These 10 Idaho athletes are going for gold in Paris
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Michael Lycklama, Idaho Statesman
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics in Paris arrives Friday, featuring many of the best athletes on the planet — including more than a few with Idaho ties.
Ten Olympians were either born in Idaho, competed for an Idaho college, or lived or trained in Idaho. Check out the guide below to find all the Gem State athletes to root for and when they’re competing.
Emily Sams
Sport: Women’s soccer
Country: United States (alternate)
Outlook: The Boise native has yet to make an appearance for the senior national team, but an injury opened the door for her to head to Paris as one of four alternates. The U.S. could add her to its 18-player active roster with another injury. The 25-year-old, whose maiden name is Madril, grew up in what’s now the Boise Timbers-Thorn soccer club and helped lead Centennial High to a state runner-up finish as a freshman in 2013. She later moved to Florida and was the No. 3 overall draft pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. The second-year pro played for U.S. national teams at the U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels but didn’t receive her first senior national team camp invite until last month.
Schedule: Group stage: vs. Zambia, 1 p.m. Thursday; vs. Germany, 1 p.m. Sunday; vs. Australia, 11 a.m. July 31
Chloé Dygert
Sport: Women’s cycling — individual time trial, road race, team pursuit
Country: United States
Outlook: The reigning time trial world champ trains in Boise with three-time gold medalist Kristin Armstrong and spent her final pre-Olympic days in Idaho. The 27-year-old already won a silver in Brazil and a bronze in Japan in team pursuit. She’ll compete in three disciplines this summer, including the individual time trial, where she’s one of the gold medal favorites. But an Achilles injury, COVID and a pair of March crashes limited her to three days of racing so far this year.
Schedule: Individual time trial: 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Road race: 6 a.m. Aug. 4. Team pursuit: Qualifying, 9:30 a.m. Aug. 6; First round, 5:52 a.m. Aug. 7; Finals, 10:57 a.m. Aug. 7
Haley Batten
Sport: Women’s cycling — mountain bike
Country: United States
Outlook: Like Dygert, the 25-year-old is coached by Idaho resident Kristin Armstrong and regularly trains in Boise. She won her first national title at 14 in Sun Valley and made her Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, finishing ninth. She captured a bronze medal at the 2022 world championships and sits 11th in the world rankings.
Schedule: 6:10 a.m. Sunday
Airi Miyabe
Sport: Women’s volleyball
Country: Japan
Outlook: The former national junior college player of the year led the College of Southern Idaho to a national championship in 2018 and a second-place finish in 2017. The 25-year-old starred as an outside hitter for CSI and later the University of Minnesota but will play middle blocker for Japan. She helped Japan clinch an Olympic berth by knocking off then-No. 1-ranked Brazil in June in the Volleyball Nations League semifinals.
Schedule: Group stage: vs. Poland, 5 a.m. Sunday; vs. Brazil, 5 a.m. Aug. 1; vs. Kenya, 5 a.m. Aug. 3
Alyssa Mendoza
Sport: Women’s boxing — 57 kg (125 pounds)
Country: United States
Outlook: The 20-year-old Caldwell native heads to Paris as the first Olympic boxer from Idaho and the youngest of eight members on the U.S. Olympic boxing team. Trained by her father, JR Mendoza, the Middleton High grad didn’t make her international debut until last year. But she quickly made a name for herself, winning four straight bouts by unanimous decision in May’s last-chance qualifying tournament in Thailand to clinch an Olympic berth.
Schedule: First round: Tuesday. Second round: Aug. 2. Quarterfinals: Aug. 4. Semifinals: Aug. 7. Finals: Aug. 10 (All times TBD)
Adrienne Lyle
Sport: Equestrian — dressage
Country: United States
Outlook: The former Ketchum resident returns to the Olympics for a third time after leading the U.S. to a silver medal in team dressage in Tokyo, the Americans’ best finish since 1948. Lyle previously trained in the Sun Valley area with Debbie McDonald, another former Olympian and the former national team coach. The Washington native debuted a new horse, Helix, this year after retiring her silver medal-winning horse, Salvino, in April.
Schedule: Team and individual grand prix: 3 a.m. Tuesday. Team and individual grand prix: 2 a.m. July 31. Team grand prix special results: 2 a.m. Aug. 3. Individual grand prix freestyle: 2 a.m. Aug. 4
Matteo Jorgenson
Sport: Men’s cycling — road race
Country: United States
Outlook: The Boise High grad honed his skills with BYRDS (Boise Young Rider Development Squad) before blossoming into one of the top American riders. The 25-year-old is in the middle of a breakout season, finishing eighth at the Tour de France, the best American finish in 10 years. He also recorded wins at the Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier this year.
Schedule: 3 a.m. Aug. 3
Marisa Howard
Sport: Women’s track and field — 3,000-meter steeplechase
Country: United States
Outlook: After falling two spots shy of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the 31-year-old Boise State alum didn’t let a second chance slip through her fingers. She ran a personal-best time of 9 minutes, 7.14 second to finish third at the U.S. trials, claiming the last available spot and becoming the first Boise State female to make a U.S. Olympic track team. The Rocky Mountain High assistant coach won three Mountain West titles with the Broncos and was an NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase in 2014.
Schedule: Prelims: 2:05 a.m. Aug. 4. Finals: 1:10 p.m. Aug. 6
Sam Atkin
Sport: Men’s track and field — 5,000 meters
Country: Great Britain
Outlook: The Lewis-Clark State College hall of famer and assistant coach is the first athlete in school history to make multiple Olympics. Atkin competed in the 10,000 meters in Tokyo but did not finish the race due to injury. A bout of food poisoning last month sent him to the hospital and forced him to miss his native country’s Olympic qualifying. But Great Britain selected him with a discretionary pick after he ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters in the country’s history (12:54.66) at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in May. Lewis-Clark State coach Mike Collins still trains him and will travel to Paris as his coach.
Schedule: Prelims, 3:10 a.m. Aug. 7. Finals, 12 p.m. Aug. 10
Chari Hawkins
Sport: Women’s track and field — heptathlon
Country: United States
Outlook: The Rexburg native only gets better with age, qualifying for her first Olympics at 33 years old. The Utah State alum took 15th at the U.S. Olympic trials in 2016 and then sixth in 2021, leading her to question her Olympic dream and openly consider retirement. But she’s continued to hone her craft and now sits 10th in the world rankings. She took eighth at the World Championships last summer, and she set three personal bests to finish second at last month’s U.S. trials.
Schedule: Day 1: 2:05 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 8. Day 2: 2:05 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Aug. 9