More than three dozen athletes from Florida will be taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics when they kick off today.
In fact, Florida will only be behind California among the states with the most athletes heading to the 2024 Olympics.
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WATCH HEREHere's a look at all the Sunshine State athletes, in alphabetical order, who will be competing in Paris:
Perry Baker: Rugby
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Baker, 38, is from Daytona Beach and rugby wasn't his first sport. He played football for Fairmont State, an NCAA Division II team in West Virginia, and had been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 but a knee injury ended his NFL career.
He went on to play two seasons with the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League in 2012 and 2013, then swiched to rugby full-time.
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Baker was signed to a full-time deal by the U.S. team to join its residency program in July 2014.
Aaliyah Butler: Track & Field
Butler, 20, hails from Fort Lauderdale but got her start with the Lauderhill Cheetah Track Organization.
She graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior High School in 2022 and now attends the University of Georgia.
Butler will be competing in the women's 400-meter race in Paris after qualifying in June.
Danielle Collins: Tennis
Collins, 30, is from St. Petersburg and was on the Florida Gators' tennis team before transferring to the University of Virginia.
She turned pro in 2016 and has won four WTA singles tournaments, including the 2024 Miami Open.
Collins, also known as “Danimal," announced in January that the 2024 season would be her last.
Kassidy Cook: Diving
Cook, 29, of Plantation started diving when she was just 3. She missed qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics by one spot but made the team for the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing 13th on the 3 meter springboard.
Cook and Sarah Bacon will compete in women’s synchronized 3-meter in Paris.
Jeremiah Davis: Track & Field
Davis, 22, is from Lehigh Acres and competed in the long jump while attending Florida State University.
Davis qualified for his first Olympics in Paris after winning gold in the long jump at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials last month.
Tamari Davis: Track & Field
Davis, 21, is a native of Gainesville and competes as a sprinter. She attended Gainesville High School and Oak Hall School, and signed with Adidas at age 16.
Davis was a member of the U.S. women's 4x100w relay team that won gold at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
The Paris Olympics will be Davis' first, as she joins the women's relay pool.
Ben Davison: Rowing
Davison, 27, from Inverness, attended the University of Washington, where he was named the PAC-12 Conference Men's Rowing Athlete of the Year in 2019.
The Paris Olympics will be his second, after he competed in the men's eight event in the Tokyo Olympics.
Clark Dean: Rowing
The 24-year-old Dean, of Sarasota, will be participating in his second Olympics in Paris. He was a member of the men's four team that came in 5th in the Tokyo Olympics.
Dean, who was a two-time champion at the World Rowing Junior Championships in 2017 and 2018, was a member of the Academic All-Ivy League Team in 2023 while rowing for Harvard.
Angelica Delgado: Judo
Miami's Delgado, 33, is an Olympic veteran, and the Paris games will be her third. Delgado competed in Rio in 2016 and in the Tokyo Olympics, both in the women's 52kg.
Her father was a part of the Cuban National Team but defected to the U.S., and she was born and raised in Miami.
Delgado, who attended John A. Ferguson Senior High School, won her first national championship in 2010, then nearly qualified for the London Olympics in 2012 but fell one spot short in the rankings.
Caeleb Dressel: Swimming
The 27-year-old Dressel, who was born in Orange Park and grew up in Green Cove Springs, will be participating in his third Olympics in Paris.
A 7-time Olympic gold medalist, Dressel qualified for two individual events in Paris, along with the 4x100m freestyle relay, at the trials by finishing first in the 50m freestyle and third in the 100m butterfly. He's the reigning Olympic champion in both.
Dressel also won gold in the 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, but he failed to qualify for the event this time around after placing third.
Markus Edegran: Sailing
Edegran, of West Palm Beach, began sailing at age 8 and started racing at age 10.
The 30-year-old sailed at St. Mary's College of Maryland and is currently ranked #4 in the world.
The Paris Olympics will be the first for Edegran, who competes in the men’s formula kite.
Kendall Ellis: Track & Field
The Paris Olympics will be the second for the 28-year-old Ellis, of Pembroke Pines, who was a star at St. Thomas Aquinas High School where she was a 7-time FHSAA state champion.
She continued her star turn at the University of Southern California, where she was a 3-time NCAA champion.
Ellis won gold in the 4x400m relay and bronze in the 4x400m mixed relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bobby Finke: Swimming
Finke, 24, of Tampa, is participating in his second Olympics in Paris.
A collegiate swimmer for the University of Florida, Finke competed in the Tokyo Olympics where he won gold in the men’s 800m freestyle and the men's 1500m freestyle.
Finke will be defending his gold in both events in Paris.
Coco Gauff: Tennis
The 20-year-old Gauff, who now calls Delray Beach home, will be making her Olympic debut in Paris, after a heartbreaking turn of events at the previous games.
Gauff made the Olympic team for Tokyo in 2021 at age 17, but announced five days before the Opening Ceremony that she had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
The tennis superstar will enter the Olympics ranked second in the world.
Vincent Hancock: Shooting
The Paris Games will be the fifth for Hancock, of Port Charlotte, who previously competed in the Olympics in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
He won gold in skeet at Beijing, London and Tokyo.
Hancock, 35, is a former sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. His father was a competitive shooter.
Nathan Harriel: Soccer
The 23-year-old Harriel, from Oldsmar, is taking part in his first Olympics in Paris.
Harriel is currently a defender for the Philadelphia Union in the MLS.
Ashleigh Johnson: Water Polo
Born, raised and trained in Miami, the 29-year-old Johnson is known as one of the best water polo goalkeepers in the world.
Johnson attended Ransom Everglades High School before moving on to Princeton, where she finished her career as the all-time leader in saves.
Johnson heads to Paris with the U.S. Women’s Water Polo Team as they seek their third straight gold, after winning in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021.
Omari Jones: Boxing
Jones, 21, of Orlando, is one of four boxers representing the U.S. at the Paris Olympics, his first.
He turned in a silver medal performance at the 2021 Elite World Championships, his first international tournament ever.
Erriyon Knighton: Track & Field
Sprinter Knighton, of Tampa, was initially a football wide receiver in high school, but switched to track when his coach recognised his potential for speed.
Knighton became the youngest male to represent the United States in track and field since 1964 when he qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, and eventually came in 4th in the 200m.
Now 20, Knighton heads to Paris with the world under-20 record for the 200m, a record previously held by Usain Bolt.
Nelly Korda: Golf
Korda, of Bradenton, will be leading the U.S. Women's Golf Team to Paris as the No. 1 women's golfer in the world.
Korda, who turns 26 later this month, has racked up 14 wins on the LPGA Tour. She'll be in Paris defending her gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics.
Austin Krajicek: Tennis
The 34-year-old Krajicek, of Tampa, is returning to the Olympics in Paris after making his first appearance at the Tokyo Games, where he and partner Tennys Sandgren came in 4th in the men's doubles event.
Known as a doubles master, Krajicek has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in doubles by the ATP.
Katie Ledecky: Swimming
Ledecky, 27, is originally from Maryland but now trains in Gainesville at the University of Florida. She began swimming at age 6.
Ledecky is one of the best women swimmers of all time, with seven Olympic gold medals and three silver from three separate games dating back to 2012 in London.
She holds the women's 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle world records.
David Liebenberg: Sailing
Liebenberg, of West Palm Beach, will be participating in the Mixed Multihull - Narca 17 event in Paris with Sarah Newberry Moore.
Liebenberg was a member of the sailing team at Tufts University. He and Moore won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Noah Lyles: Track & Field
Gainesville's Lyles, who turned 27 this month, is returning to the Olympics after winning bronze in the 200m in Tokyo.
Lyles is a six-time World champion, including the 200m and 4×100m in 2019, the 200m in 2022, and the 100m, 200m, and 4×100m events in 2023.
Caroline Marks: Surfing
The 22-year-old Marks was born in Boca Raton but grew up in Melbourne Beach, where the waves are better.
Marks started surfing competitively at age 8 and will be making her second Olympics appearance. She finished 4th in the shortboard at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Djordje Mihailovic: Soccer
Mihailovic, of Jacksonville, will be making his first Olympics appearance in Paris. The 25-year-old has been a member of the U.S. National Team since 2019.
He currently plays for the Colorado Rapids of the MLS.
Victor Montalvo: Breaking
Kissimmee's Montalvo became the first American to qualify for the Olympics in the sport of breaking ahead of the Paris Games.
The 30-year-old, whose nickname is "B-boy Victor," won the 2023 World Championship title and was the World Games 2022 champion.
Sarah Newberry Moore: Sailing
Miami native Newberry Moore will be making her Olympics debut in Paris with Noah Liebenberg in the Mixed Multihull - Narca 17 event.
She started competing at age 12 when she joined her middle school sailing team as the only girl. She's now the top-ranked female multihull skipper in the U.S.
Monae' Nichols: Track & Field
Nichols, from Winter Haven, is one of the top long jumpers in the U.S. and will be part of her first Olympics in Paris.
The 25-year-old, who attended Bethune–Cookman University before transferring to Texas Tech, finished third at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a 6.73m distance in the long jump.
Poe Pinson: Skateboarding
Fernandina Beach's Pinson started skating at just 4. Now 19, she's headed to her first Olympics in Paris.
Pinson competed in her first major contest in 2019 and has quickly become one of the country's top young skateboarders.
Erika Reineke: Sailing
Reineke, of Fort Lauderdale, began sailing at age 8 at the Lauderdale Yacht Club and is heading to her first Olympics in Paris.
Reineke sailed at Boston College, and became the first person to win four singlehanded National Championships.
Russell Robinson: Track & Field
Robinson, who was born in Windermere and attends the University of Miami, qualified for the Paris Olympics in the men’s triple jump.
The 23-year-old won the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, and is the first UM track and field athlete to represent Team USA at the summer Olympics since T’erea Brown (400m hurdles) and Lauryn Williams (4x100m) competed at the 2012 London Games.
Donald Scott: Track & Field
Triple jumper Scott, of Apopka, is returning to the Olympics in Paris after finishing 7th at Tokyo.
The 32-year-old had received a scholarship to play football at Eastern Michigan University but ended up joining the track team his freshman year.
Dominique Stater: Sailing
Stater, a Miami native and University of Miami grad, is another first time Olympian heading to Paris.
The 23-year-old began kitesurfing at age 13 before transitioning to windsurfing. She previously won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Kristina Teachout: Taekwondo
Teachout, of Palm Bay, qualified for her first Olympics at age 18 and is one of four taekwondo athletes who will represent the U.S. in Paris.
Despite her young age, Teachout has already compiled an impressive resume, coming in 9th at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships and winning bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Twanisha Terry: Track & Field
Terry, also known as "TeeTee," was born and raised in Miami, where she attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School.
A former sprinter at the University of Southern California, Terry, now 25, won two World Athletics Championships gold medals as part of the U.S. women's 4×100m relays at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Parker Valby: Track & Field
The 21-year-old Valby, of Tampa, has been a standout cross-country athlete for the University of Florida.
Valby has already had a pretty good year, winning gold in the 3000m and 5000m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, along with gold in the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene.
Dania Vizzi: Shooting
Vizzi, of Tampa, goes by the nickname "Shooterina" from her dancing background. She had been accepted to the prestigious Julliard Dance Intensive in New York but turned it down to focus on shooting.
The 29-year-old University of Florida grad won bronze at the 2019 Pan American Games and was named the 2022 Women’s Skeet World Champion. The Paris Olympics will be her first.
Emma Weyant: Swimming
The Paris Olympics will be the second for Weyant, of Sarasota, who won silver in the 400m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics.
Weyant, 22, started her collegiate career at the University of Virginia before transferring to the University of Florida.
Lily Williams: Cycling
The 30-year-old Williams, of Tallahassee, will be competing in her second Olympics. She won bronze in the women's Team Pursuit (4km) event in Tokyo.
Williams ran at Vanderbilt before switching to cycling in 2016 when she began working at a bicycle shop.
