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David Bolen

Legacy Of CU's First Olympian, Ambassador David Bolen, Still Strong

August 04, 2021 | General, Track and Field, Alumni C Club, Neill Woelk, Olympians

BOULDER — University of Colorado athletes have built a long and proud tradition as Olympians, with this year's Tokyo Games seeing CU's Olympic representatives hit the 100 mark.

That makes it the perfect time to remember CU's first Olympian, Ambassador David Bolen, who is still watching the Buffs' progress — and the rest of the Olympic competition — with a keen eye.

Now 98 and residing in Arizona, Bolen is the man who introduced the Buffaloes onto the Olympic and international stage. An All-American and national champion at CU, he earned a berth in the 400 meters at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where he finished fourth. 

It is a memory he still cherishes.

According to his daughter, Cynthia Bolen-Nieland (who currently serves as a global ambassador for CU), "I have watched many Olympic games with him and he always said, 'Walking into the stadium filled with thousands of spectators amidst thunderous cheering and clapping is an incredibly powerful experience. You are not only walking in for yourself but for your country … I was the window through which the world saw CU.'"

After becoming Colorado's first Olympian and earning All-American honors as a Buff, Bolen went on to win a pair of national AAU titles in the 600-meter run — but his athletic exploits were just the tip of a career that saw him enjoy a long and illustrious international calling as an economist and diplomat.

After earning his bachelor's degree at CU, he added a master's from Colorado, and later another from Harvard. He began his international career serving as a U.S. diplomat in Pakistan and Liberia, then worked as an international economist with the U.S. State Department in the late 1950s before becoming an economic counselor in the American embassy in Bonn, Germany.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon appointed him as ambassador to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Three years later, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as ambassador to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) — and in that role, he was credited with helping lay the groundwork for the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

"As a diplomat he met with the greatest names on the world stage of all times, like Henry Kissinger, Seretse Kama, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter and many more," Bolen-Nieland said. "Most fascinating was his staunch position as an advocate for freedom, democracy, peace and good will for all people of all nations."

A member of the CU Athletic Hall of Fame, Bolen was steered to Boulder by former Buff Gil Cruter, another CU Hall of Famer. Cruter, a two-time All-American, NCAA champion and world record holder in the high jump, helped convince Bolen to attend CU and compete for legendary Buffs coach Frank Potts.

Bolen has always maintained close ties with CU. He has had a scholarship to CU named in his honor, awarded to students who want to pursue global leadership positions and are also Olympian candidates. Along with his Hall of Fame induction in 2000, his other honors include the Distinguished Alumni Service Award (1983), the CU Alumnus of the Century Award (1977), the U.S. Department of Commerce Award of Sustained Superior Performance (1974) and CU's Norlin Distinguished Alumni Award (1969).

He credits his athletic career with opening the doors to his professional life, in particular his Olympic experience.

When Bolen arrived in London for the 1948 Olympics, the city was still recovering from the devastation of World War II.

But, his daughter said, "It was in London that he felt that the Olympics would be the perfect platform for promoting international relations, peace among nations and freedom. He says it was during the Olympics that this idea of becoming a global ambassador of freedom and democracy was born."

In 2013, Bolen appeared at a CU Business School awards ceremony.

"In thinking about my days as the first Olympian here at the university, I believe, athletically, that a curtain of opportunity was lifted and the windows of CU were opened to the world," he said.

Indeed, since Bolen's competition in London, the number of CU Olympians has surpassed 100.

Bolen also returned to Boulder in 2016 as a special guest for the Bolder Boulder.

"There are two positions that I've had that nobody can take away from me," Bolen said at the time. "I'm an Olympian, and I'm an ambassador. I believe I contributed a great deal to my country."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu