Kentuckians predicted to bring home 17 Olympic medals, including seven golds
The state of Kentucky will be well-represented — as it always is — in the Summer Olympics, and the Tokyo edition of the Games could produce a significant medal haul for the Bluegrass State.
A pair of world-record holders in track and field competed in college at the University of Kentucky, and a quarter of the men’s basketball roster are former Wildcats, too. They’ll all be favored to win gold, and they won’t be alone.
The Associated Press predicts that athletes with Kentucky ties will bring home 17 medals, including seven golds.
Here’s a look at the commonwealth’s Summer Olympics contingent (and please send us an email at hlsports@herald-leader.com if we missed someone):
Track and field
Women’s 400-meter hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin, an up-and-coming star who was the University of Kentucky track and field team’s version of a one-and-done, appears to be this state’s top contender for a gold medal. She set a world record with a time of 51.90 seconds in the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, and she’s ranked No. 1 by World Athletics as of July 13.
“It’s one of those moments that you dream about, and you think about, and replay in your head,” McLaughlin said after breaking the world record. “When you’re going to be able to put it together. I knew from the moment I woke up today that it was gonna be a great day. I think just trusting that process — it was just the final ‘I did it’ moment, and I’m gonna cherish it for the rest of my life.”
There will be no first-time Olympics jitters for McLaughlin. She competed for the U.S. in 2016 and reached the semifinals in this event. She won silver at the 2019 world championships.
Another ex-Wildcat, Leah Nugent, will represent Jamaica in the women’s 400 hurdles. She is ranked 15th in the world.
The AP predicts gold for McLaughlin, silver for U.S. teammate Dalilah Muhammad and bronze for Femke Bol of the Netherlands.
Women’s 100-meter hurdles: Former UK star Keni Harrison set the world record in this event with a time of 12.20 seconds in 2016 at the London Müller Anniversary Games. But this will be her first Olympics appearance after a disappointing sixth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier that summer. Harrison, as a senior at Kentucky in 2015, was named National Track Athlete of the Year after winning NCAA championships in the 60-meter indoor hurdles and 100-meter outdoor hurdles.
Harrison’s top time this year, 12.47, ranks third in the world this season. It’s another former Kentucky star, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, leading the way at 12.32. She’ll be representing Puerto Rico and will also be among the favorites to win gold.
Devynne Charlton, a former Purdue star who is now a volunteer assistant coach at Kentucky, will compete in the event for the Bahamas.
Harrison is ranked second in the world behind Danielle Williams of Jamaica. Camacho-Quinn is ranked fifth.
The AP predicts gold for Harrison, silver for Williams and bronze for Camacho-Quinn.
Men’s 100-meter dash: One of the premiere events of every Olympics, this event will feature former Ballard High School standout Ronnie Baker, who finished second in the U.S. Olympic Trials in a personal-best 9.85 seconds. Baker won NCAA championships in the 60-meter dash in 2015 and 2016 while competing for Texas Christian.
“My mindset is always to be the fastest man in the world,” Baker said, according to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “If you’re not trying to chase after those Usain Bolt times, then what are you doing? That’s my mindset. Hey, I want to be faster than Usain Bolt. I’ve always imagined I’m going to run somewhere in the 9.5s. That’s what I believe. For me, that would be crazy. There’s only one guy who’s ever run 9.5, two guys who have run 9.6 and less than 10 guys in history in 9.7. I’m at 9.8 right now, so in sprinting terms I’ve got a long way to go.
“But I’m in a place where I know where I’m at and I know where I want to be. I want to run those 9.7s, 9.6s and, God-willing, 9.5. That would be awesome.”
Baker is ranked third in the world behind American Justin Gatlin, who failed to qualify for the Olympics, and Russia’s Akani Simbine. Trayvon Bromell, who won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, is ranked seventh.
The AP predicts gold for Bromell, silver for Andre De Grasse of Canada and bronze for Baker.
Women’s shot put: Former Western Kentucky University thrower Jessica Ramsey set a meet record for the U.S. Olympic Trials in winning the event with a personal-best throw of 66 feet, one-quarter inch. She’s ranked 11th in the world.
Ramsey, a native of Boynton Beach, Fla., is a seven-time individual Sun Belt Conference champion. She won indoor and outdoor shot put in both 2013 and 2014, weight throw in 2014 as well as discus and hammer in 2014.
The AP predicts gold for China’s Gong Lijiao, silver for Ramsey and bronze for New Zealand’s Valerie Adams.
Men’s 400 meter-run: Dwight St. Hillaire will compete in this event and the 4-by-400 relay for Trinidad and Tobago. The former UK All-American ranked 51st in the world in the 400.
The AP predicts the United States will win gold in the 4-by-400 relay, St. Hillaire and Trinidad and Tobago will take silver and Botswana will earn bronze.
Men’s 110-meter hurdles: Back to hurdles (and former UK stars), Daniel Roberts finished third in this event in the U.S. Olympic Trials, running a season-best 13.11 seconds. He’s 10th in the world rankings with U.S. teammate and former SEC foe Grant Holloway, at No. 1., the favorite to win gold.
Women’s 100-meter dash: Javianne Oliver, who competed in college for Kentucky, finished second in this event in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 10.99 seconds. She posted a 10.83 in the semifinals.
“It’s surreal to put together a full race,” Oliver said afterward. “It came together today and I’m so excited … It went by so fast. All I know was I was running as hard as I could, and it paid off. I’m just really grateful to even be here. It’s been a long journey to get here.”
Oliver is ranked eighth in the world.
Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase: Ole Hesselbjerg, who ran for Eastern Kentucky in college, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in early June when he ran a Danish national record and personal-best time of 8:20.40. He competed for Denmark in this event at the Rio Olympics in 2016. He’s ranked 36th in the world.
Matthew Hughes, who competed at U of L, is ranked 17th and will represent Canada. It will be Hughes’ second Olympics. He finished 10th in this event at the 2016 Olympic Games. Hughes was the first University of Louisville athlete to win an outdoor national title when he prevailed in this event in 2010. He then repeated in 2011, winning the NCAA title in 8:24.87, which still stands as the school’s outdoor record.
Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase: Former WKU standout Michelle Finn will represent Ireland in this event for the second straight Olympics. She’s ranked 27th in the world.
Men’s marathon: Former Eastern Kentucky star Thijs Nijhuis will be representing Denmark. He finished 31st out of 73 competitors in the world championships in 2019.
Men’s 1,500-meter run: Yared Nuguse, a former Manual High School standout who competed in college at Notre Dame, finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 3:36.19. Nuguse, ranked 67th in the world, broke the NCAA record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:34.68 in the prelims of the ACC Championships on May 13.
Men’s decathlon: Former Kentucky standout Tim Duckworth will represent Great Britain in the event after finishing first at the British Athletics Championships. He ranks 25th in the world.
Men’s triple jump: Former Louisville Cardinal Ben Williams became the first British triple jumper in seven years to hit the Olympic standard with a leap of 17.14 meters when he won gold at the European Athletics Team Championships in August 2019. He went on to set a personal best with a jump of 17.27 meters in the first round of the British Championships to claim the national title and secure an Olympic berth. He’s ranked 24th in the world.
Relays: While several Kentuckians didn’t qualify as an individual, they are still expected to be part of their country’s relay squads. Those include Megan Moss (UK/Bahamas), Gavin Smellie (WKU/Canada) and Martin Owusu-Antwi (WKU/Ghana).
Basketball
Men: Basketball is king in Kentucky, and Team USA’s squad is dominated by former UK stars, who occupy three of the 12 spots on the roster. That includes Bam Adebayo (now with the Miami Heat), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) and late addition Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs). … Former University of Louisville star Jordan Nwora will play for Nigeria.
The AP predicts gold for the United States and its trio of ex-Cats, silver for Spain and bronze for Australia.
Women: Merissah Russell, a current U of L player, is on Canada’s roster. Former Kentucky star Jennifer O’Neill will play for Puerto Rico.
Shooting
Air rifle: Mary Tucker and Will Shaner, two UK stars who helped lead the team to the national championship this year, will represent the United States. Tucker won the individual NCAA title in the event, and Shaner finished second. Tucker is ranked No. 2 in the world in women’s air rifle by the International Shooting Sport Federation. Shaner is third in the men’s rankings.
Tucker, also the NCAA individual champion in smallbore, will also compete in 50-meter rifle, three positions event for Team USA in Tokyo. And she’ll team with Lucas Kozeniesky in mixed team 10-meter air rifle, while Shaner will team with Ali Weisz.
Another former Kentucky star, Henrik Larsen, will compete in the 50-meter rifle, three positions discipline for Norway. Larsen won the NCAA title in air rifle in 2018.
In 10-meter air rifle, the AP predicts gold for Tucker, silver for India’s Elavenil Valarivan and bronze for India’s Anjum Moudgil. In the mixed team event for 10-meter air rifle, Tucker and Kozeniesky are predicted to earn bronze with duos from Hungary and India winning gold and silver, respectively.
Golf
Men: Former St. Xavier High School star Justin Thomas, who is ranked fourth in the world and seventh in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup standings, will be making his Olympics debut. The Louisville native has 14 career PGA Tour victories, including the 2017 PGA Championship. He was the PGA Player of the Year in 2017 and 2020.
The AP predicts Thomas will miss out on a medal. Its writers predict gold for Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, silver for American Xander Schauffele and bronze for South Korea’s Sungjae Im.
Fencing
Women’s foil: Lee Kiefer, who went to high school at Paul Laurence Dunbar and starred in college at Notre Dame, will be competing in her third Olympics. As an individual, she finished fifth in 2012 and 10th in 2016. The U.S. was sixth as a team in 2012. Kiefer has won 20 individual medals on the World Cup circuit and has led the USA to three podium finishes at the Senior World Championships, including the squad’s first gold medal in 2018.
The AP predicts gold for the Russian Olympics Committee’s Inna Deriglazova, silver for Italy’s Alice Volpi and bronze for Kiefer. The AP also predicts that Kiefer and the United States will earn another bronze in team foil with Italy earning gold and the ROC taking silver.
Men’s foil: Kiefer’s husband, Gerek Meinhardt, also competes for the U.S. in fencing. The youngest male fencer to represent Team USA in history, Meinhardt was 18 when he competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He went on to compete at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, earning bronze in the team event in Rio.
The AP predicts Meinhardt and the Americans will win gold in team foil, finishing ahead of France and Italy.
Wrestling
Women’s 62 kg: Kayla Miracle, who won national championships for Campbellsville University in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, will be competing in her first Olympics. She won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in this event.
The AP predicts gold for Kyrgyzstan’s Aisulii Tynybokova, silver for Miracle and bronze for Japan’s Yukako Kawai and Bulgaria’s Taybe Mustafa Yusein.
Swimming and diving
Backstroke: Former Kentucky star Ali Galyer is set to compete in the 100 and 200, plus the 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay, for New Zealand. Tatiana Salcutan, a current U of L swimmer, will compete in the 100 and 200 for the Republic of Moldova. On the men’s side, second-time Olympian Grigory Tarasevich (U of L) will swim the 200 for Russia.
Freestyle: Peter Wetzlar (UK) will swim for the 100 for Zimbabwe, and current U of L athlete Andrej Barna will represent Serbia. Brooke Forde, a Sacred Heart graduate who competed for Stanford, will swim the women’s 4-by-200 free relay for the United States. Brazil’s roster includes U of L commitment Murilo Sartori in the men’s 100 and 200, plus the 4-by-200 freestyle relay. Marcelo Acosta (U of L) will swim the 1,500 for El Salvador; he finished 22nd in that event at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The AP’s prediction for the women’s 4-by-200 freestyle relay has Britain winning gold, the United States (including Forde) earning silver and Italy taking bronze.
Butterfly: Zach Harting (U of L) is on the American squad in the 200. He won the event at the U.S. trials with a time of 1:55.06.
Softball
The sport makes its Olympics return and includes three players with Kentucky ties: Brittany Cervantes (UK/competing for Mexico), Larissa Franklin (WKU/Canada) and Alexia Lacatena (UK signee/Italy).
The AP predicts gold for the United States, silver for Japan and bronze for Franklin and her Canadian teammates.
Field hockey
Women: Former U of L standout Ayeisha McFerran is the goalkeeper for Ireland, which is making its Olympic debut in the women’s event.
Equestrian
Eventing: Liz Halliday-Sharp, a California native based in Lexington, will represent the United States, along with her horse, Deniro Z.
On the sidelines
Shot put: Ashley Kovacs, formerly Ashley Muffet when she competed in shot put at UK, now coaches her husband, Olympic shot-putter Joe Kovacs. She is also a throwing coach at Ohio State. (The AP predicts Joe Kovacs will win a silver medal.)
Equestrian: Sandy Suffoleta of Lexington will be serving as interpreter for news conferences in the equestrian venue, using her skills in English, Spanish, German and French.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 6:45 AM.
