10 Olympic gold-medalists from Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics take center stage, let’s take a second to reflect back on all the notable athletes that have come out of the Show-Me-State and showed the world they were made of.

Here are 10 Missourians that have reached the pinnacle of athletic success and won gold medals in the Olympic games:

Helen Stephens – Track & Field

Helen Stephens was born on Feb. 3, 1918, and grew up on a farm in Fulton, Mo. When she was 8 years old, Stephens dreamed of becoming the fastest woman in the world, and years later, she was able to achieve that dream.

On Aug. 4, 1936, the then 18-year-old athlete sailed to Berlin, Germany as a member of the USA Olympic Track and Field team. While in Berlin, she set the world record for the 100-meter event at 11.5 seconds. Then five days later, Stephens set another world record at 46.9 seconds in the 400-meter relay team.

She received a gold medal for both events and was deemed “ the fastest woma n runner in the world. “

Ray Armstead – Track & Field

Born in 1960, Ray Ricky Armstead is a St. Louis native who won gold in the 4×400 relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics . His team recorded the second-fastest time ever and the fastest ever at that altitude at 2:57:91.

The next year, he helped the U.S. team win the World Cup title in the same race and between the years 1984-1986, he ranked in the U.S. top 10 in the 400 meters .

Jayson Tatum – Basketball

Jayson Tatum, another St. Louis native, was born in March 1998 to a family of athletes, including a father who played professional basketball in the Netherlands.

Tatum had a successful basketball career at Duke University before he was drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics in 2017. A few years later, in the 2019-2020 season, Tatum was the youngest player in Celtics history to be named an All-NBA third-team member.

In 2020, Tatum was also chosen to be a part of the USA Olympic Basketball Team. While in Tokyo, he won gold as a first-time Olympian alongside several other notable basketball stars, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Lebron James.

Bill Bradley – Basketball

Bill Bradley was born and raised in Crystal City, Mo. , a small river town just south of St. Louis, and was known for his athletic talents and academic prowess.

While in school, Bradley was an all-state athlete and worked diligently on his studies, resulting in 75 college scholarship offers. However, Bradley turned away the offers and pursued an academic and basketball career at Princeton University.

In 1964, Bradley earned a spot on the USA Olympic basketball team where he was awarded a gold medal, and a year later, was titled NCAA Player of the Year.

Although Bradley’s basketball career proved to be successful in the States, he pursued a higher education at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, eventually playing professional basketball around Europe.

Shortly after, he returned to the U.S. to serve in the Air Force Reserve and then played for the New York Knicks from 1967-1968.

He spent 10 years with the Knicks, winning two championship titles before retiring in 1977 to serve as a Senator in the state of New Jersey.

Harriett Bland Green – Track & Field

Harriet Claiborne Bland , later turned “Bland Green,” was a Midwest sprinter who not only defied the odds through her athleticism but also her determination to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Green qualified for the 1936 USA Olympic Track and Field Team but was told there was no money to send her to Berlin. In an effort to achieve her dreams, a fundraiser was created to cover her travel expenses, allowing her to land in Germany that year.

While at the Olympic games, Green competed alongside Betty Robinson, Annette Rogers and Helen Stephens in the 4×100-meter relay. All four women were awarded a gold medal and praised for their talents when they returned to the States.

After a successful track career, Green devoted her life to coaching runners at various schools in Missouri. Later, she pursued a higher education at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Washington University in St. Louis.

Joe Kleine – Basketball

Joe Klein grew up in Slater, Mo., a rural town near the middle of the state, and was widely known as being a large (no pun intended) success story in his community. Standing at 7 feet tall, Klein played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Arkansas before being the sixth overall pick for the Sacramento Kings in the 1985 NBA Draft.

Prior to his NBA career, Klein was chosen to play for the US national team in the 1982 FIBA World Championship where he won silver, and then two years later, won gold at the 1984 Olympic games.

By the time he retired, Klein had scored 4,666 points, made a total of 3,991 total rebounds and scored 849 of 1,069 free throws.

After his long and successful run in professional basketball, Klein moved on to coach high school and AAU basketball. He was then hired as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2007.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee – Track & Field

From an impressive athletic career to an inspirational philanthropic mission, Jackie Joyner-Kersee has been praised for her talent and selflessness for decades.

Known widely as a track star in the 80s and 90s, Joyner-Kersee is the first and only woman in history to earn more than 7,000 points in a heptathlon. Even after more than 30 years, her record still holds at 7,291 points. But that’s not all…

Joyner-Kersee also holds the Olympic and national records in the long jump after her impressive 1988 performance in Seoul. This was her second of four Olympic appearances between 1984 and 1996, and at these games, she won a gold medal after leaping 7.40 meters . A distance that has not been beaten to this day.

By the time she retired, Joyner-Kersee had earned three gold, one silver and one bronze medal in the Olympic games. She also won four World Championship titles and played professional basketball for a short time.

Joyner-Kersee grew up in East St. Louis which led her to want to devote her time after a successful athletic career to giving back.

She established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation to encourage young kids in her hometown to pursue their dreams in both athletics and academics. She was also a professional public speaker, an advocate for children’s education, and worked diligently for racial equality and women’s rights.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee will forever go down in history as being one of the greatest athletes in the world and the greatest influence in her community.

Leon Spinks – Boxing

Leon Spinks is another St. Louis native who created waves in the sports world and made history as being one of the best boxers in the world.

Although Spink’s talents led him to an impressive gold medal at the Montreal Olympic games in 1976, he is most well-known for earning the World Heavyweight Championship after beating the infamous Muhammad Ali in 1978.

What makes this feat even more impressive is that he had only fought in seven professional fights. Making him a champion with a record of 6-0-1.

Spinks also made history because he and his brother, Micheal , are the only siblings to individually win the World Heavyweight Championship in the world.

Napheesa Collier – Basketball

Napheesa Collier is a 27-year-old basketball star who was born and (mostly) raised in Jefferson City, Mo. before moving to St. Louis in her sophomore year of high school.

Collier made her Olympic debut in the 2020/2021 Tokyo Games. While overseas, she won gold after appearing in four games and is set to compete in the Paris Olympics this year.

To add to her already impressive list of achievements, Collier also won gold medals in the 109 FIBA AmeriCup, the 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and the 2014 FIBA Americas U189 Championship.

Collier was the sixth draft pick by the Minnesota Lynx in 2019 and earned a spot in the All-WNBA first team in 2023, the All-WNBA second team in 2020, was awarded Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is a three-time NBA All-Star.

To say that Collier has impacted the world of women’s basketball is a significant understatement. She has proven to be a powerhouse on the court and a powerhouse in her personal life, playing at the highest athletic level imaginable while dedicating herself to being a mother and a wife.

It is safe to say, Collier is an inspiration to many past, present, and future female athletes.

Bob Kurland – Basketball

To keep the theme going of Missouri basketball stars, Bob Kurland has made his mark not only in the state of Missouri, but around the world as one of the best basketball stars during his time.

Kurland was born in St. Louis and considered attending the University of Missouri-Columbia before committing to Oklahoma A&M.

The 7-foot man was an important piece of his team’s NCAA puzzle, leading them to win titles in both 1945 and 1946. In both years, he was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Oustanding Player and was voted Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year.

Although Kurland’s collegiate career was deemed to be incredibly successful, he did not pursue a professional basketball career, even turning down a spot in the newly formed NBA at the time. However, this allowed him to play in the 1948 London Olympics and the 1952 Helenski, Finland Olympics, where he led both U.S. basketball teams to a gold medal.

Kurland’s “lack” of professional experience didn’t stop him from continuing to play the sport he loved, though. He still continued on and played for the Philips Petroleum A.A.U. team, the Oilers, for six years and led it to three championships.

The list of famous Missouri Olympians who have won gold continues to grow and grow every four years. But regardless of whether an athlete can or can’t make it to the tallest spot of the Olympic podium, their success is not defined by a mere ribbon around their neck. Instead, what matters most is their character, their role in shaping and inspiring future generations, and their influence in the communities around them.

Be prepared to see another story profiling 10 Olympic gold medalists from Kansas! Happy 2024 Olympics!

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