Andrew Lawrence Donlin (born 9 October 1992) is an American professional handball player and a United States Air Force Captain. His nickname is Captain America.[1]
| Drew Donlin | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andrew Donlin in Space Force uniform | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Full name | Andrew Lawrence Donlin | |||||||||||||
| Born |
October 9, 1992 Plymouth, Minnesota, United States | |||||||||||||
| Height | 202 cm (6 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||
| Playing position | Line Player | |||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||
| Current club | Abanca Ademar León | |||||||||||||
| Number | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||
2011–2015 | USAFA Team Handball | |||||||||||||
| Senior clubs | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||
2016 | Knight Air | |||||||||||||
2017 | Revol | |||||||||||||
2017 | Knight Air | |||||||||||||
2018 | Los Angeles THC | |||||||||||||
2018–2019 | TSV Bayer Dormagen | |||||||||||||
2019 | Los Angeles THC | |||||||||||||
2019–2021 | Abanca Ademar León | |||||||||||||
2021- | San Francisco CalHeat | |||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||
2012 | Handball (Junior) | |||||||||||||
2016– | United States | |||||||||||||
2016– | Beach handball | |||||||||||||
| Title | ||||||||||||||
2018 | USA Open Division | Winner | ||||||||||||
2021 | NACHC Super Globe Qualifier | Winner | ||||||||||||
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High school edit
He played American football, basketball and baseball for the Wayzata High School.
College edit
He attend the United States Air Force Academy in 2011.
He attended at walk-on tryout for the football team they encouraged him that he should play handball. Later he joined the USAFA Team Handball.
In 2012 he played the 2019 IHF Trophy Tournament PATHF–North America Zone in Mexico City with the United States men's national junior handball team. They lost the small final 38–40 against Canada.
In 2014 he became top scorer with 27 goals at the 2014 USA Team Handball College Nationals - Men's Division. They won the bronze medal.
At the 2015 Summer Universiade the USAFA Team Handball club represented the national team. He was captain of the team. They had additionally one student from the Colorado State University.[2][3] They finished 13th out of 13 teams.
He finished the academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management.
Adult edit
In July 2015 after graduation he was assigned as Acquisition Program Manager at the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.
In 2016 he made his United States men's national handball team debut at the 2016 Pan American Men's Handball Championship. The team reached finished in 8th place out of 12. His United States national beach handball team debut came the same year at the 2016 Beach Handball World Championships. This was the first World Championship appearance for the US and Donlin was the top scorer of the team.
At the 2018 Pan American Men's Beach Handball Championship he was the top scorer of the tournament and the team won the bronze medal.
He finished sixth in scoring at the 2018 Men's Beach Handball World Championships.
He played for the Los Angeles THC at the 2019 USA Team Handball Nationals - Men's Open Division, as they won the title.
In November 2018 he became a member of the United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program.
In December 2018 he played his first game for TSV Bayer Dormagen (DE).[4]
He played at the 2019 Pan American Games.
He played for the United States team that won the 2019 Nor.Ca. Men's Beach Handball Championship, which qualified them for the 2019 World Beach Games The team finished 5th at the 2019 IHF Emerging Nations Championship.
He played for the Los Angeles THC at the 2019 North American and the Caribbean Senior Club Championship (3rd) and 2019 USA Team Handball Nationals - Men's Elite Division (4th).
In August 2019 he joined CB Ademar León, a professional Liga ASOBAL club. He became the first American handball player to play in a European club competition when he played in the 2019–20 EHF Cup. Ademar León were eliminated in the group stage.
In 2020 he was awarded with the 2019 United States Air Force Athlete of the Year title.
In August 2021 he left the World Class Athlete Program and joined the newly formed United States Space Force as Program Manager, Special Programs in Los Angeles. Upon his return to the United States, he joined San Francisco CalHeat, the USA Team Handball reigning champion, and won the 2021 North American and Caribbean Senior Club Championship, a qualifying tournament for the IHF Men's Super Globe.
In 2024 he was awarded with the 2023 United States Air Force Athlete of the Year title for the second time after the 2019 title.[5]
Family edit
He is the oldest of four children and his sister, Colleen Donlin, is an NCAA Division I swimmer at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. In 2020 he extended his contract. The club doesn't pay him anything because he is paid via the World Class Athlete Program.[6]
Military edit
Ranks edit
| Rank | Date of Promotion | |
|---|---|---|
| Various | ||
| BCT Squadron Commander | July 2014 | |
 |
Squadron Commander | August 2014 |
 |
Second Lieutenant | May 2015 |
 |
First Lieutenant | May 2017 |
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Captain Air Force | May 2019 |
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Captain Space Force | August 2021 |
Awards and decorations edit
Awards as of 13 June 2023:[7]
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References edit
- ^ Dargel, Jorge (26 June 220). "Drew Donlin, el 'Capitán América' del Ademar León". Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ Godwin, Maurice (2015-07-07). "Michael Cavanaugh Leads Colorado-Based Team to Korea for World University Games". USA Team Handball. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ^ Cavanaugh, Mike (2015-07-17). "Michael Cavanaugh Leads Colorado-Based Team to Korea for World University Games Report". USA Team Handball. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ^ "Erfolgreiches Handball-Wochenende". TSV Bayer Dormagen. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ Aragon, Debbie (2 April 2024). "DAF announces 2023 athletes of the year". United States Air Force. Lackland Air Force Base. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Ademar Leon bindet Leistungsträger". handball world. 6 May 2020. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ Andrew Donlin (Photo). United States Department of the Air Force. 13 June 2023. Event occurs at 7:55. Archived from the original (jpg) on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
