Image Credit: DBM
Gator Nation made itself known at the 2024 Paris Olympics over the last few weeks with the Florida Gators winning 12 total medals, including four golds, and ultimately finishing 16th on the Olympic medal table. Yes, as many Gators won medals as athletes representing the nation of Sweden.
While it was not Florida’s best performance at a Summer Games — that came three years ago at the 2020 London Olympics when UF finished 11th in the medal count — the Gators nevertheless made themselves, their families and their nations proud.
Caeleb Dressel (United States) became the second-most decorated men’s swimmer in American history — behind only Michael Phelps — after concluding his third Olympics. Dressel brought him two additional gold medals swimming legs in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×100-meter mixed medley relay, and he added the first non-gold of his career winning silver in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Shockingly, as the reigning champion in the 100-meter butterfly and 50-meter freestyle, Dressel did not medal in either individual event; he failed to qualify out of the semifinals in the fly and finished sixth in the free, 0.05 seconds out of podium position in the latter. He has now amassed 10 Olympic medals in his career, including nine golds and one silver. Whether he will attempt to give it one more go at age 31 when the 2028 Los Angeles Games come around remains to be seen.
Bobby Finke (United States) registered one of the most exciting gold medal victories of the entire Olympics not only winning the 1500-meter freestyle to defend his gold from 2020 but breaking a 12-year-old world record in the process. Finke saved 120 years of American swimming history as the lone male swimmer to win an individual gold in the 2024 Olympics; that had happened in every Summer Games dating back to 1904. Florida head swimming coach Anthony Nesty, who also led Team USA at these Olympics, broke down in tears watching from the stands. Having also won the 800-meter freestyle in London, Finke was not as successful defending that gold medal; however, he still placed second for a silver and nearly came from behind to win over the final 50 meters. Finke, 24, will be back in 2028.
Grant Holloway (United States) atoned for three years of disappointment taking gold in the 110-meter hurdles. A three-time world champion who won silver in 2020, Holloway blew away the field at each stage and ultimately won gold by a full tenth of a second. The 26-year-old athlete expected to compete in Los Angeles.
Kieran Smith (United States), the reigning bronze medalist in the 400-meter freestyle who earned the top time at the U.S. Swimming Trials, did not qualify out of heats in a surprising turn of events. However, he played a crucial role on the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team. Swimming the anchor leg, he clinched a silver medal for the Americans.
Josh Liendo (Canada) was not performing up to expectation in some of his early races; however, he turned on the heat in his signature event, the 100-meter butterfly. Liendo led for the majority of the race but fell off over the final 15 meters, finishing 0.09 seconds behind the gold medal winner to claim silver, the first medal what should be a long Olympic career for the 21-year-old.
Jasmine Moore (United States), one year after foregoing her remaining collegiate eligibility to turn professional, captured not one but two bronze medals in Paris. The 23-year-old Texan became the first American woman to medal in the triple jump — the only jump event in which the United States has never medaled — before similarly finishing third in the long jump. Moore was actually in silver medal position during the latter event until the final round of jumping when she was edged by 0.02 meters. She is the first American woman in history to medal in both events during the same Olympics, and a return effort for Los Angeles is almost assured.
Emma Weyant (United States) won her second straight Olympic medal grabbing bronze in the 400-meter individual medley after claiming silver in the event three years ago. The 22-year-old, who has already stated her intent to prepare for Los Angeles, became one of only three women in the history of the 400m IM to win two medals in the event.
Those seven Gators may have been responsible for all the medals, but they were not the only ones putting in a supreme effort during the Summer Games. Eight other athletes from Florida (not already mentioned) competed in Olympic finals: Julie Brousseau (Canada — 4th in 4×200-meter freestyle relay), Anna Hall (United States — 5th in heptathlon), Grace Stark (United States — 5th in 100-meter hurdles), Hakim Sani Brown (Japan — 5th in 4×100-meter relay), Reheem Hayles (Jamaica — 5th in 4×400-meter mixed relay), Joseph Fahnbulleh (Liberia — 7th in 200 meters), Parker Valby (United States — 11th in 10000 meters), Thomas Mardal (Norway– 11th in hammer throw). Many others competed in team (men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer) and individual (men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s marathon, women’s marathon) competitions outside of swimming and track & field events.
Check out the complete Florida Gators roster and results from every athlete during the Olympics.
Beyond those who graduated and/or ended their education at UF, there were some other representatives of Florida who made waves in Paris.
Most notable among them was Katie Ledecky (United States), who swam for Stanford but has since joined Florida as a volunteer assistant under Nesty. Ledecky set a new Olympic record winning her second straight 1500-meter freestyle — an event in which she owns the 20 fastest times ever recorded — and became the first female Olympian in history to win four gold medals in the same individual event across any sport when she again became champion in the 800-meter freestyle. She is the seventh athlete and fifth American to ever accomplish that feat. Ledecky also won silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 400-meter freestyle. She has now won the most Olympic gold medals by a female swimmer (nine) and the most medals by a female swimmer or American woman (14).
It did not go well early for the Americans in 3×3 Basketball, but while the men’s team struggled through the end of the Olymipcs, the women’s side turned it around. Gators assistant coach Rhyne Howard (United States), who plays for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, starred down the stretch for the Americans and ultimately helped lead the team to a bronze medal over Canada.
