40 Team USA athletes to watch in the 2024 Paris Olympics

Who's competing for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics? From cycling to gymnastics, swimming to archery, here are 40 athletes to watch this year as they strive for world records and represent the United States.Video above: Team USA athletes of all agesCasey Kaufhold: ArcheryCasey Kaufhold is the world's No. 1-ranked women's recurve archer. She’s trying to become the first American to win Olympic gold in archery since 1996. Last year, the native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, won the Olympic test event in Paris, which led to her No. 1 ranking. It was among three straight top-four finishes for her in World Cup events. She won gold in the mixed team and team events and bronze in the individual event at the Pan-Am Games later that year in Santiago, Chile. This year, the 20-year-old won gold in the individual and team events at the Pan-American Championships in Medellin, Colombia. This will be her second trip to the Olympics. In Tokyo, she placed 17th in the ranking round in the women’s individual event. Stephen Curry: BasketballGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is one of several NBA superstars on the U.S. men's basketball team. The 36-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MBP and the NBA's three-point leader, but has never played in the Olympics. His head coach, Steve Kerr, will lead the men's team in Paris. Lebron James: BasketballParis will be the first time Lebron James plays in the Olympics since 2012. James, 39, of Akron, Ohio, has two gold medals and a bronze medal to add to his four NBA titles and four NBA MVP honors. Breanna Stewart: Women's basketballBreanna Stewart will play in her third Olympic Games coming off of her MVP honor in Tokyo. The 29-year-old from North Syracuse, New York, plays for the WNBA's New York Liberty and, in 2023, set the league's single-season scoring record, earning her a second WNBA MVP honor. Diana Taurasi: Women's basketballDiana Taurasi, guard for the Phoenix Mercury, has been to five Olympics and won gold every time. The 42-year-old of Chino, California, could bring home a sixth gold medal from Paris, which would break a tie with Sue Bird for the most Olympic basketball golds ever. A sixth medal would also make Taurasi the most decorated team sport athlete in Olympic history. Hannah Roberts, BMX freestyleRoberts has five world titles under her belt, but she's chasing her first Olympic gold medal. She's the favorite in the women's BMX freestyle after finishing second in Tokyo and, in 2019, Roberts became the first woman to land a 360 tailwhip in competition.Roberts, 22, is from Buchanan, Michigan.Jahmal Harvey: Boxing This will be Jahmal Harvey's first appearance at the Olympics, although he won a world title in 2021 and a Pan American Games gold medal in 2023. After the U.S. men brought home three boxing silver medals in Tokyo, the expectation is for Team USA to continue its success in the ring in Paris.Harvey, 21, is from Oxon Hill, Maryland.Victor Montalvo: Breaking Victor Montalvo is the top American in the Olympics' newest sport. And while break dancing has been his passion since he was 10, the Olympics were never on his radar. When the International Olympic Committee announced the sport would make its debut in Paris in 2024, that all changed and made him determined to qualify for Team USA. Montalvo, 30, is from Kissimmee, Florida.Nevin Harrison: CanoeingNevin Harrison was the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic canoeing gold in Tokyo and will defend the title in Paris. The 22-year-old from Seattle has also picked up two world titles. Lee Kiefer: FencingIn Tokyo, Kiefer won the third gold medal for Team USA and the third fencing gold medal in the country's history.Kiefer, a four-time NCAA champion at Notre Dame, placed fifth in London in 2012 and was 10th at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. Her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, won bronze with the U.S. team in foil at the 2016 Olympics.Kiefer, 30, is from Lexington, Kentucky.Nick Itkin: FencingNick Itkin is a fellow Notre Dame grad and was the youngest American fencer in Tokyo when the men's foil team won bronze. Now, at 24, he's the favorite to win individual foil gold in Paris and could be a key player in Team USA's mission to win the foil team gold medal. Itkin, 30, is from Los Angeles.Xander Schauffele: Golf Xander Schauffele will also look to defend his gold medal from Tokyo, following his top-10 finish in this year's Masters Tournaments.Schauffele, 30, of San Diego, California, is ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Simone Biles: GymnasticsAll eyes will be on Simone Biles in Paris, where she could become the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history with one more medal.Biles, 27, of Spring, Texas, has the potential to bring her Olympic medal count to 12 at this year's event.Fred Richard: GymnasticsFred Richard posted the highest score at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships, helping the team earn bronze, the team's first in nine years. Richard, 20, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, also earned a bronze medal in the all-around, which made him the fourth all-around medalist in history for the American men's gymnastics team.Kara Kohler: RowingKohler is an Olympic veteran, winning bronze at the London Olympics in the quadruple sculls before shifting to single sculls. She won third place at World Cup II and fourth at 2023 Worlds. Kohler, 33, is from Clayton, California.Ilona Maher: RugbyTeam center Ilona Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, will return to the Team USA rugby team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Maher, 27, of Burlington, Vermont, is a member of a 12-person team, which is led by co-captains Lauren Doyle and Naya Tapper, and includes Olympians Alev Kelter Lauren Doyle, Kayla Canett, Kristi Kirshe, Ariana Ramsey, and Naya Tapper.The team will look to win the USA Women's Rugby Sevens' first Olympic medal ever, 100 years after the USA won the last Olympic gold in rugby. Vincent Hancock: ShootingThe most decorated Olympic skeet shooter of all time, Hancock has three gold medals in an event no one else has won more than once. Hancock, who aims to retire at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, already trains a new generation of U.S. shooters at his complex near Fort Worth, Texas.Hancock could make Olympic history for the U.S. in Paris, where he could become one of six American shooters with at least four gold medals in the sport.Hancock, 35, is from Eatonton, Georgia. Gavin Bottger: SkateboardingGavin Bottger is a 17-year-old rising star in men's park who recently won the Dew Tour and won several X Games medals. He's from Vista, California.Jagger Eaton: SkateboardingJagger Eaton, 23, earned a bronze medal in men's street in Tokyo — and that was with a broken ankle. He's recently won X Games and world titles in men's park and is ranked second in the world rankings, behind Bottger.He's from Mesa, Arizona.Nyjah Huston: SkateboardingAfter a seventh-place finish in Tokyo and tearing his ACL while filming a video in 2022, Nyjah Huston is returning to the Olympics as a favorite for gold in men's street. Huston, 29, is from Davis, California.Trinity Rodman: Women's soccerTrinity Rodman was one of the three forwards who played with Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith in the 2023 Women's World Cup. Although the daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman has only been on the national team for two years, she could make an impact with goals and assists as a winger. Rodman, 21, is from Newport Beach, California.Sam Watson: Sport climbingSam Watson broke the speed climbing world record twice at a World Cup event in April, making him a gold medal contender in Paris. The 18-year-old hails from Southlake, Texas. Natalia Grossman: Sport climbingNatalia Grossman is the 2021 world champion in bouldering and won gold in a combined event of bouldering and lead climbing at last year's Pan American Games. Grossman, 23, is from Santa Cruz, California.Jack Alexy: SwimmingJack Alexy made a name for himself as a top male sprint swimmer at the 2023 World Swimming Championships, where he earned silver medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events and earned three medals on U.S. relay teams. Alexy, 21, is from Morristown, New Jersey. Caeleb Dressel: Swimming At the U.S. Olympic trials, Caeleb Dressel earned two individual races at the Paris Olympics — the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly.Dressel, who took home five gold medals from Tokyo, finished third in the 100 freestyle, relegating him to the relay for that distance. In the aftermath of his Tokyo success, Dressel stunningly walked away from swimming during the 2022 world championships. He later revealed what a toll the sport had taken on him, saying he needed an extended break to rediscover his passion at the pool. Dressel, 27, is from Orange Park, Florida.Katie Ledecky: SwimmingAt the U.S. Olympic trials, Katie Ledecky won all four of her freestyle events, ranging from 200 to 1,500 meters, and she'll again be the face of the American team as she competes in her fourth Olympics.Ledecky, who is just the ninth U.S. swimmer to qualify at least four times for the sport's grandest stage, won't swim the 200, an event that produced only a fifth-place finish in Tokyo. She'll need to improve on her times in the 400 to have a shot at gold in that star-studded event.But she remains the favorite in the 800 — an event where she'll be going for a four-peat — and the 1,500.The 27-year-old Ledecky, who's from Bethesda, Maryland, already has six individual gold medals — more than any female swimmer in Olympic history — and an overall haul of 10 medals that includes seven golds. Video below: Why do they do it? Here's the athletes' motivationKate Douglass: SwimmingKate Douglass is regarded as one of the world's most versatile swimmers.The 22-year-old from Pelham, New York, has claimed spots in three individual races in Paris: the 200m breaststroke, 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley. She'll also be a key performer on the relays.She has all the makings of being the breakout American star in Paris, leading the charge to take down the powerhouse Australian women's team. Regan Smith: SwimmingRegan Smith is a former world record holder in the 100m and 200m backstroke and is a gold medal favorite for the 200m butterfly.Smith, 22, of Lakeville, Minnesota, made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, bringing home three medals. She'll aim to net her first gold medal from Paris.Carissa Moore: SurfingCarissa Moore is the reigning Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion for the 2024 Olympic surfing event, which will take place in Tahiti. The 31-year-old from Honolulu plans to step away from competition after this year's Olympics.CJ Nickolas: TaekwondoCJ Nickolas earned silver at last year's World Championships and a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games, making him a rising star and medal contender in Paris. The 22-year-old is from Brentwood, California. Coco Gauff: TennisCoco Gauff was supposed to play in 2020, but had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. Since then, she earned runner-up at the 2022 French Open in singles and doubles and won her first Grand Slam trophy at the U.S. Open in 2023. The 20-year-old is from Delray Beach, Florida.Ryan Crouser: Track and fieldIn Paris, Ryan Crouser will attempt to become the first three-time Olympic champion in shot put history. Crouser, 31, of Boring, Oregon, won gold in Rio and Tokyo and has won three world titles.Noah Lyles: Track and fieldThe hopes are high for Noah Lyles to be a big winner for Team USA in Paris. He became the first man since Usain Bolt to win gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.Lyles, 26, of Alexandria, Virginia, won bronze in Tokyo in the 200m. Anna Hall: Track and fieldAlthough Anna Hall doesn't have Olympic experience, she's on a mission for the heptathlon in Paris and could be the third American woman to medal in the event.After crashing out in hurdles at the U.S. trials, she missed out on the Tokyo Games. But since then, she's earned two world medals. Hall, 23, is from Highlands Ranch, Colorado.Sha’Carri Richardson: Track and fieldSha'Carri Richardson will head to Paris in hopes of redeeming what she could have accomplished in Tokyo. A positive marijuana test cost her the chance to compete in the last Olympics and since then, she's won the 100m gold medal at the 2023 World Track and Field Championships and led the U.S. women to gold in the 4x100m relay. If her success continues in 2024, Richardson, 24, of Dallas, could become the first American woman to win a gold medal in the women's 100m since the 1996 games in Athens. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: Track and field During U.S. Olympic trials, 24-year-old Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered the world record for the 400-meter hurdles course for the fifth time and broke her last record by .03 seconds.The latest record doesn’t so much reset the storyline for the Olympics — McLaughlin-Levrone would’ve been the big-time favorite either way — as it forces track to once again rethink what’s possible.McLaughlin-Levrone's performance at the U.S. Olympic trials was only her fourth 400 hurdles race of the season, as she geared back up from a year of running sprints. She also has the best time in the world this year (48.75) in the regular 400, which does nothing to diminish the U.S. team's already strong chances of winning the 4x400 relay at the end of the Olympic track meet.McLaughlin-Levrone is from Dunellen, New Jersey. Jordan Larson: VolleyballJordan Larson, outside hitter and captain of the U.S. women's national team, will hope to bring home a second gold medal from Paris. Larson, 37, of Hooper, Nebraska, is a three-time Olympian. She was part of the team that brought home bronze in 2012, a silver in 2016 and a gold medal from Tokyo.Ashleigh Johnson: Water poloAshleigh Johnson has already won two Olympic gold medals as the goalkeeper of the U.S. team, along with four world titles. She'll aim to bring home a third gold medal from Paris.Johnson, 29, is from Miami, Florida.Aaron Brooks: WrestlingAt the U.S. Olympic trials, Aaron Brooks upset reigning world and Olympic champion David Taylor to secure his spot on the roster for his first Olympic games.Brooks just won his fourth consecutive NCAA title at Penn State University and won a U23 world title last year. Brooks, 24, is from Hagerstown, Maryland. Amit Elor: WrestlingAmit Elor could become the next American woman to earn a gold medal in wrestling, following in the footsteps of Helen Maroulis in 2016 and Tamyra Mensah-Stock in 2020.Elor, 20, of Walnut Creek, California, has won back-to-back world titles at 72kg. Since that isn't an Olympic weight class, she'll compete at 68kg in Paris.