Even beyond Stanley Redwine’s own presence at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, a group of athletes whom he coached in college will compete in the colors of their various home countries.
Redwine, the longtime KU track and field coach who has aided the development of numerous future Olympians, is now getting the chance to work directly with the current U.S. Olympic team as the head coach of the men’s track and field squad.
“I think we all find ourselves in awe,” athletic director Travis Goff said on Thursday, “that the head coach of Kansas track and field is leading our country in arguably the top part of what the Olympics stands for, in track and field.”
Redwine, for his part, said in March, “Being around those athletes, there’s not a lot that they really need from me, but I will get more out of it than they will. Just to serve them is a great opportunity.”
One of those athletes will be his former All-American middle-distance runner, Bryce Hoppel, who set a new meet record in the 800 meters at the Olympic team trials to punch his ticket.
But elsewhere in Paris, beyond the American camp, Michael Joseph, a Big 12 indoor champion in the 400 meters in February, will compete in that event for Saint Lucia, one of four athletes in all representing the country. (He has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.) He will also serve as the nation’s flag bearer at Friday’s opening ceremony.
“To be named the flag bearer for St. Lucia is both a crowning achievement of all that I have poured into this sport and a great honor,” he said in a press release. “To be able to hoist our flag high and represent the beautiful island of Saint Lucia on the biggest stage in track and field means everything to me.”
And Yoveinny Mota, who spent the 2023-24 season at KU after transferring from Arkansas, ran the Olympic standard in the 100-meter hurdles during NCAA regionals, both setting a KU record and ensuring she would get the chance to run for Venezuela this summer.
Those two will compete along with a slew of onetime Jayhawks whose collegiate careers are further in the past. Here’s more detail on four of the Olympians who competed for Redwine’s past KU teams — plus one more who played for Bill Self and the KU men’s basketball program.
Hussain Asim Al Hizam, of Saudi Arabia, makes an attempt in the men’s pole vault qualification during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.
Hussain Al-Hizam
A three-time Big 12 champion in the pole vault during his KU tenure (2016-2021), Al-Hizam is now set for an Olympic debut after ascending to the No. 25 ranking in the world, the highest position of his career.
His personal-best clearance of 5.70 meters is a national record for Saudi Arabia; career highlights for the native of Jubail include victories at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Azerbaijan (5.55), 2021 Arab Championships in Tunisia (5.55) and 2023 Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan (5.45). Now he takes on the Olympics.
“So, my goal in winning an Olympic medal isn’t just a personal feat. I hope that the young kids of Saudi will see me, just a kid from a small town who is able to compete with the rest of the world,” Al-Hizam told Arab News. “With countries that have a long and rich Olympic history, we have the same athletic body and competitive spirit as they do, and we deserve to be here.”
Alexandra Emilianov, of Moldova, competes during qualifying for the women’s discus throw at the World Athletics Championships on Monday, July 18, 2022, in Eugene, Ore.
Alexandra Emilianov
Emilianov, a very recent former Jayhawk (2018-22) who holds three school records, will be making her return to the Olympics, throwing the discus once again after a throw of 54.57 meters in the 2020 Olympics. Her recent results have been much stronger, including most recently when she posted 61.49 in the Moldovan championships in her native Chișinău on June 28.
She currently ranks 26th nationally in the event, and by competing in another Olympics is following the path of her father Ivan, who threw the shot put in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2016 editions of the competition.
“I will probably try to do what my father didn’t do,” she said, per her official Olympic profile. “When my father brought me to this sport, he told me to beat his performance. My father was at four editions of the Olympics. I don’t know if I can do it too, but he always supported me and I hope to succeed.”
Bryce Hoppel wins the men’s 800-meter final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
Bryce Hoppel
Under Redwine’s tutelage once again, this time as part of the U.S. national team, will be the aforementioned Hoppel, who won the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a time of 1:42.77. In fact, he has finished in first 10 of the 11 times he has run that race during the calendar year 2024, including in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
He now comes in at fifth in the world in that event, after finishing 16th during his previous Olympic showing in 2021.
“I think this year can be special,” Hoppel told Runner’s World earlier this year. “With my excitement and how things have been going and how I’ve been racing, I would be disappointed if I wasn’t able to get a medal this year.”
Sharon Lokedi, of Kenya, crosses the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge during the New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.
Sharon Lokedi
Lokedi had a decorated KU career that saw her twice named the Big 12 cross-country runner of the year (2016 and 2017) and thrice the league’s indoor track and field performer of the year (2017, 2018 and 2019). In 2018, she even won a national title and set a meet record in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA outdoor championships; she concluded her tenure with the Jayhawks holding practically every long-distance running record on the women’s side, and her silhouette stands at the Rim Rock Farm course.
Her professional career as an Under Armour athlete has taken her in a somewhat new direction as a marathon runner, but she has been no less successful. She won her first-ever such competition, the New York City Marathon, in 2022. She came in third in the same event the following year and was runner-up in the Boston Marathon this past April.
However, Lokedi was initially excluded from the squad of three Kenyan runners on the Olympic marathon team, and was serving as an alternate until an injury to Brigid Kosgei allowed her to take her place on the roster.
“When I was named in the team I was excited and called my mum,” she said, per allAfrica. “I told her that I am in because she has been encouraging me to keep trying and to keep doing my race.”
United States center Joel Embiid (11) pushes against Canada power forward Dwight Powell (7) during the second half of an exhibition basketball game Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers center grew up in Cameroon prior to playing at KU, but earned citizenship for both France and the U.S. in 2022. Ultimately, last year he decided he would represent the U.S. internationally.
“I am blessed to call Cameroon, France, and the USA home,” he wrote in a post on X. “After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they’ve been incredible since the day I came here. But most of all, I want to honor my son who was born in the US. I want my boy to know I played my first Olympics for him.”
Embiid only played 28 games in one season at KU but got picked third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and has gone on to become a seven-time All-Star and the 2023 league MVP. During the 2023-24 season, he averaged a career-best 34.7 points per game, to go along with 11.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists. In a narrow victory over South Sudan on Saturday he had 14 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes.
Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics
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