The 2024 Paris Olympics have officially come to a close, and it was a successful Olympics for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Mississippi State saw a school record nine Bulldogs be a part of the Olympic games.
Eight athletes - Columbians Catalina Perez and Ilana Izquierdo in Women's Soccer, Jamaica's Navasky Anderson and Canada's Marco Arop in the Men's 800m, Grenada's Anderson Peters and the United State's Curtis Thompson in Men's Javelin, Botswana's Lee Eppie in the Men's 4x400m Relay, and Portugal's Nuno Borges in Men's Tennis - competed while MSU Track & Field coach Chris Woods served as an assistant coach for Team Canada.
And when it was all said and done, two MSU Bulldogs took home medals in Paris.
Anderson Peters wins Bronze for Team Grenada in Men's Javelin
State Track & Field athlete Anderson Peters was the first Bulldog to medal in Paris. The Grenadian won Bronze in Men's Javelin with a throw of 88.54m. He finished behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem (92.97m) and India's Neeraj Chopra (89.45m).
Peters' medal was the first by a Grenadian in a throwing event, and he was the first Mississippi State athlete to medal in the Olympics since 2000.
Marco Arop wins Silver for Team Canada in the Men's 800m
A second Track & Field Bulldog medaled in Paris and did so in one of the most thrilling finishes of the entire Olympics. Canadian Marco Arop took home Silver in the Men's 800m with a blazing time of 1:41.20.
He finished just one-hundredth of a second behind Gold-winner Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya (1:41.19). To call it a photo-finish would be an understatement. Arop's time set a record both for Canada and the North American continent. It was the fourth-fastest time in world history.
Arop won Canada's first medal in the 800m since 1964, and he is the first Bulldog to ever medal in the event.