BERKELEY Inspire

Cal Athletics’ Golden Bears serve as ambassadors to the university and torchbearers to building Cal community and pride. But it is absolutely critical to maintain the scholarships, coaches, programs, and facilities that help maximize their potential in the sports — and studies — they love. Over the course of Cal’s history, generous donors have played a vital role in supporting the university’s 30 athletic programs and 850-plus student-athletes, helping Cal win 104 team national championships across 15 sports.

The link between donor gifts and the success of Cal Athletics is clear. Take, for instance, the 2022–23 school year: Three teams won back-to-back national championships — men’s swimming and diving, men’s crew, and men’s water polo. A biennial gala raises more than $400,000 to support the operating costs of the university’s four aquatics programs. Friends of Cal Crew are dedicated alumni who offer philanthropic and volunteer support to men’s crew. And the Rogers family, who in 2023 pledged another $10 million to the men’s rowing program, has been integral to that team’s success since the mid-1980s.

This fall, the connection between Cal Athletics and philanthropy reached a new level when an anonymous donor made a $23 million gift to Cal’s golf program — the single largest endowment gift in Cal Athletics history. It will endow the men’s and women’s golf teams and provide a designated training facility that, until now, the teams have not had. As Chancellor Rich Lyons said, this transformational support “provides the kind of long-term stability that we seek to replicate across a breadth of Cal sports.”

The generous gift will also support coaching, scholarships, equipment, and travel, enhancing a program that collectively has won three National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) championships: one for the men’s team, as well as two individual titles (one women’s and one men’s).

Reaching even higher, Cal-affiliated athletes have earned a whopping 246 medals over the years at the Olympic Games, including 126 golds. At the recent 2024 Summer Games in Paris, 59 Cal Olympians earned 23 medals in nine different sports.

Though the following three Cal Olympians took different paths to compete on sport’s biggest stage, each one came through Berkeley — where they benefited from a supportive culture fueled in large part by the philanthropy of its most ardent fans.

Whether swimming for Cal or representing his native Sweden in the Olympics, Björn Seeliger values the camaraderie and shared experiences of his teams. Seeliger, who is majoring in business at Berkeley Haas, was drawn here for the unique opportunity to combine high-level athletics with a world-class education.

At Cal, Seeliger has achieved remarkable success in the pool, specializing in the 50-yard freestyle. He helped his team clinch victories in multiple Pac-12 championships and NCAA meets, including playing a key role in Cal’s 200-yard and 400-yard free relay titles at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

Seeliger says the strong bonds within the Cal swimming program fuel his individual pursuits and accomplishments. He fondly recalls a fundraising gala, where alumni and current athletes gathered to celebrate the team. “The alums know more about my swimming than I do sometimes,” he says. Seeliger, who made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, also competed in both the 50m and 100m freestyle events and on the Swedish 4x100m freestyle relay team, swimming the second leg, in Paris.

As Seeliger sets his sights on future competitive goals, he remains committed to raising the tide for Cal swimming and is excited for the challenges and opportunities ahead, both in and out of the pool.

Camryn Rogers ’22, M.A. ’23 began her ascent in Richmond, British Columbia, gained momentum at Berkeley, and triumphed in Paris. While studying society and environment and political economy as an undergraduate, and the cultural studies of sport in education as a graduate student, she balanced her demanding academic schedule with the rigors of elite athletic training.

Rogers’ Cal achievements include three NCAA titles and collegiate records. But her defining moment came when she won Olympic gold this past summer — marking the first gold medal for a Canadian woman in an individual track and field event in nearly a century, and the first ever for Canada in the women’s hammer throw. Rogers’ feat also etched her name in Cal Athletics history as the first track and field gold medalist since 1972.

Years of unwavering dedication and meticulous training proved crucial in competing against China’s Jie Zhao and the United States’ Annette Echikunwoke in Paris, where she solidified her position as the world’s top-ranked female hammer thrower. Amidst the intense pressure of the Olympic final, Rogers maintained remarkable fortitude. Her emotional outpouring after her final throw underscored the magnitude of the achievement.

Whether rowing for Cal or for his home country in the Paris Olympics, Frederik Breuer ’25 views his teams’ successes as the moments that are the most rewarding personally. The senior student-athlete, who hails from Bonn, Germany, and is majoring in energy engineering, hadn’t considered studying in the United States until a Cal rowing coach recruited him at the 2019 Junior World Championships. “It seemed like a great way to combine athletics on a high level with studying on a high level,” says Breuer, “which you can’t do in many places.”

At Cal, Breuer helped his boat win its race in the 2022 IRA National Championship, but it is the memory of the men’s team sweeping the championship the following year that he cherishes. “Crossing that finish line, knowing we just won and that all the other boats had won prior to us winning,” he recalls, “that was amazing.”

Breuer took a year off from Cal to try to qualify for his homeland’s Olympic squad, and the effort paid off. “We wanted to medal, but we came in fourth,” he says of competing at the Paris games. “It was sad at first, but Germany has really improved — so now I’m really happy with how we did.”