The 2024 Olympic Games get underway this weekend with nearly 600 American athletes seeking gold in Paris. Twelve of the competitors on Team USA have ties to Southern Nevada.
🏃🏾♀️ Vashti Cunningham
The youngest U.S. track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics since 1980 is the daughter of retired NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham. She competed at Bishop Gorman before signing with Nike and attending Sacramento State University.
🥋 Faith Dillon
Dillon was born in Connecticut and raised in Las Vegas. She began taking taekwondo classes as a child after becoming a fan of Jackie Chan cartoons.
🏀 Chelsea Gray
The Hayward, California native played basketball at Duke University and was drafted by the Connecticut Sun. She won her first WNBA championship as part of the Los Angeles Sparks and two more with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 (when she was named finals MVP) and 2023 (when she was injured, causing her to miss the beginning of the 2024 season).
🏊 Katie Grimes
Grimes was born in Las Vegas and is one of five Olympians to compete in the Sandpipers of Nevada swim club. She finished fourth in the 800 meter freestyle at just 15 years old in the 2020 Olympics.
💥 Alexis Lagan
Lagan is a fourth-generation Boulder City native who attended the University of Utah and competes in air pistol shooting. Her mother, Jill Lagan, is the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce CEO and recently joined City Cast Las Vegas to discuss her hometown. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
🏌️ Collin Morikawa
Morikawa is from Los Angeles, but now lives in Summerlin, where he’s a regular at the extravagant, exclusive golf course at The Summit. Morikawa is one of the top golfers in the world with six PGA Tour wins.
🏀 Kelsey Plum
Plum is from Poway, California and now plays basketball in Las Vegas, helping the Aces win back-to-back WNBA championships. Plum was the MVP in the 2022 All-Star game and won a gold medal in the 2020 Olympics.
💥 Conner Prince
Price lives in Burleson, Texas, but attended Centennial High School in Las Vegas. He’s a skeet shooter, coached by three-time Olympic champion Vincent Hancock.
🏊 Claire Weinstein
The swimmer from White Plains, New York moved to Las Vegas to train with the Sandpipers of Nevada and sharpen her skills after reaching the U.S. Olympic trials in 2020.
🏀 A'ja Wilson
The University of South Carolina graduate was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces. She’s widely considered the best basketball player in the WNBA, winning gold in the 2020 Olympics, leading the Aces to championships in 2022 and 2023, becoming her team’s all-time scorer, and making history as the first woman to appear on the cover of the NBA 2K video game.
🏀 Jackie Young
Born in Princeton, Indiana, Young won the NCAA championship with the University of Notre Dame, was drafted first by the Las Vegas Aces, and won back-to-back championships with the team. The basketball star also won Olympic gold in 2020.
🏸 Beiwen Zhang
Zhang was born in China, moved to Singapore, and now lives in Las Vegas. She’s won numerous badminton championships, including singles titles at the 2021 and 2023 Pan American Games.
