The Tokyo 2020 Olympics officially finished on August 8, 2021 with the competition’s closing ceremony. The United States wrapped up these Olympics with 39 gold medals, 41 silver medals, and 33 bronze medals, continuing their streak of winning the most gold medals and overall total medals than any other competing country. To commemorate the end of these Olympic Games held under such extraordinary circumstances, Love Your City wanted to highlight some of the athletes from Louisiana that competed on Team USA and for other countries this year.
Mondo Duplantis - Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, Duplantis already holds the indoor and outdoor world records in pole vault and is a former LSU athlete. He won a gold medal in vault with a score of 6.02 meters this Olympic season. Although he competed for the Sweden Olympic team due to family ties, he holds a deep love for Louisiana.
Vernon Norwood - Norwood was born and raised in New Orleans, and holds many titles from his time at LSU and national and international competitions. He was a four time NCAA champion during his time at LSU and he holds a bronze medal from the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and a gold medal from the 2016 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He also won a gold medal from the 2017 Decanation Competition held in Angers, France. During the 2020 Olympics, he won a gold medal in 4x400m men’s relay and a bronze medal in the 4x400m mixed relay.
Aleia Hobbs - A former member of the LSU track and field team, Hobbs won four national titles in 2018, including winning the 60m in the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, the 100m and 4x100m relay at the NCAA Division I Championships, and the 100m at the U.S. Championships. She also won a silver medal when she represented the United States in the 2015 Panamerican Junior Championships. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, she won a silver medal in the 4 x 100m relay.
Juvaughn Harrison - A former LSU athlete, Harrison competed in both long jump and high jump for the United States, a rare combination of events that has not been done by a single American athlete since 1912. Harrison was able to successfully make it to the finals in both of these events.
There are many more Louisiana athletes that represented the United States in this year’s Olympics. Other Louisiana athletes that competed in the Olympics are Fred Kerley, Morgan Leleux, Aliaksei Shostak, and Meghan O’Leary. You can find a list of Louisiana athletes that represented the United States and other countries here. Be sure to read more about their efforts in these Olympic games to show your support!
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/08/03/mondo-duplantis-pole-vault-tokyo-olympics/
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/article_8b03e704-eb6b-11eb-b2f1-ebab7c8c08fb.html
https://www.usatoday.com/storytelling/2021-olympics-tokyo-team-usa-roster/LA/all/
https://www.nola.com/sports/article_033fe932-ec2c-11eb-a6c9-b71fa21abc84.html