TOKYO GAMES’ TIES TO MIAMI
Five athletes with University of Miami ties are heading to the Tokyo Olympics — Alysha Newman, Danny Valencia, Ben Wanger, Emma Gullstrand and Aisha Chow.
Five athletes with University of Miami ties are going to the Tokyo Olympics — Alysha Newman, Danny Valencia, Ben Wanger, Emma Gullstrand and Aisha Chow.
The path to the Tokyo Olympics passed through the University of Miami for five athletes, and each has a compelling backstory.
In keeping with Miami’s reputation as a global city and school, none of the five will be representing the United States at the Games, which run from July 23-Aug. 8.
Two are competing for the Israeli Olympic baseball team — Danny Valencia, a 36-yearold former major-leaguer of
Cuban-Jewish descent, and Ben Wanger, a UM grad student who has a degree from Yale in economics and environmental engineering.
Alysha Newman, a Canadian pole vaulter and medal hopeful, models on the side and is a social media influencer with 500,000 Instagram followers.
Aisha Chow, a 44-year-old rower for Trinidad and Tobago, graduated from UM with degrees in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Microbiology & Immunology and went on to earn a PhD in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University.
The youngest of the group is freshman diver Emma Gullstrand, who will be competing for Sweden and is the 13th diver under UM legendary coach Randy Ableman to reach the Olympic Games.
The Herald caught up with four of the UM-connected athletes before they head to Tokyo.
Here are their stories.
DANNY VALENCIA, BASEBALL, ISRAEL
Valencia was born in Miami to American-Jewish mother Mindy and Cuban immigrant father Mike, who converted to Judaism. He spent most of his childhood in Boca Raton, attended Spanish River High, played one season at UNCGreensboro and transferred to UM. He played for seven major-league teams between 2010-18, most recently the Baltimore Orioles.
He had been approached since 2012 about playing for the Israeli team, but his MLB
schedule didn’t allow it. In 2019, still in good shape and looking for a challenge, he accepted the invitation and began the process.
To compete internationally for Israel, athletes must be Israeli citizens. Israel’s Law of Return, passed in 1950 to make the country a refuge for any practicing Jew, offers an expedited path toward dual citizenship.
The majority of the players on Israel’s baseball team are American-Israeli dual citizens. Some live in Israel, others live in the United States.
Valencia’s Olympic journey has resulted in a stronger bond to Judaism.
“I’m more spiritual now than I ever was, going out there and experiencing Israel, seeing it firsthand,” said Valencia, who attends Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, where he had his Bar Mitzvah. “There’s that emotional tie that brings you in. You see all the history in Israel, go to the Holocaust Museum knowing all our families have been impacted by that. We all have that in common.”
Valencia said he now has a deeper appreciation for Israel.
“It’s a beautiful country and surrounded by enemies,” he said. “It’s a grinder lifestyle knowing that any given moment you can hear the bomb sirens go off and you have to seek shelter. They’re a bunch of fighters, and I like to think of our team as that same type of personality.”
Although he doesn’t have a traditional Jewish surname, Valencia said he has experienced antiSemitism on and off the field.
“There’s a lot of antiSemitism out there, so when you experience it and you’re wearing an Israeli uniform, it puts a bigger chip on our shoulder to go out there and kick butt,” Valencia said. “It fuels your fire.”
For security reasons, Israeli players do not wear any team gear away from the field. Their bags are unmarked. They travel with security guards.
“It’s almost like you have to hide it to some degree which is still a little weird, but it’s the approach that Israelis take, especially with the Olympics and what happened in Munich,” Valencia said, referring to the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by terrorists at the 1972 Olympics.
His most memorable game in an Israel uniform was Sept. 9, 2019, a 4-2 extra innings win over
Germany in Bonn, Germany, in the European Championship tournament.
“We all felt a different intensity about that game because of the history of the Holocaust. I’m not saying by any means that anyone on the field had anything to do with the Holocaust; but you’re playing against Germany in Germany wearing an Israeli uniform,” Valencia said. “We really wanted to show out.”
After the game, there wasn’t a dry eye in the Israel dugout.
“That is a game I will always remember,” he said.
ALYSHA NEWMAN, POLE VAULT, CANADA
Canada’s record-breaking pole vaulter makes no apologies for wearing makeup while she competes or modeling bathing suits and lingerie on social media. Newman, a 2016 UM graduate who is ranked No. 4 in the world, is a big proponent of body confidence among women and uses her athletic ability and sex appeal to deliver that message.
She calls herself “a lioness” and says her red lipstick is her war paint. She is a longtime fan of Marilyn Monroe and the movie “Burlesque” with Christina Aguilera and Cher.
“It’s cool that I can be both. I can be sexy and powerful and high fashion, but I can also be a blood, sweat and tears Olympic athlete,” Newman said. “It’s empowering. As females we think our curves are negatives. I use those attributes to my advantage. Living in 2021, women are so powerful and I’m so thankful I live in this day and age, when we don’t have to hide our feminine side.
“I want to go down as one of the best pole vaulters of all time. But I also want to show people I’m confident in a one-piece bathing suit or a twopiece. I don’t do it for men to look at me. I do it to make myself feel confident and strong. That is why I wear red lipstick and makeup on the track. It’s like my war paint. But then I’ll wear a turtleneck to a high fashion event with no skin showing, my hair slicked back and cat eye.”
Newman is determined to do better in Tokyo than she did at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, when she missed the finals. She suffered a setback in October 2019 when her thenboyfriend, former UM football player and Pittsburgh Steeler Anthony Chickillo, was arrested and charged with assaulting her during a dispute. They have since broken up, and Newman says she came out stronger.
“I had to close some relationships that weren’t healthy and open new ones that were in my best interest,” she said. “During COVID, I was able to heal from my broken heart and surround myself with uplifting people. Heading into Tokyo, I’m the best version of me.”
BEN WANGER, ISRAEL, BASEBALL
Like Valencia, Wanger said Team Israel’s win over Germany has been his highlight thus far.
“It was one of the bestplayed baseball games I’ve ever been part of,” said Wanger, 23, who joined the Hurricanes last season. “The fact that it was in Germany against Germany, a lot of people on our team have ancestors who are Holocaust survivors. I have relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust. So, it was very meaningful.”
Wanger caught the last out, brought the ball home and signed it for his grandmother, Sara, a Holocaust survivor. He gave it to her on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. “It was very meaningful for her,” he said. “It was one of my best baseball memories, for sure.”
Wanger, who grew up in the Boston area and comes from a family of Ivy League athletes, does not consider himself religious, but representing Israel has brought him closer to his heritage. Wearing the Israel jersey is different from other jerseys, he said.
“It’s always an honor to represent something bigger than yourself, you experience that in a college uniform, but it’s a whole different level when you’re representing a country and a country with as much history as
Israel does. It’s an honor. I had family that was murdered for being Jewish two generations ago, so it’s really special and tough to put into words.”
Israel, one of six teams in the Olympic tournament, opens against South Korea on July 29.
EMMA GULLSTRAND, DIVING, SWEDEN
Gullstrand might not be an Olympian if not for an email she wrote UM diving coach Randy Ableman. A rising talent in Sweden, she was training alone during COVID last winter and losing motivation. She had always dreamed of going to college in America and her coach, American Brian Bungum, suggested she reach out to Ableman, whom she had met.
“I wrote to him and said, ‘Hi, do you have a scholarship for me?’ ” Gullstrand said, giggling. “He told me he did, so I took a big leap and came over in January. It was the best move, not only for the weather. Getting to compete as part of the UM team and make NCAAs gave me fire again.”
The former swimmer and gymnast fell in love with diving at age 8 and began dreaming of the Olympics.
She wound up qualifying for the Tokyo Games in 3-meter springboard with a bronze medal at the European championships. The 20-year-old will compete in the preliminary round July 30.
“It’s my first Olympics, so there is no pressure on me,” she said. “This is my lifelong goal, so I am just going to enjoy every single minute of it. I feel so lucky and grateful. I am really glad I sent that email.”