Athletes with ties to Northern Nevada to compete at Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics begin July 26, and several athletes with ties to Northern Nevada are competing in the games.

Luke Hobson, Reno High graduate, competing in swimming

Luke Hobson, 21, will compete in the 200 freestyle and as part of the 400 medley relay team. He won the 200-meter freestyle in the U.S. Swim Trials last month and a bronze medal in the World Championships in February.

He has won five NCAA championships and is a 12-time All-American.

Hobson grew up in Reno and trained with the Lakeridge Swim team. He graduated from Reno High School in 2021 and recently competed in his junior year at Texas.

Swimming starts July 27 in Paris.

Perris Benegas, BMX champion and Reed High graduate

Perri Benagas, a Reed High graduate, will compete on the U.S. women's BMX freestyle team. Benegas, who will turn 29 on July 22, now lives in North Carolina.

She competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and narrowly missed a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish there. She won a gold medal in BMX Freestyle at the 2018 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships. She was named 2020 Bloom BMX Freestyle Rider of the Year.

BMX starts July 30 in Paris.

Stephanie Rovetti, Reno High grad, competing in rugby

Stephanie Rovetti, another Reno High graduate (2010), earned one of the 14 spots on the U.S. women's rugby team. She plays flyhalf/wing positions.

Rovetti, 32, played basketball and ran track at Reno. She played basketball at BYU and Fresno State, where she was a grad assistant for the women's basketball team. She also was director of operations for the women's team at the University of San Diego.

She played rugby for the national champion San Diego Surfers and was named MVP of the 2018 Club Sevens National Championships.

Rugby starts July 24, before the Olympics officially begin.

Moez Echargui played tennis at UNR, now on Tunisia's team

Moez Echargui played tennis for Nevada (2011-15) and he will be on Tunisia's tennis team after winning the African Cup in March.

Echargui was the 2012 WAC freshman of the year in men's tennis and 2015 Mountain West co-player of the year. He is tied for the most singles wins in school history.

Tennis at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will begin Saturday, July 27, with the round of 64 spanning three days at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

Enkhkhuslen Batbayar coming to Nevada after swimming for Mongolia at Olympics

Enkhkhuslen Batbayar has committed to swim for Nevada this fall. She is on the Mongolia swim team competing in Paris, swimming the 200-meter freestyle.

Batbayar holds 12 Mongolian long-course records. She competed in the 50-meter freestyle three years ago at the Tokyo Games, finishing 51st in a national-record time of 27.29 seconds.

Preliminary heats for the 200-meter freestyle at the Paris Games are scheduled to begin Sunday, July 28.

Gabby Williams, Reed High grad, finalist for France's basketball team

Gabby Williams is a Reed High graduate (2014) and will likely be on the French women's basketball team competing in Paris. She was on France's team in 2021 and helped it win a bronze medal.

France has not officially named its team yet, but she was on the preliminary list of finalists to make the team.

Williams helped Reed win the state championship her sophomore season, then played for UConn, helping the Huskies go 148-3 in her four seasons there, winning two national championships. She is currently on the roster of the WNBA's Seattle Storm, but has to sit out this season due to the WNBA’s prioritization rule, which requires unsigned players to complete overseas commitments before the start of training camp.

Basketball starts July 27.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Athletes with ties to Northern Nevada to compete at Paris Olympics