Northern California athletes set to compete at 2024 Olympics

(FOX40.COM) — Those tuning in to the 2024 Olympics Games could catch a glimpse of athletes who have roots in the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto areas.

From the 916 to the 209, here’s who will compete in the Summer Games in Paris.

Chelsea Gray (Basketball)

WNBA champion Chelsea Gray, who played high school basketball for St. Mary’s in Stockton, will compete in her second Olympics for Team USA.

Gray is a three-time WNBA champion in 2016 (Los Angeles Sparks) and 2022-23 (Las Vegas Aces). She was named the WNBA Finals MVP with the Sparks in 2022.

Gray last competed in the Olympics in the 2020 Tokyo Games, helping Team USA win gold in the women’s basketball competition.

Nyjah Huston (Skateboarding)

Considered one of the best skateboarders of all time and perhaps the greatest of his generation, Davis native Nyjah Huston is returning to the Olympics after missing out on a medal in Tokyo.

Huston is one of several skateboarders who competed in skateboarding’s Olympic debut in the Tokyo Games. The 15-time X Games gold medalist will compete in the men’s skateboard street event, a course that includes street obstacles such as stairs, ledges, curbs and handrails.

Jimmer Fredette (3×3 Basketball)

Former Sacramento Kings player Jimmer Fredette will represent the United States in Team USA’s 3×3 men’s basketball team.

Fredette is part of a four-man roster that has been competing together since 2022. The Paris Games will mark Team USA’s debut in 3×3 basketball in the men’s division after not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Fredette played three seasons in Sacramento from 2011 to 2014. He was selected 10th overall by the Kings in the 2011 NBA Draft.

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Tyrese Haliburton (Basketball)

Former Sacramento Kings player Tyrese Haliburton will make his Olympics appearance with Team USA Basketball, who are favored to win their fifth straight gold medal.

Haliburton is part of a stacked Team USA roster that includes many NBA superstars, such as LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker.

The all-star point guard was drafted 12th overall by the Kings in 2020 but was sent to the Indiana Pacers as part of a trade that brought Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento.

Luca Urlando (Swimming)

Sacramento native Luca Urlando will compete in his first Olympics, swimming for Team USA in the 200-meter butterfly event.

Urlando made the team following the conclusion of the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he finished with a time of 1 minute and 55.08 seconds.

The CK McClatchy High School graduate is one of two male swimmers listed on USA Swimming’s roster in the 200-meter butterfly.

Erika Connolly (Swimming)

Modesto native Erika Connolly (Brown) is heading to the Olympics to compete in the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay.

Connolly will swim alongside Gretchen Walsh, Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzeil on the 4×100 relay squad. The Modesto native secured her place on the team by beating her Tennessee-based training group teammate Catie Deloof by 0.04 seconds in the Olympic trails.

She last competed in the Tokyo Games, earning bronze in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay and silver in the 4×100 meter medley.

Michelle Sechser (Rowing)

Folsom native Michelle Sechser will make her second Olympic appearance for the USA Rowing team.

Sechser will compete in the lightweight women’s double sculls, an event she finished fifth with her rowing partner Mary Reckford during the Tokyo Games.

The 2024 Paris Games will be the final time the lightweight double scull will appear in the Olympics, as it will be eliminated as a sport for the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

Fiona O’Keeffe (Track & Field)

Davis native Fiona O’Keeffe will make her Summer Games debut in the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon.

The long-distance runner qualified for the Olympics after winning her first professional marathon in the U.S. Olympic Team Trails in February .

O’Keeffe is a graduate of Davis Senior High School where she was a two-time state cross-country champion. She continued her success with the Standard Cardinal track and field team, earning eight NCAA Division I All-American championship awards.

Pita Vi (Rugby sevens)

Sacramento native Pita Vi will head to Paris as a traveling reserve for the USA Rugby Sevens team.

Vi, who comes from a family of rugby players, is a 2019 graduate of Kennedy High School where he was a member of the football team.

The 22-year-old made his USA Men’s Sevens debut in 2023 at a tournament in Hong Kong. Rugby sevens is a variant of the sport which is made up of seven-person teams playing seven-minute halves instead of the usual 15 players and 40-minute halves.

Alex Obert (Water Polo)

Alex Obert of Loomis will compete in the Summer Games as a member of the USA Men’s Water Polo Team.

Obert is making his third Olympic appearance, previously playing with USA men’s national team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2016) and and Tokyo (2021).

Prior to his international career, Obert played water polo at Sierra College in Rocklin (2010-11) and at the University of Pacific in Stockton (2011-16). Obert attended Del Oro High School where he won league and section MVP titles, according to his USA Water Polo bio.

Jordi Fernandez (Team Canada head coach)

Former Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez will coach Canada’s national men’s basketball team.

Fernandez was named to the head coach position in June 2023. He was on the Kings coaching staff under Mike Brown from 2022-24 and previously served as an assistant coach for Spain and Nigeria.

Fernandez left his position with the Kings at the end of their season in April to become the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

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