FAYETTEVILLE -- No doubt there will be Hog Calls heard at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Probably a lot.
How could Arkansas' cheer not be part of the Olympics when there are so many Razorbacks competing?
"I think a lot of countries would be very envious of the contingent that little Fayetteville, Arkansas, has been able to put together," said Lance Harter, coach of the Razorbacks' women's cross country and track and field teams. "It's super exciting for us."
[ARKANSANS IN RIO: Full coverage of 23 in Olympics]
If Arkansas was a country -- how does the United Republic of Razorbacks sound? -- its 18 Olympians would be more than 102 of the 206 competing nations.
"It's cool we'll have so many Razorbacks in Rio," said Dominique Scott, who will run the 10,000 meters for South Africa after winning the 5,000 and 10,000 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this year as an Arkansas senior. "Going to the warmup track and the competition track itself, I think it's going to be like going to practice.
"There will be a lot of friendly faces around."
Fifteen of the former or current Razorbacks competing at the Olympics are in track and field. The other three are professional golfers Stacy Lewis (U.S.), Gaby Lopez (Mexico) and David Lingmerth (Sweden).
Arkansas' track and field contingent is led by Omar McLeod (Jamaica), the world leader in the 110 hurdles; Jarrion Lawson (U.S.), the world leader in the long jump; Sandi Morris (U.S.), the American record holder in the pole vault; and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), who has won a combined seven medals at four previous Olympics, in the 200.
The Razorbacks also have Lawson and Tyson Gay (U.S.) and Campbell-Brown in the 400-relay pool and Taylor Ellis-Watson (U.S.) in the 1,600-relay pool -- all with teams favored to finish among the top three.
"We definitely have some medal contenders for the Razorbacks," Lawson said. "I think we'll come back with a few."
Golf has returned as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904.
"I want to be a part of the Olympics," Lewis, the No. 7-ranked player on the LPGA Tour, told The Associated Press last month. "I think the Olympics are bigger than any golf tournament on the planet.
"It's bigger than the Masters. It's bigger than the U.S. Open. It's bigger than the Women's Open. It's the biggest thing out there, and I want to be a part of that."
The Razorbacks' 18 Olympians are competing for nine countries.
"The world gets smaller and smaller year by year," said Bryan Compton, Arkansas' women's field events coach. "To have all these athletes represent their countries helps the Razorbacks brand go worldwide."
Six Razorbacks -- including Lexi Weeks in the pole vault and Chrishuna Williams in the 800 -- qualified for the Olympics with their performances at the U.S. Trials in Eugene, Ore., where Arkansas women's team won the NCAA outdoors title and the men's team finished second to Florida.
Olympians who scored for the Razorbacks women's team were Scott, Weeks and Ellis-Watson.
Lawson became the first athlete since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win the long jump and 100 and 200 at the NCAA Championships.
Both Arkansas teams swept SEC triple crowns this school year -- winning cross country and indoor and outdoor track championships -- and were second at the NCAA indoor meet.
"It's been a great year all-around for both programs, and it just snowballed off the NCAA meet outdoors," said Chris Bucknam, coach of the Razorbacks' men's cross country and track and field teams. "I think there was an extra special energy in Eugene at the Trials with as many Razorbacks as we had.
"Once the ball got rolling, just like it does for a team, we caught fire."
Three Razorbacks -- McLeod, Clive Pullen in the triple jump and Kemoy Campbell in the 5,000 -- won their events at the Jamaican National Championships to qualify for the Olympics. Campbell-Brown took second in the 200, an event in which she's won two Olympic gold medals.
"The Razorbacks could definitely be an Olympic team this year and go out there and hold our own," said McLeod, a four-time NCAA champion in two years at Arkansas. "What I like about it is that we feed off each other's success.
"It goes to show how great of a program Arkansas is at developing athletes and setting us up to have long careers. When you go into the track offices, you see pictures of all these Olympians up on the walls and you just want to be like them."
Arkansas had produced 42 athletes in track and field who made a combined 65 appearances in the Olympics -- 31 men and 11 women -- prior to this year.
The 15 track and field athletes competing in Rio de Janeiro surpass Arkansas' previous Olympic high mark of 11 in 2012.
"The thing that I'm proud about as a head coach is that when these athletes came to us, they weren't Olympians," Bucknam said. "Both Lance's coaching staff and mine have done a phenomenal job of helping get these guys to this level."
John McDonnell won 40 national championships as Arkansas' men's coach from 1972-2008 with the help of 25 Olympians, including Mike Conley and Calvin Davis. Conley won the gold medal in the triple jump in 1992 and silver medal in 1984, and Davis won the bronze medial in the 400 hurdles in 1996.
"Of course Coach Mac got it all started with his athletes," Bucknam said. "We're just doing our best to build on his legacy."
McDonnell's first Olympian was Niall O'Shaunessy, who ran the 800 and 1,500 for Ireland in 1976.
"It's fantastic to see both our men's and women's programs excelling," McDonnell said. "I'd say the Hogs would be a pretty darn good country.
"To think where the program came from in the 1960s and early '70s, it's really impressive."
Harter said recruits and their families have taken notice of the Razorbacks' large Olympic presence.
"One of the things we try to pitch in our recruiting is that the journey doesn't end at the University of Arkansas," Harter said. "If you really have aspirations of being an Olympian, this is the place to come.
"Yeah, we want you to be successful for Arkansas, but your greatest years should be as a post-collegian, and as coaches we're going to continue to help you."
The Razorbacks help each other, too.
When Scott made her professional debut at a meet in Monaco in July, McLeod and Campbell-Brown were there. They welcomed Scott to use their masseuse and chiropractor.
"I think Dominique was kind of nervous at first about asking us," McLeod said. "She came over and whispered, 'Do you think it would be OK if your physio could help me out?' We said, 'Sure, it's no problem, just go talk to him. We've got you covered.'
"That's just the love the Razorbacks have for each other. Once a Razorback, then the love continues anywhere we go and see each other."
Sports on 08/05/2016
2016 Summer Olympics coverage
Arkansans in the Olympics: Stories, results + more
SCHEDULE: Interactive calendar of all events
THE TORCH: Details on this year’s torch, information on torchbearers, route of the torch relay
QUIZ: Test your Summer Olympics knowledge
Republic of Razorbacks
There are 18 athletes competing in the Olympics who have Arkansas Razorback ties, including 15 who will participate in track and field events. Here’s a rundown of the participants with Razorback connections:
ATHLETE COUNTRY EVENT
Kemoy Campbell Jamaica 5,000 meters
Ver. Campbell-Brown Jamaica 200 meters
Taylor Ellis-Watson USA Relay pool
Tyson Gay USA Relay pool
Regina George Nigeria 1,600 relay
Christine Kalmer So. Africa Marathon
Jarrion Lawson USA Long jump
Stacy Lewis USA Women’s golf
David Lingmerth Sweden Men’s golf
Gaby Lopez Mexico Women’s golf
Sparkle McKnight Trin. & Tobago 400 hurdles
Omar McLeod Jamaica 110 hurdles
Sandi Morris USA Pole vault
Clive Pullen Jamaica Triple jump
Dominique Scott So. Africa 10,000 meters
Tina Sutej Slovenia Pole vault
Lexi Weeks USA Pole vault
Chrishuna Williams USA 800 meters
Other Arkansans at the Olympics
A rundown of other athletes with Arkansas connections expected to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro:
ATHLETE (CONNECTION) COUNTRY EVENT
Kyle Clemons (Jonesboro) USA 1,600 relay
Jeff Henderson (Sylvan Hills) USA long jump
Isabella Isaksen (Fayetteville) USA modern pentathlon
Margaux Isaksen (Fayetteville) USA modern pentathlon
Michael Tinsley (Pulaski Robinson) USA 400 hurdles
By the numbers
Of the more than11,000 athletes from 206 countries expected to participate in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 550 are Americans, the largest national contingent in the Games. Eighteen competitors are former or current Arkansas Razorbacks, a total which equals or outnumbers the national teams of 115 countries.
COUNTRY ATHLETES
United States .................. 550
Brazil............................... 464
Germany......................... 420
Australia ......................... 418
China .............................. 398
France............................. 393
Great Britain ................... 366
Japan .............................. 339
Canada............................ 309
Spain .............................. 301
Italy................................. 294
Russia ............................ 271
Poland ............................ 242
Netherlands .................... 237
Argentina ........................ 212
South Korea ................... 203
New Zealand................... 199
Ukraine ........................... 198
Hungary.......................... 156
Sweden........................... 152
Colombia ........................ 144
South Africa ................... 135
Mexico............................ 126
Denmark......................... 120
India................................ 120
Belarus ........................... 119
Egypt .............................. 117
Cuba ............................... 115
Belgium .......................... 106
Serbia ............................. 104
Kazakhstan ..................... 103
Turkey............................. 102
Czech Republic .............. 101
Switzerland..................... 101
Romania ............................96
Greece ...............................94
Portugal.............................92
Croatia ...............................86
Venezuela ..........................86
Kenya.................................80
Ireland ...............................77
Nigeria ...............................75
Uzbekistan .........................69
Austria ...............................66
Lithuania............................66
Algeria ...............................63
Iran ....................................62
Slovenia.............................62
Chinese Taipei ...................59
Jamaica .............................59
Norway ..............................59
Tunisia ...............................58
Azerbaijan..........................55
Finland ...............................55
Thailand.............................55
Bulgaria .............................51
Fiji ......................................51
Slovakia .............................51
Morocco ............................49
Israel..................................48
Estonia...............................42
Mongolia ...........................42
Puerto Rico .......................42
Chile...................................41
Georgia ..............................40
Ethiopia .............................38
Hong Kong ........................38
Ecuador .............................37
Qatar..................................36
Bahrain ..............................35
Montenegro.......................34
Armenia .............................32
Bahamas ...........................32
Malaysia ............................32
Trinidad and Tobago .........32
Latvia .................................31
North Korea .......................31
Zimbabwe..........................31
Peru ...................................29
Indonesia...........................28
Dominican Republic ..........27
Honduras...........................26
Angola ...............................25
Singapore ..........................25
Cameroon..........................23
Vietnam .............................23
Iraq ....................................22
Guatemala .........................21
Senegal..............................21
Uganda ..............................21
Moldova ............................20
Arkansas Razorbacks .... 18
Kyrgyzstan.........................18
Uruguay.............................17
Cyprus ...............................15
Ghana ................................14
Bolivia ................................12
Eritrea ................................12
Ivory Coast ........................12
Mauritius ...........................12
Philippines.........................12
United Arab Emirates ........12
Barbados ...........................11
Paraguay ...........................11
Bosnia and Herzegovina ...10
Botswana...........................10
Costa Rica .........................10
Haiti ...................................10
Luxembourg......................10
Namibia .............................10
Panama .............................10
Seychelles .........................10
Antigua and Barbuda ..........9
Burundi................................9
Congo ..................................9
Cook Islands .......................9
Saudi Arabia ........................9
Sri Lanka .............................9
El Salvador ..........................8
Iceland .................................8
Jordan .................................8
Kosovo ................................8
Lebanon ..............................8
Lesotho ...............................8
Papua New Guinea ..............8
Rwanda ...............................8
Samoa .................................8
Turkmenistan ......................8
Aruba ...................................7
Bangladesh..........................7
Bermuda..............................7
Djibouti ................................7
Kuwait .................................7
Libya ....................................7
Malta....................................7
Myanmar .............................7
Nepal ...................................7
Pakistan...............................7
Saint Kitts and Nevis ...........7
Syria ....................................7
Tajikistan..............................7
Tanzania...............................7
Tonga...................................7
Virgin Islands ......................7
Zambia.................................7
Benin ...................................6
Cambodia ............................6
Central African Republic .....6
Fed. States of Micronesia ...6
Gabon ..................................6
Grenada ...............................6
Guyana ................................6
Laos.....................................6
Madagascar.........................6
Mali......................................6
Mozambique .......................6
Palestine ..............................6
Sudan ..................................6
Albania.................................5
Andorra ...............................5
Burkina Faso .......................5
Cape Verde ..........................5
Guam...................................5
Guinea .................................5
Guinea-Bissau .....................5
Macedonia...........................5
Malawi .................................5
Marshall Islands ..................5
Nicaragua ............................5
Niger ....................................5
Palau....................................5
Saint Lucia ..........................5
San Marino ..........................5
Suriname .............................5
Togo.....................................5
Yemen .................................5
American Samoa .................4
British Virgin Islands...........4
Cayman Islands ..................4
Comoros .............................4
DR Congo ............................4
Maldives ..............................4
Oman...................................4
St. Vincent/Grenadines .......4
Sierra Leone ........................4
The Gambia .........................4
Vanuatu ...............................4
Afghanistan .........................3
Belize ...................................3
Brunei ..................................3
Kiribati .................................3
Liechtenstein .......................3
Monaco ...............................3
Sao Tome and Principe .......3
Solomon Islands .................3
South Sudan .......................3
Timor-Leste .........................3
Bhutan .................................2
Chad ....................................2
Dominica .............................2
Equatorial Guinea ................2
Liberia..................................2
Mauritania ...........................2
Nauru...................................2
Somalia ...............................2
Swaziland ............................2
Tuvalu ..................................1
NOTE List does not include 10 refugee athletes and 8 independent athletes.