Nearly a dozen athletes with Cincinnati ties are competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, hoping to bring hardware back to the Queen City in soccer, rowing, swimming, sport climbing and more.
Carson Foster from Mason might be the favorite for gold in the 400-meter individual medley after he beat out the most recent gold and silver medalists in that event at US Olympic trials last month. Rose Lavelle and the US women’s soccer team will always be mentioned among favorites for gold in women’s soccer. Nina Castagna from Walnut Hills will be the coxswain for the women’s rowing eight, a team that has won three of the last four gold medals.
There are more athletes who have a chance to medal in Paris, but this contingent wouldn’t be the first gold medalists from Cincinnati.
Throughout the last 100 years, the Cincinnati area has produced some of the best Olympic athletes in the history of the modern games. Darrell Pace from Reading is considered by many to be the best American archer ever. Swimmer Gary Hall Jr. won five gold medals across three different Olympics. Bob Schul became the first (and still today the only) American to win the 5,000-meter track race while a student at Miami University.
Here's a look at the Cincinnatians who have earned gold medals at past Olympics:
William DeHart Hubbard, 1924 Paris Olympics, long jump
Cincinnati ties: Hubbard was an athletic star at Walnut Hills High School before going to the University of Michigan, where he was the first black varsity track letterman.
Olympic results : On his first long jump attempt of the qualifying round, Hubbard was injured and couldn't finish the round. His first jump was enough to qualify him for the final, however. Hubbard leaped 24 feet, 6 inches (7.47 meters) in the 1924 Olympic final to win the gold, the first African American to win an individual gold medal. He qualified for the long jump again in 1928 but finished 11th.
After the Olympics : After graduating from college, Hubbard worked as the supervisor of the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission. Later, he became the manager of a public housing project in Cincinnati, before he moved to Cleveland to be a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Authority. He also founded the Cincinnati Tigers , a baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues.
Mae Faggs, 1952 Helsinki Olympics, track, 4x100 meter relay
Cincinnati ties: Faggs grew up and went to high school in New York, but after graduating from Tennessee State, Faggs earned a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati and lived in the area until her death.
Olympic results : Faggs participated in three Olympic games: London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. She won gold in Helsinki for the women's 4x100 meter relay and then a bronze medal in Melbourne for the same race.
After the Olympics : She taught physical education around the Cincinnati area and eventually started working at Princeton High School. She led the Princeton girls' track and field team to the Ohio state championship in 1989. In 2000, she died at her home in Woodlawn, a village just north of Cincinnati.
Jerry Lucas, 1960 Rome Olympics, basketball
Cincinnati ties: Lucas is from Middletown and starred at Middletown High School, where he led the Middies to a 76-1 record and two state championships during his three years on varsity. In his last high school game, the 1958 state championship, Lucas lost his only high school game, 63-62 to Columbus North.
Olympic results : After helping lead Ohio State to the 1960 NCAA championship, Lucas was selected for the 1960 US Olympic team. Lucas scored 21 points in the gold medal game as the United States defeated Brazil for the gold.
After the Olympics : Lucas went on to have a storied career in professional basketball, leading him to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. He played for the Cincinnati Royals from 1963 to 1969 before being traded to the San Francisco Warriors. He won the NBA Championship in 1973 with the New York Knicks. Across his 11-year pro career, Lucas was a seven-time All-Star and was named to an All-NBA team five times.
Bob Schul, 1964 Tokyo Olympics, track, 5,000 meter run
Cincinnati ties: Schul was born in the suburbs of Dayton, but he won Olympic gold while a student at Miami University. He graduated from Miami in 1966, two years after winning in Tokyo.
Olympic results : Schul competed in just one Olympics, winning gold in the 5000-meter race in 1964 with a time of 13 minutes, 38 seconds. He's still the only American to ever win gold in the 5,000-meters.
After the Olympics : Schul retired in 1965 due to knee issues. In 1973, he started a men's cross-country team at Wright State, which he coached until 1981 when the program shut down. The program returned in 1999, and Schul was the coach from then until 2006. He died in Middletown on June 16, 2024 at the age of 86.
Darrell Pace, 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, archery
Cincinnati ties: Pace is originally from Reading and currently lives in Hamilton.
Olympic results : Pace is the only Olympic archer ever to win two individual gold medals. He won individual gold in 1976 and 1984, and he just might have won a third if the US didn't boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Pace also won silver in the team competition in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
After the Olympics : Pace worked for the Department of Natural Resources for years, while also coaching archers of all ages.
Joseph Hudepohl, 1992 Barcelona (4x100 meter freestyle) and 1996 Atlanta Olympics (4x200 meter freestyle)
Cincinnati ties: Hudepohl was raised in Finneytown and graduated from Saint Xavier in 1992. He swam for the Cincinnati Marlins as a kid.
Olympic results : As the youngest member of the 1992 United States swimming team at the Barcelona Olympics, Hudepohl won a gold medal with the 400-meter freestyle relay team. He also won a bronze with the 4x200 meter freestyle relay team. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Hudepohl won a gold with the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team.
After the Olympics : Hudepohl graduated from Stanford in 1997, and he currently resides in Atlanta and works in finance.
Amanda Borden, 1996 Atlanta Olympics, gymnastics team competition
Cincinnati ties: Borden was born in Cincinnati and attended Finneytown Secondary Campus.
"Coming back to Cincinnati after the Olympics, I had no idea how proud everyone was going to be," Borden said in an interview with the Enquirer. "We had parades, autograph signings, all of this stuff that I never could've imagined. There was a lot of pride.
Olympic results : After narrowly missing out on the Olympics in 1992 as a 15-year-old, Borden made the games in 1996. She was the captain of the US gymnastics team that became the first American women's team ever to win an Olympic gold, nicknamed the Magnificent Seven .
"My roommate Jaycie Phelps and I couldn't sleep the next night," Borden said. "We just kept looking at the medals. We couldn't believe they were ours."
After the Olympics : Borden now lives in Arizona, where she owns two gymnastics training facilities. She says that around Olympic time, she sometimes brings her medal into the gym to show kids and their parents what hard work can lead to. She has also appeared on CBS Sports, Fox Sports, TBS and ESPN as a commentator for gymnastics and cheerleading events.
Jaycie Phelps
Cincinnati ties: Phelps grew up in Greenfield, Indiana, but she trained at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy and graduated from Northwest High School.
Olympic results: Phelps is another member of the 1996 Olympic gold medal US women’s gymnastics team, the Magnificent Seven. That is the only Olympics she competed in.
After the Olympics: Phelps tried to make a comeback for the 2000 Olympics, but ultimately, she failed to qualify and retired. Phelps later opened her own gymnastics gym.
Gary Hall Jr., 1996 Atlanta (400 meter freestyle, 400 meter medely), 2000 Sydney (50 meter freestyle, 4x100 meter freestyle) and 2004 Athens Olympics, 50 meter freestyle
Cincinnati ties: Hall was born in Cincinnati.
Olympic results : Hall achieved the rare and impressive feat of winning gold medals across three different Olympics. In total, Hall won 10 Olympic medals, five of which were gold.
After the Olympics : Hall, long known for his eccentric personality, currently serves on the board of the National Youth Sports Health and Safety Institute. In 2006, Hall and his sister survived a shark attack, with Hall reportedly punching the Shark multiple times before his sister speared it.
Heather Mitts, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, women's soccer
Cincinnati ties: Heather Mitts was born in Cincinnati and attended St. Ursula Academy.
Olympic results : Mitts won Olympic gold with the US women's soccer team three times, in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
After the Olympics : Mitts announced her retirement from soccer in 2013. Currently, she is working on getting a professional women's soccer team in Philadelphia.
Bryan Volpenhein - 2004 Athens Olympics, rowing-eight
Cincinnati ties: Originally from Cincinati, Volpenhein graduated from Kings High School. He didn't start rowing during his childhood in Cincinnati, he started when he got to Ohio State. He credits luck and good genetics for helping him get to the Olympics so soon after starting to row. He graduated from Ohio State in 2002 and was named USRowing Male Athlete of the Year that same year and in 2004. He's the only two-time winner of the award.
Olympic results : Volpenhein and the US men's eight won the gold medal at the 2004 Games in Athens and bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Volpenhein was also a part of the 2000 Olympic team.
After the Olympics : Volpenhein is currently the head coach of the rowing program at Oklahoma City University. His wife is the head coach of the rowing program at the University of Oklahoma.
"It's a little difficult having kids and following those same schedules," Volpenhein said. "But we're making it work."
Mary Wineberg, 2008 Beijing Olympics, track, 4x400 meter relay
Cincinnati ties: Wineberg was born in Brooklyn, but she grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Walnut Hills and UC.
Olympic results : Wineberg's one Olympic medal came in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she ran the first leg of the 4x400-meter relay.
After the Olympics : Wineberg lives in Cincinnati and now works as an educator.
Kayla Harrison, 2012 London and 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics, Judo
Cincinnati ties: Harrison was born in Middletown, Ohio and graduated from Middletown High School.
Olympic results : Harrison has won two gold medals in women's judo, in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
After the Olympics : Kayla Harrison is currently a professional fighter in the UFC. Her last appearance in the ring, she submitted her opponent about halfway through the second round and then said afterward she wanted a title fight next.
Nick Thoman, 2012 London Olympics, swimming, 4x100 meter relay
Cincinnati ties: Thoman was born in Cincinnati and swam for the Cincinnati Aquatic Club through high school. He attended Mariemont High School.
Olympic results : Thoman earned a gold in 2012 swimming the backstroke leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay for the US team. He also won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke.
After the Olympics : Thoman now works with " Fitter and Faster ," a company that offers swim camps for competitive swimmers and coaches.
Zach Apple, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, swimming, 4x100 meter medley relay
Cincinnati ties: Apple was born in Trenton, Ohio and attended Edgewood High School. He swam at the Great Miami Valley YMCA as a youth.
Olympic results : Apple competed in his first Olympic Games in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. He won two golds in the most recent Summer Olympics, in the 4x100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter medley relay.
After the Olympics : Apple announced his retirement from competitive swimming on Feb. 23, 2023. He now works in engineering in Indiana.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Gold in the Queen City: Cincinnati has long history of producing successful Olympians.
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