The Kent State University athletic program has a long and rich history with the Olympic Games. And when the 2024 Summer Olympics get underway today in Paris, the Golden Flashes will once again be well represented.
Three former Kent State athletes will compete in the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Corey Conners (Canada) in men’s golf, Chris Ortiz (Puerto Rico) in men’s basketball and Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Jamaica) in the women’s shot put. Thomas-Dodd, a national champion in her Kent State days, is in her third Summer Olympics, while Conners, who currently plays on the PGA Tour, is competing in his second straight Games.
Two other former Golden Flashes will also take part in the Paris Games: Danny Sahl, who will serve as Conners’ caddie, and David Markle, who will be the caddie for Nick Taylor (Canada). Also, two of Conners’ former teammates at Kent State, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes, are the second and third alternates, respectively, for Team Canada.
So the Kent State Olympic count now stands at 19 Olympians since 1948, including a record five former KSU athletes who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (which were actually held in 2021 after being delayed a year due to Covid-19). Those 19 Kent State Olympians have combined for a total of 29 appearances in the Games.
The Paris Olympiad represents the 11th straight Summer Olympic Games to feature a current or former KSU student-athlete, a stretch that began with the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
MEET YOUR THREE KENT STATE OLYMPIANS
– Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Jamaica), shot put: At the Tokyo Olympics, Thomas-Dodd missed advancing to the finals for the first time by just 0.2 meters. In her first Olympics venture, she finished in 26th place at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Thomas-Dodd currently has a No. 9 world ranking and enters these Olympics with the 11th-best throw in the world this year.
At Kent State, she won the NCAA national championship in the shot put in 2017. She followed that with several successes on the world stage, winning gold medals in the shot put at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. She earned silver medals in the shot put at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom, at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, U.K.
A 2016 Kent State graduate, Thomas-Dodd begins her third Olympic Games on Aug. 8, when the qualifying round for the shot put will be held. The finals take place Aug. 9.
– Corey Conners (Canada), golf: Conners finished in 13th place out of a field of 60 at the Tokyo Olympics. He was a two-time All-American at Kent State, winning individual medalist honors at the Mid-American Conference Championships twice. He was a two-time MAC Golfer of the Year and has the fifth-lowest career scoring average in KSU history at 72.94.
Conners, a 2014 KSU grad, earned his PGA Tour card in 2018 and has two tour victories to his credit, winning the Valero Texas Open in 2019 and 2023. He has an impressive total of 25 career top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including at two Majors: the 2022 Masters (tied for 6th) and the 2024 U.S. Open (tied for 9th).
The men’s golf competition at the Paris Games will feature 72 holes at Le Golf National from Aug. 1-4.
– Chris Ortiz (Puerto Rico), basketball: Ortiz, who will be playing in his first Olympics, helped Puerto Rico secure its first spot at the Summer Games in 20 years by winning a FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament earlier this month. Ortiz played at Kent State from 2013-16, finishing his Golden Flashes career with 630 points and 470 rebounds in 121 games. He helped Kent State capture a share of the MAC regular-season title in 2015.
A 6-foot-8 power forward, Ortiz has been a member of the Puerto Rican national team since 2013, playing in tournaments such as the FIBA Basketball World Cup and FIBA Americup. He averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as Puerto Rico went 4-0 to win one of four 2024 FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and reach Paris. Ortiz is the second former Kent State men’s basketball player to play in the Olympics, following Nate Reinking, who represented Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Puerto Rico was assigned to Group C of the Olympic men’s basketball pool and will play Serbia, South Sudan and the USA during the group phase starting July 28. The top eight teams will advance to the final phase, beginning with the quarterfinals Aug. 6.
Congratulations and good luck to the Flashes’ Olympians!
KSU ALUMNI OLYMPICS SCHEDULE
Here’s a look at the competition schedule for the three Kent State Olympians:
– Sunday, July 28: Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. South Sudan (Group Phase) – Chris Ortiz
– Wednesday, July 31: Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. Serbia (Group Phase) – Chris Ortiz
– Thursday, Aug. 1: Men’s Golf (First Round) – Corey Conners
– Friday, Aug. 2: Men’s Golf (Second Round) – Corey Conners
– Saturday, Aug. 3: Men’s Golf (Third Round) – Corey Conners; Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. USA (Group Phase) – Chris Ortiz
– Sunday, Aug. 4: Men’s Golf (Final Round) – Corey Conners
– Tuesday, Aug. 6: Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. TBD (Quarterfinals) – Chris Ortiz
– Thursday, Aug. 8: Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. TBD (Semifinals) – Chris Ortiz; Women’s Shot Put (Qualifying) – Danniel Thomas-Dodd
– Friday, Aug. 9: Women’s Shot Put (Finals) – Danniel Thomas-Dodd
– Saturday, Aug. 10: Puerto Rico Men’s Basketball vs. TBD (Gold/Silver Medal Game) – Chris Ortiz
WATCHING THE PARIS GAMES
You can watch the Paris Olympics – and catch our Kent State Olympians – across the networks and platforms of NBCUniversal. View the full broadcast and streaming schedule as well as the full competition schedule at NBCOlympics.com. Keep in mind that Paris is six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.
You can also follow Kent State Athletics on X, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates on Conners, Ortiz and Thomas-Dodd.
Tom Hardesty is a Portager sports columnist. He was formerly assistant sports editor at the Record-Courier and author of the book Glimpses of Heaven.