Since USC sent its first athlete to the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis, the school has built an Olympic legacy that can rival most countries. Trojans have amassed 341 medals over the history of the Games, more than athletes from any other university in the United States. USC was represented just as well in Paris, sending 67 Olympians across 27 nations and nine sports.

Also on the line was USC’s streak of winning a gold medal at every Summer Olympics since 1912, and the record seemed in danger until the latter stages of the games. The first Olympic gold in Paris won by a Trojan came on Aug. 9, the third-to-last day of the games. It came via sprinter TeeTee Terry, who ran the second leg of the U.S. women’s 4×100 meter relay which edged out Great Britain and Germany to take first place.

After Terry broke through, many others quickly followed suit. In the end, Trojans finished with 15 medals: seven gold, two silver and six bronze.

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Terry attended USC from 2018 through 2021 and has anchored the four fastest 4×100 meter relays in school history. She also holds the school record in the 100-meter dash at 10.98 seconds. Terry also competed in the individual 100-meter dash in Paris, advancing to the final and finishing 5th with a time of 10.97 seconds.

After Terry brought home gold, it took less than three hours for another former USC track star, Rai Benjamin, to clinch the second Trojan gold medal. Benjamin, who transferred to USC from crosstown rival UCLA for a single season in 2018, won gold in the 400-meter hurdles, avenging a defeat in Tokyo to Norwegian Karsten Warholm.

Benjamin’s work did not end there. He also ran the anchor leg in the U.S. men’s 4×400 meter relay, holding off Botswanan superstar Letsile Tebogo to win his second gold medal of the Games.

While Trojans played a part in American track success through Terry and Benjamin, a slip-up on the track from Americans also helped lead to gold for two more USC alumni. In the men’s 4×100 meter relay final, the United States was disqualified due to a baton error, opening the door for Canada to win the gold, led by former Trojans Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown.

For De Grasse, a legend of Canadian sprinting, it was his seventh Olympic medal, including another gold in the 200-meter dash in Tokyo. He competed at USC for a single season in 2015, shocking the sprinting world by doing the double — winning the national championship in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Brown ran for USC from 2011 through 2014, finishing his career as a six-time first-team All-American. The 4×100 triumph in Paris marked his first Olympic gold medal after winning silver and bronze in the same event in 2020 and 2016, respectively.

Outside the track, Trojans also took home gold in two team sports. Croix Bethune, who attended USC from 2019 through 2022, won gold with the U.S. women’s soccer team as an alternate. Bethune scored 26 goals in 48 appearances for the Trojans and was a consensus first-team All-American in 2021.

After transferring to the University of Georgia for her last year of eligibility, she was the third overall pick in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Draft to the Washington Spirit. An Olympic call-up so early into her professional career was somewhat of a surprise, and Bethune will look to build on her experience in Paris and feature more prominently in future national squads.

In contrast to Bethune, Anni Espar, a member of the Spanish women’s water polo team, is a veteran of her sport at 31 years old. She played a key role in her team’s run to gold, including playing all 32 minutes and scoring two goals in an 11-9 win over Australia in the gold medal match.

Espar, now a four-time Olympian, also won silver medals in 2020 and 2012, where she was the second-leading scorer overall. She played her sole season at USC in 2013, scoring the game-winning goal to secure a national championship for the Trojans and being named a first-team All-American.

In the gold medal match, Espar and Spain faced off against an Australian team featuring Tilly Kearns, one of two current Trojans to walk away from Paris with a medal. Kearns has been named a first-team All-American twice in three seasons at USC and played a key role in Australia’s run to a silver medal.

The other current USC student-athlete to medal was sprinter Yemi John, who brought home a bronze medal with Great Britain in the women’s 4×400 meter relay. John will return to USC for her sophomore season after a freshman campaign that saw her earn second-team All-American Honors and set a freshman school record in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

While the wait for a gold medal in Paris may have been longer than Trojan fans have grown accustomed to, the 2024 Games were another big success for the school. All eyes now turn to the home 2028 Games in Los Angeles, during which USC’s Olympic legacy and Trojan athletes will likely be front and center.