VILLANOVA, Pa. - As a countdown ends, a celebration begins. For the past two months, Villanova counted down the days to the 2016 Olympics by featuring a different one of the university's all-time Olympians each day. The countdown reaches its culmination today, as Villanova celebrates the newest chapter of its Olympic story on the day that the opening ceremonies for the Rio Olympics are held in front of a worldwide audience. Australian runners Sam McEntee and Patrick Tiernan will represent their country in the 5000 meters at the Olympics, while American basketball player Kyle Lowry will play for Team USA in Rio. Jamaican sprinter Monique Morgan was among the athletes named to her country's initial Olympic squad.

"It's a surreal feeling making the Olympic team," Tiernan said when the Australia Olympic team as announced. "I don't think it is quite sunk in yet. It's something you dream of as a kid, so I'm over the moon. I've worked hard over the last 12 months to get here, so as excited as I am, I'm also just very relieved. I knew it was something that I could accomplish, so to have the selection process out of the way is a weight off my shoulders. Next goal for me is to make the Olympic final, so that's the focus."

"It certainly means a lot to me, and everyone who has been a part of the process," McEntee said following the announcement of the Australia team. "Representing Australia has always been a goal of mine since I started running competitively about eight years ago. For me, it's more than representing Australia, as more than half of my time as an athlete to date was spent at Villanova. I am honored to be able to represent both my country and Villanova, a great program and an even greater community that has given me so much."

There has been at least one Villanovan at every Summer Olympics since 1948. With the addition of this year's athletes to the university's all-time list, there have now been 65 Olympians from the university. As a group, they have represented 16 countries and four continents while competing in nine different sports. The tradition started more than a century ago with the 1908 Olympics in London and has continued to the present day. There have been 14 medal winners along the way, including nine golds and five silver medals. Statistics aside, the stories and memories of each Olympian who had the chance to represent their country are countless.

Each of Villanova's Olympians has had their own unique story over the years, and that holds true for McEntee, Tiernan and Lowry. All are making their Olympics debut in Rio. Continue reading for a capsule of each athlete, including their schedule of competition while in Rio.

Kyle Lowry (UNITED STATES) ââ'¬" BASKETBALL

Schedule: Team USA is part of Group A and will play five games in a round-robin format against the other teams in its group. During pool play, the United States will take on China on August 6 (6 p.m. Eastern time), Venezuela on August 8 (6 p.m.), Australia on August 10 (6 p.m.), Serbia on August 12 (6 p.m.) and France on August 14 (1:15 p.m.). Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals on August 17, while the semifinals are scheduled for August 19 and the medal games on August 21.

Bio: Lowry is making his USA Basketball debut this summer and was named to the Olympic team on June 27. He started two of the team's five games during a pre-Olympic tour and led the team with 5.0 assists per game on the tour. Lowry also averaged 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest in the five games.

A 10-year NBA veteran, Lowry played two seasons at Villanova (2004-05 and 2005-06) before declaring for the NBA Draft. He was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, 24th overall, of the 2006 draft. Lowry played parts of three seasons for both the Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets before being dealt to the Toronto Raptors in July 2012. In four seasons with the Raptors, he has become the team's all-time leader in assists and triple-doubles, while also setting the team's single-season record for made three-pointers in 2015-16.

In all, Lowry has played in 653 career games in the NBA with 417 starts. He has averaged 13.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per contest and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three-point range. He has also appeared in 44 postseason games, with 31 starts. Lowry had one of his best all-around seasons in 2015-16, playing 77 games for the Raptors and averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.1 steals per contest. He ranked 12th in the NBA in assists and fourth in steals, while also shooting a career-best 38.8 percent on three-pointers.

Lowry earned All-NBA third team honors for the 2015-16 season, and he has started for the Eastern Conference in each of the last two NBA All-Star Games. In those two All-Star appearances, he has totaled 24 points, eight rebounds, 18 assists and six steals. He participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge in 2015 and in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest in 2016. In 2014, he was presented with the George Gross Award as the Toronto Sun Sportsman of the Year.

Villanova posted a combined 52-13 (.800) record in Lowry's two years playing for the Wildcats, and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2005 and the Elite Eight in 2006. Despite missing the first seven games of his freshman year while recovering from a torn ACL, Lowry was named the Philadelphia Big 5 Rookie of the Year and to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as a freshman. As a sophomore, Lowry emerged as one of the team's top players and averaged 11.0 points per contest while leading the team with 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He earned second team All-BIG EAST honors and was named to the All-Big 5 first team. He was also selected as one of 16 finalists for the Cousy Award. In his 57 collegiate games, Lowry averaged 9.5 points per game while tallying 219 rebounds, 171 assists and 108 steals.

A local product prior to coming to the Wildcats, Lowry was born in Philadelphia and attended Cardinal Dougherty High School. He was named the 2004 Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year after averaging 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals per game as a senior.

Sam McEntee (AUSTRALIA) ââ'¬" ATHLETICS (5000 METERS)

Schedule: The first round of the men's 5000 meters in Rio consists of two heats on Wednesday, August 17 at 9:05 a.m. and 9:26 a.m. Eastern time. The final takes place on Saturday, August 20 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Bio: A 2015 Villanova graduate, McEntee won the 5000 meters at the Australian Athletics Championships in March. That meet served as the country's Olympic trials, and McEntee backed up his win on May 1 in Palo Alto, Calif. when he ran a time of 13:20.72 to achieve the Olympic standard during a meet at Stanford. That time made McEntee and Olympic qualifier, and he was formally named to his country's Olympic team when Australia announced its track & field squad on July 13.

McEntee is one of 39 sub-four minute milers in Villanova history, and during his collegiate career was a six-time All-American, four-time BIG EAST champion and 12-time All-BIG EAST performer spanning the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons. He was both a Penn Relays and a Millrose Games champion, and his personal best time of 3:36.81 in the 1500 meters was the 10th fastest time in the history at the time of that race (May 14, 2012 at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet). McEntee had an equally impressive list of academic accomplishments while at Villanova and was selected as the 2014-15 BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for all sports. He was also a seven-time selection to national All-Academic Teams by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

During his sophomore season of indoor track & field eligibility, McEntee ran the first sub-four minute mile of his career when he posted a time of 3:57.86 at the Penn State National on January 28, 2012. Less than a month later he anchored the Wildcats to a Millrose Games title in the distance medley relay, and he went on to earn first team All-America honors in the Mile with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships. McEntee was a two-time All-American in the distance medley relay and a three-time BIG EAST champion indoors. He won the 3000 meters in consecutive years in 2013 and 2014, in addition to running the third leg of the 4x800 meter relay in 2012.

McEntee was a two-time qualifier for the outdoor NCAA Championships in the 1500 meters, earning first team All-America honors in 2013 and second team recognition in 2012. He was the BIG EAST champion in the 5000 meters in 2012 and was a part of the Villanova team which won a Championship of America title in the 4xMile relay at the Penn Relays in 2015. As a cross country runner, McEntee was a 2013 All-American and earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region accolades four straight years.

In addition to being named the BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014-15, McEntee was also Villanova's male winner of an institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The two honors came with a combined $6,000 which McEntee could apply to graduate studies. He was also named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team five straight years during his time on campus.

Patrick Tiernan (AUSTRALIA) ââ'¬" ATHLETICS (5000 METERS)

Schedule: The first round of the men's 5000 meters in Rio consists of two heats on Wednesday, August 17 at 9:05 a.m. and 9:26 a.m. Eastern time. The final takes place on Saturday, August 20 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Bio: It was a long and winding road that led Tiernan to being named to the Australia Olympic team. He finished fourth in the 5000 meters at the country's Olympic trials and attempted to obtain the Olympic standard of 13:25.0 in the same meet at Stanford that McEntee competed in. Tiernan posted a time of 13:25.78 in the race at Stanford, then won a BIG EAST title in the 5000 meters and came in third at the NCAA Championships over the next six weeks. He went to Europe following the end of the collegiate season and achieved the Olympic standard with a time of 13:20.88 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland on June 29. There was still one more step in the process, as Tiernan had to outduel countryman Collis Birmingham in a race in Solihull, England on July 9 for the final spot on the Australia team.

Tiernan has completed his collegiate eligibility in indoor and outdoor track & field but will be returning to campus this fall for his final season of cross country. He is set to become the first Villanova student-athlete to compete in the Olympics while still in school since American swimmer Maddy Crippen competed at the 2000 Olympics. There has not been a track & field athlete from the Wildcats to achieve this distinction since Vicki Huber in 1988.

Few athletes have achieved a level of success across the three collegiate seasons that Tiernan has reached during his time at Villanova. He is a seven-time All-American and a 10-time BIG EAST champion for the Wildcats, as well as a Penn Relays champion and an indoor school record holder. Tiernan is the only men's runner in BIG EAST history to win three straight conference cross country titles, and is one of two men's cross country runners in school history to be a three-time All-American. He was the runner up at the cross country NCAA Championships last season and is also a two-time Mid-Atlantic Region individual champion.

Tiernan has won the last six BIG EAST titles in the 5000 meters, with three straight titles at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. His third place finish in the 5000 meters at the outdoor NCAA Championships this year was the best outdoor finish in any event for a Villanova runner in eight years. Tiernan also ran a leg on the Wildcats Championship of America winning 4xMile relay squad in 2015. During the indoor season, he was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the 2016 BIG EAST Championships after double wins in the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters. He was a first team All-American indoors in the 5000 meters in 2014, and during that season set the indoor school record with a time of 13:37.73 at the Iowa State Classic.

Earlier this year, Tiernan was Villanova's male recipient of a BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He was also was the BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award winner for cross country in 2015-16 after winning the award for outdoor track & field one year earlier. Tiernan has also been named to both the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and the BIG EAST All-Academic Team during his career. He was the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Cross Country Performer of the Year in 2015.