There will be a solid Utah Utes contingent at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Six women — five as athletes and one as a coach — who have competed at the University of Utah will represent their respective countries during the Olympics.
Here are the Utah competitors headed to Paris.
Michelle Plouffe: 3×3 women’s basketball, Canada
Plouffe and twin sister Katherine are among the top 3×3 women’s players in the world and headline a Canadian 3×3 team that is ranked fifth in the latest FIBA world rankings. She’s one of three Utes composing the four-player Canada 3×3 team (more on that in a moment).
This won’t be Michelle Plouffe’s first Olympics, though — she competed with the five-on-five Canadian national team in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Plouffe, a three-time All-Pac-12 selection at Utah from 2010-14, moved to the 3×3 scene in 2019, and after missing the 2020 Olympics — when 3×3 basketball made its Olympic debut — she played a starring role as the Canadians secured their Olympic spot by taking third at the Olympic qualifying tournament in late May.
When she’ll compete: 3×3 women’s basketball pool play, July 30 through Aug. 3; play-in games, Aug. 3; semifinals, bronze-medal game and gold-medal game, Aug. 5.
Paige Crozon: 3×3 women’s basketball, Canada
Crozon, like Plouffe, has been with the Canadian 3×3 national team since 2019, though this will be her first Olympic appearance.
Crozon, who was a standout player for Utah from 2012-17, clinched the Canadians’ berth in the Olympics, scoring her team’s final points on a putback during the third-place game in the Olympic qualifying tournament in May.
Along with Plouffe, Crozon won silver in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
When she’ll compete: 3×3 women’s basketball pool play, July 30 through Aug. 3; play-in games, Aug. 3; semifinals, bronze-medal game and gold-medal game, Aug. 5.
Kim Gaucher: 3×3 women’s basketball, Canada (coach)
Gaucher, who went by Kim Smith during her time at Utah from 2002-6, is a Canadian national team veteran and will be making her Olympic debut as a coach. She played for the Canadian national team from 2001 to the early 2020s and competed in the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020 — their highest finish was a seventh-place effort during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Gaucher was also a part of the gold-medal winning Canadian team at the 2015 Pan American Games and the FIBA AmeriCup that same year.
“I’m honestly so excited for this group. Their stories are all incredible. I mean, they built this 3×3 program without any support at the start and to now be able to call themselves Olympians — I’m just so happy that I’ve been able to join this,” Gaucher told The Abbotsford News of her Canadian 3×3 team.
Simone Plourde: Women’s 1,500-meters, Canada
Plourde, who transferred to Utah from BYU and went pro last year, qualified for the Olympics after placing third at the Canada Track and Field trials last month. While her time didn’t meet the Olympic women’s qualifying standard of 4:02.50, she was selected based on World Athletics points.
She posted her personal best in the 1,500 less than two months ago — running a 4:05.92 in Los Angeles — and ran a 4:07.40 at the 2023 world championships.
When she’ll compete: women’s 1,500 first round, Aug. 6; repechage round, Aug. 7; semifinal, Aug. 8; final, Aug. 10.
“I think it’s great,” Plourde told Running Magazine about the “repechage” round, new at the 2024 Olympics. “This is an opportunity for athletes to get a second chance to show up. It’s fun for the public and the athletes.”
Emilia Nilsson Garip: Women’s 3m springboard diving, Sweden
Nilsson Garip is Utah diving’s first Olympian since 2000 — the 21-year-old recently completed her freshman season at the school and earned All-America honors in the 1m, placing ninth at the NCAA championships.
She finished eighth at the world championships in 2023 in the 3m springboard with a 302 score, and last month Nilsson Garip took silver in the mixed 3m synchro (with fellow Utah diver Elias Petersen) and bronze in the 1m springboard at the 2024 European Aquatics Championships.
When she’ll compete: women’s 3m springboard preliminaries, Aug. 7; semifinals, Aug. 8; final, Aug. 9.
Josefine Eriksen: Women’s 4x400m relay, Norway
Eriksen wrapped up her Utah career last month and earned second-team All-American honors — she finished her collegiate career as the Utes’ all-time outdoor leader in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, while also competing on the 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams that broke school records.
When Norway competed in the World Athletics Relays in May to qualify for the Olympics, Eriksen ran the opening leg of the 4x400m relay with a 51.77-second split as the Norwegian team set a then-national record with a time of 3:26.89. It’s the first way Norway has qualified a relay team for the Olympics since 1920.
When she’ll compete: women’s 4x400m relay first round, Aug. 9, final, Aug. 10.
