Meet Florida’s athletes competing in the 2024 Olympics & Paralympics
Floridian athletes hailing from coast to coast will travel to Paris this July and August to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
This summer, athletes from the world over will convene in Paris, France, to go for the gold in a variety of sports competitions from archery and artistic gymnastics to water polo and wrestling at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and the 2024 Paralympics. As Tampa-area NPR outlet WUSF reports, 35 Floridians have qualified for Team USA, with 12 athletes hailing from the greater Tampa Bay region alone.
Before the 2024 Summer Olympic Games kick off on July 26 and the 2024 Paralympics begin on August 28, meet a few of the talented Olympians and up-and-coming hopefuls who will be representing the Sunshine State on a global stage.
Perry Baker
Perry Baker, a 38-year-old rugby sevens player hailing from New Smyrna Beach, will compete in the Olympics for the third time this year. Following a pair of appearances at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and 2016’s iteration in Rio de Janeiro, Baker will compete in the 2024 men’s rugby tournament, held two days before the official opening ceremonies. A lifelong athlete, Baker was previously drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, but he was cut following a knee injury. These days, Baker devotes himself to coaching and heading youth rugby camps.
Aaliyah Butler
Fort Lauderdale-born sprinter Aaliyah Butler, 20, will compete in the Paris Olympics after qualifying for Team USA in the 400-meter dash during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. A newcomer to the Olympic Games, the University of Georgia sophomore has already made a name for herself in track and field — when she was only a freshman at Miami Northwestern High School, she broke state records in the 400-meter dash, and she went on to become the number 15 all-time collegiate performer after completing the 300-meter dash in only 36.85 seconds at this year’s Clemson Invitational.
Bobby Finke
This two-time Olympic gold medalist who calls Clearwater home will return to the Olympic Games this summer to compete in the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter freestyle swim events. At the age of 24, the University of Florida alumnus already has four World Athletics Championships medals under his belt, including one gold medal. Finke hails from a family of professional swimmers: his father is a swim coach for St. Petersburg Aquatics, his mother swam for Ball State University, and his two older sisters swam for the University of Florida and Florida State University, respectively.
Ashleigh Johnson
Miami-born athlete Ashleigh Johnson made history in 2016 when she became Team USA’s first Black female water polo player. Competing in the challenging role of goalkeeper, Johnson helped her team bring home the gold medal in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, and she’ll go for gold again this summer in Paris. During the 2016 games held in Tokyo, Johnson made a record 80 saves, the most made by any goalkeeper during an Olympic competition. Johnson developed a passion for water polo during a childhood spent playing the sport alongside her four siblings.
Nelly Korda
At age 25, Bradenton native Nelly Korda has proven herself a formidable talent within the international golf landscape. In her first Olympic Games in 2020, Korda took home a gold medal, and the following year, she knabbed the number one slot in the Women’s World Golf rankings following her major wins at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Atlanta. Heading to Paris to compete this summer, Korda is the daughter of two Czech tennis stars: Her father, Petr Korda, is the 1998 Australian Open champion, and her mother, Regina Rajchrtova, is an Olympian tennis player.
Caroline Marks
After competing in the Olympics’ first-ever surfing event in Tokyo in 2020, Caroline Marks took home gold with a fourth-place finish. This summer, the Melbourne Beach-based 22-year-old returns to the games. Even at her young age, Marks is a seasoned, competitive surfer — she began competing at age 8 and became the youngest girl to compete in the World Surf League when she was 13. Marks also carries the distinction of being the most nicknamed surfer on tour: Her colleagues and fans lovingly refer to her as Flare-oline, Occoline, and Carolupo. When she’s not surfing, Marks enjoys fishing and riding motocross.
Tracy Otto
Tracy Otto is a Plant City-based athlete heading to the Paralympic Games this August whose personal story speaks volumes of strength and resilience. Otto discovered para archery — a sport designed for athletes with physical or visual impairments that includes the use of assistive devices like draw or release aids, mouth tabs, and wheelchairs — after she survived a life-threatening domestic violence episode that caused her to lose the use of her left eye and become paralyzed from the chest down, including her hands. Otto employs a custom bite-and-release technique to shoot her arrow using her mouth. She’s currently raising funds on Spotfund.com to account for costs associated with competing at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Jenson Van Emburgh
A graduate of Seminole High School who calls Bellair Beach home, Jenson Van Emburgh was awarded a bronze medal during his first Paralympic Games in 2020, and he’ll return to compete in para table tennis this summer. Van Emburgh is a class 3 para athlete who suffered a spinal cord injury at birth. The 24-year-old experimented with several sports, including sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair tennis, before discovering his passion for para table tennis.
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