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Texas is celebrating a successful 2024 season in track and field after most athletes who are based in the state produced impressive performances at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
As the 2024 track and field season completes, Texas is counting its blessings after athletes with ties to the state recorded impressive performances in various events, especially the Paris Olympics.
The Olympics was the biggest event of 2024 and had Texas competed as an independent nation, it would have beaten a number of other countries on the medal table.
Texas is home to some of the globe’s top athletes while there are some not from America but have honed their skills in the state.
Gabby Thomas
Currently the face of female sprinting after her three gold medals at the Olympics, Gabby Thomas put Texas on the map with her impressive performances, winning the 200m gold, before teaming up with others for the 4x100m and 4x400m relay crowns.
Born in Atlanta, Thomas moved to Austin after graduating from Harvard to be coached by Olympian Tonja Buford-Bailey.
In May 2023, Thomas finished her master's degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, at their Austin regional campus, and also works at Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in the state.
Tara Davis-Woodhall
Davis-Woodhall won her maiden Olympics gold medal in the women's long jump while Jasmine Moore, a native of Grand Prairie, Texas, won bronze in the event.
Davis-Woodhall, a native of Mesquite, attended University of Texas from 2018 to 2021.
Ryan Crouser
Multiple Olympics shot put champion Ryan Crouser won his third Olympic gold medal in Paris and it is not just America that was happy but Texas as well.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Crouser was a Longhorn from 2011 to 2016, a good grounding that has seen him go on to set Olympics and world records in his discipline.
Sha’Carri Richardson
Perhaps the most famous Texas-born athlete heading to the Olympics, Sha’Carri Richardson was tipped to win gold in 100m but fell short to clinch silver.
The Dallas-born runner, however, still came home with two Olympic medals, having added the 4x100m gold to her collection, after anchoring Team USA that had Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry to success.
Fred Kerley
Another famous Texan is Olympics 100m bronze medalist Fred Kerley who finished third behind Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson in Paris.
The San Antonio-born Kerley went to Taylor High School before attending South Plaines College in Lubbock and Texas A&M.
Julien Alfred
Olympics 100m champion Julien Alfred has had a remarkable season that also yielded a Diamond League trophy as well as silver medal at the Paris Games in 200m.
While she is from St Lucia, Alfred honed her skills at Texas Longhorn where she was at between 2018 and 2023 and became the fastest collegian ever in the 60m indoor race.
Leo Neugebauer
Meanwhile, Leo Neugebauer took home a silver medal in the men's decathlon event for Germany.
Like Julie Alfred, he was representing his home nation at the Olympics but owes much of his career to Texas after graduating from UT Austin in 2024.
Lindon Victor
Behind Neugebauer was Lindon Victor who won bronze in the men’s decathlon for Grenada. Victor trains in Texas and attended Texas A&M.
Valarie Allman
Another gold medal won in field events for Team USA was honed in Texas with Valarie Allman claiming the women's discus throw title. Allman was born in Newark, Delaware but lives and trains in Austin.
Jasmine Moore & Shelby McEwen
A native Grand Prairie, Texas, Jasmine Moore won two bronze medals in the women’s long jump and women’s triple jump at the Paris Olympics while Shelby McEwe, who lives in Houston, claimed silver in the men’s high jump.
Bryce Deadmon
Bryce Deadmon, who is from Missouri City, Texas, took home gold in the men’s 4x400m relay and silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
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