As the eyes of the world turn to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, University of Kentucky fans may spy many students, alumni and staff competing for their home countries.
The opening ceremony kicks off the Olympic Games today, Friday, July 26. Billions of people will tune in to the 19 days of competition and more than 750 sessions before the games conclude on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Twenty-two current and former º£½Ç½ûÇø students, athletes and staff can be seen competing in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, track and field, diving and fencing.
Out of the 22, two are current students competing for Team USA — and . Both are in the and the married couple will return to finish their medical training next summer.
Kiefer and Meinhardt are not part of the varsity athletics program in º£½Ç½ûÇø Athletics but have competed in multiple Olympics in fencing and will compete again this year. Kiefer, a Lexington native and Paul Laurence Dunbar High School alumna, is competing in her fourth Olympics in the discipline of foil fencing. Kiefer captured the gold medal in 2020 becoming the .
Meinhardt will be representing the U.S. in his fifth Olympics. Meinhardt won his as part of Team USA in 2020.
Two º£½Ç½ûÇø assistant coaches will also be competing at the Paris Olympics. , a volunteer assistant coach for º£½Ç½ûÇø’s track and field team, will run the 100-meter hurdles for the Bahamas. An alumna of Purdue University, she won an NCAA silver medal in 100-meter hurdles and NCAA silver and bronze medals in the 60-meter hurdles. , an assistant coach for º£½Ç½ûÇø Swim and Dive and University of South Carolina alumna, will represent South Africa in the women’s 3-meter springboard.
Ted Hautau, º£½Ç½ûÇø Dive coach, will also be in attendance of the Paris Olympics as a dive coach for South Africa.
The º£½Ç½ûÇø alumni competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics are:
- USA Basketball 5 on 5 (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2016-17 season);
- Nigeria Basketball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2023);
- , USA Basketball 5 on 5 (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2014-15 season);
- , Puerto Rico Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2016-18);
- USA Basketball 5 on 5 (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2011-12 season);
- , USA Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2014);
- , South Sudan Basketball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2016-2018 seasons);
- , Canada Basketball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2017-2018 season);
- , USA Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2022);
- , USA Basketball 3 on 3 (º£½Ç½ûÇø 22);
- , Team USA Track and Field women’s throws coach (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2009);
- Canada Basketball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2014-15 season);
- , USA Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2018);
- , Canada Basketball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2015-16 season);
- , USA Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2017-19),
- USA Track and Field (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2023);
- , USA Volleyball (º£½Ç½ûÇø 2021)
To cheer on your favorite Big Blue athletes, check television local listings for NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC, Olympic Channel, Telemundo and NBC Universo; online at NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app and streaming on Peacock.
The competition schedule for sports featuring º£½Ç½ûÇø athletes:
- Fencing: July 27 – Aug. 4
- Diving: July 27 – Aug. 10
- Men’s Basketball: July 27 – Aug. 11
- Women’s Volleyball: July 28 – Aug. 11
- Women’s Basketball 3x3: July 30 – Aug. 5
- Athletics (track and field): Aug. 1 – Aug. 11
You can find the full .
º£½Ç½ûÇø Athletics will be tracking how Wildcat athletes fare in the Olympic games. For the latest on all things º£½Ç½ûÇø Athletics, follow the Wildcats on , and @º£½Ç½ûÇøAthletics, .
Any of the Wildcats going home with medals will take a piece of Paris with them. The centerpiece of the contain a piece of the original iron of the Eiffel Tower.
º£½Ç½ûÇøNow will be following along as well and exploring the many connections between the Olympic host city and Kentucky — from the historic ties between the two places to the athletes competing in the games and what it takes to keep an Olympian at peak fitness.
With help from the many experts on º£½Ç½ûÇø’s campus, º£½Ç½ûÇøNow will explore other key topics related to hosting the Paris Games. You can follow along with our coverage on , and on º£½Ç½ûÇø’s social media channels @universityofky on , and .
You can follow the final legs of the Olympic torch relay ahead of the opening ceremonies and find all the information on the