The memorable college careers of U.S. Olympic flag bearers

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw athletes from around the world represent their respective countries.

At the opening and closing ceremonies for each Olympic Games, certain athletes are given the honor of bearing their country's flag. The first U.S. flag bearer recognized by the Olympic committee was Ralph Rose, in the 1908 Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony. 

Here's a list of the U.S. Olympic flag bearers with noteworthy NCAA careers including highlights from their respective colleges.

Morgan Taylor (1932)| Grinnell College

Morgan Taylor attended Grinnell College, a Division IIII university, where he played football and ran track before turning to Men's Track & Field as an Olympic athlete. While at Grinnell, Taylor set the record in hurdles and long jumps (25-2). As a football player, he took on the role of pass-catcher. 

Ralph Craig (1948)| Michigan

Ralph Craig graduated from the University of Michigan in 1911 where he ran track and won the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) 220-yard event in back-to-back years — managing to equal the world record of the time each year (21.2). After winning two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics, Craig retired and took up yachting before being selected to bear the flag at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Norman Armitage (1952 & 1956)| Columbia

Norman Armitage has one of the longest fencing careers in U.S. Olympic history spanning over 28 years and participating on six Olympic teams. Armitage first picked up fencing as a student at Columbia and won the Intercollegiate Fencing Association sabre championship before graduating in 1928. Armitage worked as a chemical engineer and despite suffering third-degree burns in a chemical accident in 1936 that left his fencing career in question, Armitage persevered and made the 1936 Olympic team. He later won bronze in sabre at the 1948 Summer Games. 

Rafer Johnson (1960) | UCLA

As a two-sport athlete in track and field and basketball, and the student body president, Rafer Johnson was known as an all-around athlete at UCLA. As a Bruin, he held the world record in the decathlon and won a silver medal in the event at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Following graduation, he won gold in the decathlon event after bearing the flag at the 1960 opening ceremony. In 1984, Johnson was inducted in both the UCLA Athletic Hall of fame and the National Track and Field U.S. Olympic Halls of Fame and was the final torchbearer in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Parry O'Brien (1964) | Southern Cal

Standout shot-putter at Southern California, Parry O'Brien revolutionized the event by developing a technique, known as the "O'Brien Glide," that has since been adopted by shot putters everywhere. At USC, O'Brien won back-to-back NCAA national titles in shot put (1952 & 1953) and went on to compete in four Olympics where he won two gold and one silver medal. O'Brien is also known for being the first man to beat the 60-foot barrier.

Gary Hall (1976)| Indiana 

During his time at Indiana (1970-73) Gary Hall won eight swimming & diving NCAA championships, 13 Big Ten titles and 15 Athletic Amateur Union titles. As an Olympian, Hall won three medals, two in the butterfly, set 10 world records and is known as the first man to break four minutes for the 400m IM. In 1982 he was inducted into the IU Bloomington Athletics Hall of Fame.

Evelyn Ashford (1988)| UCLA

Evelyn Ashford was one of the world's top female sprinters of the 1970s. During her time at UCLA (176-78), she won four individual national titles and led the Bruins to the 1978 team national championship (AIAW). The summer after graduation, at 19 years old, Ashford placed 5th in the 100m at the 1976 Olympics. She went on to participate in three more Olympic games winning three gold medals in the 4x100m relay and a gold and silver medal in the 100m.

Francie Larrieu-Smith (1992) | UCLA

Francie Larrieu-Smith was a long-distance runner who started her four-decade career at Cal State Long Beach before transferring to UCLA. While at UCLA, Larrieu-Smith won the 1974 AIAW Outdoor titles in the 880m, mile and two-mile and led the UCLA chart in the 3000m (9:03.2). The standout Bruin was a member of five Olympic teams starting in 1972, at the age of 17, when she ran the 1500m. After retirement, she coached for 20 years at Southwestern University.

Bruce Baumgartner (1996) | Indiana State

In the 1982-83 season, Bruce Baumgartner had an all-time great DI wrestling season, going 44-0 en-route to a title. He finished his Indiana State career with a 134-12 record, winning 86 of 87 matches during his final two years.

Dawn Staley (2004) | University of Virginia

Dawn Staley took part in the 2004 Olympics as flag bearer during the opening ceremony. Before leading South Carolina to a national championship during the 2024 season, Staley was an icon on the court. Attending the University of Virginia, Staley led the Cavaliers to three consecutive Final Fours and was named the 1991 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Mia Hamm (2004) | North Carolina

Mia Hamm had one of the most prolific careers of any women's collegiate soccer player ever. She won four NCAA national championships, won 92 games to just one loss and two ties and college soccer in scoring during the 1990, 1992 and 1993 seasons. Hamm also won the MAC Hermann Trophy in 1992 and 1993, becoming the first two-time winner in the award's history.

MORE: Mia Hamm's college career- North Carolina highlights and notable moments

Lopez Lomong (2008) | Northern Arizona

Lopez Lomong started his career at Norfolk State before finishing at Northern Arizona. While at NAU, Lomong won the 2007 indoor 3000 meter title and the outdoor 1500 meter title. Lomong also ran cross country, finishing third individually at the 2007 championships.

Mariel Zagunis (2012) | Notre Dame

In two seasons at Notre Dame (2005-06), the highly decorated sabre won the 2006 NCAA championship after being the runner-up and helping the Irish to an NCAA team title the year before. Before starting at Notre Dame Zaginus was already collecting hardware. In 2004, she became the first U.S. fencer to win an Olympic gold medal in 100 years and the first-ever U.S. women’s fencer to win gold. Zagunis went on to win another gold medal in sabre (2008) and two team bronze medals (2008, 2016).

Bryshon Nellum (2012) | Southern California

Bryshon Nellum's track and field career got off to a rough start at Southern California after being a highly touted high school sprinter. He injured his hamstring and missed most of the season during his freshman year in 2008 and was shot in both legs in 2009. He returned to the track in 2010 where he helped USC finish fifth in the 4x400 meter relay at nationals. By 2012, Nellum had his first completely healthy season since high school and he placed 12th in the 400 meters and anchored the Trojans to the 4x400 meter relay at NCAA championships. 

Sue Bird (2020) | Connecticut

Sue Bird played just eight games in her freshman season at UConn after suffering a torn ACL. However, Bird finished her college career with two NCAA tournament national championships. Bird was a great shooter, setting UConn’s all-time record for 3-point field-goal percentage (.459) and free-throw percentage (.892). 

Katie Ledecky (2024) | Stanford

After making her Olympic debut at 15 years old, Katie Ledecky set an NCAA championship meet record for the 1650 freestyle as a freshman for Stanford in 2017. She broke her own record just one year later at the 2018 NCAA championships. Ledecky won eight NCAA titles while setting 15 national records in her time at Stanford. Before turning professional, Ledecky wrapped up her time at Stanford by guiding her women's swimming team to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2017 and 2018.

🎥 Katie Ledecky's record-breaking 2017 NCAA championships

Here's a look at the complete list of flag bearers dating back to 1906: