Florida alums Will Claye, left, and Christian Taylor, center, finished 1-2 in the triple jump at the Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
Gators Near Top in Medals at Rio Summer Olympics
Monday, August 22, 2016 | Scott Carter, Olympics
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The Florida contingent in the Rio Olympics won 13 medals.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida contends regularly for the Capital One Cup, which is awarded annually to the nation's top NCAA men's and women's athletic programs.
The Gators get it done at the Olympics, too.
Florida won 13 medals at the Rio Olympics that concluded Sunday. According to USA Today, Florida and Texas tied at fourth for the most medals won by NCAA schools.
Stanford claimed 27 medals, California and Southern Cal tied for second with 21, followed by the Gators and Longhorns.
Florida won six medals in swimming, six in track and field, and one in volleyball.
UF swimmer Caeleb Dressel returned home with two gold medals from the Rio Olympics. (Photo: USA Today Sports)
Gators junior swimmer Caeleb Dressel won a pair of gold medals as a member of the U.S. men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team and 4x100 medley relay team.
Perhaps the highlight for the Florida contingent in Rio came in the triple jump. Former UF standouts Christian Taylor (gold) and Will Claye (silver) became the first duo in history to finish 1-2 in back-to-back Olympics in the triple jump.
And who can forget former UF sprinter Kerron Clement's performance to win his first individual gold medal in the 400 hurdles.
Florida's medal winners: Caeleb Dressel (two in swimming), Conor Dwyer (two in swimming), Ryan Lochte (swimming), Christian Taylor (track), Kerron Clement, Arman Hall (track), Tony McQuay (track), Dan Wallace (swimming), Will Claye (track), Novlene Williams-Mills (track) and Kelly Murphy (volleyball).
With the 2016 Rio Games behind us, here are some fresh links covering the Gators in Rio:
