What to Know
- April 17 marks 100 days until the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
- NBC is your home for the 2024 Paris Olympics from the Opening Ceremony on July 26 to the Closing Ceremony on August 11
- Some of the most iconic, historic destinations in the City of Lights will be used as competition venues
Here are the athletes from North Texas who have either qualified for Team USA or heading to Olympic trials this summer in hopes of earning a spot for Paris.
SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON - TRACK
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Sha’Carri Richardson, from Dallas, was crowned the fastest woman in the world on the track in the 100-meters. In December of 2023, she won gold in Budapest for the world championships record. Richardson crossed the finish line at 10.65 seconds, just shy of Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record that has stood for the last 35 years. Richardson graduated from Carter High School in Dallas. She will participate in Team USA Olympic trials June 21-30.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER - MEN'S GOLF
Scottie Scheffler, from Highland Park, has officially qualified for the Paris Olympics in men's golf. The decorated golfer just celebrated his second Green Jacket win at the Masters in April 2024. Just after winning the Masters, he went on to win the coveted plaid jacket from the 2024 RBC Heritage tournament in South Carolina. The current world number one is the first player from the U.S. to be mathematically guaranteed qualification for the summer games. It will be Scheffler’s first Olympics after failing to qualify for the Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when golf made its return to the Games or in Tokyo in 2020, which was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The qualification period for golf ends on June 17 for men and June 24 for women and the U.S. could send the maximum of four men and four women to Paris.
SAM WATSON - SPORT CLIMBING
Sam Watson, from Southlake, is the reigning world record holder in sport climbing in the discipline of speed. The 18-year-old recently broke the world record twice at the World Cup competition in China. Watson has been in the conversation as one of the favorites to win gold at the Paris Olympics as he has already qualified for a spot on Team USA.
BRYCE HOPPEL - TRACK
Bryce Hoppel is the reigning world indoor champion in the 800-meter. Hoppel, who is from Midland, but lives in Dallas now, competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 finishing 16th in the men’s 800m. When running for the University of Kansas, he won first place in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships in 2019. He will participate in Team USA Olympic trials June 21-30.
SKYE BLAKELY - GYMNASTICS
Skye Blakely, from Frisco, deferred her first year at the University of Florida for one more shot at Olympic glory. She started the 2024 season winning silver overall in the 2024 Winter Cup in February. She trains at WOGA Frisco, one of the most prestigious gymnastic academies in the country, boasting nearly 40 Olympic and World Championship medals. Blakely was recently named to the roster of Nike-endorsed athletes. Team USA Olympic gymnastics trials are June 27-30.
VINCENT HANCOCK - SKEET
Vincent Hancock, who lives in Argyle, is trying to do what no skeet shooter has done before. Paris will be his fifth Olympics (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024), and hoping for his fourth Olympic gold. The decorated skeet shooter owns Northlake Shooting Sports in Denton County, where he coaches two other members of Team USA’s skeet shooting team. Austen Smith and Conner Prince both credit much of their success to Hancock’s teaching. North Texas skeet shooters are three of the four member team.
RILEY MARX - ARCHERY
Riley Marx, who is from Allen where she attended Allen High School, before heading to Texas A&M University. She is a senior studying Sport Management. She is the president of the Texas A&M Target Archers and is the founder of a 501c3 nonprofit that raises money for cancer research through donations to archers. She began archery in the 7th grade and is now a 3-time All American, and as of April was in the top 8 women in the U.S. Olympic Trials Qualification for Paris 2024. The final qualification tournament will be in June ahead of the Paris Olympics.
AUSTEN SMITH - SKEET
Austen Smith, from Keller, is heading to her second Olympics in women’s skeet. Her first Olympic showing was in Tokyo. Her coach, Vincent Hancock, who is also on Team USA for skeet shooting says she is one of the best he has ever seen. In a first of its kind at the Paris Olympics, the two will have the chance to medal twice. Once in the individual competition and again in the mixed-doubles team competition.
CONNER PRINCE - SKEET
Conner Prince, from Burleson, was introduced to skeet shooting when he was at Centennial High School a decade ago. The Spartan Clay Target Team “kind of stuck”, as he put it. Now, he has shot his way onto Team USA, qualifying for the Paris Olympics. The Tarleton State University senior said that he was even shocked when he made the team, but is more than ready for his chance. His coach, Vincent Hancock, is also on this year’s team headed to his fifth Olympics, hoping for his fourth gold.
JAEDYN SHAW - SOCCER
Jaedyn Shaw, from Frisco, got her soccer start at FC Dallas (youth academy) and Solar Soccer Club in Dallas. Currently a forward for the San Diego Wave in the National Women’s Soccer League, but also making her mark with the United States Women’s National Team. She became the first player in USWNT history to score five goals in her first five starts with the national team. The USWNT will carry 18 players on the Olympic roster which could be finalized by May.
HAILEY HERNANDEZ - DIVING
Hailey Hernandez, from Southlake, has become a decorated 1 and 3-meter springboard diver at the University of Texas-Austin. She is a three-time All-American, three-time Big 12 team champion, two-time Big 12 Diver of the Year, and five-time individual champion in her time as a Longhorn. Her first trip to the Olympics was to Tokyo in 2021, just months after graduating from Southlake-Carroll High School. The UT junior is headed to Olympic trials June 15-23.
HEZLY RIVERA - GYMNASTICS
Hezly Rivera, from Plano, has dedicated her entire life to gymnastics. She recently placed first on beam and won bronze on both floor exercise and all-around in the 2024 Winter Cup to start the gymnastics season. Her sacrifices come with her family’s as well. The 15-year-old's family moved from New Jersey earlier in her career so that she could start training at WOGA Plano with world champion coaches Valeri and Anna Liukin. The Liukins are the parents of five-time Olympic medalist, Nastia Liukin. Team USA Olympic trials for gymnastics are June 27-30.
SMU MEN'S SWIMMING
At least half a dozen swimmers from Southern Methodist University men’s swim team have qualified for U.S. Olympic Trials. Junior Cotton Fields and graduate students Jack Hoagland and Danny Kovac are among them. Kovac coming back to swimming after taking 18 months off following his decorated career at the University of Missouri. He used his “COVID” year of eligibility to hit the pool one final time with SMU. Jack Hoagland, also a graduate student, has been part of the team’s success this year as well. Hoagland placed sixth and earned All-American honors with a program record in the 1650 freestyle at the NCAA tournament and Kovac earned honorable mention All-American honors with a program record in the 200 fly. At this year’s Atlantic Sun Conference tournament, the men’s swim team won their 45th conference title in program history. All three hoping to make Team USA at swimming and diving qualifiers June 15-23.
NBC 5 is your Olympic station with the Opening Ceremony starting off the 2024 summer classic from Paris on July 26.
