USC Morning Buzz: Fans Vote Greatest Olympians And Results Are . . . Interesting?

Whether athletes actually competed for USC is irrelevant

USC asked its fans to vote for the greatest Olympian in school history and the results were . . . interesting. And that's a nice way to put it.

The winner, unsurprisingly, was sprinter Allyson Felix. No one seems to care that she never competed in a cardinal and gold uniform because she turned pro after high school. Still there should be an asterisk.

Distance runner Louis Zamperini finished No. 2. He had a book and movie written about his life. However, he never won an Olympic medal. He enrolled at USC after he competed in the 1936 Olympics.

Swimmer Janet Evans was No. 3. Also never competed for USC although she was an assistant coach for the Trojans. And she eventually graduated from USC in 1994 after attending Stanford and Texas.

So two of the top three finishers never even competed for USC and the other one didn't win an Olympic medal.

Celebrity means more than anything else, as usual.

Meanwhile, two-time gold medalists like shot-put legend Parry O'Brien and 400-meter hurdler Felix Sanchez (among others) didn't even make the top 10.

Swimmer Katinka Hosszu, who won three individual gold medals at the 2016 Olympics, was No. 8.

Just for the sake of accuracy. Hosszu has three individual gold medals. Felix has only one individual gold. All her other golds were on the relay team.

She is the greatest relay runner in history but how does someone like Sanchez, who competed for the Dominican Republic, pile up relay medals when he is not on a superpower team like the USA?

Hosszu and Sanchez competed for USC, by the way.