Olympics Preview: 16 Fun Facts for the 613-Member U.S. Olympic Team!

Following the year-long postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games are finally here with the competition beginning July 21—it’s softball!— and the overall games themselves concluding Sunday, Aug. 8.

The Opening Ceremony will take place Friday, July 23.

This week, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee officially announced the 613-member 2020 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The 2020 U.S. Paralympic Team will be announced in early August

“Team USA is ready. Our roster includes 613 remarkable athletes, one of our biggest teams ever, all who qualified to participate in these Games,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “In these extraordinary times — these athletes have shown perseverance, dedication and focus and have inspired us all. We are thrilled to support them as they live their dreams of competing on the biggest stage in sport.”

The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team features 193 returning Olympians including:

• one seven-time Olympian
• eight five-time Olympians
• 15 four-time Olympians
• 39 three-time Olympians
• 130 two-time Olympians

The slate of veterans features 104 Olympic medalists, including 56 Olympic champions, 33 athletes who have won multiple Olympic medals and an additional 22 who won multiple Olytmpic gold medals.

The multiple medalists are led by eight U.S. women with four or more medals, including track athlete Allyson Felix with nine, swimmer Allison Schmitt with eight, swimmer Katie Ledecky with six and gymnast Simone Biles with five. Four athletes have won four medals, including basketball players Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, fencer Mariel Zagunis and swimmer Simone Manuel.

“The journey to be a part of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team was like no other,” said Rick Adams, USOPC chief of sport performance. “This team is special; these Games are special. The commitment from Team USA athletes and the National Governing Bodies never wavered, and for that we are grateful.”

Of the 613 U.S. athletes competing in Tokyo, more than 75% (463 athletes) competed collegiately at 169 schools. Twenty teams have at least 80% collegiate participation on their U.S. Olympic rosters, including 11 teams that are comprised 100% of collegiate athletes: men’s and women’s basketball, women’s 3×3 basketball, men’s and women’s water polo, diving, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s indoor volleyball, rowing and softball. College athlete representation on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team spans all three NCAA Divisions (I, II and III), as well as junior colleges and collegiate club programs.

The 2020 Olympic Games will welcome new events added for the first time, along with the return of fan favorites.

Baseball and softball return to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, while four new sports make their Olympic debut, including surfing, karate, skateboarding and sport climbing.

NBCUniversal will present an unprecedented 7,000 hours of coverage of the Tokyo Olympics this summer by utilizing two broadcast networks, six cable networks and multiple digital platforms, serving both English- and Spanish-language viewers, making it the biggest media event ever.

Follow Team USA in Tokyo

Team USA fans can follow the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team at TeamUSA.org and across Team USA’s social channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

The U.S. Olympic Team microsite will offer Team USA results from the Olympic Games, as well as athlete biographies, sport previews, a history book (published the week of July 19), competition schedules, and facts and figures about the U.S. delegation.

2020 U.S. Olympic Team: 16 Fun Facts

As we gear up for great competition the next few weeks, here some cool things to know about the U.S. team…

• Forty-six states and the District of Columbia are represented on the U.S. roster, with California (126), Florida (51), Colorado (34) and Texas (31) leading the way. Two athletes identify international hometowns, including water polo’s Luca Cupido from Italy and baseball’s Jack Lopez from Puerto Rico.
• The 2020 roster includes 329 women and 284 men, marking the third straight Olympic Games with more women on the U.S. roster. The Rio 2016 team included 294 women and 264 men, while London 2012 had 268 women and 262 men.
• Swimmer Katie Grimes is the youngest athlete at age 15, while equestrian Phillip Dutton will be competing at age 57.
• The 2020 team features 193 returning Olympians and 104 Olympic medalists, including 56 Olympic champions.
• The 2020 team is nearly 10% larger than the Rio 2016 Olympic Team, growing from 558 to 613 qualified athletes.
• The United States will be represented in 44 sports in Japan. Of the 338 medal events contested in Tokyo, Team USA will have at least one entry (athlete/team) in 268 of those events.
• Ten athletes have competed at the Youth Olympic Games and have won a combined nine Youth Olympic medals, including three golds. They are highlighted by Kevin McDowell, who won gold and silver medals in triathlon in 2010, and Noah Lyles, who won a gold medal in the 200 meters in 2018.
• Eighteen athletes on the roster self-identify ties to the military, including 16 with the Army, one with the Coast Guard and one with the Marines.
• Of the 613 U.S. athletes competing in Tokyo, more than 75% (463 athletes) competed collegiately at 169 schools.
• There are at least six sets of siblings on the team, including Jessica and Nelly Korda (golf), Henry Leverett and Jack Leverett III (shooting), Phillip and Ryan Chew (badminton), Kristen and Samantha Mewis (soccer), Erik and Kawika Shoji (volleyball), and Aria and Makenzie Fischer (water polo).
• The 613 athletes named to the U.S. roster mark the largest delegation by a non-host nation, and the second-largest delegation for Team USA, following the 648 athletes at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
• Four athletes on the roster have competed at the Olympics previously for other nations. Phillip Dutton will be making his seventh Olympic appearance, his fourth on Team USA, as he competed for Australia in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Amro El-Geziry competed in pentathlon for Egypt in 2008, 2012 and 2016; Ildar Hafizov wrestled for Uzbekistan in 2008; and Sally Kipyego ran track for Kenya in 2012.
• Dutton leads all returning Olympians and will make his seventh appearance at the Olympic Games. The eight five-time Olympians include equestrians Steffen Peters and McLain Ward, basketball players Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, track athletes Abdi Abdirahman and Allyson Felix, fencer Mariel Zagunis and water polo player Jesse Smith.
• Ten athletes have competed at the Youth Olympic Games and have won a combined nine Youth Olympic medals, including three golds.
• Basketball players Bird and Taurasi are in pursuit of their fifth straight Olympic gold medal.
• Shot putter Ryan Crouser crushed a 31-year-old world record at trials and eyes to defend his 2016 Olympic title.