The 2024 Paris Olympics officially kick off this week, and with Team USA sending over 500 athletes, including more than 100 with Midwest connections, it can be hard to keep track of the local talent headed to Paris.
Fortunately for residents, NBC Chicago is here to help. Here are 10 local athletes to keep your eye on at the Games.
For a full list of athletes with Midwestern ties, check out our guide, with coverage on the NBC family of networks through Aug. 11.
Ryan Murphy
Originally from Palos Heights, Murphy competed in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, swimming with other iconic Team USA athletes, including Michael Phelps.
In 2016, he brought home three gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter backstroke and the 4x100-meter medley. In 2020, he earned one medal of each color: a bronze in the 100-meter backstroke, silver in the 200-meter backstroke and gold in the 4x100-meter medley. Now, Murphy is on the quest for even more Olympic glory in his third run.
Paul Juda
Local
Juda is a gymnast and Deerfield-native who is on his way to his first Olympic Games. He has found success in the college sphere of gymnastics while attending University of Michigan, even winning an NCAA all-around title. In his elite career, Juda has most recently helped Team USA get back on the World Championship podium with a team bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp. He’ll make his first appearance at the Olympic Games in just a few days.
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Mallory Swanson
Swanson is originally from Colorado, but now plays forward for the Chicago Red Stars. In 2022, she married Chicago Cubs player Dansby Swanson. Despite an astounding record including success throughout collegiate and professional careers, including on the international stage, Swanson will make her Olympic debut this week.
Alyssa Naeher
Naeher, goalkeeper for the Red Stars, will be headed to Paris along with Swanson. At age 36, she is one of the oldest local athletes going to the Games. Previously, she competed at the collegiate level at Pennsylvania State University and other professional teams including the Boston Breakers.
She has competed in several international competitions such as the Pan American Games and World Cup, but is a first-time Olympian this year.
Felicia Stancil
Stancil is a Lake Villa native and BMX racer who is gunning for a medal this year after narrowly missing the podium in 2020. She was introduced to the sport that would become her future career exactly one year after the death of her mother, when she was 4 years old.
Her father, a former BMX racer himself, put her on a bike and the two have been on a successful ride ever since.
Tori Franklin
Franklin is a true Illinois native, with roots in Evanston, Downers Grove and Northbrook. She did compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but did not medal. Throughout the past few years, she has been training with her coach in Greece. Now, she’s back and ready to join Team USA.
Ryan Held
Held is another swimmer jumping back into the Olympic pool this summer. The 29-year-old Springfield-native came home from Rio in 2016 with a gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle competition, but fell short at the 2020 Olympic Trials and missed his chance at medaling in Tokyo. This year, he qualified to compete in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay event in Paris and will be looking to take back the title he won in 2016.
Kelsey Robinson Cook
Volleyball player Robinson Cook is originally from Bartlett and is returning for a third Olympic run. At the 2016 Rio Games, she took home the bronze medal with Team USA and at the 2020 Tokyo Games they clinched the gold. Outside of the Olympics, Robinson Cook has played across four countries and attended both the University of Nebraska and the University of Tennessee.
Kennedy Blades
Blades, a wrestler from Chicago, is one of the youngest local Olympians headed to Paris at age 20. She is currently signed with the University of Iowa, where she will start competing after returning from Paris. A first time Olympian, Blades proved to be a force to be reckoned with after she punched her ticket by defeating Adeline Gray, widely considered one of America’s top female wrestlers, at the 2024 Olympic Trials. She will compete in the 76kg weight class.
Simone Biles
Although Biles is originally from Spring, Texas, she is expected to become a Chicagoan herself soon, after her husband Jonathan Owens recently signed with the Chicago Bears.
Biles is widely considered the best gymnast of all time- and she is certainly the most decorated, with a combined 37 world and Olympic medals. Biles won four gold medals (team, all-around, floor exercise, vault) and one bronze medal (balance beam) in 2016.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, she withdrew from most events after a scary experience with a common gymnastics mental block known as “the twisties”. Even still, Biles came home from Tokyo with a silver medal in the team competition and a bronze medal on the balance beam.
The nine-time U.S. National Champion is now looking to make even more history at her third Olympic Games.
