Who Are The Texas Longhorns That Medaled in The Paris Olympics?

Texas stars accounted for 16 medals in the Summer Olympics.

Jul 30, 2024; Nanterre, France; Luke Hobson (USA), Carson Foster (USA), Drew Kibler (USA) and Kieran Smith (USA) in the men’s 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay medal ceremony during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Paris La Défense Arena. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports / Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

If the University of Texas were its own country, it would have ranked 15th in the Olympic Games medal table behind Hungary, which would get the spot ahead by three extra bronze medals.

With a total of 16 medals, the Longhorns earned six golds, seven silvers and three bronzes. In the history of the games, current and former Texas stars have tallied 178 medals for 38 countries, 98 of them being gold.

Here are the Longhorns who stepped on the podium in the Paris games:

Gold

The Texas gold medalists were not only Olympic champions, but history makers.

Three of the medals came in Athletics, with Ryan Crouser in the shot put, Julien Alfred in the 100-meter sprint and Tara Davis-Woodhall in the long jump.

Crouser went to Texas from 2012 to 2016, and earned his first Olympic gold in Rio just months after graduation. With his gold in Paris, he became the first athlete to win three consecutive gold medals in the event.

Alfred was one of four members of the Saint Lucian delegation sent to the games, and with a gold medal in the 100-meter and silver in the 200-meter, elevated her nation from zero medals in their history to two.

Aug 9, 2024; Saint-Denis, FRANCE; Gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA) celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women's long jump during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Davis-Woodhall jumped for Texas for two years after transferring from Georgia, and though she failed to medal in Tokyo 2020, placing sixth, finally achieved her dreams in Paris.

Hubert Kós of Hungary has yet to swim for Texas but will be making his way to Forty Acres as the fall semester starts. Kós won gold in the 200-meter backstroke and though he was one of many Longhorns to succeed in the swimming pool, he was the only one to touch the wall first.

Scottie Scheffler became the first American man to win a gold medal in men's golf. Scheffler, who graduated from Texas in 2018, is ranked number one in the OWGR.

Lastly, arguably the most famous name to come out of Texas Athletics, Kevin Durant won his fourth Olympic gold with Team USA in men's basketball.

Silver

Julien Alfred won the silver medal and second medal in the history of Saint Lucia in the 200-meter sprint, but she wasn't the only Texas star to earn the second place.

The Longhorn trio of Luke Hobson, Drew Kibler and Carson Foster made up three of the four members of the United States 4x200m freestyle relay. Kibler graduated in 2022, while Foster and Hobson are current students at the University of Texas, with Foster abandoning collegiate swimming in 2023 to focus on his professional career.

Leo Neugebauer of Germany was one of the hot names for the men's decathlon gold. Neugebauer fought until the end but ended up falling to Norway's Markus Hooth and earning the silver medal.

Freshman Erin Gemmell had the opportunity to swim next to all-time great Katie Ledecky in the 4x200m. Gemmell earned the silver medal in her first Olympic games.

On the last day of the games, Chiaka Ogbogu and USA Volleyball played in the women's volleyball finals against Italy but fell three sets to zero to the final debutants. Ogbogu won the gold medal in Tokyo 2020.

Bronze

Three Texas swimmers earned the last spot on the podium this edition of the games. Foster and Hobson, who later won the silver, finished third in the 400-meter individual medley and 200-meter freestyle, respectively. They were joined by Dutch teammate Casper Corbeau, who got the bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke, while also qualifying for the 100-meter breaststroke, the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay and the men's 4x100-meter medley relay, but didn't medal in the last three.