LEXINGTON, Ky. — Three years ago, Kentucky Wildcats athletes, both current and former, made a significant impact by securing 10 medals at the Tokyo Olympics. This was a proud moment in the history of University of Kentucky sports.
Fast forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where ex-Cats sports stars raised the bar even higher by surpassing their previous medal count from Tokyo.
In Paris, former Kentucky Wildcats athletes collectively won 11 medals, including seven gold medals – matching the gold medal count from Tokyo.
With a total of 21 Olympics medals, including 14 golds, ex-Cats have continued to shine in the past two Summer Games.
(It’s worth noting that the two gold medals won in foil fencing in Paris, as well as the one gold medal claimed in Tokyo by University of Kentucky medical school student Lee Kiefer, are not included in my count).
People are also reading…
For instance, Kiefer competed as a collegiate fencer for Notre Dame and not for UK, where she won four NCAA championships since UK does not have fencing as a varsity sport.
Among the Kentucky products who won Olympic medals in Paris is Yared Nuguse, a Manual High School alumnus who took bronze in the men’s 1,500-meter run.
The recruitment of former Kentucky head coaches Edrick Floreal (track and field) and John Calipari (basketball) played a significant role in UK’s success at the Olympics.
Notably, the performance of former Kentucky hurdlers in the Olympics women’s hurdles races has been remarkable, with Masai Russell and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone winning gold in Paris.
In Tokyo, it was McLaughlin-Levrone and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who claimed gold in the hurdles races. The trend continued in Paris with Russell and Camacho-Quinn’s impressive performances.
In addition, ex-Kentucky star Daniel Roberts won a silver medal in the men’s 110-meter hurdles in Paris, bringing the total number of Olympic medals won by former UK hurdlers to seven.
In France, McLaughlin-Levrone and Alexis Holmes, both former UK stars, were part of Team USA’s gold medal-winning 4-by-400 relay team, setting an American record in the process.
Other former Kentucky stars, such as Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, and Anthony Davis, contributed to Team USA’s gold medal victory in men’s basketball in Paris.
Booker, in particular, was praised by head coach Steve Kerr for his performance, while Davis made significant contributions on both ends of the court.
Overall, former Kentucky players have excelled in various Olympic events, including volleyball and 3-on-3 basketball, adding to the already impressive legacy of UK athletes at the international level.
Despite recent setbacks in other areas of Kentucky Athletics, the success of ex-Cats in the Olympics has brought a much-needed sense of pride and positivity to the university community.
