Meet the Tennessee Olympic champions of the past

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The 2024 Paris Olympics is less than 100 days away. The Paris Olympics will begin Friday, July 26 and run through Sunday, Aug.11.

Several Olympians have come from Tennessee colleges and universities including TSU, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt and more.

While going to the Olympics is a major feat in itself, WSMV wanted to highlight some of the major players who’ve gone for the gold.

TSU Olympians:

Wilma Rudolph has won three gold medals and one bronze medal.

Rudolph first competed in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Four years later she would return for the gold, not once, but three times in 1960 at the Rome, Italy Olympics.

In 1956, Rudolph won bronze in the 4x100 Meter Relay.

In 1960, Rudolph won gold in the following:

One for 200-Meter Dash
One for the 4x100 Meter Relay
One for the 100-Meter Dash

Alongside Rudolph, three other TSU Olympians won gold for the 4x100 Meter Relay including Martha Hudson, Barbara Jones, and Lucinda Williams.

Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph at a track meet for Tennessee State University — Wilma Rudolph at a track meet for Tennessee State University(TSU)

Wyomia Tyus was another big gold winner at TSU.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Tyus gold for the 100-Meter Dash. She also took home a silver medal for the 4x100 Relay that year.

Four years later Tyus would compete again winning nothing but gold for the 4x100 Relay and for the 100-Meter Dash making Rudolph’s previous world record of 11.0.

Wyomia Tyus (Right) competing in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games — Wyomia Tyus (Right) competing in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games(United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum)

From 1948 to 2020, TSU alumni have earned 17 gold medals.

Vanderbilt Olympians:

Lily Williams may not have won gold, but she became the first female Vanderbilt graduate to compete in the Olympics.

Williams, who graduated in from Vanderbilt in 2016, represented Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was the third Commodore to win a medal joining Jeff Turner, who won gold with the 1984 USA men’s basketball team and Casey Weathers, who won bronze with the USA baseball team in 2008.

Prior to cycling, Lilly Williams was part of the track team at Vanderbilt. — Prior to cycling, Lilly Williams was part of the track team at Vanderbilt.(Vanderbilt Athletics)

University of Tennessee Olympians:

Like TSU, the University of Tennessee Knoxville has had its fair share of Olympic Champions such as Tamika Catchings who has won four gold medals for women’s basketball.

Catchings first joined the Olympics circuit in 2004 at the Athens Olympics. Four tears later she returned for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She made her Olympic return in 2012 in London and the last Olympics she participated in was in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2016, file photo, United States' Diana Taurasi, left, Tamika... — FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2016, file photo, United States' Diana Taurasi, left, Tamika Catchings, center, and Sue Bird, right, celebrate with their gold medals after their win in a women's basketball game against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Taurasi and Bird, who won their fourth straight Olympic gold medals in Rio, are leaving the door open to continuing their U.S. careers. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)(Eric Gay | AP)

Between 1964 and 2020, former UT alumni made their alma mater proud earning 41 gold medals.

This year, according to NBC Sports, the U.S. Olympic team roster for 2024 will include more than 500 athletes.

NBC Sports said athletes will make the team via the Olympic Trials.

Notable team selection events include:

Wrestling trials from April 19-20 at Penn State
Swimming trials from June 15-23 in Indiana
Diving trials from June 16-23 in Knoxville, Tennessee
Track and field trials from June 21-30 in Eugene, Oregon
Gymnastics trials from June 27-30 in Minneapolis

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