The Olympics have arrived, and current and former Cyclone athletes are prepared to represent their countries at the highest stage.

Hillary Bor

Hillary Bor ran for four years with both Iowa State track and cross country from 2007-11. Bor is a steeplechase specialist, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Big 12 Championships twice and finishing as runner-up twice. In addition to these accolades, Bor brought home the United States men’s national championship for the steeplechase in 2019.

Bor qualified for the Olympics after winning the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title at the U.S. Olympic trials. He comes in with previous Olympic experience, as he finished seventh in the steeplechase at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics.

Hillary Bor’s resume speaks for itself, as he is one of the greatest track athletes to come out of Iowa State. Bor is set to run at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time on July 30 for the first round of the steeplechase.

Bridget Carleton

Former Iowa State women’s basketball player Bridget Carleton has been selected to play for the Canadian national team during the Tokyo Olympics.

During her time at Iowa State, Carleton started in 121 games with the basketball team. Carleton had a very decorated career with Iowa State, including winning Big 12 Player of the Year in 2019 and becoming an unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection three times (2017-19). In the final season of her Cyclone career, Carleton averaged 21.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks.

Carleton went on to begin the next stage of her career, currently playing in her third professional season with the Minnesota Lynx. Playing over 15 games during the 2021 season, Carleton has averaged 4.8 points per game while averaging 18.6 minutes.

Canada qualified for the Olympics thanks to a 3-0 record at the International Basketball Federation Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Carleton played an important role for this team, averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds over the three games.

Team Canada is expected to play the opening game at about 3:20 a.m. Central Standard Time on Monday.

Candelaria Herrera

Candelaria Herrera will be playing Olympic volleyball with her home country, Argentina.

Herrera is coming off of her senior season with Iowa State but was granted another year of eligibility thanks to a waiver year.

Herrera has been a staple in the Cyclone lineup, starting every set of the fall season before training with Argentina over the course of the spring season. In 2020, Herrera recorded 132 kills in 14 matches, finishing second on the team in hitting percentage with .271. In addition, Herrera recorded 10 kills in six out of 14 matches.

Despite missing the spring season, Herrera earned Second Team All-Big 12 Honors in 2020. In 2019, Herrera scored first team honors.

Argentina is expected to play its first match of the Olympics against the United States at 9:05 p.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday.

Ariana Orrego

Iowa State all-around gymnast Ariana Orrego has been selected to compete in the Tokyo Olympics with her home country, Peru.

Orrego will head into her redshirt senior season in 2021-22 and has competed in a total of 25 meets with Iowa State. Through her collegiate career, Orrego has performed on floor, beams, bars and vault, with a career-best of 9.875 on floor. Along with all of the performance achievements, Orrego earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2021.

Orrego will enter the Olympics with prior experience at this stage, as she competed with Peru during the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. At the young age of 17, Orrego became the first gymnast to compete for Peru at the Olympics.

After becoming the first female gymnastics Olympian to compete for Peru, Orrego will now become the first to do it for Iowa State. She became a redshirt after missing the 2020 collegiate season in order to prepare for the planned 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Due to the pandemic, the Olympics were postponed, but a year later, Orrego will have another chance to compete starting Sunday.