10 American athletes to watch at Paris 2024
The Americans are ready to hit the ground running as the Paris Games inch closer. Here are 10 athletes you can't miss, including past Olympic heroes and soon-to-be household names.
Simone Biles, gymnastics
Even after a two-year break, Biles has shown she's still the best in the world.
Biles' infamous case of the "twisties" sidelined her for most of the Tokyo Olympics, bringing conversations about mental health to the forefront of the Games. She took a two-year break before returning for the 2023 U.S. Classic and subsequently won the individual all-around title in every competition she competed in, including the world championship.
The 27-year-old claimed gold in every apparatus at the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championship and secured a record ninth national title. At the Olympic Trials, Biles won the individual all-around by more than five points - an incredible feat in a sport determined by tenths and hundredths of a point. She'll be the first gymnast since Dominique Dawes in 2000 to participate in three straight Olympics and looks to extend her record as the most decorated gymnast in history.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, track and field
McLaughlin-Levrone has enjoyed a prolific Olympic cycle. The track star seized gold in the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics, setting a Games record in the process. McLaughlin-Levrone has smashed the world record five times since then, joining only two other women in breaking the 52-second barrier in the 400m hurdles.
She set her latest world-record time at the 2024 Olympic Trials, clocking in at 50.65 seconds, her fourth hurdles race of the year. McLaughlin-Levrone's the first woman ever to break 51 seconds, and her performance at the Trials was faster than four of the nine women in the non-hurdles 400m final. She'll face stiff competition from Dutch hurdler Femke Bol, the 2023 400m hurdles world champion who's also broken 52 seconds.
Katie Ledecky, swimming
At the 2012 London Games, 15-year-old Ledecky surprisingly won gold in the 800m freestyle and showed her potential as one of the best swimmers ever. The Paris Olympics will set that in stone.
Inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, Ledecky qualified for Paris in first for every event she raced - 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 1,500 free. Not only did Ledecky qualify in first, but she dominated the competition, beating her next opponent in the 1,500 by over 20 seconds. The 27-year-old holds the top 19 times in the world in the 1,500 free and will be the oldest American woman ever to swim the 400, 800, and 1,500.
Carissa Moore, surfing
The Paris Olympics is Moore's swan song. The first-ever women's surfing Olympic gold medallist is stepping away from the sport after more than a decade and hopes to take home the crown in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. The contest will be the furthest to be staged outside the host city in the Games' history.
A five-time world champion and trailblazer, Moore became the youngest women's surfing world champion in 2011 at 18. She finished in the top three in the tour championship every year that she competed but one and led the tour standings in 2022 and 2023 until their respective last days.
Teahupo'o won't be easy. The waves are some of the most difficult and dangerous on the surfing tour and larger than those seen at the Tokyo Olympics. However, Moore is no stranger to surfing with danger, and she'll be the one to beat.
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, beach volleyball
Cheng and Hughes are running it back.
The duo, who previously competed together at USC, has a storied history. They notched back-to-back NCAA titles in 2016 and 2017 and won gold at the World University Games in 2016.
But it hasn't been a straightforward run for Cheng and Hughes. After becoming the youngest team to win an AVP championship in their professional rookie seasons, the pair went their separate ways in 2018. Both fell short of expectations with their respective partners at the Tokyo Olympics before reuniting in fall 2022.
The duo didn't waste any time, claiming the world championship in 2023 and winning the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour at the beginning of June. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Cheng and Hughes hope to climb the podium's top step as they play in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Sha'Carri Richardson, track and field
A cannabis controversy may have barred Richardson from the Tokyo Olympics, but make no mistake, she's ready to win in Paris.
After testing positive for THC during the Olympic Trials in 2021, Richardson, the fastest among her peers, was banned from the 100m and wasn't selected for the 4x100m team. However, the setback hasn't stopped her. Richardson won her first individual 100m title at the world championship in 2023 and also won gold in the 4x100m relay. "I'm not back, I'm better," she said last year.
Her athletic dominance continued at the Olympic Trials, as she posted a 10.71-second time, the fastest in the world in 2024. Richardson hopes to be the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the 100m since Gail Devers in 1996.
Noah Lyles, track and field
Could Lyles be the next Usain Bolt?
The 27-year-old won the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first person to complete that feat since Bolt. Lyles put up impressive times at the Olympic Trials and smashed Michael Johnson's 28-year-old 200m meet record by .13 seconds.
Lyles' Tokyo Olympics were difficult. Despite taking home the bronze medal in the 200m, he was open about his mental health struggles throughout the competition. His goal in Paris is to complete the sprint double, one of the hardest feats in track: winning both 100m and 200m.
Katie Grimes, swimming
Grimes was the first athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, and she's hoping to make a splash in the pool and the Seine.
The 18-year-old is heading to her second Olympics after being the youngest member of the U.S. team in Tokyo at age 15. Grimes earned the nickname "Katie Squared" by Ledecky after she and Ledecky both qualified for their first respective Olympics in the 800 at 15. Now, Grimes is switching up her Olympic disciplines: she'll be competing in the 400 individual medley and 1,500 free.
Grimes' slate in Paris also extends outside the pool. She'll be racing in the 10km open-water marathon swim, which takes place in the Seine. Grimes will be the first U.S. woman to compete in open water and pool events at the same Olympics. She medalled at least once in all three events in the past two world championships and is looking to add Olympic hardware to that count.
Chase Budinger, beach volleyball
Budinger is ready to make Olympic history.
When he hits the sand in Paris, Budinger will be the first athlete to have ever played an NBA regular-season contest and an Olympic beach volleyball game. He was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft and played seven seasons in the Association before retiring in 2017. But Budinger's transition to beach volleyball wasn't random. He played basketball and volleyball in his youth and told the Indianapolis Star that he always planned to switch to volleyball after basketball.
He and partner Mike Evans are ranked 13th in the world and join No. 5 Andy Benesh and Miles Partain to represent the U.S.
Casey Kaufhold, archery
Kaufhold knows she has a target on her back.
She entered the Tokyo Olympics as the youngest archer to represent any country since the 1988 Seoul Games. Kaufhold placed 17th in Tokyo but won the world silver medal two months later and has since continued her upward trajectory.
Kaufhold is now ranked No. 1 in women's recurve and is the first American woman to top the leaderboard since its inception in 2001. The 20-year-old won the 2023 Archery World Cup and is coming off a win at the Pan American Games in April. The favorite to win gold, Kaufhold hopes to be the first American woman since Luann Ryon in Montreal 1976 to stand on the Olympic podium for archery.