Olympic gold medalist visits university

Weldon “Weldy” Olson displays his gold and silver Olympic hockey medals while visiting Bluffton University Feb. 19. Olson, a Findlay resident, recalled his experiences in international hockey, including as a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic team, which won the silver medal, and the 1960 team, which claimed America’s first gold medal in Olympic hockey.

A guest of the university’s history club, he said one reason the gold-medal team’s performance may have been dubbed the “forgotten miracle”—in comparison to the celebrated “Miracle on Ice” 20 years later—was the lack of media coverage in 1960. “At that time, if we got a mention in the newspapers, we were pleased,” Olson said.