The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris have officially come to an end. Texas A&M had seven different Aggies secure a school-record nine medals, breaking the previous record of seven set at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
A&M women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor earned a gold medal serving as an assistant coach on Team USA, which saw the squad continue its historic reign atop the world of women’s basketball. The United States took on the host France in the gold-medal game and secured a 67-66 victory.
Austin Krajicek was the next Aggie to bring home glory. He earned a silver medal for the U. S. after he and partner Rajeev Ram made it all the way to the finals of the men’s tennis doubles event, defeating Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz along the way. After winning the first set in the gold medal match, the duo went on to lose the two remaining sets, finishing with silver
Fred Kerley grabbed the bronze medal for the U.S. as he competed for the title of “world’s fastest man” in the men’s 100m dash. He had a promising start, leading the pack early, but came up short in one of the closest photo finishes in Olympic history. Kerley placed third with 9.81, Kishane Thompson second at 9.789 and Noah Lyles first running a 9.784.
Lindon Victor was the sole Aggie to win a medal for a nation other than the U.S.. He became Grenada’s second Olympian ever to secure a medal, earning bronze in the men’s decathlon.
The next two Fightin’ Farmers, Bryce Deadmon and Shamier Little, earned silver together on team USA in the mixed 4×400 relay. The Aggie legends handed the baton off to one another between the second and third legs. Their team is well decorated, having set the world record of 3:07.41 the previous day in qualifying rounds.
But Deadmon and Little weren’t happy with just one medal, Deadmon bringing home gold for the U.S. in the men’s 4x400m relay. Running the third leg, he managed to help Team USA set an Olympic-record time of 2:54.43.
Little also brought home gold for Team USA in the women’s 4×400 relay. She ran the first leg and gave the U.S. an early lead with the fastest lead-off time of 49.48.
Junior Visualization student Casey Kaufhord brought home bronze in mixed team archery alongside her teammate, Brady Ellison. She is the first American to medal in women’s archery since 1988.
In total, Aggie Olympians brought home three gold, three silver and three bronze medals on top of the world record and two Olympic records. The nine medals tied A&M for fourth place in the SEC, allowing it to finish second in total medal count by conference.