Of the dozens of current or former Abilene Christian University athletes to make an Olympic team in the past 60 years, two stand alone in terms of longevity. Tim Bright (’83) and Delloreen Ennis (’99) each competed in three Olympics – Bright in 1984, 1988 and 1992 for the United States and Ennis in 2000, 2004 and 2008 for her native Jamaica.

Ennis is the most accomplished female track and field athlete in ACU history. She was among the world’s best in her specialty, the 100-meter hurdles, and narrowly missed winning a bronze medal in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. In 2005, she finished second in the women’s world championships, third in 2007 and third again in 2009.
Bright, however, was a jack-of-all-trades and master of many as a decathlete whose strong suit was the pole vault. Decathletes compete across two grueling days in 10 events: 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400-meter run on the first day, and 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500-meter run on the second.
He also was a world-ranked pole vaulter who set an Olympic decathlon vault record in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. He did not medal in either of his three Olympic appearances, but to earn spots on U.S. teams across nearly a decade – as a decathlete in 1984 and 1988 and a vaulter in 1992 – remains a remarkable feat.
ACU’s Olympians and the nations they have represented (year of each Games in parentheses):

• Antigua and Barbuda – James Browne (1988)
• Bahamas – Joseph Styles (1996)
• Barbados – Yolande Straughn (1988), Prisca Phillip (1988)
• Bermuda – Sonya Smith (1984)
• Botswana – Joe Ramotshabi (1984)
• Canada – Freddie Williams (1992)
• Dominica – Hermin Joseph (1996)
• Egypt – Ahmed Shata (1988)
• France – Elea Mariama Diarra (2012)
• Guatemala – Jose Meneses (2000), Oscar Meneses (2000)
• Ivory Coast – Louise Ayotetche (2000)
• Jamaica –  Albert Lawrence (1980, 1984), Greg Meghoo (1984, 1988), Ian Morris (1988), Tracey Barnes (1996), Delloreen Ennis (2000, 2004, 2008), Richard Phillips (2008)
• Liberia – Sayon Cooper (1996, 2000), Andrew Reyes (2000)
• Namibia – Christie VanWyk (2004)
• Nigeria – Mary Tombiri-Shirey (1996)
• Saint Vincent – Bigna Samuel (1988)
• Trinidad and Tobago – Ian Morris (1988, 1992), Julieon Raeburn (2000), Nic Alexander (2000, 2004), Robert Guy (1996), Wanda Hutson (2004, 2008), Reyare Thomas (2012, 2016)
• Ukraine – Andy Kokhanovsky (1996)
• United States – Bobby Morrow (1956), Earl Young (1960), Billy Pemelton (1964), Tom D. Smith III (1964), Tim Bright (1984, 1988, 1992), Billy Olson (1988), Mark Witherspoon (1992)
• Zimbabwe – Savieri Ngidhi (1996)

Tom D. Smith III is the only ACU Olympian in a sport other than track and field. The former U.S. military hero held world records in pistol shooting and competed for his country in the 1964 Games in Tokyo. Watch this blog for more on his accomplishments.