From Kentucky to Paris: More than 30 Olympic Games athletes have ties to Bluegrass State
More than 30 athletes with ties to Kentucky are readying to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games, and the Bluegrass State’s medal haul could easily reach double digits in Paris.
Former University of Kentucky track and field stars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn are back to defend their Tokyo Games gold medals in the 400 and 100 hurdles, respectively.
Lexington’s Lee Kiefer will attempt to repeat her gold medal-winning performance in women’s foil fencing.
And while Team USA’s men’s basketball squad, with three former Kentucky Wildcats, will be favored to win gold, the Canadian squad — also with three ex-Cats on its roster — is one of the countries that could pull off a major upset in France.
The Kentucky contingent’s gold medal hopes certainly don’t end there. Former Kentucky hurdler Masai Russell, first in the women’s 100 hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, will be one of the favorites (along with Camacho-Quinn) in that event.
And others with ties to our state who medaled at the 2020 Games and are back this time around include former Kentucky rifle star Mary Tucker (rifle) and foil fencer Gerek Meinhardt, Kiefer’s husband who is making his fifth Olympics appearance.
Here’s a look at all of the athletes with Kentucky ties competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Bam Adebayo, men’s basketball
The former University of Kentucky basketball player (2016-17), a three-time NBA All-Star with the Miami Heat, is representing the United States for the second time after being part of the gold medal-winning squad at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. From Newark, New Jersey, he started all six of Team USA’s games then and averaged 6.3 points, a team-high 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 draft has been named to the first-team All-NBA defensive team once and to the second team four times.
Adebola Adeyeye, women’s basketball
The former University of Kentucky forward will make her Olympic debut playing for Nigeria in women’s basketball. Adeyeye played four seasons at Buffalo prior to her graduate season at Kentucky in 2022-23. In her fifth and final season of basketball, Adeyeye averaged 4.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 31 games. She made 12 starts.
Nick Albiero, men’s swimming
The former University of Louisville star won two Division I titles, five straight 200-yard butterfly Atlantic Coast Conference titles and two ACC Swimmer of the Year awards. He’ll be competing in the 200-meter butterfly for Brazil, his father’s home country. Albiero, who was born in Louisville, was a six-time state champion for Christian Academy of Louisville.
Elizabeth Balogun, women’s basketball
Balogun played two seasons of women’s basketball at the University of Louisville as part of a five-year college career that also include stops at Georgia Tech and Duke. Balogun will be a teammate of former Kentucky Wildcat Adebola Adeyeye for Nigeria in Paris. Balogun averaged 6.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game across 2019-20 and 2020-21 at U of L where she started 42 of a possible 57 games.
Devin Booker, men’s basketball
The former University of Kentucky basketball star won a gold medal as part of Team USA’s squad at the 2020 Olympic Games. He played in all six games, averaging 20.7 minutes, 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Drafted in the first round (No. 13 overall) in 2015 by the Phoenix Suns, he is a four-time NBA All-Star (2020-22, 2024) and was named first-team All-NBA in 2022. Booker was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, women’s track and field
She was a three-time NCAA champion (100-meter hurdles in 2016 and 2018 and the 4-by-100-meter relay in 2017) while competing for the University of Kentucky. At the Tokyo Olympics, she became the second person representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal when she prevailed in the 100-meter hurdles. Camacho-Quinn, the sister of former NFL standout Robert Quinn, was born in North Charleston, S.C. Camacho-Quinn was named a flag bearer for Puerto Rico for the 2024 Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.
Sunny Choi, breaking
Born in Cookeville, Tennessee, her family moved to Louisville around age 7. The 35-year-old’s original Olympics dream was to compete in gymnastics before a knee injury ended her career during her freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania. She discovered breaking in college. After it was announced that breaking would be a trial sport for the Paris Olympics, she eventually quit her job as the director of global creative operations for skincare at Estée Lauder — she still works for the company in a freelance capacity, according to her LinkedIn profile — to focus on training for Paris.
Anthony Davis, men’s basketball
An NCAA champion and Final Four MVP while at the University of Kentucky (2011-12), Davis has won gold medals at the 2014 FIBA World Cup and 2012 Olympic Games. He was the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. The Chicago native is a nine-time NBA All-Star (2014–2021, 2024) and has been chosen for the All-NBA First Team four times (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020).
Mariah Denigan, women’s open-water swimming
The native of Walton, Kentucky, attended the Barren Academy of Virtual and Extended Learning in Glasgow before competing for Indiana in college. She’ll be competing in the 10-kilometer event. Denigan was 10th at this year’s world championships in Doha, Qatar. She broke Kentucky state records in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard and 400-yard IM, 200-yard, 400-yard, 500-yard, 1,500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle events while in high school.
Andrew Evans, men’s track and field
The former University of Kentucky star, also an Olympian in 2016, won gold in discus at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June to qualify for the Paris Olympics. He is originally from Portage, Michigan. While at UK, he was a first-team All-American in 2012 and 2013 and won bronze at the NCAA championships in 2013.
Wenyen Gabriel, men’s basketball
The former University of Kentucky basketball player was born in Khartoum, Sudan, and moved to the United States with his parents when he was 3 years old to escape civil war in South Sudan, which he will represent in this year’s Olympics. Gabriel has played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies. He has signed to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel after the Olympics.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, men’s basketball
Now considered one of the top players in the world, the former University of Kentucky basketball star was the runner-up for the NBA MVP Award in 2024 and finished fifth in 2023. The Toronto native will represent Canada at the Olympics after leading the team to the bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder and was an NBA All-Star and first-team All-NBA selection in 2023 and 2024. Gilgeous-Alexander’s mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, competed in the women’s 400 meters for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1992 Olympics.
Liz Halliday, equestrian
The San Diego native, who now resides in Lexington, is the traveling reserve, along with gelding Cooley Nutcracker, in eventing for the U.S. squad. Before becoming a full-time equestrian, Halliday was a professional race-car driver with six wins in the American Le Mans Series. She was a reserve for Team USA at the 2018 World Equestrian Games and 2019 Pan American Games and was part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Halliday owns and runs HS Eventing, a training facility, at Blue Fox Farm at 6105 Sulphur Well Rd.
Alexis Holmes, women’s track and field
The former University of Kentucky standout, a Connecticut native, finished third in the 400 meters at the U.S. trials to qualify for her first Olympics. Her time — 49.78 seconds — was a personal best. After transferring from Penn State, Holmes won SEC Indoors championships in the 400 in 2020 and 2022 for Kentucky. She anchored the Americans’ gold-medal winning and world-record setting performance in the 4-by-400-meter mixed relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Rhyne Howard, women’s 3-on-3 basketball
The former University of Kentucky star from Cleveland, Tennessee, has previously won gold medals with Team USA at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup and 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, but this will be her first Olympics appearance. She was the No. 1 overall pick by the Atlanta Dream in 2022 and was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2022. At UK, she was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and finished as one of nine players in women’s basketball history to be named to the AP First Team three times.
Ahmed Jaziri, men’s track and field
The Eastern Kentucky University alumnus was an NCAA champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2022 with a time of 8:18.70, which ranks third in NCAA history. He will represent his native country, Tunisia, in that event in Paris. He is the second former Colonel to compete in the steeplechase at the Olympics, following Ole Hesselbjerg (2016 and 2020). Jaziri ran a personal-best 8:14.93 on Sept. 10, 2023, in Zagreb, Croatia.
Uchenna Kanu, women’s soccer
The forward for Racing Louisville FC will be competing for Nigeria. As of mid-July, she had four goals and 10 assists for the club. Kanu played for Nigeria in the 2023 World Cup.
Lee Kiefer, women’s fencing
The 2012 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School graduate and University of Kentucky medical student won five NCAA championships as a fencer at Notre Dame University. She reached her first Olympics in 2012 and became the first U.S. fencer, male or female, to win a gold medal in foil in the delayed 2020 Games. Her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, is also competing for Team USA in foil fencing.
Kyree King, men’s track and field
The former Western Kentucky standout (2015-16), originally from Canada, was chosen for Team USA’s 4x100-meter relay pool. King was part of a WKU relay squad that finished fifth at the NCAA championships in that event in 2016. King also won the Conference USA title in the 100-meter dash that year.
Trey Lyles, men’s basketball
Lyles, a first-round NBA draft pick (12th overall) out of the University of Kentucky, will represent Canada — along with fellow ex-Cats Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray — at the Paris Olympics. Lyles teams with former UK standouts De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings following stints with the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. The 6-foot-9 forward was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women’s track and field
The former University of Kentucky star won the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials with a 400-meter hurdles world record of 50.65 seconds, marking the fifth time in her career she has set the event world record and the second time she has won Olympic Trials gold. She won the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene in 2021 with a then-world record of 51.90. McLaughlin-Levrone is on Team USA for her third Olympics after participating in the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, including winning gold in the 4-by-400-meter relay and 400-meter hurdles in Tokyo.
Gerek Meinhardt, men’s fencing
The San Francisco native is the husband of Kentucky native and fellow foil fencer Lee Kiefer and is also enrolled in medical school at UK. This will be the former University of Notre Dame standout’s fifth Olympics. He won team bronze at the 2016 and 2020 Games and also competed in 2008 and 2012.
Kayla Miracle, women’s wrestling
The Indiana native was a four-time WCWA women’s college national champion for Campbellsville University (2015-2018), where she was coached by her father, Lee Miracle. This will be her second Olympics after finishing 12th in 62kg freestyle in Tokyo. She was 14th at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Jamal Murray, men’s basketball
The former University of Kentucky star was the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He was born in Kitchener, Ontario, and will represent Canada at the Olympics. He won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. This will be the Canadian men’s basketball team’s first Olympics appearance since a seventh-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Games. The country’s lone Olympic medal in men’s basketball was a silver in 1936.
Yared Nuguse, men’s track and field
The Louisville native whose parents were born in Ethiopia won a KHSAA cross country state championship while at Manual High School. He went on to win an NCAA Division I national title in the 1,500-meter run for Notre Dame in 2019. Nuguse finished second at the U.S. trials in that event to secure his spot on Team USA. He was fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but was unable to compete because of a quad injury.
Else Praasterink, women’s diving
Praasterink, who competes for the University of Louisville, will be competing in 10-meter platform diving for her native Netherlands at the Paris Olympics. She finished fourth at the 2024 NCAA championships.
Daniel Roberts, men’s track and field
The former University of Kentucky star, a Georgia native, secured his Olympics spot with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. trials. His time there was a personal-best 12.96 seconds. It will be Roberts’ second Olympics. He finished ninth in Tokyo in 2021. Roberts won bronze at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. While at UK, Roberts defeated Grant Holloway, who was first at the U.S. trials, at the 2019 SEC championships before Holloway turned the tables and edged Roberts at that year’s NCAA championships.
Ivan Roe, men’s shooting
The former Murray State University standout is a Bozeman, Montana, native. He was a seven-time All-American with the Racers before joining the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in 2019. At the 2022 Championship of the Americas, he won gold in Men’s 50-meter rifle 3 position and earned the U.S. a quota spot in the event for the Paris Games. He became a world champion alongside U.S. teammate Sagen Maddalena in the 50-meter rifle prone mixed team event at the 2022 International Shooting Sports Federation World Championship. He’ll compete for the U.S. in both air rifle and smallbore.
Masai Russell, women’s track and field
The former Kentucky track star defeated a world-class field to win the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the U.S. trials with a time of 12.25 seconds. That time is the best in the world this year. Russell’s time broke the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials record of 12.33 that was held by Gail Devers for 24 years. Russell, a native of Potomac, Maryland, was a multiple-time SEC champion during her UK career (2019-2023). She broke the collegiate record in the 60-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles.
Murilo Sartori, men’s swimming
Sartori, who won the gold medal for Louisville at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in the 800-freestyle relay, won the Brazilian national championship in the 200 freestyle to secure a berth at the Olympics for his native country’s 800-freestyle relay team.
Matti Schmid, men’s golf
The former University of Louisville standout will represent Germany at the Olympics. He was 134th in the Official Golf World Ranking as of June 27, when the Olympic field was determined. His top finish on the PGA Tour is a third at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November 2023. He won the European Amateur in 2019 and 2020. He tied for eighth in 2022 and tied for 44th in 2023 at what was then called the Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
Avery Skinner, women’s volleyball
Avery Skinner, an NCAA champion while competing for the University of Kentucky in 2020, will be the first former Wildcat to compete in volleyball in the Olympics. The native of Katy, Texas, transferred to Baylor for her final collegiate season. An outside hitter, Skinner made her USA Volleyball senior team debut at the 2022 Pan Am Cup, where she earned the Best Spiker and Best Scorer awards while the team earned bronze. The U.S. women won their first gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Americans have also won three silver and two bronze medals in the sport.
Mary Tucker, women’s shooting
The former University of Kentucky rifle team star led the Wildcats to NCAA championships in 2021 and 2022 while winning the overall individual national championship both times. She won individual titles in both air rifle and smallbore in 2021 and was the NCAA runner-up in both disciplines in 2022. Tucker won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the mixed-team air rifle event and placed sixth in individual air rifle and 13th in individual smallbore. She transferred to West Virginia University for her last two collegiate seasons and won the NCAA smallbore individual championship in 2024.
Jayden Ulrich, women’s track and field
The native of East Alton, Illinois, is the first track and field athlete in University of Louisville history to represent the United States at the Olympic Games. The women’s discus standout is also the second female Olympian in the history of the program after Chinwe Okoro represented Nigeria in the same event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ulrich won the silver medal at the U.S. trials in late June. A rising senior for the Cardinals, Ulrich was the ACC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for 2024.
Hailey Van Lith, women’s 3-on-3 basketball
The native of Wenatchee, Washington, played three seasons at Louisville before transferring to LSU and then Texas Christian this offseason. While with the Cardinals, she was first-team All-ACC in 2022 and 2023. Louisville reached the 2021 Final Four when she was a freshman, followed by consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 2022 and 2023. Van Lith has earned five FIBA gold medals with Team USA across 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 world events.
2024 Summer Olympics
When: July 26-Aug. 11
Where: Paris, France
Opening ceremonies: July 26 at 1:30 p.m. EDT (NBC and Peacock)
This story was originally published July 18, 2024 at 9:45 AM.
