Mississippi State Sending Eight Athletes, One Coach to Paris 2024 Olympics

The Bulldogs achieve a new school record for its number of Olympic competitors, breaking the previous top mark of seven (including one coach) in Tokyo 2020.

Mississippi State/Canada Track and Field Standout Marco Arop / Obtained from Mississippi State Track and Field's X/Twitter

After an extremely successful semester of sports, a school record eight Mississippi State Bulldog athletes are heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Additionally, track and field coach Chris Woods will be an assistant for Canada's team.

This record of Olympic competitors/coaches broke the previous top mark of seven (including one coach) in Tokyo 2020.

Mississippi State will represent seven countries in three different sports beginning on July 25. Here's what each Bulldog athlete/coach will be competing in this summer:

• Navasky Anderson – Jamaica – Track & Field (800m)
• Marco Arop – Canada – Track & Field (800m)
• Nuno Borges – Portugal – Tennis (Men's Singles, Men's Doubles)
• Lee Eppie – Botswana – Track & Field (4x400m Relay)
• Ilana Izquierdo – Colombia – Soccer (Midfielder)
• Catalina Perez – Colombia – Soccer (Goalkeeper)
• Anderson Peters – Grenada – Track & Field (Javelin)
• Curtis Thompson – United States – Track & Field (Javelin)
• Chris Woods – Canada – Track & Field (Assistant Coach)

Five Bulldogs are making their second Olympic appearance: Arop, Peters and Thompson all competed in track and field at the Tokyo Games. Woods was an assistant coach that year for Canada and will be mentoring Arop once again. Perez was on Colombia's soccer roster for the Rio 2016 Games.

The Four Bulldogs making their Olympic debut are Anderson, Borges, Eppie and Izquierdo. Borges is the first Bulldog Olympian in tennis and Izquierdo will be the 11th athlete to compete in an Olympics while still an active student-athlete at MSU.

Mississippi State has been represented by 26 athletes and three coaches in five different sports at the Olympic Games and has had at least one member of an Olympic team every four years since 1980. Bulldogs have won seven medals, including four golds. State's last medal came in 2000 when Jude Monye won gold in the men's 4x400m relay with Nigeria.

Mississippi State Olympic Schedule:

July 25:

• Izquierdo and Perez: beginning of group stage of the Olympic soccer tournament

July 27:

• Borges: expected to compete in both the men's singles and men's doubles brackets.

Aug. 6:

• Peters and Thompson: beginning of the men's javelin competition.

Aug. 7:

• Anderson, Arop: begin the men's 800-meter.
• Woods: will be coaching Arop on this date, but track and field competition will begin on Aug. 1.

Aug. 9:

• Eppie: first race of 4x400m relay.