We previously let you know of Olympians from Maryland representing the United States, and recently Montgomery County government has put out a list of county residents who are representing the United States at this year’s games.
Per County Executive Marc Elrich, “We have eight athletes with County ties on the U.S. Olympic team. On the swim team alone, Montgomery natives make up three of the 20 women. We also have two athletes on the wrestling team, two on the track team and one on the fencing team.
We are a County that invests in athletic programming, activities and facilities through our schools, Department of Recreation and the Park and Planning Commission. Seeing such a diversity of individuals and sports represented from this County on the highest levels of competition is one of many positive results of those investments. The biggest benefit is that all County residents, and especially our children, always have opportunities to learn a wide variety of sports and recreation. Here is a rundown of our County Olympians competing in Paris:
- Bethesda-native Katie Ledecky qualified for her fourth Olympics in swimming. The 27-year-old will be joined by two other swimmers from her high school alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart.
- The women’s 4 x 200 meters relay team will boast Ledecky and Potomac’s Erin Gemmell, who is 19. Gemmell’s father is a swim coach who also worked with Ledecky at the Nation’s Capital Swim Club.
- Phoebe Bacon qualified for her second Olympic games. The 21-year-old from Chevy Chase will compete in the women’s 200 backstroke.
- Rockville wrestler Helen Maroulis qualified for her third consecutive Olympic games. Her career at Magruder High School in Rockville preceded her Olympic debut in 2016, when she became the first American woman to win gold in the sport.
- Kyle Snyder is a wrestler headed to his third straight Olympics. He wrestled for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney 10 years ago. The 28-year-old won a gold medal at the last Olympics in Brazil.
- Fans of fencing will be able to root on Bethesda native Tatiana Nazlymov. She learned the sport from her father and grandfather. The Princeton student already has international accolades under her belt, but this is her first Olympics.
- Masai Russell set a record for the fastest 100-meter hurdles this year when she qualified for Paris. It was also the fastest qualifying race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in more than two decades. The 24-year-old from Potomac went to school at Bullis before spending five years at the University of Kentucky, breaking college records there as well.
- Quincy Wilson, 16, already is breaking records as the youngest American male track Olympian. The current student at Bullis in Potomac finished sixth in the 400-meter race at qualifiers, coming up just short of an automatic spot in Paris. When the roster was finalized, we learned that the Gaithersburg sprinter will be part of the 400-meter relay team. He will be vying to become the youngest American ever to win a medal on the track.
I wish all these outstanding athletes well and will be pulling for all the athletes with ties to Montgomery County throughout the Olympic Games.”
In addition to the athletes mentioned above, representing the United States, we know of at least two other athletes with Montgomery County ties representing other countries in the Olympics:
• Thea LaFond, a graduate of Kennedy High School and former MCPS teacher, is representing Dominica in track & field.
• Aaron Owusu, a graduate of Quince Orchard High School, is representing Eritrea in swimming.
If you know of any other athletes with Montgomery County ties competing in the 2024 Olympics, please let us know.