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Florida Gators Add More Hardware in Paris Olympics

Entering Sunday’s competition, the Florida Gators could be considered one of the top-15 countries at the 2024 Paris Olympics with seven total medals.

Cam Parker

Former Florida Gators star Bobby Finke (USA) adds to the staggering medal total won by former or current Gators.
Former Florida Gators star Bobby Finke (USA) adds to the staggering medal total won by former or current Gators. / Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports
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Entering Sunday’s competition, the Florida Gators could be considered one of the top-15 countries at the 2024 Paris Olympics with seven total medals, three of which came after a strong Saturday. 

That number on Sunday grew once again with two medals won by Gators. 

Swimmer Bobby Finke (USA) not only won his second-straight gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, he did so in record-breaking fashion. With a time of 14:30.67, Finke set a new world record to win his second medal of this year’s games and third-career Olympic gold medal. 

Finke previously won silver in the 800-meter freestyle. His gold medal won on Sunday is the third gold medal won by Gators this year. 

Meanwhile, Caeleb Dressel (USA) won his third medal of this year’s games and first-career non-gold medal (10th overall) in the Olympics as part of the silver medal-winning 4x100-meter medley relay. 

Swimming the butterfly, Dressel’s individual swim time of 49.41 seconds was the fastest amongst butterfly swimmers in the finals and had shot the United States into a top-two position heading into the final swim. 

China upset the U.S. for the gold medal with an overall swim time of 3:27.46, while the U.S. finished with a time of 3:28.01. The U.S. had previously won the gold medal in this event at every single Olympics it had participated in since its inception in 1960. Due to the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games, the U.S. did not medal in the event.

At the time of writing, the University of Florida had a total of nine medals won by current and former athletes, which would rank No. 12 worldwide. 

Gators’ Medals

Caeleb Dressel (USA): 4x100-meter freestyle relay (gold), mixed 4x100-meter medley relay (gold), 4x100-meter medley relay (silver)

Bobby Finke (USA): 800-meter freestyle (silver), 1500-meter freestyle (gold)

Josh Liendo (CAN): 100-meter butterfly (silver)

Jasmine Moore (USA): Triple jump (bronze)

Kieran Smith (USA): 4x200-meter freestyle relay (silver)

Emma Weyant (USA): 400-meter individual medley (bronze)

World Medal Count Rankings 

Rankings are by total medals won at the time of writing. 

  1. United States: 71 (19 gold, 26 silver, 26 bronze)
  2. China: 45 (19 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze)
  3. France: 44 (12 gold, 14 silver, 18 bronze)
  4. Great Britain: 37 (10 gold, 12 silver, 15 bronze)
  5. Australia: 31 (12 gold, 11 silver, 8 bronze)
  6. South Korea: 24 (10 gold, 7 silver, 7 bronze), Japan: 24 (9 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze)
  7. Italy: 22 (7 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze)
  8. Canada: 17 (5 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze)
  9. Netherlands: 15 (6 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze)
  10. Germany: 12 (5 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze)
  11. Brazil: 10 (1 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze)
  12. University of Florida: 9 (3 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze)
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Cam Parker

CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a contributing writer at AllGators.com of FanNation-Sports Illustrated and is a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester.

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