Tokyo, Japan – (Aug. 7, 2021) – Former Fordham baseball pitcher Nick Martinez entered an elite group of Fordham alumni on Saturday, becoming the fifth Ram to win an Olympic medal, as he helped Team USA to a sliver medal finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, following a 2-0 loss in the gold medal baseball game against host Japan.
With Martinez earning a medal, it marks the first time that there have been multiple Rams to take home a medal at the same Olympics, as former Fordham rower Fiona Murtagh took bronze with Ireland’s coxless four earlier in these Games.
Martinez was the starting pitcher for Team USA in the gold medal game and had a solid effort against Japan, allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts over six innings of work. For the entire tournament, Martinez made two starts, totaling 11 innings with 16 strikeouts, surrendering just two runs.
For Team USA, this was the sixth Olympic medal for baseball, and its fourth as an official sport on the Olympic Programme.
Fordham Ram Olympic Medals (All-time):
1904
– John Mulcahy partnered with William Varley to capture gold and silver medals at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis in the double sculls and pair without coxswain events.
1932
– Joe McCluskey earned a bronze medal in the steeplechase in the 1932 Summer Olympics. Over his career, he won more United States track and field titles than any other runner.
1956
– Tom Courtney won the 1956 Final Trials in a new American record of 1:46.4 and then went on to set a new Olympic record of 1:47.7 in winning the Melbourne final. Courtney won a second Olympic gold with a 45.7 anchor leg in the 4×400 relay.
2020
– Fiona Murtagh and the rest of the women’s coxless four earned a bronze medal for Ireland in rowing, surging past Great Britain for third place.
– Nick Martinez made two pitching starts for United States baseball helping the team to a silver medal, falling to Japan in the gold medal game.
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