Top Performances by the Teens of Team USA in 2024

Over thirty athletes on Team USA got to return to school this fall with the title of Olympian or Paralympian. With numerous world records and medals between them, here are the top moments from the teens of Team USA.

Arelle Middleton made her Paralympic debut in Paris at just 16 years old, and became the youngest Paralympic medalist for Team USA at the Games. The Rancho Cucamonga, CA native threw to a silver medal distance in the women's F64 shot put. In addition to her Paralympic medal, Middleton also made it to the women's F64 discus finals. Still in high school, Middleton also competes in wheelchair basketball and track and field against able-bodied athletes in her high-school meets.

Coming into the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Team USA’s Sam Watson was holding the world record with a time of 4.79 — the second athlete to go under 5 seconds, after Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo clocked 4.984 in a world cup semifinal and then 4.900 in the final. That record held for a year until Watson broke it twice at a world cup in Wujiang, China in April, making 4.798 the new goal — until all that changed in Paris.  

Stumbling in the first of the semifinal races near the top of the wall against China’s Peng Wu, Watson finished behind, sending him to the second final match to fight for the bronze.

“No regrets,” Watson said about the grip error that caused a slower time. “I don't think the pressure really got to me or anything like that. I think just a tiny little stumble at the top, just a few millimeters off a certain hold allowed me to get less power out of it and slow down a lot.”

After the last race had finished, Watson was still holding the fastest time. Wu claimed the silver with a time of 4.77 with Indonesia’s famed sprinter taking the gold and setting a new personal best of 4.75. This was the first time Indonesia had won an Olympic medal that wasn’t in badminton.

“Speed climbing is most likely the lowest margin of error of sport in the entire Olympic Games,” Watson explained. “But it makes this sport very exciting.”

Watson is now taking home the second — but he doesn’t expect it will be his last.

“I really want to get under 4.6 seconds,” Watson said.

“If you don’t know how the sport works, the reaction time off the ground must be at least point one. So, under 4.6 means that you do the route in under four and a half seconds. That really does mean a lot to me. That was the next goal after sub-five proved to be possible and now decently easy for all these athletes. So just keep going, no limits.”

Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon sprinted, leaped and dove over every obstacle thrown at them to make history.

The duo, who are only 19 years old, took down some of the biggest mixed doubles teams in the SH6 Para badminton classification to claim the first-ever Para badminton medal for the U.S. at a Paralympic Games. To add more to their historice moment, it is the first-ever Olympic or Paralympic badminton medal for any country West of Great Britain. Their unprecedented run included defeating the world No. 2 Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sivan of India twice – once in group stage play and later in the semifinals.

Facing a highly experienced Chinese team in the finals, Krajewski and Simon went all-out for the ultimate upset but fell just shy. After dropping the first set, 21-14, the duo started hot in the second and built a four-point lead. Unfortunately, the over-30-year-old pair of Naili Lin and Fengmei Li leaned on their prior matches to quickly turn the tides. Nonetheless, the pair are extremely excited to be taking home the silver medal.

Both Krajewski and Simon are hoping this medal will bring more popularity to their fast-paced, physical sport. The pair do not frequently train together during Paralympic cycles. But they were able to train together for three weeks before these Games. Currently, Simon does not train at an official training center. She trains with her parents, who feed her shuttlecocks to drill at their local church. She also attends weekly training sessions with the student badminton club at Michigan State University, playing against non-Para athletes.

“I hope that it creates more funding for us and also grows the sport,” Simon commented.

“Hopefully bringing back the first medal ever will help grow the sport,” Krajewski added. “(I hope it) gets the publicity out and makes people try out a new sport.”

After Paris, they both will take a small break and head back to college. Krajewski attends the University of South Dakota, and Simon attends Lansing Community College while also working as an optician. However, after settling into their schools, they will be right back to training as they hope to bring home the gold at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.

“We’re just going to continue to train,” Krejewski said. “Hopefully, all that experience and more tournaments (over the next four years) will come in handy, and help us bring home a gold medal.”

“(Gold) is what we train for. That’s our vision,” Simon said. “But, very few make it to this stage and the gold-medal match. So, even though that’s still in our mind, it’s been even more amazing than what we’ve dreamed of.”

“Nobody expected to come in and get a silver medal,” Krajewski commented. “But deep down, we knew that we had a chance to win it all. So, we came out here, we played our best, and we ended up in the finals.”

“I think this will really help us in the future,” Krajewski said. “Gaining all this experience and knowledge while playing in front of such a big crowd, along with such experienced players, I think this will help us in the long run.”

The only thing better than going viral at the Olympics is winning a silver medal, the first of any color in 20 years for your sport. For two members of the Team USA Artistic Swimming team, Audrey Kwon and Megumi Field, this medal drought was older than them.

As Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” played over the loudspeakers at the Aquatic Centre just outside Paris, the eight-person team began their technical routine in the water and were quickly upside down with their feet above the water moonwalking.

“Our coaches were telling us, we were underwater so we couldn't hear but the crowd went crazy,” the first three-time Olympian for artistic swimming, Anita Alvarez recalled. “And now we’re seeing videos blow up all over the internet, which I think is great for the sport. Anything to help grow the sport.”

“Our goal has been to focus on the team event, and so to have been able to accomplish this as a team has been so great,” Field said. “We'll celebrate tonight."

Her future is still anchored to artistic swimming. “I really want to come back and compete in 2028, especially since it’s my hometown of L.A.,” she said. “I don’t know if that means going to college for two years and then coming back for two years before the Olympics, but at least right now that’s what I want to do. That’s my goal.”

 Kristina Teachout took up taekwondo at age 5 with her eye on making it to the Olympic Games. Now the 18-year-old from Palm Bay, Florida, is an Olympic bronze medalist in the -67kg division.

“It feels amazing,” Teachout said after decisively beating Jie Song from China in two rounds. “It hasn't hit me yet. I was low key, like before I came out to the match, I was just like, envisioning everything, and like that made me emotional, but I need time to process it.”

“I wouldn't do the sport of I didn't believe I can be an Olympic champion,” she said. “That mentality, to like win Olympic gold, that's something that's been instilled in me from a very young age.”

Since the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, the U.S. women have won four Olympic medals — now five with Teachout’s bronze.

After Paris, Teachout has to get back to reality — finishing high school.

“I'm supposed to finish this month, guys,” she said with a laugh. “Right after I am done with this, I'm going to go finish my high school degree!”