School-Record 22 UK Athletes Competing in Olympics

A school-record 22 University of Kentucky student-athletes, alumni and coaches will represent seven countries across six sports at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad to be held in France from through Aug. 11.

Eight Wildcats will compete in 5×5 basketball, seven Wildcats will compete in athletics (track and field), two in fencing, one in 3×3 basketball, one in volleyball and one in diving.

One UK alumna and one current UK assistant coach will serve as national team assistant coaches at the Games.

Seventeen of those Olympians competed collegiately for Kentucky. Of the four who competed collegiately elsewhere, two serve on UK Athletics staffs and two are currently UK College of Medicine students.

Of UK’s 22 Olympians, seven of them have won a combined nine medals in previous Olympic Games.

The Opening Ceremonies will take place on July 26 with multiple Wildcats set to participate in the Parade of Nations, highlighted by reigning 100m hurdles Olympic Gold Medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (UK Class of 2017) serving as flag bearer for Puerto Rico.

Big Blue Nation can follow all the Wildcats throughout the Olympic Games at the UKathletics.com Olympics HQ page.

Below are the 2024 Olympians with connections to Kentucky. More info on each Olympian is at the bottom of this page.

The 22 Olympians with UK connections passed the previous school record – 20 – for competitors and coaches who were part of the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo 2021 (officially the 2020 Olympics). The previous school record was nine, set in 1948, when all nine were associated with the UK men’s basketball team.

Over the years, UK athletes have represented 16 countries. This year’s event will mark the first time that UK has had an athlete represent South Sudan.

The Paris Games will mark the fifth consecutive Olympiad featuring a UK men’s basketball player, following gold-medal winners Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo and Keldon Johnson (2020), DeMarcus Cousins (2016), Anthony Davis (2012) and Tayshaun Prince (2008).

Kentucky has the largest contingent on Team USA Basketball with three Wildcats on Men’s Basketball 5×5 and one on Women’s 3×3.

Kentucky women’s basketball has had an alumna at each of the last two Olympic Games (Jennifer O’Neill competed at the Tokyo Games for Puerto Rico).

Two Wildcats in track and field/athletics are making their third appearance, as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Sydney McLaughlin each competed in Rio and Tokyo, and each are defending gold medals from Tokyo.

UK’s status as “Hurdle U” will be on full display during the athletics (track and field) competition. The Wildcats have the reigning Olympic Record holders in both the 100m hurdles (Camacho-Quinn) and 400m hurdles (McLaughlin-Levrone). McLaughlin-Levrone also has the 400m world record. Masai Russell (UK Class of 2023) is the current U.S. 100m hurdles champion and volunteer assistant coach Devynne Charlton is current World Indoor and Bahamas Champion.

Daniel Roberts (UK 2016-2019) is competing in his second consecutive Olympic Games in the 110m hurdles.

This will mark the eighth consecutive Olympiad featuring a Wildcat in track and field dating to Tim Harden in 1996.

Two athletes currently associated with the University, who have not been part of the varsity athletics program, will compete at the games.  Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt, who are students at the UK College of Medicine, have competed in multiple Olympics in fencing.

Kiefer won women’s foil individual gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Meinhardt earned the bronze medal in men’s foil in 2016 and team foil in Tokyo.

Ashley Kovacs, who competed as a thrower on the UK Track and Field Team from 2007-10, is the USA Athletics/Track and Field team’s Women’s Throws Coach.

UK Diving Coach Ted Hautau coaches Vincent and is the South Africa Diving Team Coach.

Kentucky Director of Track and Tield/Cross Country Head Coach Lonnie Greene coaches Russell and Charlton.

Track and Field Freshman Alexander Chukwukelu was selected for Team Nigeria in the 110m hurdles after winning the Nigerian Championships (Olympic Trials), but will not compete at the games due to injury.