The roster of U.S. athletes competing in the Paris Olympics includes superstars, up-and-comers and redemption seekers.
Although some events have already gotten underway, the Summer Games officially start Friday with an ambitious opening ceremony along the Seine River — the first time ever the event will be held outside a stadium.
The Olympics run through Aug. 11.
Here is a look at 15 American athletes to watch this year.
Jack Alexy, swimming
Alexy made a boisterous statement at the world championships last year in Fukuoka, Japan, when he won five medals — a gold, three silvers and a bronze.
Among the highlights then, he surprisingly took silver in the 100-meter freestyle against a field that included world record holder David Popovici, Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers, 200 freestyle world champion Matt Richards and world No. 1 Zhanle Pan.
Can the 21-year-old Morristown, New Jersey, native carry it over to Paris? He’ll also be part of the 4x100 freestyle relay team.
Simone Biles, gymnastics
One of the biggest storylines of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was Biles withdrawing from four of five finals because she had “the twisties” — when a gymnast loses their sense of position mid-air. The 27-year-old Texan is now looking to get back to making the headlines she’s best known for — topping the competition.
Biles has little left to prove. She’s already often referred to as the “GOAT” (greatest of all time) in her sport, and with 37 medals, she is the most decorated gymnast, male or female, across Olympics and world championships.
Despite being the oldest American woman to make an Olympics gymnastics team since the 1950s, Biles is again the favorite to win the all-around.
Kate Douglass, swimming
If she can match her showings at the last two world championships, Douglass would become one of the breakout stars of these Olympics.
The 22-year-old from Pelham, New York, won 11 medals in the 2023 and 2024 worlds, including four golds.
Known for her versatility, Douglass will become the first American woman ever to compete in an individual freestyle race, a breaststroke event and an individual medley at the Olympics. She will also be part of two relay teams.
Her best event is the 200 individual medley, in which she’s the two-time defending world champ. With Douglass, Canada’s Summer McIntosh, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown racing, that will be one of the most eagerly anticipated showdowns in the pool.
Coco Gauff, tennis
Gauff is getting a second chance at Olympic glory after she was forced to withdraw in 2021 because she had COVID-19.
Now 20 years old, Gauff is the world’s No. 2-ranked player and the reigning U.S. Open champion, putting a gold medal within her reach. The Delray Beach, Florida, resident, will also compete in doubles with Jessica Pegula.
Gauff was chosen to be one of Team USA’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony.
Nyjah Huston skateboarding
Considered by many to be the greatest street skateboard of his generation, Huston had a shockingly disappointing performance in Tokyo, finishing seventh.
Huston, a six-time world champion who went pro at age 11, told AFP the high expectations got to him in Tokyo.
"I'm trying to put less of that pressure on myself," he said.
“I'm trying to go out there and just skate and have a good time and really be thankful to be in this moment again.”
LeBron James, men’s basketball
The four-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion is appearing in his first Olympics since 2012. At age 39, it also could be his last.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar will look to help the U.S. continue its Olympics dominance. Since professionals were first allowed to compete in 1992, the Americans have won gold in seven of eight Summer Games. “King James” was a member of two of those winning teams.
The Paris Games will also present basketball fans with an opportunity to see James and rival Stephen Curry team up for the first time outside of an NBA All-Star Game.
James also has been selected as a flag bearer.
Katie Ledecky, swimming
Ledecky has a chance to leave Paris with as the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history.
Already a 10-time medalist and a seven-time gold medalist, she needs two more medals to catch Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres and one more gold to tie Thompson for the most ever.
Competing in her fourth Olympics, the 27-year-old from Bethesda, Maryland, is still among the greats in her sport, although the competition has grown stiffer.
Ledecky is the favorite in the 800 and 1,500 freestyle. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus dethroned Ledecky in the 400 freestyle in Tokyo and is back this year. Summer McIntosh is also a threat in the 400.
Noah Lyles, track and field
Lyles has come a long way since winning bronze in the 200 in Tokyo three years ago. At the 2023 world championships in Budapest, he became the first runner since Usain Bolt to win gold in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay.
The 27-year-old Alexandria, Virginia, native says in Paris he’s “coming after all the medals.” If he wins gold in the 100, 200 and 4x100 again and adds another in the 4x400, he would join an exclusive fraternity that also includes Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.
The 100 is shaping up to be an especially intriguing race. While Lyles is the reigning world champ, Jamaican newcomer Kishane Thompson has run the fastest time this year and is widely considered the favorite.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, track and field
McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the faces of track and field and a dominant force in the 400-meter hurdles.
It appeared for a time the 24-year-old New Jerseyan might have had an eye on medaling in the 200 and 400 flat races, but she pulled out of the Olympic trials in those events and said she was focusing instead on defending her title in the 400 hurdles.
McLaughlin-Levrone not only owns the 400 hurdles world record, she’s broken that record five times. The mark currently stands at 50.65 seconds, set in last month’s trials in Eugene, Oregon.
In Tokyo three years ago, she won gold in the 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay.
Victor Montalvo, breaking
Breakdancing is making its Olympic debut in Paris, and Montalvo — better known simply as “Victor” — enters as the two-time defending world champion in the B-Boys event.
“When I found out breaking was going into the Olympics, I realized it was a great time to be a breaker,” Montalvo told the Osceola News-Gazette. “Our prime is between 25 and 32 years old, so it’s a blessing to be peaking when breaking joins the Olympics.”
The 30-year-old from Kissimmee, Florida, learned to breakdance from his father and uncle when he was 6 years old.
Sha'Carri Richardson, track and field
Richardson had her gold medal hopes dashed three years ago when she was suspended after testing positive for marijuana before the Tokyo Games. She said she smoked the drug to help cope with the recent death of her mother.
Richardson soon became the subject of debates about race, fairness and anti-doping rules.
The 24-year-old Dallas native now has a shot at redemption. She arrives in Paris as the favorite in the 100 after winning the race in 10.71 seconds at last month’s U.S. trials — the fastest time of any runner in the world this year. She’s also the reigning world champion in the event.
If she wins the 100, Richardson would become the first American woman to do so since Gail Devers in 1996.
Richardson may also run in the 4x100 relay.
Scottie Scheffler, golf
The top-ranked golfer in the world will arrive in Paris on a hot streak reminiscent of Tiger Woods in his prime.
Already this season, the 27-year-old New Jersey native has won six PGA Tour events, including earning his second green jacket at the Maters in three years.
“Playing for your country is always extremely exciting, and it will be pretty surreal doing it on the Olympic stage,” Scheffler told TeamUSA.com.
Sophia Smith, women’s soccer
There’s a changing of the guard on the U.S. women’s national team. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz are gone. Smith, meanwhile, is among a new wave of stars trying to match their predecessors’ success on the world stage.
She has led the Americans in goals two of the past three years. Last year, she recorded the best Women’s World Cup debut in U.S. women’s national team history, logging two goals and an assist in a win over Vietnam. And in March, the Portland Thorns star became the highest-paid player ever in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Trinity Rodman and Naomi Girma are other young U.S. stars worth keeping an eye on.
Maggie Steffens, water polo
Team USA is gunning for its fourth straight gold in women’s water polo, and Steffens, 31, has been there for all of them. The Americans are well positioned again to capture an Olympic title after winning in the World Aquatics Championship in February.
In the Tokyo Olympics, Steffens became women's all-time Olympic record scorer. The California native will undoubtedly add to that mark in Paris.
In a May post on Instagram, Steffens, the team’s captain, urged people to support female teams and sports. Rap icon Flavor Flav saw it and was so moved that he agreed to sponsor the U.S. women’s water polo team and become its hype man.
A’ja Wilson, women’s basketball
Wilson and winning go hand-in-hand. The Las Vegas Aces center has been a member of the last two WNBA championship teams and has won league MVP two of the past four years. She currently leads the WNBA in scoring and ranks second in rebounds.
In college, Wilson, now 27, helped power the University of South Carolina to a national championship. And she won gold with Team USA in Tokyo three years ago.
Team USA also has an impressive track record of winning at the Olympics. Since women’s basketball was added in 1976, the Americans have only failed to win gold in two Olympics in which they competed. Another gold in Paris would make it eight in a row.
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