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The Summer Olympics are about to kick off as more than 10,000 athletes from across the world compete for gold, including nearly 600 on the U.S. Olympic team.
The games start Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET in Paris and will go until Sunday, Aug. 11. This will be the third time that the French capital has hosted the Summer Games.
Historically, the U.S. has done the best at track and field, swimming, and shooting, with more gold medals in these categories than any other. These are the top 15 sports for the U.S. at the Summer Olympics since the first modern Olympic games in 1896.
Olympians come from almost every state in the U.S. this year. However, Colorado, Vermont, and Hawaii have the most Olympians per capita.
Who are Missouri’s U.S. Olympians?
Nine of Team USA’s Olympians come from Missouri, representing five sports. They are:
- Napheesa Collier from St. Charles plays on the U.S. women’s basketball team and is going for her second gold medal in Paris.
- Tyler Down is a diver returning to the Olympics after also qualifying in 2020. He’s from Ballwin and competes on the springboard.
- Quincy Hall is from Kansas City and is going to his first Olympics, competing in track and field. He recently won gold as part of a relay team at the 2023 World Championships.
- Brandon Miller is also a track and field athlete who hails from St. Louis.
- Chris Nilsen comes to Team USA from Kansas City and competes as a pole vaulter. He attended his first Olympics in 2020 and won silver.
- Deanna Price from Troy will be a three-time Olympian participating in the hammer throw competition and recently won bronze at the 2023 World Championships.
- Patrick Schulte plays on the U.S. men’s soccer team and hails from St. Charles.
- Jayson Tatum is going to his second Summer Games for basketball after winning gold in 2020. His hometown is St. Louis.
- Rachel Tozier hails from Pattonsburg and is going to her first Olympics this year. She is part of the shooting competition and previously won silver as part of a team in the trap event.
You can see their hometowns represented on the map below. Click on one dot to see more about the athlete.
Another Missourian, Colleen Young , will represent Team USA in the Paralympics as a swimmer. She’s from St. Louis.
But plenty more athletes in Paris have ties to the Kansas City area through their college, high school or current residence, some of whom are representing other countries at the Paris event. Get to know all 26 of them here.
Who is Kansas’ U.S. Olympian?
Kansas’ sole Olympics competitor on Team USA is Derrick Mein , who participates in the shooting competition. He’s from Paola and graduated from Kansas State and has been the Olympics once before . He recently earned silver in the 2023 world championships and gold in the 2022 competition, according to his biography on Team USA’s website.
In addition, Wichita native Ariana Dirkzwager will swim in the Paris Olympics for her mother’s home country, Laos. Her event can be viewed at 4 a.m. Central Time on Sunday, July 28.
Three other Kansans are Paralympians:
- Matt Stutzman will compete in the Paralympics for archery. It’s his fourth time in the Paralympics, and he’s from Kansas City, Kansas.
- Brad Hudspeth from Stilwell plays on Team USA’s wheelchair rugby team and is going to the Paralympics for the first time.
- Yaseen El-Demerdash is a Paralympic athlete in the swimming competition who hails from Overland Park. It’s his first time at the Paralympics.
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