Harvard

Harvard breaks its all-time record for most Olympic medals at Paris Games

The Cambridge Ivy League school's current athletes and graduates won 13 total medals, breaking Harvard's prior record of 12 medals set at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 128 years ago

By Matt Fortin • •

With the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Harvard University is celebrating a historic and record-breaking medal count by its student athletes and alumni.

Harvard athletes won 13 Olympic medals at the 2024 Games, breaking its prior record of 12 medals that was set at the first modern Olympics in 1896.

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The 13 medals include eight gold, one silver and four bronze.

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Track and field star Gabby Thomas, a 2019 graduate of the Ivy League school and a Northampton, Massachusetts, native, won an incredible three gold medals in Paris.

"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."

Rising Harvard senior Lauren Scruggs also cemented her legacy with a history-making performance at the 2024 Games. She became the first Black American female fencer to win an individual medal at the Olympics. She earned two medals in Paris.

"I keep thinking it's like a dream — when I was getting ready I was like, this is unreal," Scruggs said. "Everyone back home in Boston, at Harvard, they're sending me good luck and support."

There was Kristen Faulkner, too, who was on Harvard's rowing team during her time in college, but got into cycling after graduating. She won two gold medals on Team USA in Paris.

"Being a college athlete definitely taught me time management and discipline," Faulkner told NBC10 Boston's Bianca Beltrán. "That was really important in my early days of cycling when I was working fulltime in venture capital and also cycling."

With its 13 medals, Harvard accumulated the most among the Ivy League, schools in New England and in the NCAA FCS, according to the university.

Twenty-six athletes with Harvard ties went to the Paris Games, 14 of whom represented Team USA.

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.

The 2024 Summer Olympics officially wrapped up with Sunday's Closing Ceremony. The next Summer Games will be held stateside in Los Angeles in 2028.

McDermott hopes to continue Harvard's momentum at the next Summer Games.

"We would love to see about the same number, if not more, that we can contribute to Team USA and to the Olympic competition," McDermott said. "And I would hope to see that we have a great display for pride in USA as we host that next time around."

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