Texas A&M sends fourth-most Olympians to Paris out of any SEC school

Texas A&M sends 12 Olympians to Paris; Aggies have fourth-highest number of any school in the SEC

The Paris Olympics are in the news right now for all sorts of reasons—some of which have nothing to do with the actual competitions—but the events are now fully underway. It’s always interesting to see among the different nations how many teams come from different colleges here in the US. 

There are certain schools always well-represented in that number—your Stanfords, Virginias, Floridas, et cetera—and Texas A&M usually has a respectable showing in that regard. This Olympics is no different, as the Aggies are sending a total of twelve athletes to Paris to compete.

That mark is good for the 4th-most in the new-look SEC. Texas and Florida are tied for first with 14, and Kentucky comes in just a nose ahead of the Aggies with 13 (bolstered by three members of Team USA basketball in Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Devin Booker).

The Aggies are down one of their best-known Olympians as well, as Athing Mu was unfortunately denied the chance to compete after a mid-race fall last month. Mu is an absolute killer on the track, and it is tragic that she won’t be able to defend her gold medal. The Ags will still have a top track athlete present, though, as Fred Kerley will be representing A&M for team USA.

Overall, though, the Aggies will have a strong presence in Paris. This isn’t even to mention that women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor is an assistant for USA Women’s Basketball! Things like this are great signs of a healthy athletic department, and A&M remains one of the best in the nation.