Several San Diego residents are bringing home major awards from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In sports ranging from skateboarding to rugby, these San Diego County athletes won medals at this year’s Summer Olympics
Skateboarding
This is the second Olympics to feature skateboarding, and San Diego County was well represented. especially on Team USA.
Residents of Encinitas Jagger EatonThe 23-year-old was the first San Diegan to make the podium in Paris, taking silver in the men’s road race. Eaton won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
In the men’s park skateboarding competition, two San Diegans won a medal: Team USA Tom Schaar, 24 — graduate of the San Dieguito Academy — won silver and Australia’s Keegan PalmerThe 21-year-old, born in San Diego, took the gold medal. It was a close race, however. Schaar fell behind in his last run and narrowly missed the gold medal with 92.3 points, while Palmer achieved 93.11 points.
Women’s Rugby
The women’s rugby sevens team made US Olympic history with their bronze medal in Paris. They are the first team to bring home a medal in an Olympic rugby sevens competition. Three San Diego women were on the historic list: Kayla Cannet26, from Fallbrook, Sarah Levy28, from San Diego and Ilona Maher27. Maher, who is also known for her Social media presenceis originally from Burlington, Vermont, but currently lives and trains in San Diego.
It was a dramatic final. The USA scored in the last seconds against Australia and secured the bronze medal with a score of 14:12.
Ride a bike
San Diego Jennifer Valente29, won gold in the Olympic team pursuit cycling race. Along with teammates Kristen Faulkner, Chloe Dygert and Lily Williams, Valente finished the 4,000-meter endurance race in 4:04:306, beating Team New Zealand, who finished in 4:04:927.
Valente grew up with cycling lessons in San Diego Velodrome in Balboa Park and attended the race evenings on Tuesdays with her father, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. She graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School and attended the University of Colorado Springs. This is her fourth Olympic medal.
tennis
Taylor Fritz26, and his partner Tommy Paul won the bronze medal in the men’s doubles. Fritz is from Rancho Santa Fe. He turned professional in 2015 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals on February 27, 2023.
volleyball
Garrett Muagututia36, and the US national volleyball team won bronze. They beat Italy 3-0 in straight sets. Muagututia is from Oceanside. He attended UCLA.
Triple jump
Shanieka Ricketts32, won silver for Jamaica in the Olympic triple jump competition.
Ricketts graduated from San Diego State University in 2014 and was inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame in 2019.
football
Although he is not from San Diego, Naomi Girma, 24, and Jaedyn Shaw19, have strong ties to San Diego. They both play for San Diego Wave FC.
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) will play for gold on Saturday, August 10th at 8 a.m. against Brazil.
It’s a pretty important game as the team is looking to make amends. settle for bronze in Tokyo in 2020 to the team Earliest elimination at a World Cup ever Last year, the USWNT went into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with the goal of proving something.
Water polo
Alex Bowen30, will join his teammates in the race to bring home a bronze medal for the USA on Sunday, August 11 at 1:35 a.m. They will face Hungary.
Bowen is from Santee and attended Santana High School. This is his third Olympic Games. Bowen was a guest on KPBS Midday Edition before the start of the games in Paris.
basketball
Kelsey Plum29, and teammates from the US team will face France in the final game of the Olympic Games in Paris. Kick-off is on Sunday, August 11, at 6:30 a.m.
Plum is from Poway and competed at La Jolla Country Day. This is her second Olympic Games, winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Sport climbing
Brooke Raboutou23, will compete in the women’s sport climbing final on Saturday. The bouldering competition starts at 1:15 a.m. and the lead competition at 3:35 a.m.
Raboutou graduated from the University of San Diego in 2023. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she became the first American woman ever to qualify for the Olympic Games in sport climbing.
