Category: Track And Field

Where does Texas ranked among schools that won Olympic medals?

Texas Longhorns rank in the top three of schools that produced the most medals from the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

A significant portion of the US Olympic team’s talent pool comes from the collegiate athletics system, which produces a large number of current and former Olympians. Roughly three-quarters of American Olympians in Paris participated in collegiate competitions. This demonstrates the value of collegiate athletics in producing elite athletes, and the University of Texas was a major resource for the United States and even other countries competing in the Summer Olympics.

Let’s look at where the Texas Longhorns ranked among other schools in terms of the amount of Olympic medals won at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Three schools tied at number 11. The University of Georgia, Arizona State, and Notre Dame all had former and current athletes earn 10 Olympic medals each.

Then three schools tied at number 8. The University of Kentucky, the University of Florida, and Lousiana State University.

Now here is a look at the top seven schools that produced the most Olympic athletes who won medals at the Paris Summer Games.

No. 7 UCLA Bruins

According to ncaa.com

GOLD: Jordan Chiles (gymnastics), Jrue Holiday (basketball)

SILVER: Bronte Halligan and Sienna Green (water polo)

BRONZE: Micah Ma’a (volleyball), Garrett Muagututia (volleyball), Chase Dodd (water polo), Ryder Dodd (water polo), and Max Irving (water polo)

No.6 Penn State Nittany Lions

According to psucollegian.com, Penn State did very well in these Summer Olympic games.

Penn State had a school-record 30 athletes participate in the Olympics, including 22 first-time Olympians. The Nittany Lions had the third-most athletes represented in the Big Ten and tied for the fourth-most nationally.

From July 26 to Aug. 11, Penn State athletes won 13 medals. There were two gold, three silver and eight bronze medals. The successful athletes represented the United States, Germany and Poland.

No. 5 USC Trojans

The University of Southern California not only had former and current athletes medals but they had six athletes bring home gold medals. Five of those gold medals were from track and field.

The Trojans also brought home silver in bronze medals in sports such as Water Polo and men’s volleyball.

No. 4 Virginia Caviliers

Saying that the University of Virginia did very well in swimming events in these past Summer Olympic Games is an understatement.

Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh won two gold and two silver medals each as they both had excellent performances in these Summer Olympic games.

No. 3 Texas Longhorns

The University of Texas’s former and current athletes did amazing in the Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Some of the more famous former Longhorns brought home gold medals such as Kevin Durant for Team USA basketball and Scottie Scheffler for USA gold. However, other athletes earned gold medals for the Longhorns such as Tara Davis-Woodhall, Ryan Crouser, and Julien Alfred in track and field events as well as Hubert Kos in swimming.

The Longhorns did well in the swimming pool as did Kos, with Carson Foster, Erin Gemmell, Luke Hobson, and Drew Kibler all earning silver medals. Chiaka Ogbogu also earned a silver medal as part of the USA women’s volleyball team.

Alfred as well as getting a gold medal, also brought home a silver medal from her outstanding performance on the track. She set a new national record in the 100-meter final and then, in the 200-meter, she took home a silver.

Other former and current Longhorn Olympians that brought home an Olympic medal are Caspar Corbeau, Foster, and Hobson who all earned a bronze medal in swimming.

No. 2 California Golden Bears

According to ESPN, Cal just edged out Texas by earning one more medal but the Longhorns had more gold and silver medals overall. However, Cal via their official X account (formerly Twitter) claims to have earned a total of 23 medals.

Either way according to what account and or website you want to believe, Cal is ranked second in schools with athletes who won the most medals.

No. 1 Stanford Cardinals

By far, Stanford is the school that had the most athletes earn a medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Stanford brought in 12 gold and 14 silver medals as well as 13 bronze medals from these past Summer Olympics. They are without a doubt the number one university that produced athletes that won the most Olympic medals in the Paris Summer Games.

LSU’s Vernon Norwood wins gold, sets Olympic record in men’s 4×400-meter

Vernon Norwood won his second career gold medal on Saturday.

Former LSU track star Vernon Norwood won his second career Olympic gold medal on Saturday as part of the United States men’s 4×400-meter relay team.

Norwood was the second leg in the race, overcoming an early deficit against Botswana as he passed the 400-meter silver medalist and gave the U.S. a lead with a 43.30-second split.

The United States ultimately finished the race with a time of 2:54.43, setting an Olympic record in the process.

It was Norwood’s second medal overall in Paris as he won the silver in the mixed 4×400-meter. He previously earned bronze in that event in Tokyo, where he also won gold in the men’s 4×400-meter.

With his second gold medal, Norwood has tied pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis for the most golds in LSU track and field history.

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Sha’Carri Richardson anchors Team USA in 4×100 meter, wins 1st gold medal

Sha’Carri Richardson won her first Olympic gold on Friday while anchoring Team USA in the women’s 4×100-meter relay.

After a disappointing finish in the women’s 100-meter final in which former LSU sprinter [autotag]Sha’Carri Richardson[/autotag] was upset as the favorite and earned silver, she has finally picked up her first Olympic gold medal.

Richardson anchored the United States 4×100-meter relay team, finishing with a 10.09-second split and enough of an advantage to look over her shoulder at the other competitors before crossing the finish line and earning gold for her team and country.

That marks two Olympic medals in Paris for Richardson, who is making her debut in the Games. She was expected to be a favorite in the sprinting events in Tokyo in 2021, but she was ultimately unable to compete after serving a suspension for a failed drug test for cannabis.

Now, Richardson has her Olympic redemption after impressive showings in her two events.

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Former LSU sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson wins heat in Olympic debut

Sha’Carri Richardson’s Olympic debut was worth the wait.

Former superstar LSU sprinter [autotag]Sha’Carri Richardson[/autotag] made her long-awaited Olympic debut in Paris on Friday morning, and the performance was worth the wait.

Richardson put in a show, winning her qualifying heat with a blazing 10.94 second time in the women’s 100-meter. With that showing, she punched her ticket to the semifinals, which will be held on Saturday.

“To be at the Olympics is a phenomenal feeling, to be an athlete here, competing with the energy, with a great appreciation for track and field,” Richardson said in an interview with NBC after the race. “Great support to be a track and field athlete. I’m super excited and eager to compete on the Olympic stage.”

Richardson qualified for the women’s 100-meter in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but she was ultimately disqualified following a failed drug test for marijuana. Her suspension was lifted before the end of the Games, but she ultimately did not participate.

Now, the 24-year-old is hoping to capture a medal in her top event this time around.

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Duke track and field star Simen Guttormsen makes Norwegian Olympic team

Simen Guttormsen, who recently won the ACC men’s pole vault title, will compete in Paris this summer under the Norwegian flag.

Simen Guttormsen has already had a phenomenal year in 2024, but his best accomplishment yet came on Wednesday.

Guttormsen qualified for the Norwegian Olympic team in the men’s pole vault, meaning he will compete in Paris this summer at the world’s largest sporting event.

The European star spent the past four seasons with Princeton before transferring to Durham, and he took the ACC by storm as a graduate student. He took home the gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in men’s pole vault, setting a program record in the process at 5.65 meters.

He finished third in the same event at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships last month, the highest finish in school history, en route to earning First Team All-American honors.

He and fellow Blue Devil Gemma Tutton made history at the conference’s outdoor championships as Duke took home gold in the men’s and women’s pole vault in the same year for the first time ever.