ENMU Olympians

With the 2016 Summer Olympics in full swing, we wanted to take some time to acknowledge a couple of the talented ENMU alumni who have competed in past Olympic Games.

Rex Maddaford

• Rex Maddaford (BBE 73) competed in two 1968 Olympic events in Mexico City where he was 10th in the 5,000 meters (14:39.8) and 12th in the 10,000 meters (30:17.2) for his native New Zealand.

• He was inspired by two gold-medal recipients from the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

• He found his love for running when he was 13 years old. For 14 years of his life he was running 100 miles per week.

• Maddaford won the cross country championship his senior year of high school. He set a New Zealand record for the 6-mile run at 27 minutes, 22 seconds.

• He was recruited by former ENMU cross country coach Bill Silverberg. He helped the team win national titles before graduating with a degree in communication and physical education.

• Maddaford went on to teach at the Tucumcari Municipal Schools for 31 years before retiring in 2007.

Mike Boit

• Mike Boit (BS 76) participated in the 1972 Olympics in Munich for Kenya where he won a bronze medal in the 800 meter run and was fourth in the 1,500.

• Unfortunately, the experience was marred for all participants when 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian terrorists.

• Boit ran competitively in high school in the Great Rift Valley—an area in Kenya well known for its distance running.

• He was recruited by Bill Silverberg, who told Boit that the eastern New Mexico region was the closest thing to Kenya in the U.S., and that he wouldn’t get swallowed up by a smaller university. Boit chose to attend Eastern over his other recruiters including Villanova and Colorado.

• Boit led ENMU to NAIA cross country titles in 1973 and 1974, and he was the individual champion in 1974 and 1975.