Harvard University has now won its most Olympic medals since the dawn of the modern Games in 1896.
With cyclist Kristen Faulkner and sprinter Gabby Thomas adding team victories to their personal ones in Paris, alumni and student athletes of the venerable Cambridge Ivy League school have now won a total 12 medals, the school says.
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That ties the school's record for a single Olympics, set at the Athens Games in 1896, according to a spokesperson with the university's athletic department.
Ten of the 12 medals have been for Team USA — the most of any universities in New England and in the Ivy League. The only schools with more Team USA medals are Stanford University and the University of Virginia, according to Harvard.
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Seriously, we can't update this graphic fast enough...
— Harvard Athletics (@harvardcrimson) August 6, 2024
Make it TEN Harvard Athletes with an Olympic Medal 🥇🥈🥉#GoCrimson #OlympiansMadeHere #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6m1M1kEpnY
Several current Harvard students and alumni have been the center of high-profile Olympic storylines in Paris.
Faulkner first made waves at the Games on Sunday, when she took gold in a shocking road cycling race through the City of Light, earning the 31-year-old Harvard graduate the distinction of being the first American to win an Olympic cycling road race medal in 40 years.
Faulkner, originally from Alaska, was a rower in high school at Phillips Academy in Andover and during her time at Harvard, but picked up cycling as a hobby while living in New York City in 2017. She didn't even qualify for the Olympics until Team USA needed a replacement. On Wednesday, the cyclist helped bring the U.S. its first gold in the women's team pursuit.
On Tuesday, Harvard graduate and Massachusetts native Gabby Thomas sprinted to gold in the women's 200-meter race, a moment she called "the happiest moment" of her entire life.
Thomas, who is originally from Northampton, reflected on her time at Harvard to NBC10 Boston's Bianca Beltrán Wednesday.
"Harvard was a great community for me," she said. "Everyone from my teammates, to my coaches, to friends there have all been such an influential part of this journey."
A group of around 30 from her Harvard network even flew to Paris to support her at the Games, Thomas said, calling her support group a source of inspiration.
"I saw them when I was on the starting blocks," Thomas said. "And I thought, 'Okay, this is amazing, this is a really special and unique moment.' And so having them there was great."
It wasn't just the couple dozen of supporters who made trip to Paris who were in Thomas' corner during her big moment. Watch parties were held here in the Bay State for Thomas, from Northampton to her alma mater in Cambridge.
Cheers erupted at both when she earned her first gold medal.
Harvard Reacts to Gabby Thomas '19 Winning Gold 🥇#Paris2024 #OlympiansMadeHere #GoCrimson pic.twitter.com/GG6hOyVbZx
— Harvard Athletics (@harvardcrimson) August 6, 2024
The 27-year-old, who now has three Olympic medals, is the first female student athlete to win a gold medal in track and field competition in Harvard's program history.
Last week, fencer and rising senior Lauren Scruggs made history as the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in the sport, before helping her take home a gold medal.
Harvard Director of Athletics Erin McDermott spoke to NBC10 Boston's Oscar Margain about what it means to have so many athletes on Team USA representing the Ivy League university.
"Just feeling that joy, seeing that joy, knowing all of the work that’s gone into finding that joy and just seeing it all happen, you can't really put words to it — it's really incredible," McDermott said.
