Pole vaulter with 19 gold medals and fastest 100m time set for College GameDay honors, with Livvy Dunn playing key role

ESPN’s College GameDay will head to Baton Rouge this weekend for a huge matchup between the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Tiger Stadium is one of the best stages in all of college sports, and things are expected to get crazy on Saturday night as 11th-ranked Alabama looks to escape with a win over the host 15th-ranked team in the game , which can have huge consequences for the team. That College football Playoffs.

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There will no doubt be fireworks on the field, and it looks like ESPN and LSU will pull out all the stops as well.

On Saturday, the university will honor 22 former and current student-athletes who competed in Paris 2024. Olympic Games.

One of those who will receive recognition is Armand Duplantis.

Duplantis, considered the greatest pole vaulter of all time, is an outdoor and indoor world record holder and a two-time Olympic champion. He also showed his speed in 100 meter exhibition race.

Just 24 years old, he has won an incredible 19 gold medals, competing at the World Athletics Championships, Diamond League and European Championships, as well as two Olympic Games.

He won his first Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and defended his crown three years later.

The American-born Swedish pole vaulter attended Louisiana State University after graduating from high school in 2018, but left after his freshman year to turn pro.

Despite his short collegiate career, he still won the SEC championship and finished second in the pole vault at the pole vault meet. NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships for 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 4×400 meter relay respectively.

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In total, LSU athletes won eight medals at the 2024 Games.

Meanwhile, this week’s ESPN College GameDay guest selection segment will feature an LSU gymnastics star. Livvy Dunn and her boyfriend Paul Skeens, who is Major League Baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The role, often assigned to a different household name each week, will involve the pair sitting behind a panel with other analysts to predict the results of a series of college football games on Saturday.

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Dunn becomes both the first college athlete to compete as a catcher and the first athlete overall in the NIL (name, image and likeness) era to do so.

Thanks to her ever-growing brand and deals, lately with Jake PaulHer net worth is estimated at $9.5 million, giving her plenty to live on after college.

After helping the LSU women win their first national gymnastics championship earlier this year and amassing more than five million Instagram followers of her own, Dunn has undoubtedly become a campus celebrity.

Now she is in her final year and is trying to win back-to-back rings and earn another ring.

Skence, meanwhile, won the College World Series in 2023 and will no doubt receive a hero’s welcome when he returns.