With the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics now a little more than three weeks away, the contingent of Louisiana athletes heading across the Atlantic is growing to a mighty impressive number.
As of Monday, 20 athletes, 19 of them current or former LSU athletes, have qualified for Paris representing a broad swath of nations. That number could grow by 13 more LSU track and field athletes once their respective national squads are announced. By comparison, 22 LSU athletes competed in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
The headliners with Louisiana and LSU ties are some of the biggest names in the sports world: Sha’Carri Richardson and Mondo Duplantis.
Richardson had a somewhat bittersweet showing in the U.S. Olympic trials. The 2023 world champion in the 100-meter dash, she won that event in Eugene, Oregon, and has positioned herself at the top of the group of favorites in what is by nature a closely contested event. She is also expected to run in the 4x100-meter relay. But Richardson missed the third and final qualifying spot in the 200 by finishing fourth after winning her heat and semifinal, leaving her unable to compete for the impressive sprint double. Disappointing, perhaps, but it will give the Dallas native more time to focus on the 100.
Assuming she makes it to the 100-meter final Aug. 3, it would be against human nature not to be pulling for Richardson to win gold. Everyone loves a winner, but more than that they love a story of redemption. Richardson famously was booted from the U.S. squad for the Tokyo Olympics because she tested positive for marijuana use, something she admitted she did to cope with pressure of qualifying for Tokyo and the recent death of her mother. She later said she wasn’t just back, she was better. That has certainly been the case in the 100 to this point as the most important race of her life draws nearer.
Duplantis has simply flown through 2024 looking to be at the top of his game. The Lafayette native, representing Sweden, set his latest record in the men’s pole vault in April by clearing 20 feet, 5½ inches. He went an even 20 feet in June to win the European Athletic Championships title in Rome.
U.S. 100/200 sprinter Noah Lyles … American swimmer Katie Ledecki … the U.S. women’s basketball team … huge favorites all. But you would be hard pressed to find a bigger favorite in their event than Duplantis.
Former LSU high jumper JuVaughn Harrison will be one of the medal favorites in his event in Paris assuming he makes the U.S. team. He finished fourth Sunday in the U.S. trials, but because he has cleared the Olympic qualifying standard this year, he is still expected to make the team. There are some nervous days ahead for Harrison, but a USA Track & Field source said Harrison will likely be on the team when it’s announced this Sunday.
The U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials also wrapped up Sunday in Minneapolis with LSU signee Kaliya Lincoln making it — sort of. Lincoln was chosen as one of two nontraveling alternates for the U.S. squad, which has five competing members plus two alternates who will travel to Paris. The chances of Lincoln getting to take the floor in Paris along side her future LSU teammate Aleah Finnegan — she will represent The Philippines — are slim. But in the face of fierce competition at the U.S. trials she acquitted herself well and can look forward now to contributing immediately to the reigning NCAA champion Tigers in 2025.
One of the five gymnasts to make the squad to keep an eye on is 16-year old Hezly Rivera. She trains at the same Dallas-area gym as LSU rising sophomore Konnor McClain (her Olympic hopes were dashed by a torn Achilles in a pre-Olympic meet) and the Tigers are currently considered to be the favorite to sign Rivera in 2026. That said, given the fact she made the 2024 U.S. team, there’s a chance she will defer her college career until after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The former LSU beach volleyball duo of Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth compete in Gstaad, Switzerland, this weekend, their final event before Paris. Nuss and Kloth have had a meteoric rise through the beach volleyball world rankings and are still Planet Earth’s No. 2-ranked women’s duo.
Finally, congratulations to the only (so far) non-LSU athlete from Louisiana: men’s trampoline gymnast Aliaksei Shostak of Lafayette. He also made the U.S. team at the trials in Minneapolis, his second straight Olympics after finishing 13th in Tokyo. He is coming off gold and silver medals in the 2023 world championships.