Pennsylvanians to root for at the 2024 Summer Olympics
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Opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Paris are one week from today, and there are plenty of hometown athletes to keep an eye on.
The big picture: 35 Olympians from Pennsylvania will compete in the games, including a handful from Philadelphia.
- Several more will compete in the Paralympics, which begin Aug. 26.
By the numbers: We have the fifth-most competitors in the country behind California, Florida, Texas and Illinois.
Here are a few athletes and events to watch:
Joel Embiid: Men's basketball
- The seven-time All-Star is coming off one of his best seasons, which was interrupted by a meniscus tear that doomed his chances of repeating as NBA MVP.
Yes, but: He struggled in exhibition games ahead of the Olympics, yet that hasn't shaken the confidence of Team USA head coach Steve Kerr.
- He's vowed to keep the Sixers' big man in the starting lineup.
The intrigue: The Americans have the most gold medals of any country in Olympic basketball. The men own 16 of those and are looking to win their fifth gold medal in a row.
Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas: Women's basketball
- Copper is making her first Olympics appearance. The 29-year-old — who's "just a kid from NorF Philly," as she calls herself on X — played for Preparatory High School Charter and Girard College and was named a McDonald's All-American.
- The former first-round draft pick led the Chicago Sky to their first championship in 2021 and was named Finals MVP. She's now with the Phoenix Mercury.
- Thomas, 32, of Harrisburg, is a four-time WNBA All-Star for the Connecticut Sun.
- She helped the women's national team win gold in the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup.
Emelia Perry: Paratriathlon
- The 31-year-old Philadelphia-born athlete moved to Osaka, Japan, as a baby but returned to Pennsylvania in 2011 to run track at Ursinus College in Collegeville.
- In 2017, she suffered a spinal cord injury after tumbling 20 feet off a ladder. That didn't stop her as she began competing in wheelchair racing and triathlons in 2022.
Ariana Ramsey: Rugby
- The top of this Philadelphian's Olympic bio is telling: "daughter of Andrew Ramsey."
- Her late father died before seeing her compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but she carries on his memory to Paris.
- "I do play with him in my heart," she told Dartmouth Sports in 2022.
- The multi-talented Ramsey is a former cheerleader and track star who took up rugby in high school. She speaks French and Mandarin.