Key Team USA Storylines For The 2024 Olympic And Paralympic Year

The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic year is upon us.

The Olympic Games are set for July 26-Aug. 11, followed by the Paralympic Games on Aug. 28-Sept. 8, both in Paris. While a handful of U.S. athletes have already qualified, things begin to really ramp up in the months ahead.

Follow along all year on TeamUSA.com. Here are nine key storylines you won’t want to miss:

Iconic City, Iconic Venues

When it comes to hosting an Olympics in Paris, there’s no need to overthink it. The French capital is one of the world’s iconic cities, and organizers are leaning into that to create Olympic and Paralympic Games that are one with the City of Lights.

That starts at the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26. Instead of bringing everyone to a giant stadium, Paris plans to center the event around the Seine River. For the parade of nations, a flotilla of boats will carry the athletes on a nearly 4-mile journey through the heart of Paris, passing many famous landmarks before ending at the Trocadéro. The riverside setting allows for as many as 600,000 spectators, which would make it the largest opening ceremony in Olympic history.

The historic and picturesque city will remain front and center once the Games begin. Fans can take in fencing and taekwondo at the Grand Palais or watch beach volleyball and Para 5-a-side soccer on the Champ de Mars. The Eiffel Tower will also serve as the backdrop as athletes dive into the Seine to start the triathlon and open-water swimming events. Meanwhile, just outside the central city, equestrian events will be at the Chateau de Versailles.

The result of all this will be a pair of urban Games, with two compact venue clusters and public transit playing a central role for fans. After two Olympics/Paralympics with dampened fan access due to the pandemic, Paris is set to bring the world back together this summer.

A Golden Generation Of Gymnasts

The United States has dominated women’s gymnastics for more than a decade, with two Olympic gold medals and seven world titles in the team event since 2010. Yet the program has never gone into an Olympic year with star power like it has now. Case in point: Team USA could bring an unprecedented three former all-around champs to Paris.

Simone Biles, the 2016 Olympic champ who’s now the most decorated gymnast of all time, seems to only gets better with age, having won her record-extending sixth world all-around title in October at age 26. Suni Lee, the 2021 Olympic champ, is working to come back from a kidney ailment with hopes of going to Paris (a journey that would take the St. Paul native through neighboring Minneapolis for the Olympic trials). Meanwhile, 2012 champ Gabby Douglas retired after the Rio Games, but she’s back in the gym and plans to return to competition in 2024.

And if that wasn’t enough, two other Olympic medalists — 2021 floor champ Jade Carey and team silver medalist Jordan Chiles — are coming back for another shot at the Games. But the Olympians will have plenty of competition from those looking to make their first Olympic team. Atop that list is Shilese Jones, who earned all-around silver and bronze medals from the last two world championships.

New Eras Begin In Soccer

The USWNT’s record of never missing the final four at a Women’s World Cup came to a crushing end in August. In better news, the USMNT is headed back to the Olympics for the first time in 16 years. Both teams go into Paris with lots of potential and intrigue.

For the women, who are coming off a bronze medal in Tokyo, Paris marks the start of a new era for the proud program. Gone are longtime stars Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe. This team is now in the hands of promising young players such as Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma. Meanwhile, new coach Emma Hayes will lead the USWNT in her first major tournament following a high-profile move from English club Chelsea, which is set to take effect just two months prior to the Games.

On the men’s side, the U.S. is sending a team to the Games for the first time since 2008. Much has changed in the domestic soccer landscape since then, including the depth of the U.S. player pool. While pro teams aren’t required to release players for the Olympics, and the top U.S. players are expected to prioritize the 2024 Copa America over the Olympics, the (largely) Under-23 Olympic tournament could be a major opportunity for some promising U.S. prospects. Among those called up to recent training camps was 18-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi, who has shined playing alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.

Sydney Races Toward History

She’s no longer the 16-year-old learning the ropes in Rio. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has become one of the most dominant track athletes in the world, and she could be set for more history this summer in Paris.

In Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone won her first Olympic gold medal while shattering her world record in the 400-meter hurdles. She’s since beat that record two more times, including at the 2022 world championships where she became the first woman to break the 51-second mark. In fact, she shattered that too, crossing the line in 50.68. The next fastest woman is nearly a second slower at 51.45.

Rather than going for an encore in 2023, McLaughlin-Levrone turned her focus to the flat 400, and she had the fastest time in the world before a minor injury forced her to shut things down ahead of the world championships. Still just 24, McLaughlin-Levrone is expected to be back at full strength in 2024. The question is whether she’ll try to defend her 400 hurdles gold medal or aim for a first in the 400 — or maybe try both.

A Youth Movement In The Pool?

U.S. Olympic swim teams have often been defined by their generational stars, and those big names still exist — hello Katie Ledecky! But heading into the Olympic year, the team could be primed for a notable youth movement as it seeks to continue its dominance in the pool.

Atop that list is Katie Grimes, who at 17 has already qualified for her second Olympics in Paris. The youngest member of Team USA in 2021, she became the country’s first 2024 qualifier in any sport when she placed third in the open-water 10K at the 2023 world championships. She still has to qualify in the pool, where she’s racked up three world championships silver medals since Tokyo.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Thomas Heilman finished fourth in the 200-meter fly this summer in his world championships debut. He also won a relay gold medal after swimming in the prelims. Cal sophomore Jack Alexy emerged as Team USA’s top sprinter with a pair of silver medals in the 50 and 100 free, while his Golden Bears teammate Dare Rose finished third in the 100 fly. Several other younger Americans shined at other levels, including the group that brought home a meet-high 33 medals (and 15 golds) from the 2023 junior world championships.

Breaking Could Be A Breakout Hit

Didn’t know breakdancing was a sport? You probably aren’t alone, but since the IOC voted in 2020 to add it to the Paris Olympics the sport known as breaking has quickly become a source of much intrigue. That’s no doubt going to ramp up as the 16 B-boys and B-girls — that’s what they’re called! — do their thing at Place de la Concorde, the iconic public square in the heart of Paris that’s set to serve as the host of the urban sports.

As some background, breaking is what you think it is — an athletic and stylistic form of dance developed in the 1970s in New York City. Think head spins, windmills, cross steps and freezes. Breaking has been a competitive sport since the 1990s, and it’s been a hit at the Youth Olympic Games since first being held at the 2018 edition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. That success led to the natural next step of getting a shot in the Olympic Games.

And if you want to cheer on Team USA breakers, you’re in luck. Two of them have already qualified for Paris. Victor Montalvo, who is better known as B-Boy Victor, learned the sport from his father and uncle, who had been breakdancing pioneers in Mexico. In September, Victor secured his Olympic spot by winning the world title. A win at the Pan American Games two months later did the trick for Sunny Choi, a 34-year-old B-girl who quit her job at Estee Lauder to go all-in on her Olympic dream.

Don’t get too comfy watching these dance battles in Paris, though. The sport isn’t on the program for 2028.

Wheelchair Rugby Aims For The Top

Much of the world was introduced to the exciting and brutal sport of wheelchair rugby through the 2005 documentary “Murderball.” The critically acclaimed film broke down stereotypes about disabled people and showed that Para athletes are just as intense, aggressive and passionate as any others.

In the nearly two decades since the documentary came out, a new generation of stars has kept Team USA among the powers in the sport. Now the squad is looking to get back to the top of the podium. Though the Americans have medaled at every Paralympics and world championships going back to 1995, the team last won gold at the 2008 Paralympics and 2010 world championships.

The push for gold in Paris no doubt starts with Chuck Aoki, the owner of two silver medals and one bronze from the Paralympics, who is Team USA’s leading scorer. Often just behind him on the score sheet lately is Sarah Adam, who in 2022 became the first woman to compete for the U.S. at the world championships. (Officially, wheelchair rugby is a mixed-gender sport, though almost all the Paralympic athletes to date have been men.) After a sixth-place finish at the inaugural International Wheelchair Rugby World Cup, a competition featuring the eight highest-ranked teams in the world, the Americans rebounded with a victory at the Parapan American Games in November to secure their spot in Paris.

Oksana’s Star Turn Continues

Few have done more to raise the profile of Para sports in recent years than Oksana Masters. Born in Ukraine with damage to her legs stemming from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor incident, Masters spent more than seven years in an orphanage there before being adopted by an American mother. She’s since reinvented herself as one of Team USA’s most successful and popular Paralympians.

Best known as a Nordic skier, Masters in 2022 became the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian with 14 career medals. Yet she began her Paralympic career as a rower, winning a bronze medal in 2012, and over the years she transitioned to become one of the world’s fastest handcyclists, too. After just missing out on the cycling podium at the 2016 Paralympics, Masters broke through for gold in both the road race and time trial in Tokyo.

A serious hand injury and subsequent surgery forced Masters to miss the 2022-23 Nordic season, but she was back on her bike by August’s world championships in Scotland, where she successfully defended her road race title in dramatic fashion. Now she’ll embark on another Nordic season this winter before going into Paris at age 35 as perhaps the most recognizable athlete on Team USA.

Para Threepeats Coming?

Team USA won 37 gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, with all but two of them coming in traditionally individual sports. The exceptions were two powerhouse U.S. teams.

Men’s wheelchair basketball co-captain Steve Serio led the charge to a second consecutive Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo, and he’s back — along with most of the key contributors from 2021 — to make a go at a threepeat in Paris. The veteran-led squad comes into the Games as defending world champs after defeating Great Britain to claim that title in June. In addition to Serio, three other U.S. starters in that game — Brian Bell, Trevon Jenifer and Jake Williams — are also two-time Paralympic champs, while John Boie won his first gold in Tokyo.

Tokyo also marked a repeat win for the U.S. women’s sitting volleyball team. After falling to China in the 2008 and ’12 finals, the Americans got redemption by beating the Chinese for the 2016 and 2021 gold medals. Now they, too, will be seeking a threepeat in Paris. Gone is longtime U.S. captain Kathryn Holloway, but 10 Paralympic medalists were back for the 2022 world championships, where Team USA won bronze. The squad punched its ticket to Paris in May, with four-time Paralympic medalist Heather Erickson, three-time medalist Monique Matthews and 2021 gold medalist Tia Matthews each recording 12 points in the clincher.

Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.