PHOENIX, AZ – Paris Olympics 2024 starts July 26 and runs through August 11.
According to Leaders Group.com, over 14,500 athletes and officials, 45,000 volunteers, over 11,000 hours of broadcast production and 33 concurrent world championships will take front and center stage during the Summer Games.
USA Gymnastics last week released its diversity and average ages for its 2024 American gymnasts. The women’s team is the most diverse in history as four of the five team members (80%) are BIPOC—Black, Asian and Latino. And on the men’s team, two of its five members (20%) are BIPOC, Black and Asian.
The USA women is the oldest team since 1952—average age 22.467 years. The men’s is the youngest since 2012—22.789 years on average.
All 12 members of the U.S. men’s basketball team are Black, plus one Black assistant coach. Eight of the 12 women’s team members (66%) plus two assistant coaches are Black.
“Everybody’s excited. What’s not to be excited about?” said USA Men’s Coach Steve Kerr recently to reporters, including the MSR. The veteran NBA coach is on his first USA head coaching assignment. “Everyone is thrilled with what’s ahead.”
Kerr predicts that it will not be a cakewalk to gold, despite having an all-NBA roster. “Our roster is obviously laden with stars and players who have accomplished so much,” he continued. “And what I love about these guys is that they want to accomplish more. They want to win an Olympic gold medal, and that’s why they’re all signed up for this.
“The world of basketball has gotten so much better, so much stronger,” said Kerr. “We know how good these teams are. And we know we’re going to have to be at our best.”
This also can be said for the U.S. women’s team, which is an all-WNBA squad. They are 70-3 in Olympic play with nine gold medals, a silver and a bronze. They also have won gold in every Olympic Games competition since 1984, except for the bronze in 2004.
“We will be challenged,” said USA Coach Cheryl Reeve, who like Kerr is on her first National Team head coaching assignment. She told reporters, including the MSR, last week in Phoenix that each player wants to keep the streak alive and go for its eighth-straight gold winner.
“Everyone is a threat. We have to approach that every game is a gold medal game,” added Alyssa Thomas on the competition the U.S. will be matched up against in Paris.
Chelsea Gray pointed out that going to the Olympics this time will be different than past appearances. “One thing that is super different is that our families can join us,” she stressed.
Rhyne Howard also will be in Paris, but as a member of the USA 3X3 Olympic team. When asked if she and her fellow team members are receiving the same attention as the 5-on-5 National Team, she told the MSR, “I don’t feel there’s any drop-off. Everywhere we go, we get the same kind of love.”
“Our strength,” concluded Kerr, “is the depth of talent that we have in this country,”