Cal, Stanford record-breaking wins at Paris Olympics, surpassed medal counts of many countries
Paris, France - July 27 : Katie Ledecky, of the United States, swims during the womens 400-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The
STANFORD, Calif. - Athletes from Stanford and UC Berkeley raked in the medals in historic fashion during the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, which wrapped up on Sunday.
In total, Olympians from the two schools came back with a collective 62 medals. If Cal and Stanford made up one country, they would have come in fifth place in the overall medal count.
Stanford University’s wins broke a school record, with 39 pieces of Olympic hardware, the most by any school at a single Olympics, Cardinal officials said.
The haul was made up of 12 gold, 14 silver, and 13 bronze medals.
Stanford also boasted a school record of having 59 Olympians with Cardinal ties in Paris, which included former and current athletes from 14 countries across 20 varsity sports.
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All of Stanford’s golds and silvers were won by women and included the events of track and field, soccer, fencing, and swimming.
"Of Stanford’s 39 overall medals, 17 came from the women’s swimming and diving program, highlighted by Katie Ledecky winning four (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) to become the most decorated American female Olympian of all time in any sport with 14 overall," officials said.
The university also highlighted the remarkable multi-medaling accomplishments of swimmers Torri Huske, who won three golds and two silver, and Regan Smith, who took home two golds and three silver.
If you count medals won in relay, team, or boat events as a collective medal, Stanford was represented in 27 event medals, according to the university.
"If Stanford was a country, it would have finished tied with Canada for 11th place," officials noted.
The university was the top NCAA school represented on Team USA, according to the collegiate athletic organization.
UC Berkeley also made a name for itself in Paris, taking home a total of 23 medals.
With five golds, 10 silver, and eight bronze, the wins marked a tie for the most ever medals won by a Cal contingent at a single Olympics.
The university said it had a total of 59 Olympians in Paris, representing former and current athletes in nine events including swimming, rowing, water polo, track and field, soccer, and golf. School officials also noted that among its Olympians were three postgraduate swimmers who didn't attend Cal but trained with its swim team.
The gold was won in swimming and track and field, and included Camryn Rogers’ win in the women's hammer throw.
Silver medalists included winners in the events of track and field, swimming, and rowing.
For bronze, Cal Olympians competed in track and field, men’s water polo, women’s water polo, swimming, and rowing events.
In all, California had a noteworthy presence in Paris. 121 of the 594 Team USA athletes hailed from California, according to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, the most of any state.