As the Paris Olympics conclude, four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist Lauryn Williams, B.B.A. ’04, reflects on her journey to the Olympics and life after professional sports.
Fourteen current and former Hurricanes competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, including Puerto Rican basketball player Davon Reed, B.S.Ed. ’17; American track and field athlete Russell Robinson, B.S.Ed. ’23; Dominican volleyball player Ariana Rodriguez; AND American wheelchair rugby player Lee Fredette, B.A. ’10, extending the University of Miami’sproud tradition of its athletes representing their alma mater as well as their countries on the world’s stage.
The path to the Olympics—and what happens after—is as unique as challenging for competitors.
Lauryn Williams, B.B.A. ’04, a four-time Olympian, three-time medalist, and the first American woman to earn a medal in both the Winter and Summer Games, is no exception, calling the journey to where she is today the most trying and rewarding experience of her life.
She first noticed she was faster than the average child during friendly races with children in her Pittsburgh, Pa. neighborhood. She started racing against children her age and when she beat all of them, their older siblings would go up against her. Then the siblings began bringing their fastest friends. Williams still won every time.
“That was when I realized I had something,” Williams said.
Her mother came to the same conclusion when she called her daughter and the family dog, playing in some faraway corner of the yard, to come in for supper.
“I ran home faster than the family German Shepherd. My mom stopped what she was doing and said, ‘Okay, this little girl is fast,’” Williams recalled, with a smile.
Her father first realized when young Williams ran faster than a hologram of Florence Griffith Joyner, the fastest woman ever recorded, at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
Not long after, they enrolled her in a track and field program.
During her senior year of high school, as colleges and universities flooded her with recruitment letters and athletic scholarships, Williams realized running could take her places.
Among the many offers, the University of Miami stood out to Williams, with its impressive campus and beautiful weather. She also instantly connected with the track and field director, Amy Deem.
“Coach Deem saw something in me and made me feel like the University of Miami was the place for me…
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