ABOUT MUSTANG OLYMPIANS
>NBC Olympics: Who is… Jackie Galloway
>CBS 11 News: Searching For Gold – SMU Sophomore Qualifies For 2016 Olympics
>Arcila, Gomez Join Team Colombia For Rio Games
>Fletcher Selected To Represent Bermuda In Rio
>Rio Bound: Lovisa Lindh Named To Swedish Olympic Track And Field Team