LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 31, 2024) — As the eyes of the world turn to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, University of Kentucky fans may spy many students, alumni and staff competing for their home countries.
The opening ceremony kicks off the Olympic Games today, Friday, July 26. Billions of people will tune in to the 19 days of competition and more than 750 sessions before the games conclude on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Twenty-two current and former UK students, athletes and staff can be seen competing in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, track and field, diving and fencing.
Out of the 22, two are current students competing for Team USA — Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt. Both are in the UK College of Medicine and the married couple will return to finish their medical training next summer.
Kiefer and Meinhardt are not part of the varsity athletics program in UK Athletics but have competed in multiple Olympics in fencing and will compete again this year. Kiefer, a Lexington native and Paul Laurence Dunbar High School alumna, is competing in her fourth Olympics in the discipline of foil fencing. Kiefer captured the gold medal in 2020 becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in individual foil.
Meinhardt will be representing the U.S. in his fifth Olympics. Meinhardt won his second bronze medal in men’s team foil as part of Team USA in 2020.
Two UK assistant coaches will also be competing at the Paris Olympics. Devynne Charlton, a volunteer assistant coach for UK’s track and field team, will run the 100-meter hurdles for the Bahamas. An alumna of Purdue University, she won an NCAA silver medal in 100-meter hurdles and NCAA silver and bronze medals in the 60-meter hurdles. Julia Vincent, an assistant coach for UK Swim and Dive and University of South Carolina alumna, will represent South Africa in the women’s 3-meter springboard.
Ted Hautau, UK Dive coach, will also be in attendance of the Paris Olympics as a dive coach for South Africa.
The UK alumni competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics are:
- Bam Adebayo, USA Basketball 5 on 5 (UK 2016-17 season);
- Adebola Adeyeye, Nigeria Basketball (UK 2023);
- Devin Booker, USA Basketball 5 on 5 (UK 2014-15 season);
- Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Puerto Rico Track and Field (UK 2016-18);
- Anthony Davis, USA Basketball 5 on 5 (UK 2011-12 season);
- Andrew Evans, USA Track and Field (UK 2014);
- Wenyen Gabriel, South Sudan Basketball (UK 2016-2018 seasons);
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada Basketball (UK 2017-2018 season);
- Alexis Holmes, USA Track and Field (UK 2022);
- Rhyne Howard, USA Basketball 3 on 3 (UK 22);
- Ashley Kovacs, Team USA Track and Field women’s throws coach (UK 2009);
- Trey Lyles, Canada Basketball (UK 2014-15 season);
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA Track and Field (UK 2018);
- Jamal Murray, Canada Basketball (UK 2015-16 season);
- Daniel Roberts, USA Track and Field (UK 2017-19),
- Masai Russell, USA Track and Field (UK 2023);
- Avery Skinner, USA Volleyball (UK 2021)
To cheer on your favorite Big Blue athletes, check television local listings for NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC, Olympic Channel, Telemundo and NBC Universo; online at NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app and streaming on Peacock.
The competition schedule for sports featuring UK athletes:
- Fencing: July 27 – Aug. 4
- Diving: July 27 – Aug. 10
- Men’s Basketball: July 27 – Aug. 11
- Women’s Volleyball: July 28 – Aug. 11
- Women’s Basketball 3x3: July 30 – Aug. 5
- Athletics (track and field): Aug. 1 – Aug. 11
You can find the full Olympic schedule with times online here.
UK Athletics will be tracking how Wildcat athletes fare in the Olympic games. For the latest on all things UK Athletics, follow the Wildcats on X, Instagram and TikTok @UKAthletics, and online here.
Any of the Wildcats going home with medals will take a piece of Paris with them. The centerpiece of the Olympic medals contain a piece of the original iron of the Eiffel Tower.
UKNow will be following along as well and exploring the many connections between the Olympic host city and Kentucky — from the historic ties between the two places to the athletes competing in the games and what it takes to keep an Olympian at peak fitness.
With help from the many experts on UK’s campus, UKNow will explore other key topics related to hosting the Paris Games. You can follow along with our coverage on uknow.uky.edu, “Behind the Blue” and on UK’s social media channels @universityofky on X, Instagram and TikTok.
You can follow the final legs of the Olympic torch relay online here ahead of the opening ceremonies and find all the information on the 2024 Paris Olympics online here.