USC Will Have Over 60 Trojan Olympians For Second Straight Summer Games
Trojans will represent 26 different nations at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
7/22/2024
As the 2024 Olympic Games fast approach, USC will again be well-represented with over 60 Trojan Olympians set to compete in Paris. With its current count of 67 Trojan Olympians in 2024, USC will have athletes representing 26 different nations and spanning nine different sports. Since 1912, USC has claimed at least one gold medal in every summer Olympic Games.
As of July 24, USC’s 67 Olympians in Paris include 33 first-time Olympians and 34 returning Olympians who have already collected a combined 18 medals to help USC boast more overall medals (326) and more gold medals (153) than any other U.S. university.
Overall, USC will have been represented by 72 different nations in Olympic Games from 1904-2024, with this year’s Games featuring the first-ever Haitian Trojan in track & field’s Chris Borzor and first South African representative in incoming track & field athlete Ashley Erasmus. They are two of 20 track & field Trojans competing in Paris, while USC will have 15 swimmers and 14 water polo players in action. Additionally, six Trojans will compete in beach volleyball, along with five rowers, three soccer players and two divers. USC will also be represented by an athlete apiece in basketball and indoor volleyball. With seven Olympians this year, USC has tied for the most men’s water polo players to compete in a single Games.
USC’s current total of 67 competitors is more than any other U.S. university and more than 160 of the 203 National Olympic Committee delegations competing in Paris. It is the seventh consecutive Summer Games with at least 40 Trojan Olympians.
In Tokyo, a USC record-setting 67 Trojans competed in the 2020 Games to run USC’s total Olympians tally to 512 — more than any other U.S. university. With 34 first-timers among the USC record-tying 67 Trojans set to compete in Paris, USC’s total would grow to 545. USC’s all-time Olympians list includes all non-coaching and non-alternate competitors who attended at least one class at USC before, during or after their Olympic appearance.
Fans can go to olympics.usctrojans.com to follow USC’s Paris Olympians. In addition to a full roster of USC Olympians, the site will include a daily schedule of events and results involving Trojan Olympians, an updated USC medal count, biographical information on each Trojan in Paris, pertinent news releases and USC’s Olympic history.
USC fans can also support and watch Trojan athletes on television and online from the July 26 Opening Ceremonies to Aug. 11’s Closing Ceremonies. Follow USC Athletics at @usc_athletics on Instagram and X for the latest updates, as well as USC’s individual sports’ social accounts.
USC expects to also have several Paralympians competing in the 2024 Paris Games. The olympics.usctrojans.com web site will be updated with Paralympic information prior to that event, beginning August 28.
FLAG BEARERS
USC has four Trojans — Trinidad & Tobago's Dylan Carter (swimming), Canada's Andre De Grasse (track & field), Latvia’s Tina Graudina (beach volleyball) and Barbados' Jack Kirby (swimming) — selected to carry their delegation's flag in the 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony. This is Graudina’s second Olympic Games, while De Grasse is competing in his third Games, having collected one silver and two bronze medals in 2016 and gold, silver and bronze medals in 2020. Carter also was a 2020 Olympian and will be competing in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle in Paris. Kirby is a first-time Olympian. They bring USC's overall count of Trojan flag bearers in Olympic opening ceremonies to a total of 21 all-time.
GOLD-GETTERS
Six Trojans will be looking to add to their medal counts, led by water polo’s Kaleigh Gilchrist, who has already won two golds with Team USA at the 2016 and 2020 Games. Trojans seeking their second gold medals are Amanda Longan (water polo, USA), Rai Benjamin (track & field, USA), Kendall Ellis (track & field, USA), Michael Norman (track & field, USA) and Andre De Grasse (track & field, Canada).
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Rai Benjamin (one gold, one silver), Kendall Ellis (one gold, one bronze), Andre De Grasse (one gold, one silver, four bronze), Kaleigh Gilchrist (two gold) and Anni Espar (two silver) of Spain women’s water polo are USC’s multiple-medal winners entering Paris.
VETERANS
Polish swimmer Kasia Wilk-Wasick is USC’s only five-time Olympian competing in Paris. Spain water polo’s Anni Espar and USA track & field’s Aaron Brown are both competing in their fourth Olympic Games. This will be the third Olympic trip for Trojans Louise Hansson (swimming, Sweden), Dylan Carter (swimming, Trinidad and Tobago), Micah Christenson (volleyball, USA), Kaleigh Gilchrist (water polo, USA), Kostas Genidounias (water polo, Greece), Andre De Grasse (track & field, Canada) and Amalie Iuel (track & field, Norway).
TROJANS ON CAMPUS
USC fans will have a chance to catch several 2024 Olympians in action at Troy soon. USC swimming & diving have returning Trojans Minna Abraham (Hungary), Krzysztof Chmielewski (Poland), Michal Chmielewski (Poland), Anicka Delgado (Ecuador) and Artem Selin (back in the pool for 2024-25, to be joined by incoming divers Kate Miller (Canada) and Moritz Wesemann (Germany). USC women’s water polo returns two-time Olympian Tilly Kearns (Australia) while welcoming in newcomer and first-time Olympian Emily Ausmus (USA). USC track & field has Yemi John (Great Britain) returning for her junior season at Troy, and Ashley Erasmus (South Africa) set to start as a USC freshman in 2024-25.
FAMILY TIES
Five of USC’s 2024 Olympians have relatives who have competed in the Olympics. Great Britain rower Chloe Brew — heading into her second Games — follows a path set by her father, Paul, who swam for Great Britain in the 1988 Olympics. Chloe’s uncle, Robin Brew, swam for Great Britain in the 1984 Games. Anni Espar’s sister, Clara, also was on Spain’s water polo team in the 2016 Olympics with Anni. A two-time gold-medalist with USA water polo, Kaleigh Gilchrist has three Olympic relatives ahead of her: her father, John (known as “Sandy”), was in the 1964 and 1968 Games; her uncle, Allen, was in the 1948 and 1952 Games, and her aunt, Lenora Fisher-Gilchrist, was in the 1952 and 1956 Games (all swam for Canada). Louise Hansson’s sister, Sophie, also swam for Sweden in 2016 and is also on the 2024 Swedish team again with Louise. Also in the pool, Ecuador's Anicka Delgado was coached by her father, Felipe, at the 2020 Games. Felipe Delgado swam in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics for Ecuador.
TROJAN BROTHERHOOD
Heading into their second Olympic Games together are Australian water polo brothers Blake and Lachlan Edwards. Two-time Olympian Krzysztof Chmielewski is joined by brother Michal as 2024 Olympians, making them the seventh set of Trojan brothers to be Olympians. The others: U.S. swimmers Dan (gold in 1988, bronze in 1992) and Lars Jorgensen, Joe (silver in 1976) and Mike Bottom (Mike was part of the U.S. team that boycotted the 1980 Games) and Bruce (2 golds in 1976) and Steve (bronze in 1972) Furniss, as well as Canada swimmers Allen and Sandy Gilchrist and Zimbabwe tennis players Byron and Wayne Black (singles and doubles in the 1996 Olympics).
OLYMPIC LEADERS
Five current USC head coaches have competed in the Olympics. Women’s beach volleyball head coach Dain Blanton represented the U.S. in the 2000 (winning a gold medal) and 2004 Olympics in beach volleyball. Men’s volleyball head coach Jeff Nygaard was on the U.S. indoor volleyball team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and teamed with Blanton on the beach in the 2004 Olympics. Director of track and field and cross country Quincy Watts won gold medals for the U.S. in the 400 meters and 1600-meter relay at the 1992 Games. Diving head coach Hongping Li participated in diving for China in the 1984 Olympics, finishing fourth in springboard (he also was on China’s team that boycotted the 1980 Games). Swimming head coach Lea Maurer won gold (400-meter medley relay) and bronze (100-meter backstroke) medals for the U.S. at the 1992 Olympics.
USC OLYMPIC TIDBITS
Most career medals: 11 (Allyson Felix), 6 (Murray Rose, Rebecca Soni, Andre De Grasse)
Most career gold medals: 7 (Allyson Felix), 4 (Murray Rose, John Naber, Lisa Leslie, Janet Evans, Lenny Krayzelburg)
Most medals in one Olympics: 5 (John Naber, 1976)
Most gold medals in one Olympics: 4 (John Naber, 1976)
Most medals in individual events in one Olympics: 4 (Katinka Hosszu, 2016)
Most Olympic appearances: 6 (Janice Lee York Romary, Ous Mellouli)
- USC's first Olympian (and first medal winner) was Emil Breitkreutz, who won a bronze in the 800-meter run at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.
- USC's first gold medalist was Fred Kelly in the 110-meter high hurdles in the 1912 Stockholm Games. High jumper Alma Richards also won a gold medal in those 1912 Games.
- USC’s first female Olympians were discus thrower Lillian Copeland (gold and silver for the U.S.) in the 1928 and 1932 Games and fencer Helene Mayer (gold for Germany) in 1928.
- Through the 2020 Tokyo Games, of USC’s 512 Olympians, 175 were female.
- USC’s first double gold-medalist was Charles Paddock (100-meter dash and 400-meter relay) in the 1920 Games, when he also won a silver in the 200-meter dash.
- Clarence “Bud” Houser was the first Trojan to win double gold medals in individual events at a single Olympics (shot put and discus in 1924).
- USC’s oldest surviving Olympian is U.S. swimmer Iris Cummings Critchell (born Dec. 21, 1920) from the 1936 Berlin Games.
- USC's oldest surviving Olympic medalist is Australian swimmer Jon Henricks (born June 6, 1935), who won two golds in the 1956 Games. He is followed closely by U.S. diver Gary Tobian (born Aug. 14, 1935), who won silver in 1956 and a gold and silver in 1960.
