Five Famous Olympic Gold Medalists from Right Here in Kentucky

The opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics are coming up this Friday in Paris, France. Back here in Kentucky, Olympic fans (like me) are getting geared up to cheer on Team USA and members of that team from right here in Kentucky. The Commonwealth, by the way, has a 'golden' Olympic history. Various Kentuckians, and other athletes with ties to the Bluegrass State, have scored Olympic Gold! Here's a look at five legendary Kentucky athletes that are forever a part of Olympic history.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Muhammad Ali (who was born in Louisville) was only 18-years-old when he competed at the Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. There, he won a gold medal in boxing. Of course, Ali had another iconic Olympic moment during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Swimmer Janet Evans passed the proverbial torch to Muhammas Ali and he got the honors of lighting the flame during one of the most powerful opening ceremony moments in Olympic history.

MARY T. MEAHER PLANT

Like Muhammad Ali, Mary T. Meagher was born in Louisville as well. From an early age, she excelled in the sport of swimming and set her first world record at the age of 14. She is one of the greatest butterfly swimmers in the history of the sport and, at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, won three gold medals. She won the 100-meter butterfly, the 200-meter butterfly, and the 4 x 100-meter medley relay.

Meagher returned to the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul, Korea. She added two more medals to her Olympic haul. There, she scored a silver and a bronze.

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SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE

Sydney McLaughlin isn't originally from Kentucky. However, she attended the University of Kentucky, where she competed in track and field. Any Kentuckian knows that any UK athlete automatically becomes a native son or daughter. We're certainly proud parents to this one. Sydney ran her way to an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she won two of them. She won gold in the 400-meter hurdles event and the women's 4 x 400-meter relay.

And, guess what?  She's the heavy favorite to win gold in Paris. Just a few weeks ago- at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials- she shattered her own world record.

LEE KIEFER

Until the Tokyo Olympics, a U.S. woman had never won a medal of any color in the women's individual foil fencing competition. Lee Kiefer, who grew up in Lexington, changed that in a massive way. She claimed gold in a dramatic final round battle!

BRAD WILKERSON

Owensboro native Brad Wilkerson, who would eventually play eight seasons in Major League Baseball, is an Olympic hero as well. The Apollo High School graduate was a member of Team USA, which won the gold medal in baseball in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In the Gold Medal Game, Wilkerson and Team USA defeated Cuba 4 to 0 in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.