Friday's opening ceremony marks the official start of the Paris Olympics and Team USA has plenty of locally connected talent to root for.
By the numbers: Among the 10,500 athletes competing this year:
- Seven are from metro Phoenix
- Five play for one of Phoenix's pro teams
- 38 attended ASU, UofA or NAU
Who to watch:
🛹 Jagger Eaton: The Mesa native is a five-time X Games medalist who took home the bronze in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
🤸🏼♀️ Jade Carey: The Phoenix gymnast won the gold medal for her floor routine in 2021 and will join Simone Biles , Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera for the team event.
- She's competing in artistic gymnastics , which kicks off with qualification rounds tomorrow. Team finals will be held July 30 and individual finals will take place Aug 1-5.
⛹🏽♀️ Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper: Fresh off the WNBA All-Star Game , these Phoenix Mercury teammates are looking to bring home another women's basketball gold medal. This is Griner's first time playing outside the country since her Russian imprisonment .
- Team USA will play Japan on July 29, Belgium on Aug. 1 and Germany on Aug. 4. The knockout rounds will take place Aug. 7-11.
⛹🏾♂️ Kevin Durant and Devin Booker: The Suns duo is supposed to take their talents to Paris, but Durant is currently nursing a calf injury and it's unclear whether he'll compete.
- Team USA will play Serbia on Sunday, South Sudan on July 31 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 4. The knockout rounds are Aug. 6-10.
🏊 Léon Marchand: This French Olympian trained under Michael Phelps at ASU and last year broke Phelps' world record in the 400-meter individual medley at the world swimming championships.
- Marchand is competing in four events : The 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke.
How to watch:
The games will air on NBC and its streaming platform Peacock.
- The opening ceremony will air at 10:30am on 12 News followed by a primetime special at 7:30pm
- Review the full calendar of televised events here .
⏰ Time difference awareness: Paris is nine hours ahead of Phoenix, so those wanting to watch competitions live will need to tune in early morning or during the day.
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