NEW YORK — The Olympic flame has officially been lit, the 2024 Paris Games are now exactly 100 days away − and, for Team USA, it's already time for final preparations.
"You can feel the energy and the excitement building − certainly inside the walls of our organization, but also around the country," U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chief executive officer Sarah Hirshland said Monday.
After COVID-19 reduced the past two editions of the Olympic Games to made-for-TV events with few or no spectators in the stands, the Paris Olympics have been trumpeted as a return to normalcy. There will be no mandatory masks or daily nasal swabs. Arenas are expected to be filled with fans, as well as athletes' family members and friends. And instead of being partially or completely contained to a bubble, the Paris Games will largely take place in and around the heart of Paris.
For local organizers, the hope is that these Games are defined by both that openness and the ambiance that Paris will provide, from an audacious opening ceremony that will have athletes floating down the Seine River to landmarks like the Eiffel Tower serving as backdrops for venues. But for Team USA, the goal remains the same.
"We want to win the medal count," USOPC chief of sport and athlete services Rocky Harris said Monday.
As the Olympics inch closer, much of Team USA is still being built. Here's how the team is shaping up with 100 days to go until the Paris Games, including the major qualifying events that are still on the horizon and the names you need to know.
Who is on the Team USA roster so far?
Harris said there will be more than 800 athletes on Team USA, across both the Olympics and Paralympics. But only 89 Olympic athletes and 44 Paralympic athletes have qualified by name so far.
"With trials coming up, and all the good events coming up over the next three months, this is really go time for us," Harris said.
Rowers, sailors and shooters make up the majority of the Olympians who have qualified for Team USA to date, in part because their sports have already hosted Olympic trials. Among the other early qualifiers are 2021 gold medalists Nevin Harrison (canoe) and Carissa Moore (surfing), as well as breakers Victor Montalvo and Sunny Choi, who will represent Team USA in the Olympic debut of breaking, a freestyle dance form also known as breakdancing.
The U.S. has also selected the five marathoners who will represent it in Paris, and named its 3x3 men's basketball team, which will feature former NBA player and BYU star Jimmer Fredette. The 3x3 men did not qualify for the Tokyo Games.
When are the 2024 Olympic trials in gymnastics, other key sports?
In several of the most high-profile Olympic sports, athletes can book their tickets to the Games only by performing well at the Olympic trials. Some athletes lament that the competition in their event at the Olympic trials is almost as daunting as the Games themselves.
Here are the dates and locations for the Olympic trials in several key sports over the next two-plus months. The Olympic teams in these sports are usually finalized and announced within a week or two of their trials' conclusion.
∎ Wrestling: April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania
∎ Swimming: June 15-23 in Indianapolis
∎ Track and field: June 21-30 in Eugene, Oregon
∎ Gymnastics: June 27-30 in Minneapolis
What are Team USA's strongest sports?
The U.S. has won more gold medals in track and field (343) than any other summer sport, though that is at least partly because the sport has so many events. It's had similar historic and consistent success in swimming.
In terms of sheer dominance, Team USA's strongest sport is probably basketball. The U.S. women will be vying for their eighth consecutive gold medal, while the men are trying to make it five in a row. The men's team in Paris will feature a loaded squad, with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant among its 12 members.
More recently, the U.S. has had success in some of the newer Olympic sports, including a gold in surfing and silver in sport climbing at the 2021 Games. Its women's water polo team has also been near-unbeatable, winning each of the past three Olympic golds.
Is Simone Biles back for Paris?
Biles will have to wait until the Olympic trials in late June to officially book her ticket to the Paris Games, but she is effectively a shoo-in.
After a bout of "the twisties" prompted her to largely withdraw from competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Biles returned to competition last fall and appeared as dominant as ever, cruising to victory in the individual all-around final at the 2023 world championships. She also won golds in the team event, as well as on balance beam and in floor exercise.
Barring any surprises, Biles will be heavily favored to win her second all-around Olympic gold medal in Paris. She has earned seven Olympic medals (four gold) in her career to date.
Who are the other big names?
Shilese Jones was Biles' closest competition last year, and figures to be in the mix alongside 2021 gold medalist Suni Lee, who has been sidelined for parts of the past few years with a kidney ailment.
Team USA also figures to have a star-studded team on the track, starting with sprinter Noah Lyles, who will be trying to replicate his world championships performance last year in which he won a trio of golds in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay. Sha'Carri Richardson (sprints), Fred Kerley (sprints), Ryan Crouser (shot put), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400 or 400-meter hurdles) and Athing Mu (800 meters) are among the other big names contending for gold.
And in swimming, Katie Ledecky will hope to add to the seven Olympic golds she's earned over the past three Summer Games, while Lilly King and Ryan Murphy will be among the other U.S. athletes who could leave Paris with multiple medals.
Who are the rising stars for Team USA?
Many of them are on the women's side. The basketball and soccer teams have yet to be finalized but could feature some huge young stars, including Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith in soccer and maybe, just maybe, Caitlin Clark in hoops.
Swimmers Kate Douglass (22), Katie Grimes (18) and Regan Smith (22) all competed as teenagers in Tokyo and should be even more competitive at their second Games. And Amit Elor, 21, is a reigning world champion in wrestling who has been touted as a potential future star.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
