Coming out victorious at the last moment in their match against China for first place in the medal rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the United States is not aiming for the same result at the Olympic Games. Like three years earlier in Tokyo, the Chinese seem out of reach. But the Americans will show up in force in the French capital.
The American Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) unveiled the composition of the delegation for Paris 19 on Monday August 2024. It turns out to be massive, with 225 athletes, therefore five guides. It displays perfect gender parity, with 110 men and 110 women (excluding guides).
Team USA for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8) will be able to count on a major asset: its experience. No less than 141 of its athletes have already participated in at least one edition of the event. Three of them will be competing in their seventh Paralympic Games in France, four will be in six editions, eight in five editions, and 21 have already experienced the atmosphere of the Games three times. There will only be 78 athletes to discover the Paralympic world.
The old » of the American delegation have a solid record of service, since they total 122 gold medals and 277 appearances on the podium. Sixty-three athletes won multiple medals. Thirty-four of them are multiple gold medalists.
At the head of the procession, a swimmer: Jessica Long (photo above). With a striking collection of 29 Paralympic medals, including 16 gold, she occupies second place in history in the United States behind another swimming specialist, Trischa Zorn. Jessica Long made her Paralympic Games debut in 2004 in Athens. She was only 12 years old then. Since then, she has not missed a single edition.
Three other American athletes will participate in their seventh Paralympic Games starting next week: Oksana Masters, Tatyana McFadden and Tahl Leibovitz.
Oksana Masters, 35, made her debut in London in 2012. She has participated in every edition since then, in summer and winter. At the Winter Games, she holds the record for the number of medals in the United States, with 14 places on the podium. She was a two-time Paralympic champion in para cycling at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Another example of longevity: Tatyana McFadden. Also aged 35, she has a respectable collection of 20 Paralympic medals, including 19 in athletics, just one unit shy of the American record held by Bart Dodson.
Finally, Tahl Leibovitz completes the trio. A table tennis specialist, the 49-year-old American made his debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996, where he won the gold medal in men's singles in his disability category.
Also note from the American delegation announced by the USOPC:
- Thirty-eight states are represented, with a top three consisting of California (27), Illinois (14), and Texas (12).
- Abbas Karimi (swimming) is competing in his second Paralympic Games, but his first as a citizen of the United States. Born in Afghanistan, he was a member of the Refugee Paralympic team at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
- Sixteen athletes are military, including three on active duty in the Army and Marines: shooter Kevin Nguyen, swimmer Elizabeth Marks and fencer Jataya Taylor.
For the first time at the Paralympic Games, the USOPC retained its hospitality space installed at the end of July for the Olympic Games. Team USA House is located at the Palais Brongniart, the former Stock Exchange, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.
Third in the medal rankings for the Tokyo 2020 Games, with 104 places on the podium, including 37 titles, Team USA remained a good distance from China (207 medals including 96 gold). Barring any unlikely surprises, the Chinese should once again dominate the competition at the Paris 2024 Games, as they have done continuously since the Athens Games in 2004.
