From fresh faces to familiar ones, here are some of the more than 500 U.S. athletes from around the country who will be going for gold at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Although the journey to qualify for the Summer Games took an extra year because of the pandemic, the wait is finally over: A diverse group of more than 500 athletes from around the country will compete for 19 days across 33 sports at the Olympics, and then, just 16 days later, in 22 sports at the Paralympics. From fresh faces to familiar ones, here are some of the U.S. men and women who will be going for gold in Tokyo.
Written by Madeline Coleman, Liz Lewis, Molly Geary, Chris Chavez and Jamie Lisanti. Illustrations by Trey Ingram.
Archery
Brady Ellison
Age: 32
Hometown: Globe, Ariz.
Ellison received his first competition bow at seven, and, just four years later, he killed a bear that’s now a rug in his father’s home. Now, Ellison is a four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, taking home an individual bronze and silver team at Rio. The top-ranked men’s recurve archer had a career year in 2019, tallying two wins. Ellison made the podium at every World Cup event, most recently outlasting teammate Jack Williams 6–2 at the third stage of the Archery World Cup in Paris. He’s married to Slovenian archer Toja Ellison, and the couple welcomed their first child in November ’20.
Basketball
Sue Bird
Age: 40
Hometown: Syosset, N.Y.
Team USA brought consistency to the court for this summer’s games thanks to veterans Diana Taurasi and Bird, who are both competing in their fifth consecutive Olympic games. Bird, a Seattle Storm point guard, is the holder of a combined nine Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals—the most of any basketball player in the world. In fact, the U.S. is 142–6 all-time with Bird on the roster. She’s one of only 11 players to earn a FIBA World Cup gold medal, Olympic gold medal, WNBA title and NCAA championship.
A’ja Wilson
Age: 24
Hometown: Columbia, S.C.
One of three 24-year-olds on the team, Wilson is headed to Tokyo for her Olympic debut with a perfect 47–0 national team record. The 6' 5" forward helped lead the U.S. to gold during the 2018 World Cup, averaging 10 points and four assists as the youngest member on the squad. And she has the accolades to back up her star-studded skill set. The Las Vegas Aces forward was named the ’20 WNBA MVP and ’18 WNBA Rookie of the Year. A No. 1 overall pick in the ’18 draft, Wilson is now also a two-time WNBA All-Star.
Kevin Durant
Age: 32
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, the Brooklyn Nets star is headed to his third consecutive Games, while most of his teammates are making their Olympic debuts. Durant holds a 39–0 record with the U.S. in FIBA competitions. The two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star is coming off of his first healthy season with the Nets, finishing with a career-high 53.7 field goal percentage and averaging 26.9 points per game. Durant is known as one of the more lethal shooters across the league, snagging five scoring titles, and his career average of 27.0 ppg ranks fifth in NBA history.
Damian Lillard
Age: 31
Hometown: Oakland, Calif.
Lillard may be making his Olympic debut, but don’t let that fool you. He is a six-time NBA All-Star, averaging 28.8 points and 7.5 points last season for the Trail Blazers. Lillard became the second NBA player to tally 1,500 points and 400 assists throughout his first nine seasons. And during the 2019–20 season, he joined Wilt Chamberlain in making league history as the second player to score at least 60 points three times in a single season. Basketball isn’t his only talent. Dame D.O.L.L.A. will be on the Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack.
3x3 Basketball
Kelsey Plum
Age: 26
Hometown: Poway, Calif.
Plum competed on the most recent FIBA World Cup team that won the gold medal in 2018 and is now making her Olympic debut after going 6–0 at the FIBA three-on-three Olympic qualifying tournament in May. The Las Vegas Aces guard made a comeback this season after missing the 2020 WNBA campaign due to an injured Achilles tendon that required surgery. Before the Olympic break, Plum had been averaging 13.5 points per game over 15 games. The former volleyball star is the all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball history with 3,527 points and holds the all-time season record with 1,109 points.
Boxing
Naomi Graham
Age: 32
Hometown: Fayetteville, N.C.
Graham is set to make history in Tokyo this month as the first female active-duty service member to compete for Team USA at the Olympics. The boxer is serving in the Army as a staff sergeant, and, in the ring, Graham ranks as No. 1 among the country’s middleweights and eighth in the world. The U.S. has won gold medals the last two Olympics in the middleweight division, and, while this is Graham’s Olympic debut, she has steadily climbed the international ladder, most recently winning gold at the 2019 Pan American Games and winning the Boxam Tournament and Strandja Tournament this year.
Canoe/Kayak
Nevin Harrison
Age: 19
Hometown: Seattle
At 19 years old, Harrison is already a trailblazer. In May, she won the C1 200-meter gold medal at the 2021 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup—the same competition where she’d made history in 2019 as sprint canoeing’s first U.S. world champion. Harrison grew up in Seattle and started paddling at 12 years old. She will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo, as the sport expands to include a women’s team for the first time in the Games’ history.
Climbing
Kyra Condie
Age: 25
Hometown: St. Paul, Minn.
Condie and her signature daring climbing style will make their Olympic debut this summer. The 25-year-old became the second female climber to ever qualify for the Olympics at the 2019 IFSC Combined Qualifier Toulouse. Her top finish in a world championship was in ’19, when she ranked 14th in bouldering. Condie has been open about her early struggles as an athlete with scoliosis, and aims to push for diversity in the climbing world. While she’s currently a professional climber, she hopes to attend veterinary school and build a more permanent career as a small animal veterinarian.
Brooke Raboutou
Age: 20
Hometown: Boulder, Colo.
Raboutou has always been a prodigy, completing her first V10 at age 9, the same year she became the youngest female climber to ever top a 5.13b. The 20-year-old was raised by her parents, both former world-champion rock climbers. In 2019 she carried on the legacy, coming in seventh as the only U.S. representative in the top eight at the Climbing World Championships. Now, Raboutou is the first U.S. climber to ever qualify for an Olympic season. All eyes will be on her for the Tokyo debut of both her Olympic career and the sport itself.
Cycling
Kate Courtney
Age: 25
Hometown: Kentfield, Calif.
Growing up at the base of Mount Tamalpais, the birthplace of mountain biking, Courtney was destined to be a star in the sport. The same year she graduated from Stanford (2017) she also won her first USA Cycling national championship in cross-country pro. Courtney repeated a year later, and made history after taking home gold at the world championships in ’18. Her women’s cross-country victory marked the first time an American won at the world championships since Alison Dunlap in ’01. Courtney made history again in ’19 as the first woman in 17 years, also since Dunlap, to win a world cup overall title.
Diving
Tyler Downs
Age: 18
Hometown: Ballwin, Mo.
Downs is the youngest Team USA diver—he catapulted himself from fourth place to first in the Olympic trials finals to beat out his idol and Olympic veteran David Boudia. The teenager is a six-time individual junior national champion and won two gold and two bronze medals at the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships. The youngest of seven children, Downs is known for more than just diving: He’s also a TikTok star with more than 520K followers. While he does a lot of dancing and diving, his most-watched video at 31.4M views (so far) came from the TikTok trend of kissing your best friend.
Fencing
Daryl Homer
Age: 31
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.
A sabre fencing star, Homer is a three-time Olympian and reigning silver medalist. During the 2016 Rio Olympics, he became the first U.S. sabre fencer to win an individual silver medal at the Games since 1904. His fencing career started when he was 11 years old after Homer read about it in the dictionary. He went on to be a four-time NCAA All-America, and became the first U.S. men’s fencer to medal in sabre during the senior world championships in ’15.
Golf
Justin Thomas
Age: 28
Hometown: Goshen, Ky.
Thomas may have only one major win in his career, but golfing is in his blood. His grandfather was a 60-year-old veteran of the PGA Tour, competing in the 1962 U.S. Open. Now, the younger Thomas is making golf history. After winning the ’17 PGA Championship, he became the first golfer to win a major and tally five victories in one season. He’s accumulated 14 career wins on the PGA Tour and won the Players Championship in May.
Bryson DeChambeau
Age: 27
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Since graduating with a degree in physics from Southern Methodist University, DeChambeau has chased success throughout the golf circuits. He’s one of five golfers in history to win the NCAA Division I Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year (2015), and he decided to go pro in ’16. Since joining the PGA Tour, DeChambeau has been dubbed The Scientist by his fellow pros for his unconventional approach to the game. The reigning U.S. Open winner uses wedges and irons of equal length and pinpoints distance measurements during his play.
Gymnastics
Simone Biles
Age: 24
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
All eyes are on the living legend as she takes to the floor (and beam, vault and uneven bars) this summer in Tokyo. With 10 world-championship gold medals, Biles holds more international gold medals than any other female gymnast. Already a five-time Olympian, after earning four golds and one bronze during her debut season in Rio, she will have the opportunity to add six more medals to that count in Tokyo, securing her already-historic Olympic legacy.
Sunisa Lee
Age: 18
Hometown: St. Paul, Minn.
Lee will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer, just months after her high school graduation. The U.S. champion in uneven bars medaled in the balance beam, floor exercise and team during the 2019 world championships. Lee has already made history before even setting foot in Tokyo by being the first U.S. Olympic gymnast of Hmong descent. The Hmong American community, particularly the one in her hometown of St. Paul, Minn., will be watching closely as she takes to the beam and bars this summer.
Sam Mikulak
Age: 28
Hometown: Newport Beach, Calif.
At 28 years old, Mikulak is headed into his third Olympic season determined to soak in the experience. He is now a six-time national champion in the all-around and four-time U.S. champion in the high bar. In 2021 he defended his gold in the high bar and earned a bronze in the all-around as well. In Tokyo he will have what will likely be the last opportunity to stand on an Olympic podium before his retirement.
Karate
Sakura Kokumai
Age: 28
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Kokumai and karate are both making their debuts in the Olympics this summer. She currently ranks as the fourth kata athlete in the world, and is a seven-time national champion at the senior level. Kokumai has competed for the national team since 2007, and owns six senior Pan American championships. She captured gold in individual kata during the ’19 Pan American Games, setting her eyes on the same color for Tokyo. Kokumai—who split her childhood between her native Honolulu and Tamano, Japan—is also a fan of figure skating and knows how to sail.
Rugby
Alev Kelter
Age: 30
Hometown: Eagle River, Alaska
There was a time where Kelter might’ve thought she’d be competing in her Olympic debut during a different season in the year. The center/prop is a former star hockey player, leading the U.S. women’s under-18 national team to gold in the 2009 world championships. She was a two-sport athlete at the University of Wisconsin, playing ice hockey and soccer. Kelter wasn’t introduced to rugby until she was 22, going on to make her World Series debut at the 2014 China Women’s Sevens and made the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. Now, she has 33 World Series appearances under her belt.
Skateboarding
Nyjah Huston
Age: 26
Hometown: Davis, Calif.
Although Huston didn’t bring home gold at the Street World Championships in Rome, he earned the chance to do so in Tokyo after winning the silver medal in the highly contested men’s final. The world’s top-ranked skateboarder has become an icon in street skateboarding and is a four-time world champion. Since making his X Games debut at 11 years old, Huston has brought home 10 gold medals and 16 overall medals—a record for street skateboarders. He devotes his free time to his charity, Let it Flow, which brings clean water to communities in need across the world.
Bryce Wettstein
Age: 16
Hometown: Encinitas, Calif.
While Wettstein is the 2019 USA National Champion for Women’s Park format, there’s more to the teenager than meets the eye. She’s coming off a win at an Olympics qualifying event, but recently wrote on her website that making the Olympics “does not define me or skateboarding.” The No. 8 skateboarder also loves to surf, play volleyball and write songs on her ukulele. Through being part of the sport, Wettstein has been to five continents and seven countries, filling her life with an international friend group.
Soccer
Christen Press
Age: 32
Hometown: Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Press arrives in Japan in arguably the best national-team form of her life, having been directly involved in 37 goals in her last 37 games for the U.S. Part of a veteran front line, she’s a vital leader in the team’s attack, and holds the vision, decision-making and finishing touch to be a full-blown star and top-scorer candidate in this Olympic tournament after playing a more limited role in 2016.
Crystal Dunn
Age: 29
Hometown: Rockville Centre, N.Y.
A forward on the 2016 Olympic team, Dunn has since been converted to left back while with the U.S., where she’s one of its most indispensable players. Dunn’s attacking instincts and creativity make her a formidable threat on the wing when she pushes up the field, and the vast area she’s able to cover defensively plays a key role in the U.S.’s deadly transition game.
Sam Mewis
Age: 28
Hometown: Hanson, Mass.
The midfield might be United States’ strongest positional group, and it boasts two Mewis sisters. Sam, younger sister of Kristie, is nicknamed the Tower of Power, a nod to her 6' 0" frame (tallest on the team) and her dominance in the center of the pitch. At her best, she’s equally a threat to unleash a long-range, on-target rocket as she is to play in a pinpoint pass and put a teammate through on goal.
Softball
Monica Abbott
Age: 35
Hometown: Salinas, Calif.
Cat Osterman
Age: 38
Hometown: Houston
Team USA pitchers Abbott and Osterman are both returning to the Olympics after previous success in the 2000s. Both former collegiate All-Americas earned a silver medal in Beijing in 2008, which was also the last time their sport was featured in the Games. Abbott used the interim between her Olympic appearances to play professionally on five winning NPF teams, and the lefty was named MVP during each of those five championships. Osterman, who also picked up a gold medal in Athens in 2004, is a three-time USA Softball National Player of the Year, a title she earned with the Texas Longhorns.
Surfing
Caroline Marks
Age: 19
Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.
The goofy-footed Marks is already used to being the youngest contender in the water. She began surfing professionally at just 13, becoming the youngest woman ever to compete in a World Surf League event. She became the youngest women’s Championship Tour qualifier at age 15. With an average heat score of 12.43 and an average wave score of 4.43, Marks has yet another opportunity to continue her meteoric rise at the Tokyo Games.
Carissa Moore
Age: 28
Hometown: Honolulu
Moore is accustomed to being a world champion—she’s held the title of World Surf League Champion four times and will try for a fifth in September. After growing up surfing at Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach, Moore became the youngest surfer ever to win a world title when she won the 2011 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour at age 18. A decade later, she will continue to cement her legacy by competing in Tokyo in her sport’s Olympic debut.
Kolohe Andino
Age: 27
Hometown: San Clemente, Calif.
The second-generation pro will make his long-awaited Olympic debut this summer. Andino qualified for Tokyo through the 2019 WSL Championship Tour, making him the first American surfer ever to earn provisional qualification for the Olympic surf team. Though he missed the start of the 2021 surf season due to an ankle surgery, he has returned eager to lead the U.S. team in Tokyo.
Swimming
Caeleb Dressel
Age: 24
Hometown: Orange Park, Fla.
Specializing in the freestyle and butterfly sprint events, Dressel made his Olympic debut in Rio, taking the gold in the 4 x 100 freestyle and 4 x 100 medley. In 2019, he famously beat Michael Phelps’s world record for the 100-meter butterfly with a 49.50-second time at the FINA World Swimming Championships. In Tokyo, he is expected to medal in all three of the events he will compete in—the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.
Katie Ledecky
Age: 24
Hometown: Bethesda, Md.
Now entering her third Olympics, the five-time gold medalist is as much of a force as she was the day she made her 2012 debut at 15 years old. That summer in London, Ledecky walked away with a historic gold in the 800-meter freestyle, which remains her signature event—she now holds claim to the 23 fastest women’s 800-meter times ever recorded. In Tokyo, she will have a shot at her third straight gold in the event, which would be a first among American female Olympic swimmers. Ledecky is also a favorite for the women’s 200-meter, 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyles.
Simone Manuel
Age: 24
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
After earning two golds and two silvers in Rio, Manuel approaches the season with four Olympic medals already under her belt. She made history with one of those four, becoming the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming when she dominated the 100-meter freestyle in 2016. Since then, Manuel has swept the 2019 and 2017 World Championships, consistently shining in the individual and mixed-relay freestyle events. Manuel’s journey to Tokyo was a difficult one, after she struggled with overtraining syndrome, but she’s set to compete in the 50 meter freestyle at the Games.
Paralympic Swimming
Anastasia Pagonis
Age: 17
Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.
Pagonis started swimming around age 12, when she began to lose her vision. After a diagnosis of genetic retina disease and autoimmune retinopathys, her doctor recommended swimming as a noncontact alternative to soccer. After breaking the world record in the S11 400 freestyle twice over at the Parlympic trials, Pagonis is headed to Tokyo for what will surely be a splash of an Olympic debut.
Jessica Long
Age: 29
Hometown: Baltimore
A four-time Paralympian and 23-time medalist, Long is the second-most decorated Paralympian in U.S. history. She was born with fibular hemimelia, a limb deficiency that causes absent bones in the lower leg—in Long’s case, fibulas and most bones in her feet. After having both legs amputated below the knee at 18 months old, she was fitted with prosthetic legs and grew up in Baltimore as an unstoppably athletic child. Competing in all seven events, Tokyo will be a chance for the 29-year-old to further cement her place in Paralympic history.
Track and Field
Noah Lyles
Age: 24
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
Noah Lyles makes his Olympic debut just five years after barely missing out on the U.S. Olympic team with a fourth place finish at the 2016 Olympic trials 200-meter final as a high schooler. Since then, he’s become one of the best 200-meter runners in the world, winning gold at the 2019 world championships. He has not been beaten in a 200-meter final since June 6, 2019. Lyles’s 19.50 personal best makes him the fourth-fastest man of all time, behind Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson.
Dalilah Muhammad
Age: 31
Hometown: Jamaica, N.Y.
At the 2016 Olympics, Dalilah Muhammad became the first American woman to win gold in the 400-meter hurdles. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, she broke the 400-meter hurdles world record of 52.34 seconds, which had stood since 2003, with a 52.20 win at the U.S. Championships. She lowered it to 52.16 at the 2019 world championships, which stood until the U.S. Olympic Trials. She’s looking to become the first woman in history to win back-to-back gold medals in the event.
Allyson Felix
Age: 35
Hometown: Los Angeles
Felix has the chance to make history in her fifth and final Olympic Games—and first as a mother. With one more medal, she would tie Carl Lewis for the most decorated U.S. Olympic track and field athlete in history with 10 medals. Felix will be contesting the 400 meters after taking second in 50.02 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Only 15 American women in history have competed in five or more Games.
Sydney McLaughlin
Age: 21
Hometown: Dunellen, N.J.
McLaughlin was a hurdles prodigy when, at 16, she was the youngest American since 1972 to compete in track at the Olympics in 2016. Now, the 2019 world championship silver medalist arrives at her second Games as the newly minted world record holder after running 51.90 to win the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Ryan Crouser
Age: 28
Hometown: Boring, Ore.
After 31 years, Randy Barnes’s reign as the world record holder came to an end at the U.S. Olympic Trials this year, when Crouser sent his 16-pound shot 23.37 meters (76 feet, 8 1/4 inches). The heave improved the world record by almost 10 inches. Back in January, Crouser took down Barnes’ indoor world record with a 22.82 meter throw. Crouser is the reigning Olympic champion and can become the first American to go back-to-back since 1956.
Paralympic Track and Field
David Brown
Age: 28
Hometown: Kansas City, Mo.
With one gold medal already under his belt, the two-time Parlympian is aiming to repeat history. At 15 months old, Brown received an early diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, an acquired heart condition that also caused Glaucoma. By age 13, he had lost his eyesight completely, and before long he took up track at the Missouri School for the Blind. He is now the fastest completely blind athlete in the world, with a record time of 10.92 seconds for the 100 meters, the same event in which he won gold in Rio.
Water Polo
Maggie Steffens
Age: 28
Hometown: Danville, Calif.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. team captain, Steffens is entering her third consecutive Games with three world championship gold medals already under her belt. In London, the attacker set a women’s Olympic record by scoring 21 goals. But that’s not her focus this time around—instead, it’s all about leading Team USA to another gold.
Weightlifting
Katherine Nye
Age: 22
Hometown: Oakland Township, Mich.
Making her Olympic debut this summer, Nye became both the junior and senior world champion at the 2019 IWF World Championships. She won the senior title at age 20 with a 248 kg total, making her the youngest woman from Team USA ever to do so. She currently holds one junior world record and nine American records. Nye, who will compete in the 71kg weight class in Tokyo, has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder, encouraging her onlookers to push back against the stigma surrounding mental health.
Wheelchair Rugby
Chuck Aoki
Age: 30
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn.
Aoki may be one of the most experienced players on Team USA with two Paralympic medals, but he is still in the hunt for his first gold. The U.S. has not taken home the first-place honor since Beijing 2008, but it does have the most wheelchair rugby gold medals since the sport’s Paralympic debut in 1996. Outside of the sport, Aoki inspires those around him. He offers a glimpse into life as an Paralympian as a blogger for TeamUSA.org, and is a part of Classroom Champions, which mentors young people across the country.
Wrestling
Helen Maroulis
Age: 29
Hometown: Huntington Beach, Calif.
In Rio 2016, Maroulis became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. But she almost didn’t make it to this moment. Her path back to the Summer Games was made more difficult by a pair of concussions suffered in 2018 and a grueling experience with PTSD. But the two-time world champion persevered and will defend her title in Tokyo.