Following years of preparation and months of qualifying competitions, the Paris Olympics are drawing near.
Action starts Wednesday, with the opening ceremony slated for Friday. A total of 329 events across 39 sports will play out across the following two-plus weeks until the closing ceremony Aug. 11.
Nearly 10,500 athletes will represent their home country in the Summer Games. Among those are several from the St. Louis region who hope to complete a lifelong dream of earning a medal for Team USA (schedule times are Central):
Napheesa Collier, women’s basketball
The 2015 Incarnate Word Academy graduate was named to her second successive Olympic team in June. Earlier this year, she averaged 19 points, 4.7 rebounds, a team-high 3.7 steals and 3 assists for the U.S. across three victories in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgium.
People are also reading…
In her sixth season with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, she ranks among league leaders in points (20) and rebounds (10.2) to go along with averages of 3.7 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.5 blocks.
The 27-year-old suffered aggravated plantar fasciitis in her left foot on July 4 but played off the bench Saturday for Team USA in the WNBA All-Star Game.
Collier led Incarnate Word to three Missouri state championships (2013, 2014, 2015) and helped the University of Connecticut win its most recent NCAA championship, in 2016.
She played in four of six games at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2021, in a reserve role.
The Americans are attempting to become the first team to win eight successive titles in an Olympic team sport with a gold medal.
SCHEDULE
Monday: 2 p.m. (vs. Japan)
Aug. 1: 2 p.m. (vs. Belgium)
Aug. 4: 10:15 a.m. (vs. Germany)
Aug. 7: TBA (quarterfinals)
Aug. 9: 10:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. (semifinals)
Aug. 11: 4:30 a.m. (bronze) or 8:30 a.m. (gold)
Freddie Crittenden III, men’s track and field
Injuries derailed his aspirations of Olympic bids in 2016 and 2020, but the St. Louis native bounced back in a resounding fashion this year.
Crittenden, who lived in St. Louis and attended McCluer North through his sophomore year before moving to Michigan, placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 12.93 seconds at the trials to clinch an Olympic berth for the first time.
The 29-year-old was a two-time first-team All-American for Syracuse University.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 4: 4:50 a.m. (round 1)
Aug. 6: 3:50 a.m. (repechage round)
Aug. 7: 12:05 p.m. (semifinals)
Aug. 8: 2:45 p.m. (final)
Tyler Downs, men’s diving
After debuting on the Olympic scene as the youngest diver on Team USA’s roster in Tokyo, Downs, now 21, returns to these Summer Games.
The native of Ballwin, qualified for a second successive Olympics at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials in Knoxville, Tennessee. He teamed with Purdue graduate Greg Duncan to secure a spot in the synchronized 3-meter springboard with a first-place finish in a highly contested trials competition.
A six-time junior diving champion, Downs placed 23rd in the individual 3-meter springboard in 2021 at the Tokyo Games.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 2: 4 a.m. (finals)
Brandon Miller, men’s track and field
A three-time state champion at John Burroughs in his high school career, Miller translated that success onto the national stage en route to his first Olympic berth.
He qualified with a third-place finish in the 800-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, posting a time of 1 minute, 43.97 seconds. The performance marked another big step for Miller, who placed 12th in the 800 semifinals at the Olympic trials in 2021.
The 22-year-old was an 18-time AAU Junior Olympic champion and represented the U.S. in the World Championship meet in 2022.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 7: 4:55 a.m. (round 1)
Aug. 8: 5 a.m. (repechage round)
Aug. 9: 4:30 a.m. (semifinals)
Aug. 10: 12:25 p.m. (final)
DeAnna Price, women’s track and field
The 31-year-old, who attended Troy Buchanan High and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, qualified for her third successive Summer Games in the women’s hammer throw with a second-place toss of 244 feet, 6 inches, in the trials on June 23 in Eugene.
Price, who captured a pair of NCAA championships in the hammer throw, placed eighth in both the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She is ranked fourth in the 2024 world rankings and could become the first woman from Team USA to win a medal in the event.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 4: 3:20 a.m. or 4:45 a.m. (qualifying)
Aug. 6: 1 p.m. (finals)
Patrick Schulte, men’s soccer
The former St. Louis University star goalkeeper, who attended Francis Howell High, landed a spot on the U.S. team, which is appearing in the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
After being called up to the U.S. training roster May 29, Schulte started in net in the team’s final friendly ahead of the Summer Games.
Schulte was the 2022 Major League Soccer Next Pro goalkeeper of the year. He was elevated into the Crew’s starting role last season and became the youngest goalkeeper to start and win an MLS Cup title match last season, and the 23-year-old will hope to translate that success to a U.S. national team that has never won a medal in the Olympics.
SCHEDULE
July 24: 2 p.m. (vs. France)
July 27: Noon (vs. New Zealand)
July 30: Noon (vs. Guinea)
Aug. 2: TBA (quarterfinals)
Aug. 5: 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. (semifinals)
Aug. 8: 10 a.m. (bronze)
Aug. 9: 11 a.m. (gold)
Karissa Schweizer, women’s track and field
An alumna of the University of Missouri who is from Urbandale, Iowa, she will double up once again.
For the second straight Olympic Games, Schweizer secured Olympic berths in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races. In Tokyo in 2021, she placed 11th in the 5,000 and 12th in the 10,000.
To secure her return trip in both, Schweizer ran a season-best 14 minutes, 45.12 seconds, to qualify with a third-place finish in the 5,000 at the trials. She also posted a third-place time in the 10,000 at 31:41.56 but did not meet the Olympic standard. However, she secured a spot in the 10,000 because of her position in the World Athletics rankings.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 2: 11:10 a.m. (5,000 round 1)
Aug. 5: 2:10 p.m. (5,000 final)
Aug. 9: 1:55 p.m. (10,000 final)
Emily Sisson, women’s marathon
The Parkway Central alumna qualified with a runner-up finish on Feb. 3 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando. Sisson recorded a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 42 seconds, in the competition, and she holds an American record with a time of 2:18:29, which she ran Oct. 9, 2022, in Chicago.
Although this will be the first time Sisson competes in the marathon at the Olympics, she placed 10th in the 10,000-meter at the Tokyo Olympics. In Paris, Sisson could become the first American woman to win a gold medal in the event since 1984.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 11: 1 a.m.
Jayson Tatum, men’s basketball
Fresh off an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, the Chaminade alumnus will try to boost Team USA in its quest for a fifth successive gold medal.
The 26-year-old forward will make his second consecutive appearance for the United States men’s basketball team in Olympic competition. Tatum, who led Chaminade to a Missouri state championship in 2016 and then played one year at Duke, played in all six games for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics, averaging 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 20.5 minutes per game.
For the third consecutive season, Tatum was named to the all-NBA first team in this year’s campaign. He averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists while guiding the Celtics to a 61-win season. Tatum was just the sixth player in NBA history to lead a championship-winning team in points, assists and rebounds through a postseason run.
He is one of six players with prior Olympic experience on the team, which is in search of its 17th gold medal since 1936.
SCHEDULE
Sunday: 10:15 a.m. (vs. Serbia)
July 31: 2 p.m. (vs. South Sudan)
Aug. 3: 10:15 a.m. (vs. Puerto Rico)
Aug. 6: TBA (quarterfinals)
Aug. 8: 10:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. (semifinals)
Aug. 10: 4 a.m. (bronze) or 2:30 p.m. (gold)
Jayden Ulrich, women’s track and field
A second-place finish in the discus throw at the trials put her in line to head to Paris.
But because Ulrich did not meet the Olympic standard, she had to await the official world rankings to confirm her spot in the Games. The updated rankings, which listed Ulrich at 25th, proved to be enough, as the former Wood River High and current Louisville junior was named to the Team USA roster.
Ulrich, who was the runner-up in the trials with a throw of 205 feet, 5 inches, was a three-time state champion in Illinois. She was the Post-Dispatch All-Metro athlete of the year in 2021.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 2: 11:55 a.m. or 1:20 p.m. (qualifying)
Aug. 5: 1:30 p.m. (finals)
Others from the region
- University of Illinois alumna Jordyn Poulter: women’s volleyball (U.S.).
- University of Missouri alumnus Mikel Schreuders: 50-meter freestyle and 100 freestyle (Aruba).
- Former University of Missouri star Clement Secchi: 100 butterfly (France).
- MICDS graduate Bogdan Hamilton: men's fencing team foil (Canada)