With the Friday, July 26, opening ceremonies officially starting the 2024 Paris Olympics, athletes will be lifting, kicking, throwing, shooting, dribbling, rowing, dancing, running and swimming as they compete on the world stage.
About a dozen athletes with connections to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be part of the Olympics. Several are listed below by sport and approximately in the order of when they compete. Events run through Sunday, Aug. 11.
If you know of any other Latter-day Saints competing in the Paris Olympic Games or in the Paralympic Games, please email their name, country and sport to churchnews@deseretnews.com.
Football (soccer)
USA forward Taylor Booth, 23, a native of Eden, Utah, has been playing in the Netherlands for FC Utrecht as a midfielder. This is the first USA men’s team to go to the Olympics since 2008. Booth has played on several teams in Europe. This is his first Olympics.
When to watch: Team USA is in the men’s Group A pool, with matches Wednesday, July 24, against France; Saturday, July 27, against New Zealand; and Tuesday, July 30, against Guinea. The top teams from the four pool groups go onto the quarterfinals on Friday, Aug. 2. The semifinals are on Monday, Aug. 5, and the medal matches are on Thursday, Aug. 8, and Friday, Aug. 9.
Rugby sevens
Make Unufe, 32, is a wing on USA’s men’s rugby sevens team in the Paris Olympics. He played football at Provo High School in Provo, Utah. He’s been on several USA teams that have earned medals. Unufe was on Team USA during the 2016 Rio Games.
When to watch: Team USA is part of the men’s Pool C, with matches on Wednesday, July 24, against France and Fiji; Thursday, July 25, against Uruguay. Based on the pool matches, the tournament for 9th through 12th places and the quarterfinals are also on Thursday, July 25. The tournament continues on Saturday, July 27, with medal matches that evening.
Stephanie Rovetti, 32, is a flyhalf and wing for USA’s women’s rugby team, and this is her first Olympics. From Reno, Nevada, Rovetti played basketball for Brigham Young University and was on the 2014 Sweet 16 team. Rovetti switched to rugby and was part of the 2018 Club Sevens National Championships.
When to watch: Team USA is part of the women’s Pool C, with matches against Japan and Brazil on Sunday, July 28, and France on Monday, July 29. Based on the pool matches, the tournament for 9th through 12th places and the quarterfinals are also on Monday, July 29. The tournament continues on Tuesday, July 30, with medal matches that evening.
Ponipate “Poni” Loganimasi, 26, of Savusavu, Fiji, was part of Fiji’s rugby sevens team that won the silver medal. The first-time Olympian is a returned missionary. Fiji has won gold in rugby sevens in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Competition update: Fiji won all three pool matches against Uruguay (40-12), the U.S. (38-12) and France (19-12). They played Ireland in the quarterfinals, winning 19-15, and Australia in the semifinals, 31-7. It was a rematch against France in the finals, with France winning gold, 28-7.
Pistol shooting
Alexis “Lexi” Lagan, 31, is competing for Team USA in women’s air pistol. The Nevada native started Olympic shooting while attending the University of Utah; after graduating, she moved to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At the Tokyo Games, she competed in three different events. Recently, she won silver in women’s air pistol and bronze in women’s sport pistol at the 2023 Pan American Games and silver at the 2023 USA Shooting National Championship in women’s sport pistol.
When to watch: The 10-meter air pistol women’s qualifications are on Saturday, July 27, and the finals are on Sunday, July 28.
Basketball
Jimmer Fredette, 35, is part of USA’s four-person 3-on-3 basketball team. It’s the first time the U.S. has sent a men’s 3-on-3 team to the Olympics. He was named the USA Basketball’s 2023 3x3 Male Athlete of the Year. The game is played on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock, and the first team to 21 points wins.
Fredette is a former BYU basketball star with several years of professional experience, including several years playing in China. Fredette and his wife, Whitney Fredette, recently presented about preserving memories on FamilySearch during the RootsTech 2024 family history conference.
When to watch: The preliminary 3-on-3 pool round begins Tuesday, July 30, with USA playing Serbia. Pool play continues on Wednesday, July 31, as USA faces off with Poland; on Thursday, Aug. 1, against Lithuania and Latvia; on Friday, Aug. 2, against France and China; and on Sunday, Aug. 4, against the Netherlands. The medal rounds tournament will be Monday, Aug. 5.
Athletics (track and field)
Whittni Morgan, 26, is racing in the 5,000 meters (or 5K) for Team USA. She’s the 2021 collegiate cross-country national champion and a former BYU runner. The Panguitch, Utah, native had knee surgery last fall. She was fifth at the Olympic trials and qualified after two higher-finishing runners chose to focus on other races.
When to watch: The women’s 5,000-meter qualifying race is Friday, Aug. 2, and the finals are on Monday, Aug. 5.
After coming in fourth in 2021 for the Tokyo Olympics trials for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, 25-year-old Courtney Wayment was second in this year’s competitive trials to represent Team USA. The Brigham Young University collegiate champion is from Kaysville, Utah. The steeplechase includes hurdles and a water obstacle.
When to watch: The qualifying race for the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase is on Sunday, Aug. 4, and the finals are on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Kenneth Rooks, 24, and James Corrigan, 22, are both racing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for Team USA. Rooks is a returned missionary who served in Uganda and Utah, is a former NCAA champion at BYU and won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic trials. During the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he fell in the finals and came from behind to win the race.
BYU’s Corrigan had to race an Olympic standard time after coming in third during the trials — faster than his personal best this season — and did it a day before the qualifying deadline. The sophomore from Los Angeles, California, served a mission in Tempe, Arizona.
When to watch: The qualifying race for the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase is on Monday, Aug. 5, and the finals are on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
The Paris Olympics will be the third for Australia’s Nagmeldin “Peter” Bol. The 30-year-old was fourth in the 800-meter race in the Tokyo Olympics after holding the lead until being passed in the last 200 meters by the trio who ended up on the podium. While in Tokyo, Bol still set an Australian record for the 800 meters, He also raced in the 2016 Rio Olympics. His family is originally from South Sudan, and his family emigrated to Australia when he was a child.
When to watch: The men’s 800 meters qualifying round is Wednesday, Aug. 7, the repechage round on Thursday, Aug. 8, semifinals on Friday, Aug. 9, and the finals are on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Conner Mantz, 27, and Clayton Young, 30, were first and second in the USA trials in the marathon. Both are former BYU runners and Latter-day Saint returned missionaries. Mantz, a two-time NCAA cross-country champion from Smithfield, Utah, served in the Ghana Accra West Mission. Young, of American Fork, Utah, served Spanish-speaking in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission.
When to watch: The men’s marathon is on Saturday, Aug. 10.
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Correction: An earlier version noted that Kenneth Rooks served a mission in Washington state. He’s from Walla Walla, Washington, and served a mission in the Uganda Kampala and Utah Orem missions.
Editor’s note: This was updated on Aug. 7, 2024, to add Ponipate “Poni” Loganimasi who is on Fiji’s rugby sevens team.
