Rio Olympics 2016: which universities produced the most gold medal winners?

Want to become a degree-holding Olympic gold medal winner? Tommaso Grant finds out which institutions might be right for you

August 24 2016

By Tommaso Grant

TEF results, teaching quality, UK teaching quality

After the culmination of the Rio Olympics, the eyes of most people will have been drawn to the official international medal table. A great deal has been made of the remarkable rise of Team GB, who finished second in the table behind the US.

Even more remarkable, perhaps, has been the performances of some of the world’s top universities in these Games, with many institutions producing a string of gold medal-winning athletes.

The tables below detail which universities can count the most 2016 Rio Olympics gold medal-winning athletes among their undergraduate alumni (not the total golds won). They are based on publicly available data, and include both people with an undergraduate degree from the named institution, and those currently studying towards one.

The top gold medal winners (scroll down for athletes, and lower ranked universities)

Rank	University	Country	Gold medal-winning athletes
1	Stanford University	US	11
2	University of California, Los Angeles	US	7
2	University of Florida	US	7
4	Loughborough University	UK	6
4	University of Southern California	US	6
6	University of Connecticut	US	5
6	University of Texas at Austin	US	5
8	University of Oregon	US	4
8	Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism	Russia	4
10	Griffith University	Australia	3
10	Tokai University	Japan	3
10	University of California, Berkeley	US	3

The university podium

Gold: Stanford University (US)

Topping the university Olympic athlete table is Stanford University, thanks to the triumphs of current students such as swimmer Katie Ledecky and alumni such as Greece’s pole vault champion Ekaterina Stefanidi. Stanford had a golden Olympics and can lay claim to 16 gold medals across its 11 athlete students/alumni in 10 separate events.

If competing as its own nation, Stanford would have found itself eighth in the overall medal table, equalling France’s gold medal tally and beating the likes of South Korea, Italy and Australia. Not bad for a “nation” of only 16,000 students. Stanford can also take credit for having contributed to about 20 per cent of Team USA’s gold medals, not to mention a sizeable number of silvers and bronzes.

Joint silver: University of California, Los Angeles (US)

UCLA can count themselves as the second-best performing university at the Rio Olympics, with 10 gold medals by seven current or former students across five separate events, including the quadruple gold-winning gymnast Simone Biles.

This performance would see UCLA placed in the top 20 most successful Olympic nations for 2016, ahead of Canada and New Zealand.

Joint silver: University of Florida

An impressive performance from UF, which can claim seven gold medals among its bachelor's students and graduates.

Joint bronze: Loughborough University (UK)

The highest-placed British institution on the list, Loughborough University’s long-standing commitment to sporting excellence is already well known, and as such it can be of no surprise to anyone that the university performed so well at these Games.

As well as providing training facilities for numerous athletes such as Team GB’s Adam Peaty, students and alumni of the university brought back seven gold medals from three events. Several of these gold medal winners were members of the triumphant women’s hockey team, including shootout hero Maddie Hinch.

Joint bronze: University of Southern California (US)

In joint third on this list, USC can also lay claim to six gold medal-winning athletes, winning eight golds in total across eight different events.

USC boasts a number of multiple gold medal winners among its current and former students, including US runner Allyson Felix and Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu, who won two and three gold medals, respectively. Each of the top three best-performing US universities are in California, winning gold medals in 23 events and placing fourth in the official medal table, only three golds behind China.

The Rio Olympics 2016 university medal table in full

Medal winner	Country	University	Number of gold-winning athletes
Simone Manuel	US	Stanford University	11
Elle logan	US	Stanford University	11
Maya DiRado	US	Stanford University	11
Kate Ledecky	US	Stanford University	11
Ekaterini Stefanidi	Greece	Stanford University	11
Makenzie Fischer	US	Stanford University	11
Ashley Grossman	US	Stanford University	11
Kiley Neushul	US	Stanford University	11
Melissa Seidemann	US	Stanford University	11
Maggie Steffens	US	Stanford University	11
Gabby Stone	US	Stanford University	11
Sami Hill	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Simone Biles	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Rachel Fattal	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Kodi Hill	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Courtney Mathewson	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
KK Clark	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Madison Kocian	US	University of California, Los Angeles	7
Kerron Clement	US	University of Florida	7
Christian Taylor	US	University of Florida	7
Dana Vollmer	US	University of Florida	7
Ryan Lochte	US	University of Florida	7
Arman Hall	USA	University of Florida	7
Tony McQuay	USA	University of Florida	7
Caeleb Dressel	US	University of Florida	7
Dalilah Muhammed	US	University of Southern California	6
Katinka Hosszu	Hungary	University of Southern California	6
DeMar DeRozan	US	University of Southern California	6
Allyson Felix	US	University of Southern California	6
Kami Craig	US	University of Southern California	6
Kaleigh Gilchrist	US	University of Southern California	6
Matt Gotrel	UK	Loughborough University	6
Maddie Hinch	UK	Loughborough University	6
Hannah Macleod	UK	Loughborough University	6
Laura Unsworth	UK	Loughborough University	6
Giselle Ansley	UK	Loughborough University	6
Liam Heath	UK	Loughborough University	6
Ryan Crouser	US	University of Texas at Austin	6
Townley Haas	US	University of Texas at Austin	6
Joseph Schooling	Singapore	University of Texas at Austin	6
Courtney Okolo	USA	University of Texas at Austin	6
Kevin Durant	US	University of Texas at Austin	6
Michelle Carter	US	University of Texas at Austin	6
Maya Moore	US	University of Connecticut	5
Sue Bird	US	University of Connecticut	5
Breanna Stewart	US	University of Connecticut	5
Tina Charles	US	University of Connecticut	5
Diana Taurasi	US	University of Connecticut	5
Vlada Chigireva	Russia	Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism	4
Maria Schurochkina	Russia	Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism	4
Alla Shishkina	Russia	Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism	4
Alexandra Patskevich	Russia	Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism	4
Ryan Murphy	US	University of California, Berkeley	4
Anthony Ervin	US	University of California, Berkeley	4
Nathan Adrian	US	University of California, Berkeley	4
Nathan Adrian	US	University of California, Berkeley	4
Emma Mckeon	Australia	Griffith University	3
Brittany Elsmlie	Australia	Griffith University	3
Shannon Parry	Australia	Griffith University	3
Mashu Baker	Japan	Tokai University	3
Rie Kaneto	Japan	Tokai University	3
Haruka Tachimoto	Japan	Tokai University	3
Koji Yamamuro	Japan	Nippon Sport Science University	3
Kohei Uchimura	Japan	Nippon Sport Science University	3
Kenzo Shirai	Japan	Nippon Sport Science University	3
Astier Nicholas	France	University of the West of England	2
Pete Reed	UK	University of the West of England	2
Georgie Twigg	UK	University of Bristol	2
Hannah Mills	UK	University of Bristol	2
English Gardner	US	University of Oregon	2
Ashton Eaton	US	University of Oregon	2
Tamika Catchings	US	University of Tennessee	2
Tianna Bartoletta	US	University of Tennessee	2
Derek Drouin	Canada	Indiana University (Bloomington)	2
Lilly Kings	US	Indiana University (Bloomington)	2
Draymond Green	US	Michigan State University	2
Emily Regan	US	Michigan State University	2
Shaunae Miller	Bahamas	University of Georgia	2
Allison Schmitt	US	University of Georgia	2
Niccolo Campriani	Italy	West Virginia University	2
Virginia Thrasher	US	West Virginia University	2
Emma Tonegato	Australia	Australian Catholic University	2
Mack Horton	Australia	Australian Catholic University	2
Nicole Beck	Australia	Charles Sturt University	2
Alicia Quirk	Australia	Charles Sturt University	2
Lisa Carrington	New Zealand	Massey University	2
Hamish Bond	New Zealand	Massey University	2
Mahe Drysdale	New Zealand	University of Auckland	2
Peter Burling	New Zealand	University of Auckland	2
DeMarcus Cousins	US	University of Kentucky	2
Henri Jungahenel	Germany	University of Kentucky	2
Kyle Snyder	US	Ohio State University	2
Ilse Paulis	Netherlands	Ohio State University	2
Mireia Belmonte	Spain	Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia	2
Carolina Marin	Spain	Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia	2
Andrija Prlainovic	Serbia	University of Belgrade	2
Dusan Mandic	Serbia	University of Belgrade	2
Seimone Augustus	US	Louisiana State University	2
Sylvia Fowles	US	Louisiana State University	2
Choi Mi-Sun	South Korea	Gwangju Womens University	2
Ki Bo-Bae	South Korea	Gwangju Womens University	2
Sophie Bray	UK	University of Birmingham	2
Lily Owsly	UK	University of Birmingham	2
Mo Farah	UK	St Mary’s University, Twickenham	2
Mohamed Sbihi	UK	St Mary’s University, Twickenham	2
Helen Glover	UK	Cardiff Metropolitan University	1
Heather Stanning	UK	University of Bath	1
Alex Gregory	UK	University of Reading	1
Alistair Brownlee	UK	Leeds University	1
George Nash	UK	University of Cambridge	1
Constantine Louloudis	UK	University of Oxford	1
Scott Durant	UK	Oxford Brookes University	1
Tom Ransley	UK	University of York	1
Andrew Triggs-Hodge	UK	Staffordshire University	1
Paul Bennett	UK	King's College London	1
Phelan Hill	UK	University of Leicester	1
Saskia Clarke	UK	University of Chichester	1
Helen Maroulis	US	Missouri Baptist University	1
Brianna Rollins	US	Clemson University	1
Cody Miller	US	Duke University	1
Kathleen Baker	US	Washington and Lee University	1
Jeff Henderson	US	Florida Memorial University	1
Katelin Snyder	US	University of Washington	1
Amanda Polk	US	University of Notre Dame	1
Lauren Schmetterling	US	Colgate University	1
Amanda Elmore	US	University of Michigan	1
Tessa Gobbo	US	Brown University	1
Leah Smith	US	University of Virginia	1
Kristin Stewart	US	University of Idaho	1
Conor Dwyer	US	University of Iowa	1
Ryan Held	US	North Carolina State University	1
Catherine Skinner	Australia	RMIT University	1
Emilee Cherry	Australia	University of Queensland	1
Chloe Dalton	Australia	University of Sydney	1
Gemma Etheridge	Australia	Queensland University of Technology	1
Rosie Maclennan	Canada	University of Toronto	1
Erica Wiebe	Canada	University of Calgary	1
Shi Tingmao	China	Southwestern University	1
Sun Yang	China	Zhejiang University	1
Xiang Yanmei	China	Central South University	1
Liu Huixia	China	Beijing Sport University	1
Kristine Sprehe	Germany	University of Oldenberg	1
Sonke Rothenberger	Germany	Nijmeghen University	1
Fabian Hambuchen	Germany	German Sports University Cologne	1
Aliya Mustafina	Russia	Gubkin Russian State University	1
Natalia Ischenko	Russia	Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University	1
Kosuke Hagino	Japan	Toyo University	1
Shohei Ono	Japan	Tenri University	1
Eri Tosaka	Japan	Shigakkan University	1
Emilie Andeol	France	UMNV	1
Teddy Riner	France	Sciences Po	1
Kevin Staut	France	University of Normandy	1
Daniele Garozzo	Italy	University of Rome	1
Maaike Head	Netherlands	Maatsricht University	1
Marit Bouwmeester	Netherlands	Stenden University of Applied Sciences	1
Ferry Weertman	Netherlands	Open University: Netherlands	1
Aron Szilagyi	Hungary	Eotvos Lorand University	1
Elaine Thompson	Jamaica	University of Technology Kingston	1
Omar Mcleod	Jamaica	University of Arkansas	1
Oscar Figueroa	Colombia	Santiago de Cali University	1
Caterine Imbarguen	Colombia	Metropolitan University	1
Lucas Tramer	Switzerland	University of Freiberg	1
Mario Gyr	Switzerland	Lucerne University	1
Anna Korakaki	Greece	University of Macedonia	1
Eleftherious Petrounas	Greece	Athens University of Economic and Business	1
Paula Pareto	Argentina	University of Buenos Aires	1
Lucas Vila	Argentina	University of Palermo (Argentina)	1
Mads Mensah Larsen	Denmark	University of Aalborg	1
Wayde van Niekerk	South Africa	University of the Free State	1
Caster Semenya	South Africa	University of Pretoria	1
Oleg Vernyayev	Ukraine	Donetsk State Institute of Sport	1
Anita Wlodarcyzk	Poland	PWM Poznan	1
Nafissatou Thiam	Belgium	University of Liege	1
Matej Toth	Slovakia	Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra	1
Vladimir Khingegashvili	Georgia	LELP Gori State University	1
Taha Akgul	Turkey	Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University	1
Lukas Krpalek	Czech Republic	Czech University of Life Sciences Prague	1
Ana Maria Branza	Romania	University of Craiova	1
Simona Pop	Romania	Vasile Goldiș Western University of Arad	1
Hsu Shu Ching	Taiwan	Khaosuing Medical University	1
Jasa Veramalua	Fiji	Fiji National University	1
Dilshod Nazarov	Tajikistan	Tajik Institute of Sports and Physical Culture	1
Carmelo Anthony	US	Syracuse University	1
Harrison Barnes	US	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	1
Jimmy Butler	US	Tyler Junior College	1
Paul George	US	California State University	1
Kyrie Irving	US	Boston University	1
DeAndre Jordan	US	Texas A&M University	1
Kyle Lowry	US	Vllanova University	1
Klay Thompson	US	Washington State University	1
Elene Delle Donne	US	University of Delaware	1
Britney Griner	US	Baylor University	1
Angel McGoughtry	US	University of Louiseville	1
Lindsay Whalen	US	University of Minnesota	1
Gwen Jorgensen	US	University of Wisconsin-Madison	1
Tori Bowie	US	University of Southern Mississippi	1
Ashlegh Johnson	US	Princeton University	1
Connor Fields	US	University of Nevada	1
Sam Quek	UK	Leeds Beckett University	1
Kate Richardson-Walsh	UK	Brunel University London	1
Helen Richardson-Walsh	UK	Open University	1
Hollie Webb	UK	University of Sheffield	1
Crista Cullen	UK	Nottingham Trent University	1
Sussanah Townsend	UK	University of Kent	1
Nicola White	UK	Loughborough College	1
Marina Sudakova	Russia	Russia State Trade-Economic University	1
Roman Vlasov	Russia	Novosibirsk State Agricultural University	1
Alexey Cherimisinov	Russia	Smolensk State Academy Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism	1
Anastasia Bliznyuk	Russia	Lesgaft NSU, St Petersburg	1
Artur Bakhmatkuzin	Russia	Bashkir Academy of Public Service and Administration	1
Irrina Deriglasova	Russia	South-West State University	1
Beslan Mudranov	Russia	Adyghe State University	1
Eveny Tishchenko	Russia	Moscow State Mining University	1
Laura Benkarth	Germany	Albert-Ludwig University	1
Oh Hye Ri	South Korea	Konkuk University	1
Park Sang Young	South Korea	Korea National Sport University	1
Jing Jon-Oh	South Korea	Kyungnam University	1
Inbee Park	South Korea	Kawngwoon University	1
Natasha Hastings	USA	University of South Carolina	1
LaShawn Merrit	USA	East Carolina University	1