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: A list of notable Texas athletes you won't want to miss