The motto of “What Starts Here, Changes The World” is plastered all around the Forty Acres. Whether it be in academia or athletics, Longhorns will excel in their respective fields.
Thirty former and current Longhorns were sent to Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, representing 16 different nations and accumulating 16 total medals.
Playing in his fourth-straight Olympics, Kevin Durant remained golden, capturing his fourth Olympic gold medal, the most in Team USA basketball history. In Paris, Durant officially became the all-time scorer in Team USA basketball history, passing Lisa Leslie.
Ranked No. 1 in the world on the PGA Tour and a two-time Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler has another accolade to add to his growing collection. Scheffler cemented his title of best in the world, shooting 62 and winning gold for Team USA in the men’s golf tournament.
Coming into Paris, Saint Lucia had never won a medal in their Olympic history dating back to 1996. Former Longhorn Julien Alfred and Saint Lucia will leave Paris with two. Alfred became an Olympic sensation, blistering onto the international scene after winning gold in the women’s 100-meter and silver in the women’s 200-meter.
Ryan Crouser has dominated the shot put event since his first Olympics in Rio 2016. He took gold after shooting 22.90 meters, just .66 meters shy of his personal best and world record. Adding to his third gold medal for Team USA, Crouser became the first athlete to win the event three straight times.
Competing in his first Olympics, the NCAA decathlon record holder Leo Neugebauer led for a majority of the 10 events, but fell short to Norway’s Markus Rooth in the final two, earning a silver medal for Germany. Neugebauer became the first German since Frank Busemann in 1996 to place in the event.
After finishing in sixth place in the women’s long jump in Tokyo, Tara Davis-Woodhall went for gold in her second Olympic appearance for Team USA, capturing her first medal off of a massive 7.10-meter jump. Davis-Woodhall went viral after embracing her husband after the momentous victory.
Returning for her second-straight Olympics, Chiaka Ogbogu and the rest of Team USA women’s volleyball were unable to replicate the gold medal success that they found in Tokyo. In Paris, Ogbogu and Team USA fell to Italy in the gold medal game, earning silver.
Before ever putting on a swim cap for the Longhorns, junior Hubert Kós, a recent transfer from Arizona State, will come to Austin this fall with a medal around his neck. Representing Hungary, Kós won gold in the men’s 200-meter backstroke.
After failing to advance in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke heats in the 2020 Olympics, Caspar Corbeau entered Paris with more experience for his second Olympic Games. Representing the Netherlands, Corbeau took bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke for his first Olympic medal.
The youngest Longhorn medalist, sophomore Erin Gemmell, already has an impressive trophy case after her freshman season with the Longhorns women’s swimming and diving team. Now, before she turns 20, she becomes a silver medalist in her first Olympics, helping Team USA in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
In the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Team USA fielded three Longhorns. Former Longhorns Carson Foster and Drew Kibler along with current senior Luke Hobson took silver for the United States.
Individually, Foster won bronze in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. While in the men’s 200-meter freestyle, Hobson brought home bronze, adding to their medal count.
