Strong Olympic showing from athletes with ties to Bay Area

In a press release from the university, Stanford concluded the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a school-record 39 medals, shattering its previous best while cementing its reputation on the world’s biggest stage as the nation’s top collegiate program. 

Boasting a school-record 59 Olympians with Cardinal ties, Stanford surpassed its all-time medals benchmark of 27 medals, set at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. It was the sixth time winning at least 20 medals for the sixth time in school history: 2020, 2016, 2008, 1996 and 1924.

Additionally, Stanford has won 128 medals combined over the last five Summer Games. 

Stanford’s haul of 39 medals (12 gold, 14 silver, 13 bronze) is the most by any school at one Olympics. Counting medals won as part of the same relay, boat or team as one collective medal, Cardinal athletes accounted for 27 event medals at the 2024 Paris Games. If Stanford was a country, it would have finished tied with Canada for 11th place.

Cal Sports Report listed the following account of top Olympic medal winning universities:  Stanford 39 (13 gold), Cal 23 (five gold), Texas 16 (six gold), USC 15 (seven gold), Washington 15 (two gold), UCLA 14 (five gold), Harvard 13 (eight gold).  

Former Stanford swimmers Torri Huske and Regan Smith were the most decorated Team USA athletes, with five medals apiece. Anothter former Carindal, Katie Ledecky, earned four Paris medals to become the all-time most decorated USA woman Olympian, with 14. She is the fifth-most decorated Olympian in history. Her nine Olympic golds tie her for the most Olympic gold medals by a woman from any nation with Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, who competed from 1956 to 1964.

At Stade de France, site of the track and field competition, Cal and Stanford each had throwers in the field spotlight. Cal got a gold medal in the women’s hammer throw from Canadian citizen Camryn Rogers, who won with a fifth round effort of 252 feet, 6 inches.  

Cal’s Mykolas Alekna, from Lithuania, was favored in the men’s discus throw after setting a world record in April. He was on target early, setting an Olympic record of 229-6 that bettered the mark of his father in winning the 2004 Olympics.

But Jamaica’s Rojo Stona provided the upset in the fifth round to take gold and set a new Olympic record at 229-8, relegating Alekna to the silver, just two inches back.

Stanford’s Vallarie Allman was the USA’s early field event winner, taking the women’s discus throw by more than 6-foot margin at 228-0. 

On the track, Stanford’s Grant Fisher became the first American man to medal in both the 10,000 and 5,000 meters in an Olympic Games. He helped close out track and field competition Saturday night with a bronze-medal finish in the 5K.

“After the first medal, it was a bit of relief,” said Fisher about finally reaching the medal stand. “This one, I had nothing to lose. I’ve been dreaming about a medal for so long. Sometimes it comes slowly, and then it comes all at once. It’s really challenging to do that double.” 

Just after the conclusion on the track at Stade de France, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry took charge on the basketball court at Bercy Arena with his four 3-pointers in the last 2:47 of play to secure the 98-87 win over France and gold medal for the Steve Kerr-coached USA men’s basketball team.

Then, of course, add Meno College wrestler Gulomjon Abdullaev, who took a bronze medal for Uzbekistan in men’s 57-kilogram freestyle wrestling. 

San Mateo native Joshua Yuan, a Foster City resident, competed in men’s badminton doubles at the Paris game. He and doubles partner Vinson Chiu did not advance past the group stage in the competition, however.  

Yuan did gain a little bit of fame as it was his doubles match that Snoop Dogg called while working for NBC Sports.