By George B. Eichorn
For the first time in 100 years the Summer Olympic Games return to one of the jewel cities of the world. Paris, France is welcoming the world from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, August 11. NBC Sports again leads the U.S. network television broadcast programming.
Michigan will be well represented in Paris. The University of Michigan alone lists 42 athletes competing with ties to the school including 11 who competed in the 2023-23 academic year:
Fred Richard (men’s gymnastics), Paul Juda (men’s gymnastics), Lais Najjar (men’s gymnastics), Savannah Sutherland (women’s track), Dubem Amene (men’s track), Austin Gomez (wrestling), Yousuf Al-Matrooshi (men’s swimming), Eitan Ben-Shitrit (men’s swimming), Gal Groumi (men’s swimming), Stephanie Balduccini (women’s swimming) and Natalie Kan (women’s swimming), along with a trio of incoming freshmen in Syla Swords (women’s basketball), Jon Jontvedt (men’s swimming) and Lorne Wigginton (men’s swimming).
Among the athletes/coaches/trainers/managers with Wolverines ties are Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner (Germany men’s basketball), Sam Mikulak, Jordan Gaarenstroom, Syque Caesar and Yuan Xiao (USA men’s gymnastics – assistant coaches), Alena Olsen (USA women’s rugby), Charlie Swanson (USA men’s swim), Erin Virtue (USA women’s volleyball assistant coach), Coley Pawlikowski (USA women’s volleyball team manager),
Adam Coon (USA Greco-Roman wrestling), Mason Parris (USA freestyle wrestling) and Josh Churella (USA wrestling coach), Abby Tamer (USA field hockey) and Abby Andrews (Australia women’s water polo).
Other athletes connected to the Great Lakes State are: Heath Baldwin of Michigan State (USA men’s decathlon), Devin Booker of Grand Rapids (USA men’s basketball), Shay Colley of MSU (Canada women’s basketball), Adam Coon of Fowlerville (USA wrestling), Aaron Cummings of Muskegon (USA men’s rugby), Andrew Evans of Portage (USA men’s discus throw), Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc (USA men’s track and field), Tori Franklin of MSU (USA women’s triple jump), Zach Hammer of Ann Arbor (USA climber), Hobbs Kessler of Ann Arbor (USA men’s track and field), Sorin Koszyk of Grosse Pointe Park (USA men’s rowing), Hannah Roberts of Buchanan (USA BMX freestyle) and Grace Stark (USA women’s track and field).The Big Ten will also be well represented in Paris. Of the 593 U.S. athletes heading to Paris this summer, 446 (75%) competed collegiately across 172 institutions. In total, 116 current/former B1G athletes will represent Team USA in Paris; the Big Ten is one of only three conferences in the nation that has 100% school representation on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team.
Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com or @Sandgsports99 on X (formerly Twitter). Order his book:
Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air: Eichorn, George B, Introduction Harwell, Ernie.
