Grab the TV remote and popcorn and settle in during the next few weeks to watch these eight Tampa Bay area athletes among the more than 500 competitors sent from the U.S. to the Olympic Games in Paris.
Tennis
Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg)
Want to talk about an eventful year? Collins, 30, surprised the tennis world when she announced in January that this would be her final season on the tour. Two months later, she won the Miami Open and then followed that up with a victory in Charleston. She had her best showing ever at Wimbledon when she reached the round of 16, and has moved to No. 9 in the world rankings.
Collins, who has persevered through rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis, says her 2024 success will not change her mind about retirement. Insisting that she want to leave the game on her own terms and start a family. Do you suppose an Olympic medal would be a fitting retirement gift?
Austin Krajicek (Brandon)
A 12-time winner on the ATP Tour in doubles, Krajicek is back for his second shot at an Olympic medal after finishing fourth in Tokyo. Krajicek trained at the Bollettieri Academy while growing up in Brandon and then moved on to Texas A&M, where he won the 2011 NCAA doubles title.
Krajicek and partner Ivan Dodig finished the 2023 season as the No. 1-ranked duo in the world. His partner in Paris is Rajeev Ram, who has won six majors as a doubles player and the Olympic silver in mixed doubles with Venus Williams in the 2016 Games.
Swimming
Bobby Finke (Clearwater)
The No. 12 seed when the 800-meter race made its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Finke stunned the swimming world by coming from behind in the final 50 meters to win the gold. Two days later, he came from behind again to become the first American to win Olympic gold in the 1,500 since 1984. Now, 24, and a defending champion, there will be no surprises in Paris.
Finke has since won one gold (800), two silvers (1,500) and one bronze (800) in the 2022 and 2023 world championships. “(The goal is) go there, have fun, do whatever I can to get my hand on the wall,” Finke said recently. “As long as I can walk out of there knowing I did whatever I could.”
Soccer
Nathan Harriel (Oldsmar)
For the first time since 2008 the U.S. men’s team has qualified for the Olympics and Harriel, a former Clearwater Chargers youth player and East Lake High star, was selected for the team earlier this month. Harriel, a 23-year-old defender, was signed by the Philadelphia Union as a teenager and helped them win the Eastern Conference and reach the MLS Cup final in 2022.
Philadelphia acquired his hometown rights from Orlando City SC in exchange for a first-round draft pick. Harriel has made multiple appearances on various U.S. national youth teams, beginning with the under-18 team in 2018.
Track and Field
Erriyon Knighton (Tampa)
A phenom in Tokyo, the 17-year-old Knighton was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic track team since Jim Ryun in 1964. His time of 19.93 was good for fourth in the 200 meters and was 0.19 seconds away from the podium. A year later, the Hillsborough High graduate ran a 19.49 to set a world record for an under-20 runner in the 200. Usain Bolt had previously held the record for 17 years.
Knighton went on to win bronze in the 2022 world championships and silver in 2023. A failed drug test earlier this year threatened his Olympic hopes, but an independent arbitrator ruled last month that tainted sample was “more likely than not” caused by contaminated meat.
Parker Valby (Oldsmar)
It’s already been a whirlwind year for the former state champion from East Lake High. As a redshirt junior, Valby won five NCAA titles between cross country, indoor track (3,000 and 5,000 meters) and outdoor track (5,000 and 10,000) at the University of Florida. Along the way, she set several NCAA records, including breaking a 14-year standard in the 10,000 (30:50.43) by a stunning 28 seconds.
Valby finished second in the Olympic trials in the 10,000 and fourth in the 5,000. Offered a chance to run both races in Paris, Valby opted to drop out of the 5,000 to focus on the longer race.
Sailing
Noah Lyons (Clearwater)
Lyons graduated from USF with a degree in microbiology in December, 2022 and decided to postpone graduate studies to turn his full attention to sailing. Having gotten into the sport as a 6-year-old following his big brother, Lyons evolved from several different types of sailing before settling on the iQFOiL class that is making its Olympic debut in 2024.
A type of windsurfing, the design of board gives the iQFOiL the appearance of flying across the water instead of floating. Lyons contracted COVID three weeks before the Olympic trials in February, but managed to recover in time to win the regatta and claim his spot.
Shooting
Dania Vizzi (Odessa)
She has been on the world stage for nearly a decade, but this will be Vizzi’s first appearance in the Olympics. Once bound for Juilliard as a dancer, Vizzi switched to competitive shooting as a 17-year-old. The University of Florida grad has since won three golds and a silver at world championships in team competition, as well as a gold (2017) and silver (2023) in individual skeet shooting. Nicknamed “Shooterina”, Vizzi will compete in Paris in the women’s skeet and also mixed team with Conner Prince.
2024 Paris Olympics
Through Aug. 11
Early events: 9 a.m. Wednesday, 3 a.m. Thursday TV/streaming: USA; Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
Opening ceremony: Noon (preview show), 1:30 (live), 7:30 (encore) Friday TV/streaming: NBC; Peacock
Notable: Peacock will stream every event, with personalized schedules and playlists available through the app. … NBC’s prime time broadcast (highlights, features) will begin at 8 p.m. daily through closing ceremonies.
Daily schedule: Visit nbcolympics.com/schedule
