Paris Olympics 2024: A list of notable Texas athletes you won't want to miss
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is this Friday.
The greatest athletes in the world compete on the world stage, and many of them hail from Texas.
Some of our Texas athletes have competed in previous Olympic games and earned medals, while others will get to compete for the first time.
Team USA, consisting of 592 athletes, includes many who call various cities and towns in Texas their home, as indicated by the official roster of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Additionally, close to three dozen of these athletes have attended colleges located in the state of Texas. These athletes will compete in a diverse range of 20 different sports, spanning from archery to weightlifting.
Here is what you need to know about these Texans.
Sha'Carri Richardson: Women’s 100m, women’s 4 x 100m relay and women’s 200m
Richardson is a Dallas native who will compete in her first Olympics at 24 years old.
In 2021, Richardson emerged as a formidable contender against Jamaica's dominance in the 100m by securing an apparent victory at the US Olympic Trials. However, she was later disqualified and handed a one-month suspension after testing positive for THC, a substance banned under World Anti-Doping Agency rules. This disqualification led to her not being selected for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Richardson, who was raised by her grandmother, shared that she used marijuana as a coping mechanism after learning her biological mother had died.
In 2021, she vowed to return to athletic competition.
“I want to take responsibility for my actions," she said. "I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know what I'm allowed not to do, and I still made that decision."
Simone Biles: Gymnastics
Biles — who’s from Spring, Texas — has been on two Olympic teams. She competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Biles earned seven Olympic medals in her career: four gold medals, one silver and two bronze.
Brittney Griner: Women’s 5x5 basketball
Griner is from Houston. She will compete for Team USA for the third time in Paris — and the first time since she was detained in Russia on drug charges for nearly 10 months in 2022.
“BG is locked in and ready to go,” Griner said to NBC. “I’m happy, I’m in a great place. I’m representing my country, the country that fought for me to come back. I’m gonna represent it well.”
Jeffrey Louis: Breaking
Louis, also known as B-Boy Jeffro, is a breakdancer from Alief.
Louis told NBC that he and his competition have an opportunity to introduce the world to breakdancing culture.
“There’s little to no education, globally, about breaking," he said. “So, I feel like this is an opportunity to educate everybody about what breaking is exactly and the life skills it brings, instills, in people.”
The breakdancing Olympic format, officially referred to as "Breaking," will make its debut at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. The competition format is designed to showcase the skills and creativity of the dancers in a structured and competitive environment. Here is an overview of the format:
Number of Competitors: The competition will feature 32 breakers in total, with 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls.
Qualification: Competitors qualify through a series of national and international competitions leading up to the Olympics.
Other notable Olympians with Texas ties
Archery
Casey Kaufhold, women’s team and individual — Texas A&M University.
Team USA basketball
Kevin Durant, men’s 5x5 — UT Austin
Hailey Van Lith, women’s 3x3 —Texas Christian University
Boxing
Roscoe Hill, men’s 51kg — Spring
Jennifer Lozano, women’s 50kg — Laredo
Joshua Timothy Edwards, men’s +92kg — Houston
Cycling
Grant Koontz, men’s omnium — Houston
Diving
Kassidy Cook, women’s synchronized 3m —The Woodlands
Alison Gibson, women’s 3m — UT Austin
Field Hockey
Kelsey Bing — Houston
Golf
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas — UT Austin
Gymnastics
Jordan Chiles, women’s team — Conroe
Asher Hong, men’s team — Tomball
Hezly Rivera, women’s team — Plano
Rowing
Teal Cohen, women’s quadruple sculls — Dallas
Kate Knifton, women’s four — Austin
Kara Kohler, women’s single sculls — Austin
Rugby
Orrin Bizer — Houston
Kevon Williams — Houston
Shooting
Vincent Hancock, men’s skeet — Argyle
Ryann Phillips, women’s trap — Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Conner Prince, men’s skeet — Burleson
Keith Sanderson, 25m rapid fire pistol men — San Antonio
Austen Smith, women’s skeet — Keller
Soccer
Jaedyn Shaw, women's team — Frisco
Sport Climbing
Sam Watson, men’s speed — Southlake
Swimming
Shaine Casas, men’s 200m individual medley — McAllen,
Carson Foster, men’s 200m and 400m individual medleys — UT Austin
Erin Gemmell, women’s 200m freestyle — UT Austin
Chase Kalisz, men’s 400m individual medley pool athlete — UT Austin
Luke Johnson, men’s 200m freestyle — UT Austin
David Johnston, men’s 1500m freestyle and men’s 10km (open water) — Dallas
Matt King, men’s 4x100 relay — Frisco
Simone Manuel, women’s 50m freestyle — Sugar Land
Aaron Shackell, men’s 400m freestyle — UT Austin
Regan Smith, women’s 200m backstroke, women’s 100m backstroke, women’s 200m butterfly — UT Austin
Taekwondo
Jonathan Healy, men’s +80kg — Houston
Tennis
Austin Krajicek, men’s doubles — Allen
Track and Field
Valarie Allman, women’s discus throw — Austin
Taliyah Brooks, women’s heptathlon — Wichita Falls
Joseph Brown, men’s discus throw — Mansfield
Ryan Crouser, men’s shot put — UT Austin
Tara Davis-Woodhall, women’s long jump — UT Austin
Bryce Deadmon, 4x400m relay mixed — Houston
Bryce Hoppel, men’s 800m — Midland
Alaysha Johnson, women’s 100m hurdles — Spring
Fred Kerley, men’s 100m and men’s 4x100m relay — San Antonio
Brynn King, women’s pole vault — Houston
Jarrion Lawson, men’s long jump — Texarkana
Courtney Lindsey, men’s relay pool — Texas Tech
Shamier Little, women’s relay pool — Texas A&M
Maggie Malone-Hardin, women’s javelin throw — Texas A&M
Brandon Miller, men’s 800m — Texas A&M
Jasmine Moore, women’s long jump and triple jump — Grand Prairie
Monae' Nichols, women’s long jump — Texas Tech
Sha’Carri Richardson, women’s 100m, women’s 4 x 100m relay and women’s 200m — Dallas
Gabby Thomas, women’s 200m — UT Austin
Jacob Wooten, men’s pole vault, Tomball — Texas A&M
Volleyball
Chiaka Ogbogu, women’s team — Coppell
Avery Skinner, women’s team — Katy
Weightlifting
Jourdan Delacruz, women’s 49kg — Wylie
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Paris Olympics 2024: 4 notable Texas athletes you won't want to miss