As the 2024 Olympics came to a close on Aug. 11, two gold medalists carried the American flag through a raucous Stade de France. On the left side of the stars and stripes strode Katie Ledecky, the swimmer who defined a decade of competitors on her way to becoming the most decorated female American in Olympic history. Alongside her, with his left hand on the flagpole and a beaming grin on his face, Princeton’s own Nick Mead ’17 flew the colors with pride after bringing home a gold medal in the men’s coxless four rowing final. Mead’s selection as flag bearer capped off a roaring success not just for the United States, which took home the most medals at the Games, but for Princeton Tigers past and present.
With a school record of 25 students, past and present, competing in Paris, the Princeton Olympian contingent secured four medals: three golds and one silver. Had Princeton been recognized as a country in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee, the school would have placed 28th of 204 participating nations in the final medal tally. By any and all measures, this was a Games to remember for anyone fan of the Orange and Black.
Though Mead’s flag-bearing smile provided perhaps the most memorable moment for a Princeton athlete this summer, his was far from the only success among the Tiger contingent. Fellow rower Hannah Scott ’21 became the second Princeton rower to medal this year, striking gold for Great Britain in the women’s quad sculls event. Foil fencer Maia Weintraub ’26 dazzled in the women’s team foil event, bringing home a stunning gold medal for an American team that failed to medal in 2020. Finally, former Tiger heavy Tom George ’18 won Princeton’s third rowing medal, taking silver for Great Britain in the men’s coxless pair event.
Track and Field
Princeton sent a sizable delegation to Paris in track and field with four athletes. Leading the way were Norwegian brothers Simen and Sondre Guttormsen ’23. The siblings competed in the pole vault against Swedish legend Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, considered by some to be the greatest vaulter of all time. Simen did not make it out of the qualifiers, but Sondre met the required height of 5.75 meters and advanced to the finals. There, he finished in eighth place out of twelve finalists as Duplantis predictably took the gold with a world record performance.
On the women’s side, Nigerian discus thrower Obiageri Amaechi ’21 did not qualify for the final. Amaechi fouled on her first two throws and made it only 45.45 meters on her final throw, far short of her personal best 63.17 meters, which would have been enough to qualify. Lizzie Bird ’17, competing in the women’s steeplechase, made it to the finals, where she finished seventh. For Bird, her seventh-place finish was an improvement over her performance at the 2020 Games, where she placed ninth overall.
Water Polo
Two Tigers competed with the U.S. women’s team in water polo, which fell in the bronze medal match against the Netherlands. Legendary goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson ’17, considered one of the greatest of all time in her position, put up a dominant stretch of games, holding each of three opponents to single digits — usual scores are in the low teens — in the group stage. Next, the United States won a thrilling quarterfinal match against Hungary in a 5–4 defensive battle aided by Johnson’s incredible 17 saves. In the semifinals, the United States was downed in a tight shootout against Australia. In the bronze medal match, a late push by the Netherlands resulted in a tight 11–10 loss. Jovana Sekulic ’26, a current Princeton undergrad, also logged significant time in the water as a key member of the national team.
Field Hockey
Though the U.S. women’s field hockey team did not make it out of the group stage, Tiger star Beth Yeager ’26 logged crucial minutes in each group stage game. Yeager did not score at the 2024 Games, but took dangerous shots and set up the lone goal in the U.S.A.’s 1–0 triumph over South Africa. The United States bowed out early, with an opening loss against Argentina and concluding win over South Africa bookending losses to Great Britain and Australia and a draw with Spain. Yeager will return to Princeton this fall looking to add her third Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year as the field hockey team seeks to improve upon last year’s third-place Ivy League finish.
3x3 Basketball
Though the nation’s attention was captivated by the U.S. Olympic men’s 5v5 basketball team, featuring all-time greats like LeBron James and Steph Curry, another squad represented the stars and stripes on the court in Paris this summer. Kareem Maddox ’11, one of four players on the U.S. men’s 3x3 basketball team, performed well in pool play despite the team’s seventh-place finish. In a disappointing showing, Maddox and the 3x3 team crashed out of the group stage to the tune of a 2–5 record. Brigham Young and college basketball legend Jimmer Fredette suffered a leg injury in the U.S. game against Poland, forcing them to play many of their games with three players and no subs. Facing such an uphill climb, Maddox and the U.S. were unable to overcome the lack of manpower and bowed out in the group stage.
Maddox was largely quiet, grabbing rebounds rather than scoring points. It is unclear whether Maddox, 34 years of age, will return to the Olympics for another go-around, as he will be 38 years old for Los Angeles 2028 and the team may prefer an injection of youth as they seek to improve upon this year’s result.
Swimming
Adell Sabovic ’25, Princeton’s lone Olympic swimmer, put on an impressive performance for his home nation of Kosovo in the 100-meter men’s freestyle. Sabovic placed second in his heat with a time of 51.77, though this time was not enough to send him through to the semifinals. Since Olympic heats are typically organized by speed, even winning an earlier heat, such as the third, is often not enough to qualify in a field containing ten heats. After his race, Sabovic was selected by Kosovo to carry the flag at the closing ceremony alongside track athlete Gresa Bakraçi. His selection made him one of three Tigers to bear their home flag, alongside Mead of the United States and Noble of Uganda.
Rowing
With three of Princeton’s four medals in Paris, Tiger rowing alumni made their mark on the 2024 games in dominant fashion. In his second Olympics, Mead led the U.S. men’s coxless four to their first gold medal since the 1960 Rome Olympics, fending off the New Zealand boat throughout a tense two minutes. Mead and the U.S. team won their race by half a boat length, a comfortable win after a competitive race.
Afterward, Mead received the news from teammate Justin Best at breakfast that he would serve as flag bearer alongside the legendary Ledecky. Shocked, all Mead could say was “I’ve got to get a haircut” as he processed the news. With a fresh cut and an American flag, Mead represented his country and his school as one of Princeton’s three flag bearers at the 2024 closing ceremony. As the first rower to ever serve as a U.S. flag bearer at the Games, Mead’s name will go down in rowing and Olympic history.
On the women’s side, Hannah Scott starred in a thrilling final as she and Great Britain outpaced the Netherlands en route to the quad sculls gold. Consistently a half-length behind the Dutch boat, Scott and the Brits were trailing by almost an entire boat length going into the final 100 meters of the race, securing victory on an astonishing final push. Scott, representing Great Britain and hailing from Northern Ireland, became the second woman from Northern Ireland to take home gold at the Olympics.
Elsewhere on the water, seven more Tigers competed in rowing events in Paris. Tom George took home silver in the men’s coxless pair as Great Britain finished half a second behind the Croatian boat in that event’s final. In a reversal of Scott’s race, it was Britain who led for most of the race and Croatia who passed them in the final hundred meters.
Also of note was Kathleen Noble ’18, competing as Uganda’s first-ever female Olympic rower in the single sculls event. Though she did not medal, Noble beat her personal best time in her final race, clocking in at 7:56.10. After the conclusion of the Games, Noble carried the Ugandan flag alongside distance runner Oscar Chelimo.
Outside of the podium, Princetonian rowers made their mark. American rowers Kelsey Reelick ’14 and Emily Kallfelz ’19 came in fifth place together in the women’s coxless four race. Claire Collins ’19 and the women’s eight finished in fifth place in the final. Timothy Masters ’15 and the Australian men’s eight did not make it out of the heats, finishing in second in their heat ahead of Italy. Finally, Jonas Juel ’22 and the Norwegian quad sculls made it out of the heats but did not medal.
Fencing
Forming Princeton’s second-largest Olympic sport contingent, seven Tiger fencers competed in Paris to varying degrees of success. Winning the headlines was current undergrad Maia Weintraub ’26, who took the gold with the U.S. women’s foil team. Competing in her first Olympics, Weintraub substituted in as Team USA’s alternate in the finals and immediately faced off against Italian former gold medalist Arianna Errigo. Weintraub not only held her own but won outright against her more experienced competitor, winning her bout 6–4 and another 5–1. After taking a gap year to focus on Olympic qualification, Weintraub will return to Old Nassau this fall and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Also fencing for Team USA were Hadley Husisian ’27, Kat Holmes ’17, Maia Chamberlain ’22, and Tatiana Nazlymov ’27. Husisian, a rising sophomore, won her first bout in a tight 12–11 match in the women’s epée Round of 32 before falling 15–12 in the Round of 16 to eventual gold medalist Vivian Kong. Kong’s match against Husisian was her narrowest victory until the finals, which she won 13–12. Husisian, Holmes and the U.S. epée team were less successful, bowing out in the quarterfinals and finishing seventh of eight. Chamberlain, Nazlymov and the U.S. saber team had a similar fate, losing to Poland in the quarterfinals but recovering to finish fifth overall. In the individual saber event, Nazlymov fell, 15–14, in the Round of 32 to South Korean fencer Sebin Choi.
Internationally, Sabrina Fang ’27 represented Canada as part of the foil team but did not appear in a match. Mohamed Hamza ’23, Princeton’s lone male Olympic fencer, won his match in the Round of 32 and triumphed again in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Hamza met defeat at the hands of eventual silver medalist Filippo Macchi of Italy.
The 2024 Summer Olympics have come to a close, and with it, Princeton’s representation on the world’s biggest stage for this go around. The Tigers will be bringing home four medals to Old Nassau this fall, adding to Princeton’s storied history of Olympic excellence.
Joseph Uglialoro is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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