Tiger Stadium is one of the best scenes in all of college sports, and things are expected to get crazy on Saturday night as 11th-ranked Alabama look to escape with a win against their 15th-ranked hosts in a game that could have huge ramifications for the College Football Playoff. There will no doubt be fireworks on the field, and it looks like ESPN and LSU will be pulling out all the stops off it, too.
On Saturday, the university will honor 22 former and current student-athletes who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of those who will take in the acclaim is Armand Duplantis.
Regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Duplantis is the world outdoor and indoor record holder, and a two-time Olympic champion. He also showed his speed in a 100m exhibition race. At only 24-years-old, he has an incredible 19 gold medals to his name, having competed in the World Athletics Championships, the Diamond League and the European Championships, as well as two Olympics. He won his first Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, before defending his crown three years later.
The American-born Sweden pole vaulter attended Louisiana State University after graduating high school in 2018, though he left after his first year in order to turn professional. Despite a short Collegiate career, he still won an SEC championship and placed second in the pole vault at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 2019 season.
Duplantis will be honored alongside fellow Paris 2024 gold medal winners Vernon Norwood and Sha’Carri Richardson. They won the men's and women's 4 x 400m relay respectively. All in all, LSU athletes secured eight medals at the 2024 Games.
It has been five years since Sha’Carri Richardson bid adieu to her alma mater, Louisiana State University. Although she spent only a year at LSU, she left making quite an impact! It was in 2018 that she joined the LSU Tigers track and field team. In just a year’s time, she was a finalist in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. But then came the Outdoor NCAA Division I Championships.
Sha’Carri, at 19, went on to achieve the second-fastest one-day double in women’s track history! She won the 100m, clocking 10.75, which broke the 42-year-old world U20 record by Marlies Göhr. But it didn’t stop there. She then went on to win the silver in 200m, clocking 22.17! That was also a record-breaking time; she broke Allyson Felix’s U20 record from the 2004 Olympics. Just 4 days after that piece of history was created, Sha’Carri signed a professional deal with Nike and never looked back! That is until now.
That’s right, Sha’Carri Richardson is coming back to where it all started. However, she is not alone! She will be joined by her LSU confidant, Mondo Duplantis! They return to the gates of the place where their dreams first started to materialize. Or as Mondo puts it, “We also both had huge dreams, and we knew that we could be in the situation that we are today, but everything happened in the way that it has, and we actually are doing what we always [hoped], manifesting what we could do.” All that was manifested is now their reality. So why are they back?
Well, the two are set to come back to LSU on November 9th. This is no ordinary date or day at LSU; it is the mother of all game days! But why? Well, it is the day that the much anticipated LSU-Alabama game is set to happen. The Tiger Stadium, during one of college football’s biggest rivalries, has decided to make the most of the moment and honor its Olympic athletes!
This is no ordinary moment. It is ESPN’s College GameDay, with over 400 drones flying around and huge crowds roaring! Let’s not forget it was the one year that Sha’Carri Richardson spent here that she became a four-time All-American and a three-time SEC champion! And Mondo? Well, he, too, left after his first year at LSU. But Mondo also won SEC and NCAA titles while also setting indoor and outdoor collegiate records (19′ 5″ and 19′ 8.25″). So what exactly is going to happen?
LSU plans to honor its former and current athletes who were at the 2024 Paris Olympics. And, of course, Sha’Carri is on the list. Sha’Carri won two medals in Paris. One was her silver in 100m clocking 10.72. And then there is, of course, the team Gold in the 4×100 relay. Remember the anchor leg moment? Sha’Carri went on to take the U.S. team from third to first. And boy-oh-boy, was it an iconic finish!
Just as she crosses the finish line, she glances at the competition and comfortably takes the win. The crowd and even commentators felt the energy at that moment. With, of course, the “Nobody beats Sha’Carri Richardson” moment becoming simply iconic! But Mondo Duplantis had an equally historic moment in Paris. He went on to make the new world record with his 6.25m vault. With that win, Mondo became the second man in pole vaulting history to win golds in two consecutive Olympics. So how did that happen?
Well, Mondo also won gold in Tokyo with a 6.02 m jump. The last time someone won two Olympic golds consecutively was in 1956, when Bob Richards was unbeatable. Now, that’s not the end of the excitement; there’s one more LSU athlete who will be joining the besties!
Vernon Norwood will join the bestie duo. Now, Norwood is one of the greatest names in LSU 400m track history. Remember 2015? That was Norwood’s senior year, where he went on to win NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in the 400m. He also led LSU to two national titles in the 4×400 relay while running the anchor leg. But it is not his speed in college; he is being recognized for it. It’s Paris!
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Vernon Norwood was a part of two Olympic relay teams. One was the mixed 4×400 relay team that went on to win silver. And the other is the iconic men’s 4×400 relay team. The team went on to win gold, and it is this win that LSU is honoring. LSU will make history by honoring Sha’Carri Richardson, Mondo Duplantis, and Vernon Norwood during halftime of one of its biggest games.
The return to LSU will be particularly significant for Richardson and Duplantis, both of whom left a mark on the university’s athletic program in 2019. During her NCAA career, Richardson emerged as a dominant force in the 100m, securing a victory at the NCAA Championships and placing second in the 200m event. Her speed and tenacity quickly turned heads, setting the stage for a professional career that would see her rise to World Championship podiums and Olympic glory.
Duplantis, a Louisiana native, also made waves during his time at LSU, securing a second-place finish in pole vault at the NCAA Championships and later clinching the top spot in his specialty at the SEC Championships. Mondo Duplantis, who competed alongside Richardson for LSU in 2019, expressed his admiration for his former teammate. At a recent Stockholm Diamond League meet, Duplantis praised Richardson, acknowledging the journey they both have shared since their college days. “I think both of us, we knew we were capable of these kinds of things. I'm so proud of her. It’s such a weird thing to think where we were then, not even just as athletes but as people, too. And then to see where we are now, it's super special,” Duplantis shared in an interview with Olympics.com.
The event promises to be an emotional homecoming, not just for Richardson and Duplantis, but for other former Tigers who competed at the Olympics, including Vernon Norwood, Juan Celayan-Hernandez, Aleah Finnegan, Taryn Kloth, and Kristen Nuss. Reflecting on their achievements, LSU shared a heartfelt message on social media . “Repped LSU On The International Stage. We’re excited to welcome back our Olympians to be honored at the LSU-Alabama game this weekend!,” reads the statement.
