Ryan Crouser
Age: 31
Events: Shot Put
Southern Ties: The Arkansas resident volunteers as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas.
Highlight Reel: In 2023, Crouser bested himself with a world-record throw of 23.56 meters. He goes into Paris ranked number one in the world and is aiming to earn his third straight Olympic gold medal.
Beyond the Games: When Crouser isn’t training or coaching, he finds his Zen outdoors—whether it’s in the boat hauling in bass, or in the field with his black Labrador retriever, Koda.
When to Watch: August 2–3
Victor Montalvo
Age: 30
Events: Breaking (a.k.a. Breakdancing)
Southern Ties: Montalvo lives and trains in his hometown, Kissimmee, Florida.
Highlight Reel: “B-boy Victor” is the highest-ranked male breaker after his gold at the 2023 World Championships. A key move: a “backflip to flare combo” (backflip into a handstand into a “flare” floor move).
Beyond the Games: Montalvo learned to breakdance, a sport making its Olympic debut in Paris, from his uncle and father (breakdancing pioneers in Mexico). After a big win in Rome, Italy, he gave the championship belt to his dad.
When to Watch: August 10
Ashleigh Johnson
Age: 29
Events: Water Polo
Southern Ties: The Miami native still resides and trains in the Sunshine State.
Highlight Reel: In 2016, Johnson, considered the sport’s best goalkeeper, became the first African American woman on the U.S. Olympic water polo team. After 2016 and 2020 golds, she’s looking to three-peat.
Beyond the Games: Johnson teaches swimming to underserved children around South Florida, and advocates for more diversity in water polo and for pool access in low-income and minority communities.
When to Watch: July 27–August 10
Sunny Choi
Age: 35
Events: Breaking (a.k.a. Breakdancing)
Southern Ties: Choi was born in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Highlight Reel: Known by her breaking name, B-girl Sunny, Choi took home gold at the 2023 Pan American Games, making her the first woman to qualify for breaking in the Olympics.
Beyond the Games: Choi worked as Estée Lauder’s director of global creative operations for skin care before she quit in 2023 to focus on breaking. She returned to the South to give the “riders up” call at this year’s Kentucky Oaks.
When to Watch: August 9
Noah Lyles
Age: 27
Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m Relay
Southern Ties: The Alexandria, Virginia, track standout now lives and trains in Clermont, Florida.
Highlight Reel: Lyles—who reigns as world champion in the 100 and 200 meters, and won bronze at the Tokyo Games (200 meters)—is known for his blazing speed and ebullient postrace celebrations.
Beyond the Games: After Tokyo, Alexandria honored him with the key to the city, citing not only his athletic accomplishments but also his commitment to community and his openness about his mental health struggles.
When to Watch: August 3–9
Evy Leibfarth
Age: 20
Events: Canoe Slalom, Kayak Slalom, Kayak Cross
Southern Ties: A Davidson College biology major, Leibfarth hails from Bryson City, North Carolina.
Highlight Reel: She is the first U.S. woman to qualify for the Olympics in three canoe/kayak events. At seventeen, she finished twelfth (kayak slalom) and eighteenth (canoe slalom) at the 2020 Games.
Beyond the Games: Leibfarth takes painting classes in her free time and can often be found drawing in the team tent before heading to the starting gate. She’s also training to become an EMT.
When to Watch: July 27–August 6
Emma Hunt
Age: 21
Events: Speed Climbing
Southern Ties: The Woodstock, Georgia, native studies at Kennesaw State University.
Highlight Reel: Hunt set the American women’s speed record with a 6.54-second climb at USA Climbing’s National Team Trials in March.
Beyond the Games: When she’s not scaling walls, Hunt shows off her baking skills—breadsticks, croissants, macaroons, cakes with Oreos, and more sweet treats—on social media.
When to Watch: August 5–7
Jaedyn Shaw
Age: 19
Events: Soccer
Southern Ties: Shaw comes by way of Frisco, Texas.
Highlight Reel: A pro for San Diego Wave FC, Shaw became the first member of the U.S. Women’s National Team to score a goal in each of her first five starts at this spring’s SheBelieves Cup.
Beyond the Games: In order to support her soccer ambitions (and the pricey fees and travel that came with them), Shaw’s family squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment, with Shaw and her brother sharing a bed in the living room.
When to Watch: July 25–August 10
Tara Davis-Woodhall
Age: 25
Events: Long Jump
Southern Ties: The five-foot-four dynamo starred in track and field for the University of Texas.
Highlight Reel: In March, she won the long jump at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championship with a monstrous 7.07- meter leap.
Beyond the Games: Davis-Woodhall often rocks a cowboy hat on the track. She and her husband, Paralympian sprinter Hunter Woodhall, also host a popular YouTube channel chronicling their journey to Paris.
When to Watch: August 6 (qualif.); August 8 (final)
Wes Kitts
Age: 34
Events: Weight Lifting
Southern Ties: Kitts lives and trains in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Highlight Reel: He finished eighth in Tokyo’s heavyweight category with a 390-pound snatch and a 470-pound clean and jerk. Last year in training, he crushed that combined total.
Beyond the Games: To honor his late father, who taught him to give his best effort in sports and beyond, Kitts inspires kids in Knoxville through his junior weightlifting camps.
When to Watch: August 10
