13 Harvard Students and Alumni Set to Compete for Team USA in the Paris Olympics

Thirteen Harvard students and alumni will represent the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning next week, the most athletes Harvard has sent to the Summer Olympics since 1992.

They will be joined by at least 11 athletes from Harvard who will represent other nations at the Games and two who are set to compete for Team USA in the Paralympics.

Harvard is the sixth most represented college on the U.S. Olympic team this year, sending more athletes to the Games than any other Ivy League school.

Among the athletes returning to the Games is Gabby L. Thomas ’19, who won a bronze medal in the 200 meter sprint and a silver medal in the 4x100 meter relay at the 2020 Olympics. Thomas ran a time of 21.78 in the 200m semifinals in Eugene last month, the fastest time of this year’s season, and placed first in the finals.

The reigning world champion in the women’s 200m, Sherricka Jackson, experienced an injury last week, setting the stage for Thomas — who finished second to Jackson in the 2023 track World Finals — to potentially clinch gold in Paris.

K. Graham Blanks ’25 will also compete in the 5,000 meter event in Paris after originally failing to qualify for the team at the U.S. Olympic Trial last month, placing fourth in the race. However, Blanks was later tapped for the team after Parker Wolfe — who finished in third — failed to run the Olympic standard.

“Representing Harvard and the U.S. is awesome,” Blanks said. “And then there’s also a lot of other cool things like wearing the jersey, living in the village, closing ceremonies, and the best part of this is that I get to compete in the uniform and compete against the fastest people in the world.”

Kristen T. Faulkner ’16, who rowed for Harvard as an undergraduate, is the sole alum competing in cycling at the Olympics in both the road and track events. Faulkner only began cycling after college and quit her job in venture capital in 2021 to begin training full time.

Faulkner said qualifying for the Olympics validates her decision to leave what she called her “dream job” for professional cycling.

“When I left my job, I had a lot of people who were really questioning my decision,” Faulkner said.

“Having it all work out, and having the dream come true, I think makes the sacrifice and the risk all worth it,” she added.

Faulkner said that her time rowing at Harvard helped her pursue cycling, especially in the first few years she competed in the sport while still working.

“When I moved to New York City, I was waking up at like 4:30 or 5 a.m. to go practice in Central Park for cycling,” she said. “And having woken up early for rowing practice at Harvard before going to a long day of classes definitely prepared me for that,” Faulkner said.

Faulkner is one of six former Harvard rowers who will compete in the Games for the U.S. team, along with two rowers who will compete for other countries.

Pieter G. Quinton ’20, who will compete in the men’s eight boat for the U.S., called the many athletes competing in the Olympics a “huge testament to Harvard’s commitment to Olympic sports” beyond “traditional collegiate powerhouse sports like football.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the development that I went through when I was at Harvard,” Quinton added.

Liam R. Corrigan ’19 and Clark A. Dean ’23, who are both rowing in their second Olympics, credited Harvard Men’s Heavyweight Rowing Coach Charley Butt for much of their development, with Corrigan deeming him “a big part of the reason” why Harvard has so many rowers competing in this year’s Olympics.

Olivia F. Coffey ’11, who will row in the women’s eight boat, also spoke fondly of the coaching she received at Harvard, saying that former Women’s Heavyweight Rowing Coach Liz O’Leary made her want to “be better in all the aspects of my life.”

“She drove me to be a really great athlete, and I think a good person, and try to be high achieving in all aspects of my life,” Coffey said. “So if it wasn’t for that, I definitely wouldn’t be continuing rowing.”

Looking to Paris, Dean said that both the U.S. men’s and women’s rowing teams were entering the Games with high expectations and hoping to improve upon poor performances in Tokyo, where the US did not medal in a single rowing event.

“The boats are faster than they were three years ago,” Dean said. “You can tell that it’s much more certain that at least some of us are going to be going home with a medal around our neck, which makes it much more exciting final.”

Harvard Fencing also produced a strong showing on the U.S. team, rounding out the lineup with five former, current, and incoming Harvard fencers in addition to two athletes who will fence for Canada.

Elizabeth Tartakovsky ’23, who is competing in women’s individual and team sabre in her first Olympics, said she is “proud” to be competing for her parents, who immigrated from the Soviet Union to the U.S. in order to give her sister and her better opportunities to succeed.

“The U.S. is what gave me all these resources and what made this possible,” Tartakovsky said. “So it’s a great honor to wear the flag — to wear the stars and stripes.”

The list of Harvard affiliates competing at the Paris Olympics below may be incomplete and will be updated.

—Ben Ali H. Brown contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Jo B. Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Jo_Lemann.