The United States put in an astonishing performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The land of the free and home of the brave took home the most medals with 126 and shared the most gold medals with China with 40.
Notre Dame student-athletes complete most successful Olympics in school history
SOUTH BEND, IN – The most memorable and successful Olympic Games in Notre Dame athletics history came to a close with the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Sunday, August 11. The University of Notre Dame featured 16 former and current student-athletes competing in the Games, combining to win a school-record 10 total medals (six gold, one silver and three bronze).
If Notre Dame student-athletes and alumni were a country, they would be tied with Hungary for 14th place for most gold medals and tied with Poland and Belgium for most medals overall at the 2024 Games.
Medals won by student athletes and alumni of Notre Dame in Paris –
Korbin Albert – Albert won a gold medal with the U.S. women’s soccer team and assisted on the game-winning goal in the final (a 1-0 win over Brazil). Albert was a member of the Irish soccer program in 2021 and 2022 before forging a new path for the Notre Dame program after the 2022 season by signing a professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain.
Chris Guiliano (rising senior) – Guiliano won a gold medal with the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, a silver medal with the 4×200-meter team and also competed in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle.
Nick Itkin (’22) – Itkin (’22), a two-time national champion in individual foil fencing at Notre Dame, is now a two-time Olympic medalist, adding a bronze medal in Paris to his bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Lee Kiefer (’17) – Kiefer added some exclamation points to her status as the most successful foil fencer in U.S. history at the Paris Games. She won two gold medals, one in the individual competition and another with the U.S. foil team. She joins Shannon Boxx (’98) as Notre Dame’s most successful graduates with three Olympic gold medals (in addition to her individual gold in Tokyo).
Jewell Loyd – Loyd won her second gold medal in as many Olympic Games (Paris, Tokyo) with the perennial U.S. women’s basketball team in Paris. Loyd is also the first U.S. athlete to win a gold medal at the FIBA World Championships 5-1-5 and 3-1-3. Loyd played women’s basketball for Notre Dame from 2012 to 2015 before declaring for the 2015 WNBA Draft.
Eszter Muhari (rising junior) – Muhari, the 2023 NCAA epee champion, did not compete for Notre Dame last year as she was training for the Olympics to compete for her home country of Hungary. Muhari, who entered the Games ranked ninth in the world, won an epic bronze medal match against Estonia’s Nelli Differt, 15-14. The bout included nine draws and required overtime, earning Hungary the first of 19 medals at the Paris Games.
Yared Nuguse (’21) – One of the most decorated NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference student-athletes in Notre Dame history, Nuguse demonstrated his finishing speed in the men’s 1,500-meter race in Paris and won his first Olympic medal (bronze).
Jackie Young – Young won her second Olympic gold medal in basketball alongside former Irish basketball player Jewell Loyd after also winning gold in the inaugural Three-One-Three competition at the Tokyo Games. Young was a member of the Irish basketball team from 2016 to 2019 before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft.
The medal winners from Notre Dame were joined at the Games in Paris by:
Natalie Achonwa (’14) – Women’s Basketball – Canada
Amita Berthier (’23) – Women’s Fencing (Foil) – Singapore
Molly Bruggeman (’14) – Women’s Rowing (W8+) – United States
Tyler Christianson (’24) – Swimming (200 Breaststroke) – Panama
Lauren Ebo (Student 2022-23) – Women’s Basketball – Nigeria
Gerek Meinhardt (’13) – Men’s Fencing (Foil) – United States
Cassandre Prosper (rising junior) – Women’s Basketball – Canada
Magda Skarbonkiewicz (rising freshman) – Women’s Fencing (Sabre) – United States
This is the most gold medals (six) and most total medals (ten) won by athletes affiliated with Notre Dame in a single Olympics.
Gerek Meinhardt is now tied with Mariel Zagunis for the most Notre Dame-related appearances, having both competed in five Olympic Games.
Including the Paris Games, 118 student athletes have participated in the Notre Dame Olympics since 1912. These 118 athletes have won 48 medals.
