Meet the 26 Pennsylvanians headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics

These 26 athletes, who will compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris between July 26 and Aug. 11, all call Pennsylvania home.

Pennsylvania is sending more than two dozen athletes in 11 sports to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In total, 26 athletes with Pa. hometowns have qualified for the competition — including nine field hockey players, which accounts for more than half the team.

Be sure to cheer on your fellow Pennsylvanians when the Paris Olympics air between July 26 and Aug. 11. All events will be streaming on Peacock.

Archery

Casey Kaufhold

Hometown: Lancaster

Casey Kaufhold is an archer who competes in women’s recurve events, meaning she uses a long, curved bow — the traditional bow you think of when you picture an archer’s bow. Kaufhold is making her second Olympic appearance in Paris, as she also represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics.

Basketball

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 07: Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury looks on during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on July 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Katharine Lotze/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images)

Kahleah Copper

Hometown: Philadelphia

The WNBA has recently been growing in popularity, but you may have heard of Kahleah Copper even before then. The Philadelphia native currently plays on the Phoenix Mercury, but before she was traded earlier this year, she dominated WNBA games as a star of the Chicago Sky. The Summer Olympics in Paris will be Copper’s first Olympics.

Alyssa Thomas

Canoe/Kayak

Casey Eichfeld

Hometown: Drums

Casey Eichfeld is a slalom canoeist, meaning he uses his canoe to quickly navigate whitewater courses with upstream and downstream gated obstacles. Eichfeld is originally from Luzerne County’s Drums and was raised on the whitewater of Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny and Lehigh Rivers. He’s a veteran of the Olympic Games — his first Summer Olympics was in 2008. The Summer Olympics in Paris will be Eichfeld’s fourth Olympics.

Equestrian

LIMA, PERU – AUGUST 04: Boyd Martin of United States rides Tsetserleg during Equestrian Eventing Individual – Jumping Final at Army Equestrian School on Day 9 of Lima 2019 Pan American Games on August 4, 2019 in Lima, Peru. (Daniel Apuy/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images for FEI)

Boyd Martin

Hometown: Cochranville

Boyd Martin was raised in Australia to two Olympian parents, but he eventually adopted Chester County’s Cochranville as his hometown. He represented the U.S. in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics as an equestrian. Martin participates in eventing, which is sort of like an equestrian triathlon, as he and his horse compete in one event that combines dressage, cross-country riding, and show jumping. Martin and his wife own Windurra USA, an equestrian training facility in Cochranville.

Field Hockey

More than half of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team hails from Pennsylvania! Southeastern and central Pa. is serious about field hockey, which is why so many of the Olympic field hockey players are from the middle and the eastern part of the state. That could be because Constance Applebee, the British woman who first brought field hockey to the U.S. in 1901, eventually became athletic director at southeastern Pa.’s Bryn Mawr College — and the sport spread across the region from there.

Two of the team’s three provisional (alternate) players are also from Pa.: Hershey’s Jenny Rizzo and Lewsiburg’s Cassie Sumfest.

Brooke DeBerdine

Hometown: Millersville

Brooke DeBerdine is a midfielder for Team USA and will compete in Paris with her sister, Emma.

Emma DeBerdine

Hometown: Millersville

Emma DeBerdine will compete in Paris alongside her sister, Brooke. Like her sister, she is a midfielder for the team.

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 23: Sophia Gladieux #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs with the ball during a college field hockey match against the American University Eagles at Jacobs Field on August 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images)

Phia Gladieux

Hometown: Oley

Sophia “Phia” Gladieux plays field hockey at Penn State, but for the summer she’ll be a forward on the U.S. women’s team in Paris.

Ashley Hoffman

Hometown: Mohnton

Ashley Hoffman, defender and co-captain of the U.S. women’s field hockey team, comes from an Olympic legacy — her mother won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles on the U.S. women’s field hockey team.

Karlie Kisha

Hometown: Hamburg

Karlie Kisha is a defender for the U.S. women’s team. As part of the University of Connecticut women’s field hockey team, Kisha won two NCAA national championships.

Kelee Lepage

Hometown: Honey Brook

Kelee Lepage is a defender for the U.S. women’s team who has been playing field hockey since 2007, meaning the 24-year-old has been playing the sport for more than two-thirds of her life. She’s from the small town of Honey Brook, which is part of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Ashley Sessa

Hometown: Schwenksville

Ashley Sessa plays as a forward for the U.S. women’s field hockey team. She’s been playing field hockey since she was just four years old, when she began playing at her local YMCA.

Meredith Sholder

Hometown: Fleetwood

Did you know that all field hockey players use right-handed sticks? Meredith Sholder is a left-handed midfielder for the U.S. women’s team, and she may be a hidden weapon since her left-handed play may be slightly different from the play of most other midfielders!

Maddie Zimmer

Hometown: Hershey

Maddie Zimmer plays midfield for the U.S. women’s field hockey team. She started playing field hockey when she was just seven years old — and now she’s headed to the Olympics!

Rowing 

Justin Best

Hometown: Kennett Square

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will be rower Justin Best’s second Olympics appearance, as he also rowed in the 2020 Olympics. His four-man rowing team consists of two other Pa. rowers — Michael Grady and Nick Mead.

Michael Grady

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Michael Grady, a rower on the U.S. men’s team, was in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He didn’t medal in Tokyo, but fast forward to Paris, and his team is widely believed to have a shot at bringing home an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. men’s rowing team — the first in 64 years.

Nick Mead

Hometown: Strafford

Nick Mead, the son of two rowers, competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Paris Olympics will be his second Olympics appearance.

Rugby

Ariana Ramsey

Hometown: Philadelphia

Ariana Ramsey started her athletic career cheerleading and running track, but eventually she found rugby. The Philly native played rugby at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Paris Olympics will be her second appearance as an Olympian.

Swimming

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JUNE 20: Chris Guiliano of the United States reacts after the Men’s 50m freestyle semifinal on Day Six of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium on June 20, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images)

Chris Guiliano

Hometown: Douglassville

Chris Guiliano, originally from Douglassville, is a swimmer at the University of Notre Dame. He’s also the first swimmer from Notre Dame to qualify for the Olympics! The freestyle swimmer qualified in three individual events and two relays.

Josh Matheny

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Originally from Upper St. Clair near Pittsburgh, Josh Matheny will swim in his first Olympic Games in Paris this summer. He specializes in breaststroke events.

Ivan Puskovitch

Hometown: West Chester

Ivan Puskovitch is an Olympic marathon swimmer, which takes place in open water — e.g., lakes, rivers, and the open ocean. Since open water swimming was added to the Olympics in 2008, Puskovitch is only the fifth male in the U.S. to qualify for the event. The West Chester native currently attends West Virginia University.

Track and Field

Joe Kovacs

Hometown: Bethlehem

Joe Kovacs has appeared in two prior Olympics — the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 games in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in shot put — which involves throwing a heavy ball as far as possible — in the 2016 Olympics, and he then won the silver in shot put again in the 2020 Olympics! Is an Olympic gold next?

Bridget Williams

Hometown: Greensburg

Bridget Williams, from western Pa., is an Olympic pole vaulter. She won first place in women’s pole vaulting during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, allowing her to qualify for the Paris Olympics! The 2024 Summer Olympics will be Williams’s first Olympics appearance.

Water Polo

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 30: Jovana Sekulic poses for a portrait after USA Water Polo announced the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Water Polo Team roster at Republique on May 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Kaelin Mendez/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images)

Jovana Sekulic

Hometown: Haverford

Originally from Serbia before adopting Haverford as her hometown, Jovana Sekulic will represent the U.S. on the women’s water polo team. Sekulic attends Princeton, where she plays on the women’s water polo team and her brother plays on the men’s water polo team.

Wrestling

Spencer Lee 

Hometown: Murrysville

Spencer Lee is an Olympic wrestler who names Murrysville as his hometown, though he also spent time in Saegertown. While Paris will be the first time Lee competes in the Olympics, he did travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics to serve as a training partner for Olympian Daniel Dennis.

ISTANBUL, TURKIYE – MAY 12: Zain Allen Retherford of United States in the 65kg Men’s Freestyle Wrestling Final 3-4Q during the World OG Qualifier on May 12, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkiye. (Kadir Caliskan – United World Wrestling/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images)

Zain Retherford

Hometown: Benton

Zain Retherford is an Olympic wrestler for Team USA from Benton. Retherford dominated the NCAA wrestling circuit during his time at Pennsylvania State University. The Summer Olympics in Paris will be his first appearance at the Olympics.

And three Pennsylvanians will compete in the Paralympics in Paris (Aug. 28 – to Sept. 8):

Paraswimming

Para archery

Wheelchair Rugby

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.