USTFCCCA News & Notes
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA July 23, 2024   

Past Meets Present At The Paris Olympic Games

The four-year (or three-year) wait is over!

The Paris Olympic Games are underway in France.

Track & field fans had to wait patiently, but the time is now. The athletics portion of the program begins Thursday, August 1, with the men’s and women’s 20k race walks. Business picks up Friday, August 2, which will be capped my the final of the men’s 10,000 meters.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS FROM THE PARIS OLYMPICS

Hordes of collegians who competed in the U.S. collegiate system before and during the 2023-24 seasons will vie for medals in the City of Light.

In fact, at least 300 athletes with U.S. collegiate ties will compete in Paris on the track or in the field. That includes at least 50 athletes who were among those who participated this past academic year.

Let’s take a closer look at each individual event.

Numbers of Athletes with U.S. Collegiate Ties – Individual Events
  Men   Women
Event Collegiate Ties Total Athletes   Collegiate Ties Total Athletes
100m 19 56   15 58
200m 16 47   10 48
400m 11 48   13 49
800m 6 48   8 48
1500m 13 44   12 45
5000m 11 42   5 41
10,000m 6 27   4 27
Marathon 10 79   7 86
100m/110mH 5 40   19 40
400m Hurdles 8 40   10 40
Steeplechase 5 36   8 36
Race Walk 1 48   0 48
High Jump 6 32   6 32
Pole Vault 7 32   8 32
Long Jump 6 32   6 32
Triple Jump 8 32   9 32
Shot Put 8 32   8 34
Discus 10 32   13 33
Hammer 6 32   8 32
Javelin 3 32   4 32
Dec/Hep 9 24   4 24

Sprints are well-represented with ten or more athletes in both versions of the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. That fact is headlined by 19 of the 56 athletes in the men’s edition – or a staggering 34 percent, when you think about every possible combination of athletes around the world.

You’ll see a heavy collegiate influence in the women’s hurdling races. Nineteen of the 40 athletes in the 100-meter hurdles have U.S. collegiate ties, while ten of the 40 athletes in the 400-meter hurdles do. Oh, the world record holders in those events went through the U.S. collegiate system: Tobi Amusan in the former; Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the latter.

The only field event with double-digit U.S. collegiate ties is the discus with 13 on the women’s side and ten on the men’s, led by world leaders Valarie Allman and Mykolas Alekna, respectively.