The Peach Smell of Success: 12 Georgia athletes bring home Olympic medals
The 2024 Summer Olympics held its closing ceremony on Sunday, with Team USA taking home 126 medals — the most of any country competing this year. Out of these long-awaited victories, 15 of the medals were earned by Georgia athletes.
The medalists excel in sports ranging from track to basketball to weightlifting. Some are first-time medalists. One is returning to the U.S. after making Olympic history.
Here are the 12 athletes who won medals who were either born in or live in The Peach State.
CHRIS BAILEY
Sport: Track
Hometown: Atlanta
In his first Olympic games, the 24-year-old Atlanta native and track runner took home a gold medal in the men’s 4X400 meter relay.
Bailey ran the leadoff leg for the event, finishing at 44.45, followed by teammates Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin for an Olympic record 2 minutes, 54.43 seconds.
Individually, Bailey competed in the men’s 400-meter final where he finished in sixth place.
JANE CAMPBELL
Sport: Soccer
Hometown: Kennesaw
The Kennesaw native and Houston Dash goalkeeper took home the gold medal as a member of the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Campbell was originally selected as an alternate for the team in June before being upgraded to the team’s 18-player roster.
In 2020, the soccer star won bronze as part of the women’s soccer team at the Tokyo Games.
BROOKS CURRY
Sport: Swimming
Hometown: Dunwoody
The Atlanta-based Dynamo Swim Club alum earned a silver medal in the Men’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay.
Though Curry didn’t swim in the actual race itself, he still medaled with his team due to his competition in early heats for the event.
Curry took home a gold medal in the men’s 4X100 meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
ANTHONY EDWARDS
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Atlanta
The 22-year-old Holy Spirit Prep alum and Minnesota Timberwolves player took home his first gold medal as a member of the men’s U.S. basketball team. The star-studded roster of NBA players also included LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
“Him and Bron, they’re the best two people,” Edwards, the youngest on the team, told the Associated Press. “Team players, they always want to see the person next to them shine. I’m the same way. So it’s perfect.”
VINCENT HANCOCK
Sport: Skeet
Hometown: Eatonton
The 35-year-old Putnam County native brought home two medals in skeet shooting, a silver in mixed skeet team and his fourth gold medal in men’s individual.
In his fifth consecutive Olympic Games, Hancock became one of only eight athletes in history to win four Olympic golds in the same individual event.
“That’ll never get tiring. For me it’s something that I work for for four years,” Hancock told the Associated Press. “At this point, it just seems to be the luck of the draw for me. I do the best that I can and just hope and pray for the best.”
DEARICA HAMBY
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Marietta
In her first Olympic games, the Los Angeles Sparks forward took home a bronze medal for her performance in the women’s 3×3 basketball tournament.
Hamby replaced Sparks teammate Cameron Brink in the event after the latter was forced to pull out after a WNBA game injury on June 18.
HAMPTON MORRIS
Sport: Weightlifting
Hometown: Marietta
From training in his family garage to taking center stage in Paris, the 20-year-old athlete became the first men’s weightlifter to take home a medal of any color for Team USA since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Morris took home a bronze medal in the men’s 61 kg weightlifting event.
“I knew I had it in me,” Morris said to The Associated Press. “Any other day, I would definitely have a shot at making it. Today I had a shot of making it.”
BRODY MALONE
Sport: Gymnastics
Hometown: Summerville
The 24-year-old athlete was a major contributor in helping the U.S. men’s gymnastics team bring home the bronze. It was the first team medal the U.S. men have won since the 2008 Beijing Games.
This was Malone’s first Olympics.
KATIE MOON
Sport: Pole Vaulter
Residence: Powder Springs
The Ohio-born athlete took home a silver medal during the games in women’s pole vault.
Moon also competed in the event during the 2020 Tokyo games, taking home the gold medal.
DANIEL ROBERTS
Sport: Hurdling
Hometown: Hampton
The two-time Olympian Roberts scored his first Olympic medal while in Paris.
The metro Atlanta-born athlete won silver in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
EMILY SONNETT
Sport: Soccer
Hometown: Marietta
Sonnett brought home the gold over Brazil as a member of the U.S. women’s soccer team.
The 30-year-old — who began playing for the North Atlanta Soccer Association when she was 10 — also won a bronze medal in Tokyo for the same event in 2020.
GABBY THOMAS
Sport: Track and Field
Hometown: Atlanta
Thomas took home three gold medals at this Paris Games.
The 27-year-old Harvard graduate competed individually in the women’s 200-meter event and in relays for the highly-anticipated 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter events.
“There are truly no words. There is nothing like closing out the Olympics with these incredible women and earning another Olympic gold medal,” Thomas wrote on Instagram after winning the 4X400 relay. “We did it.”
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