Nine former LSU athletes, one current LSU athlete and one current LSU assistant coach combined to win 11 Olympic medals in seven sports at the Tokyo Summer Games that concluded Sunday.
Led by former Tigers’ women’s basketball star Sylvia Fowles who won the fourth gold medal of her career, Team LSU won six gold medals in four sports.
If LSU was a country, it would have finished tied for 23rd in the medal count with the Czech Republic and Denmark in the Tokyo Summer Games. LSU’s six gold medals tied for 15th among the countries.
Also, former LSU men’s track and field star Vernon Norwood became the third athlete in LSU history to win two medals at the same Olympic Games, earning a gold in the 4×400 relay and a bronze in the mixed 4X100 relay.
LSU’s six track and field medals are the most ever won by the Tigers in the Olympics, surpassing the previous high of five at the 2004 Athens Summer Games.
Here’s a complete list of how all the Tigers’ Tokyo Olympians fared:
GOLD MEDALS (6)
Sylvia Fowles, women’s basketball (USA): Won her fourth career Olympic gold medal at age 35 for Team USA that went 6-0. She averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game off the bench, shooting 63.2 percent (12 of 17) from the field and 85.7 percent (6 of 7) from the free throw line.
She previously won gold medals in 2008 at Beijing when she was 22, 2012 in London when she was 26 and in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro when she was 30.
Fowles is now 30-0 in Olympic play.
Brooks Curry, men’s swimming (USA): Swam on 400-meter relay team in qualifying rounds that advanced to the finals and won. Though he didn’t swim in the finals, Olympic rules state he still receives a medal.
Mondo Duplantis, men’s track and field (Sweden): Won the pole vault gold with a clearance of 19 feet, 9 inches.
Michael Cherry, men’s track and field (USA): Ran leadoff leg of 44.26 seconds on Team USA’s 4×400 gold medal winning relay team that had the second fastest time (2 minutes, 55.70 seconds in Olympic history. He also finished fourth in the 400 meters finals with a personal best of 44.21.
Vernon Norwood, men’s track and field (USA): Ran on 4X400 relay team in qualifying rounds that advanced to the finals and won. Though he didn’t run in the finals, Olympic rules state he still receives a medal.
Allysha Chapman, women’s soccer: Won a gold medal as the 4-0-2 Canadians beat Sweden in a 3-2 shootout after the score was tied at the end of regulation.
SILVER MEDALS (2)
Aleia Hobbs, women’s track and field (USA): Ran the anchor leg for Team USA’s 4X100 relay team that finished second in the qualifying round, in 41.90 seconds and then won a silver medal as Team USA ran 41.45 in the finals finishing second to Jamaica’s gold-medal winning 41.02.
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Great Britain): Eliminated in qualifying round of 200 meters finishing fifth in heat six in a time of 20.56. Anchored Great Britain’s 4×100 relay team to a second-place finish in their qualifying heat in 38.02 seconds. Great Britain finished second in the finals to Italy.
BRONZE MEDALS (3)
Vernon Norwood, men’s track and field (USA): Won a bronze medal anchoring Team USA to a third-place finish in the mixed 4 X 100 relay in a time of 3:10.22.
Michael Venus, men’s tennis (New Zealand): Venus and his partner Marcus Daniell won bronze in men’s doubles, beating Americans Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren 7-6, 6-2.
Duop Reath, men’s basketball (Australia): Won bronze for Team Australia, played 16:49 combined in four games averaging 2 points and 1 rebound.
Here’s how the other LSU Olympic competitors fared:
Softball
Amanda Sanchez (Mexico): Batted .071 (1 for 14) for the 2-4 Mexican team that lost in the bronze medal game for Canada.
Women’s Golf
Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden): Was day one leader with a 5-under 66 but never came close to matching that. She finished tied for 20th place with a 7-under 277.
Diving
Juan Celaya-Hernandez (Mexico): Placed fourth with teammate Yahal Huerta Castillo in synchronized 3-meter diving.
Anne Tuxen (Norway): Was eliminated in the qualifying round of the women’s 10-meter platform when she finished 28th with a score of 219.15.
Men’s Tennis
Neal Skupski (Great Britain): He and partner lost in the second round of men’s doubles.
Men’s Track and Field
JuVaughn Harrison (USA): Placed seventh in the high jump at 7 feet, 7¾ inches and fifth in the long jump at 26 feet, 9 inches.
Damion Thomas (Jamaica): Ran a 13.54 in second heat of the first round of the 110 hurdles, advanced to semifinals where he was eliminated by placing eighth in the second heat in 13.11 seconds.
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Great Britain): Eliminated in qualifying round of 200 meters finishing fifth in heat six in a time of 20.56. Anchored Great Britain’s 4×100 relay team to a second-place finish in their qualifying heat in 38.02 seconds.
Richard Thompson (Trinidad & Tobago): Was part of the 4X100 relay team that was eliminated the qualifying round when it finished sixth in the first heat with a time of 38.63
Akanni Hislop (Trinidad & Tobago): Was part of the 4X100 relay team that was eliminated the qualifying round when it finished sixth in the first heat with a time of 38.63.
Women’s track and field
Kelly-Ann Baptiste (Trinidad & Tobago): Finished sixth in the second heat of the first round of 100 meters running 11.48 seconds and was eliminated. Was part of 4X100 relay team eliminated in qualifying round by finishing eighth in the second heat at 43.62 seconds.
Semoy Hackett (Trinidad & Tobago): Was part of 4X100 relay team eliminated in qualifying round by finishing eighth in the second heat at 43.62 seconds.
Favour Ofili (Nigeria): Was scheduled to compete in the 200 meters and on the relay teams but was one of 10 Nigerian track and field athletes disqualified from the Olympics due to their failure to comply with the out of the competition testing (OCT) requirement.
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