With Simone Biles making Olympic history yet again, there is no shortage of Black excellence at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She stands amongst big names like Lebron James, Brittney Griner, Coco Gauff, Stephen Curry and A’Ja Wilson, among many more, who are holding down the American flag, but what about the brilliant Black American athletes with smaller names who hold a mighty reign themselves?
Here’s only a taste of the Black USA representation from each sport this year, names that have and will only continue to make major history.
Black Athletes Representing the USA In the Olympics
Aaron Cummings (Rugby)
27-year-old Aaron Cummings hails from Muskegon, MI, representing the USA in rugby, a sport he’s been in love with since high school. He made his HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Debut in Malaga, Spain in 2022 and was later named in the Rugby World Cup Sevens that same year.
CJ Nickolas (Taekwondo)
Carl Alan Nickolas Jr., known as CJ Nickolas, spent the week of his 23rd birthday traveling to Paris for his Olympic debut. A three-time gold medalist at the Pan American Taekwondo Championships, the Oakland, CA native has made a coveted name for himself in the martial art.
Jasmine Moore (Track & Field)
In 2022, 23-year-old Jasmine Moore became the first American woman to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in both the long jump and the triple jump. Her revolutionary talent has taken her from Grand Prairie, Texas to Paris to represent the USA in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. This year, she became the first American woman to be selected for the same Olympics at both the triple jump and long jump trials.
Maria Laborde (Judo)
Cuban-born American Maria Celia Laborde is a 33-year-old judoka who made history as the first U.S. athlete to medal at the Masters Worlds since 2016, where she won silver. Laborde received her U.S. citizenship in 2022, resides in Miami, FL, and will represent the USA in this year’s Olympic games.
Fred Richard (Gymnastics)
20-year-old Fred Richard has been a gymnast since age 4, and it’s certainly taken him very far, serving as the youngest male American gymnast to win an individual all-around medal at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. The son of Haitian and Dominican parents, he’s already made more history: the US men’s gymnastics team hadn’t won a medal since the Beijing Games 16 years ago— until Richard’s 2024 Bronze medal win.
Naomi Girma (Soccer)
Serving as a center back for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women’s Soccer League, 24-year-old Naomi Girma was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023. Raised by Ethiopian immigrant parents, she played for a local club her father formed for the Bay Area Ethiopian community in 2005 and has worked her way up to Olympic excellence.
Morelle Mccane (Boxing)
29-year-old Morelle Mccanestarted boxing at age 17 during her senior year of high school and qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by securing a silver medal at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023. Proud to be representing women in the male-dominated sport, she shares, “When people see me fight, I don’t want them to say I fight like a dude. I want them to say, ‘Oh my God, that girl can fight!’”
Jeffrey Louis (Breaking)
Participating in the inaugural Olympic category, 29-year-old Houston native Jeffrey Louis is a breakdancing extraordinaire. Breaking since the age of 12, he’s previously won the Freestyle Session Champion title in 2017 and the Super Break World Championship in 2018, also winning silver at the 2022 World Games dancesport.
Chris Eubanks (Tennis)
Standing at 6 feet 7 inches, 28-year-old pro tennis player Chris Eubanks has already built himself a recognizable name and incredibly impressive portfolio. Playing college tennis for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world number 29.
Max Irving (Water Polo)
Throughout 29-year-old Max Irving’s impressive water polo career, playing for UCLA and the US national team, he’s cited major inspiration from his father, Michael Irving, a longtime men’s college basketball referee. Training him on how to perform in front of a hostile crowd, he’s now taking his talents overseas to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lauren Scruggs (Fencing)
A Queens, NY native, when 21-year-old Lauren Scruggs isn’t busy being the first Black American woman to win any individual fencing medal, she’s studying philosophy at Harvard University. Her 2024 silver medal is only a small fragment of her historical, openly-queer legacy.
Simone Manuel (Swimming)
At the 2020 Olympics, 27-year-old Texan Simone Manuel won a bronze medal as the anchor of the American 4×100-meter freestyle relay team and was the is the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event during the 2016 Olympics. She currently swims for Stanford University.
Kamal Bey (Wrestling)
26-year-old Kamal Bey defied all odds as a high school dropout, taking his childhood love of Greco-Roman style wrestling all the way to the Olympics. The Illinois-born wrestler was so good, he moved to Colorado Springs when he was 17 to level-up his training and join the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program.
Chiaka Ogbogu (Volleyball)
29-year-old Chiaka Ogbogu stands at 6 feet 2 inches, a height advantage that helped her earn an Olympic gold medal with her team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She’s bringing that excellence back for the 2024 Paris Olympics, speaking on the significance of donning a Nigerian last name on the back of her jersey. “I think it holds a lot of weight for Nigerians all over the world,” she shares. “I don’t take that honor lightly.”
Nyjah Huston (Skateboarding)
One of the highest-paid skateboarders in the world, Nyjah Huston is often regarded as one of the greatest skateboarders of all time. The 29-year-old rastafarian has certainly solidified that testement, earning his first Olympic Medal, a bronze, in the 2024 Olympic men’s street event.
