Whether the Seine River is clean or not, the Paris Summer Olympics are kicking off in just a few weeks, and North Texas is well represented across Team USA. It’s a relief, after some devastating Stars and Mavericks losses earlier this spring, to think that an athlete from our own backyard could soon bring home a gold medal or two.
Nearly all of the Olympic Trials have concluded — the Paralympic track and field trials begin July 18 — so we have a pretty good idea of which athletes are booking flights to Paris and tailoring their opening ceremony fits. (The navy blue blazers by Ralph Lauren were given a stamp of approval by noted Twitter menswear critic, Derek Guy.)
Fifteen athletes competing across eleven sports hail from in and around Big D. Here's a list of who to keep an eye on when the Olympics start July 26.
Allons-y USA!
North Texas Athletes on Team USA
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas
Golf, Aug. 1–4
Golf’s golden boy is one of four male golfers named to Team USA, qualifying thanks to his No. 1 world ranking. Paris will be Scottie Scheffler’s first time on the Olympic stage, but a handful of Ryder Cup appearances have surely acclimated him to international competition. With nearly $28 million in PGA earnings from this year alone, Scheffler is anything but an underdog; at this rate, a gold medal would be just another shiny thing for his 2024 trophy case. Let’s just hope the road into the Le Golf National course is free of police officers directing traffic.
Sha’Carri Richardson, Dallas
Track & Field, Aug. 1–11
Sha’Carri Richardson punched her ticket to Paris with a dominant performance in the 100-meter race during trials, but the event will be the sole shot at gold for the fastest woman in the world. Richardson failed to make the cut for the 200-meter race after finishing fourth. Still, Paris is sure to be a triumphant Olympic debut for the sprinter, who was knocked out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after failing a drug test.
Jasmine Moore, Grand Prairie
Track & Field, Aug. 1–11
With one Olympic appearance already under her belt, Jasmine Moore has qualified for the women’s long jump and triple jump. Moore finished 23rd in the triple jump at Tokyo, and was top dog in the event at the trials in Eugene, Oregon, just a few weeks ago.
Hezly Rivera, Plano
Gymnastics, July 28 – Aug. 5
At only 16 years old, Hezly Rivera is the youngest member of Team USA. Rivera is a superstar on the uneven bars and balance beam, skills she has honed at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano. Rivera has competed in a handful of international competitions, and her young age is something noted by her more senior teammates. "She’s so young. She can’t even drive! Should we teach her how to drive before we get to Paris?" veteran gymnast Simone Biles joked to media after the team was announced.
Imagine being a junior in high school and competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials?!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 1, 2024
That dream is a reality for 16-year-old Hezly Rivera. #USAGTrials24 pic.twitter.com/n8A9wmsMgQ
Jaedyn Shaw, Frisco
Soccer, July 25 – Aug. 10
Jaedyn Shaw is one of 18 women named to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the Paris Olympics, and at 19 years old, she will be the youngest member of the squad. The forward grew up in Frisco and now plays for the San Diego Wave FC, where she was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year after her rookie season. This is only the eighth Olympic Games to host a women’s soccer tournament.Nic Fink, Dallas
Swimming, July 27 – Aug. 9
Dallas resident Nic Fink is headed to his second Olympics after a victory in the men's 100-meter breaststroke at the 2024 Olympic Swimming Trials. Fink is a six-time World Championship gold medalist, and he was within touching distance of the podium in Tokyo after finishing fifth in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke. Fink’s wife, 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Melanie Margalis-Fink, is a swimming coach at Southern Methodist University.
David Johnston, Dallas
Swimming, July 27 – Aug. 9
UT Austin student David Johnston will be spending his summer vacation in Paris after a runner-up finish in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Olympic Trials. Johnston was on the Longhorns’ 2021 National Championship Team, and will be one of 64 swimmers on Team USA.
Sam Watson, Southlake
Sport Climbing, Aug. 5–9
No one climbs faster than Sam Watson, literally. The 18-year-old speed climber currently holds the world record for scaling a 15-meter wall in under five seconds, and his first-place finish at the Pan American Games secured his plane ticket to Paris. Born and raised in Southlake, Watson trains at the Movement climbing gym in Plano.
4.79 SECONDS🤯
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) April 13, 2024
Within 40 minutes, American Sam Watson broke the men’s speed climbing world record TWICE at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024. #WorldClimbing
(📽️ @ifsclimbing) pic.twitter.com/d86kmlHw4n
Chiaka Ogbogu, Coppell
Volleyball, July 28 – Aug. 11
Six-foot-two Chiaka Ogbogu already has one Olympic gold medal from her time in Tokyo, but now she’s setting up for another. (Get it? Setting.) She is one of eight returners on the Team USA volleyball squad, and she has played professionally in Italy, Poland and Turkey. Before her professional career, Ogbogu was a UT Austin student-athlete who graduated with the record for most blocks in school history.
Conner Prince, Burleson
Shooting, July 27 – Aug. 5
Skeet shooter Conner Prince qualified for his first Olympics after being coached by an Olympic vet. Prince will travel to Paris alongside his longtime coach Vincent Hancock, who has appeared in four Olympic games and won three gold medals. Shooting games in the Olympics date back to the 1890s, and this year’s Paris program will host 15 events.
Austen Smith, Keller
Shooting, July 27 – Aug. 5
Austen Smith was the youngest member of the USA Shooting squad during the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished 10th in women’s skeet. Most recently, the UT Arlington student won a gold medal in the world championships for the co-ed team skeet shooting event. Like Prince, Smith trains under Hancock.
John Joss, Corsicana
Para Shooting, Aug. 30 – Sept. 5
John Joss qualified for his third appearance on Team USA’s para shooting team after placing second in the R6 Rifle event at the USA Shooting Paralympic Team Trials. The Army Veteran finished fifth in the Rio Paralympic Games and 29th in Tokyo, and currently holds the national record in the R6- Mixed 50m Free Rifle Prone SH1.Bryce Hoppel, Dallas
Track & Field, Aug. 1–11
Bryce Hoppel’s Tokyo Olympics run came to an end in the semifinals, but after setting the new U.S. Olympic Trials record in the men’s 800 final, he seems on track for a medal in Paris. While Team USA hasn’t finalized which track athletes are running which events, Hoppel qualified for the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races. Hoppel is technically a Midland native, but he's been known to live and train in Dallas.
An Olympic trials record for Bryce Hoppel! 💨 #TrackFieldTrials24 pic.twitter.com/2e5eCqV6PX
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 1, 2024
Teal Cohen, Dallas
Rowing, July 27 – Aug. 3
Dallas native Teal Cohen qualified for the Olympic rowing squad at May’s qualification regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, beating the Ukraine women’s team by 0.3 seconds. It was a slim victory for Cohen and her three fellow rowers, who are now part of the United States’ largest Olympic rowing team in over a decade.
Jourdan Delacruz, Wylie
Weightlifting, Aug. 7–11
Holding nine American records, three Pan American records and a 2020 Roma World Cup gold medal, Jourdan Delacruz has her sights set on Paris. Team USA takes only three female weightlifters to the Olympics, and Delacruz has qualified for her second appearance. During the Tokyo Olympics, Delacruz was out after the first round, but her 2023 World Championship finishes are a promising look at what Paris could bring.
