The University of Miami has a rich Olympic history with more than 50 Hurricanes competing for different countries since 1936, including diving legend Greg Louganis and Lauryn Williams, the only U.S. woman ever to medal in the Summer and Winter Games, in track and field and bobsled.
The Hurricanes will be well-represented again at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which run July 26 to Aug. 11. Here are eight current and former Canes to watch for, plus a list of other South Florida Olympians:
Ariana Rodriguez, women’s volleyball, Dominican Republic
Incoming sophomore Ariana Rodriguez, a New York native, will be competing for the Dominican Republic women’s volleyball team as a setter. She is the youngest player ever to represent the Dominican Republic in the Olympics.
“It means a lot. The fact that these coaches put a lot of trust in me as an 18-year-old, they see my talent, they believe in me and I think it’s just something I cannot take for granted,” she said.
Rodriguez’s parents were born in the Dominican Republic and she is a first-generation American. She was born in the United States, but has dual citizenship which allows her to play for the Dominican team.
Volleyball runs in her blood. Her father played on the national team in the 90’s, and her mother played in the Superior League. It was a childhood dream to go to the Olympics, as she grew up watching the Dominican Republic’s volleyball team play. She says her parents will be in the stands watching her compete in Paris.
To get to the Olympics, her team went to China last September for qualifiers. The tournament took place in three countries with three different pools and the top two teams from each pool qualified. Out of the six total spots in the tournament, the Dominican Republic finished first.
“At the last point, I remember one of our outsides got a big kill and we all started running on the court screaming and hugging each other,” Rodriguez said, recounting the moment they won the final game. “It was just the best moment ever knowing that a country like ours was such a little country like the Dominican Republic has had so much success in the sport.”
Rodriguez spent last year as a redshirt freshman. In high school at Poly Prep Country Day School she was team captain her final two years and led her team to conference and state titles.
In high school she also played for the Dominican Republic national team and helped the DR to their fifth U23 Pan-American Cup title, earning MVP and Best Setter of the tournament. However the Olympics was always the end goal in her journey.
“You’re playing in front of thousands of people,” Rodriguez said, referring to the pressure of competing at a high level. “Of course, you’re going to think about everything and every little thought is going to be running to your head. But I mean, I always go back to my saying, trust your skills. You’ve trained hard enough all these years for this moment, so take advantage of it and don’t regret anything.”
Russell Robinson, track and field, United States
Triple jumper Russell Robinson qualified for Paris games after his performance at the Olympic Trials in June. He ended second in the men’s triple jump final with a mark of 55 feet, 9.75 inches. While representing Team USA, Robinson will be the first Miami track and field athlete at the Summer Olympics since 2012.
Robinson, originally from Windermere in Central Florida, started his journey at UM in 2020. He went from walk-on to scholarship athlete to national champion.
Robinson was named the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s indoor track and field. The 22-year-old has been a crucial part of the Hurricanes’ jumps category, earning his third All-American of his career and first national championship this past indoor season.
Robinson ran track in middle school for fun and later joined his high school team to help him get faster to play football. However, after winning state his junior year for the long jump, he started getting recruited and quickly realized he could go far in track and field.
“It’d be great to be able to represent myself, my family, my team and everybody that is looking forward to seeing me be a great athlete,” he said.
Robinson says UM coach Amy Deem and assistant coach Rob Jarvis are two mentors who have helped prepare him to compete at a high level.
“She’s coached some pretty good athletes and just has had the experience and knows what it takes to get there,” he said. “And then having Jarvis as assistant coach under her and working together to figure out what we need to do and how we can get there.”
Mohamed Farouk, diving, Egypt
Mohamed Farouk, a diver from Cairo, will compete in the 3-meter event. He qualified for the Olympics after winning the African Championship.
“Honestly, for a few days, I still couldn’t believe it because, you know, this has been my dream since I was a kid,” he said.
The 21-year-old was originally a swimmer and started diving 14 years ago after seeing the divers at his pool.
“I thought it was really cool to watch all these flips and tricks off the diving boards,” Farouk said. “I told my parents I want to try this and see how it feels, it looks pretty cool, which most divers started that way. They started swimming at first, getting into the pool and all that and then they see the divers doing all these cool tricks and stuff.”
Farouk has been representing his country since 2016 when he was a junior diver. He is a six-time junior national champion.
“I think a lot of my dreams have been coming true these past few years,” he said. “For example, being at the University of Miami and so far making the Olympics. I’m excited for this summer.”
Farouk transferred to UM his sophomore year from the University of Alabama in 2022, where he was named SEC Male Freshman Diver of the Year and qualified for NCAA championships in all three diving events. He says he never thought he would be able to transfer to UM because they were “too good for him.” But after reaching out to coach Randy Ableman, he visited the campus and locked in his spot.
Since being at Miami he earned his first NCAA All-America honors of career, qualified for NCAA Championships and finished second in men’s platform at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships.
“I would say that making it this far really hasn’t been easy,” he said. “There’s a lot of struggling and a lot of tears and all that. It’s definitely not an easy process, that’s for sure. But I think I would say definitely putting all the work in like is definitely worth it.”
Chiara Pellacani, diving, Italy
Chiara Pellacani will be representing Italy in women’s diving. The junior from Rome spent her first two years of career at LSU before transferring to UM.
At the 2023 European Games in Poland, she won gold in the women’s 3 meter springboard to secure her quota place for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Pellacani went to her first Olympics in 2020 for the Tokyo games, where she placed seventh in the women’s synchronized 3 meter springboard.
Jake Passmore, Diving, Ireland
Incoming freshman Jake Passmore will compete for Ireland in the Men’s 3-meter springboard. The 18-year-old qualified for the Paris Games when he placed 17th at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February. He is the first diver in Ireland’s history to win a medal at the World Junior Championships.
Former UM basketball player Davon Reed (Puerto Rico) and former track and field athlete Alysha Newman (Canada) will also be competing at the Paris Olympics, and UM women’s basketball assistant coach Murriel Page will be there as a member of the Canadian team’s staff. Newman is a three-time Olympian.
South Florida Olympians to Watch
Daniella Ramirez , Miramar, artistic swimming (USA); Kent Farrington , Wellington, Equestrian (USA); Laura Kraut , Wellington, equestrian (USA); Angelica Delgado , Miami, judo women’s 52kg (USA); Sarah Newberry Moore , Miami, sailing mixed multi-hull (USA); Erika Reineke , Fort Lauderdale, sailing dinghy (USA); Dominique Stater , Miami, sailing windsurfing (USA); Benjamin Cremaschi , Key Biscayne/Inter Miami, soccer (USA); Diego Gomez , Inter Miami, soccer (Paraguay); Coco Gauff , Delray Beach, tennis (USA); Aaliyah Butler , Fort Lauderdale, track and field women’s 400 meters, 4x400 relay (USA); Kendall Ellis , Pembroke Pines, track and field women’s 400 meters, 1,600 relay (USA); Twanisha Terry , Miami, track and field women’s 100 meters, 400 relay (USA); Ashleigh Johnson , Miami, water polo (USA); Alysha Newman , UM alumna, track and Ffeld (Canada); Davon Reed , UM alumnus, basketball (Puerto Rico); Jake Passmore , UM, diving (Ireland); Chiara Pellacani , UM, diving (Italy); Mohamed Farouk , UM, diving (Egypt); Russell Robinson , UM, track and field (USA, triple jump); Ariana Rodriguez , UM, volleyball (Dominican Republic); Oumy Diop , FIU, swimming (Senegal); Nicole Frank , FIU, swimming) (Uruguay).
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