Washington State has eight athletes on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team, a decent turnout for our size, although Oregon edges us a tad with nine athletes. .
Perhaps the games should have been canceled, as Post Alley explored in an article last month by my colleague Carol Williams. Now that they are moving forward, you may be looking for some locals to cheer among the 613 athletes from 46 states.
Here are the amazing athletes from Washington who won spots to Tokyo, four women and four men:
- Zach Lavine, Renton, basketball
- Nevin Harrison, Seattle, canoe/kayak
- Adrian Hegyvary, Seattle, cycling
- Katrina Young, Seattle, diving
- Jordan Chiles, Vancouver, gymnastics
- Jacob Riley, Bellingham, track and field
- Kara Winger, Vancouver, track and field
- Harrison Maurus, Auburn, weightlifting
Alaska sent two competitors, a women rugby player and a woman swimmer, but our other Pacific Northwest neighbor Idaho has no representatives on the team. Meanwhile, no big surprise that farther south on our coast, California tallied a whopping 126 athletes.
The District of Columbia, while still battling for statehood, will be cheering for two women and two men competing in Tokyo.
A few additional cool facts shared by Team USA:
- The 2020 roster includes 329 women and 284 men, marking the third straight Olympic Games with more women on the U.S. roster.
- The Rio 2016 team included 294 women and 264 men, while London 2012 had 268 women and 262 men.Â
- Swimmer Katie Grimes is the youngest athlete at age 15, while equestrian Phillip Dutton will be competing at age 57.Â
- The 2020 team features 193 returning Olympians and 104 Olympic medalists, including 56 Olympic champions.
You can view a full list, including the state breakdown and bios, on the Team USA site. As the games continue, start putting gold, silver and bronze stars next to the winners. And let’s hope all the competitors come home safe and healthy despite the ongoing concerns over the Delta COVID variant.
