25 Utah athletes headed to the Paris Olympics
Jul 10, 2024, 3:00 PM | Updated: 7:27 pm
The Olympic rings from the 2002 Winter Games are pictured at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. It's rare enough to get selected to compete in the Olympics. But, how rare is it to have siblings competing in the same games? (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Twenty-five Utah athletes are headed to Paris to represent Team USA in the upcoming Summer Olympics.
Utah athletes will compete in nine different sports. There are eight athletes in Sport Climbing and eight in Track and Field. Additionally, Utah athletes are competing in events like Artistic Gymnastics and Mountain Biking.
There are a lot of alumni from BYU fighting for the gold, as well as grads from Utah State and University and University of Utah. Several high school students also made the team roster.
On top of those competing for Team USA, there are 11 athletes with Utah ties representing other countries. For example, four Utah Royals will play soccer in Paris.
Only a few other states have more representation in the Olympics than Utah.
The Utah Sports Commission said that while Utah is normally known as a winter sports hub, the state has become an emerging destination for summer sports.
“The same mountains renowned for ‘The Greatest Snow on Earth’ also offer vast trail systems for running and mountain biking and technical routes for climbing,” said Utah Sports Commission President and CEO Jeff Robbins in a press release. “Utah is a year-round sports destination.”
In 2018, USA climbing relocated its headquarters to Salt Lake City. All eight of its climbers that will compete for Team USA either live or train in Utah.
“Since 2002, our state has been a proud host and home to the world’s greatest athletes and events,” said Robbins in the release. “Sports are ingrained in our DNA.”
