Au revoir, Colorado! Bonjour, Paris!

When it comes to sending athletes to the Olympics, Colorado punches far above its weight.

About 30 Olympians at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics hail from Colorado — more than the rest of the Four Corners states, Montana and Wyoming combined — and that tally doesn’t even include a number of notable athletes from elsewhere who competed while students at the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University in Fort Collins. 

Maybe it’s the elevation. “If you train at high altitude here in Colorado, you are ready to perform at the highest level anywhere,” said Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis. “Gov. Polis looks forward to watching his fellow Coloradans and Americans compete and represent the United States.” 

Within the state, the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado have especially high concentrations of athletes competing in track and field, cycling, climbing and other sports.

“We’re excited to follow all of our current Buffs and Buffs alumni who are competing in this summer’s Olympics. Making the Olympic Games is an incredible achievement, and these athletes represent the best of the best,” CU’s director of athletics strategic communications, Steve Hurlbert, told BizWest in an email. “We couldn’t be more proud to cheer on all of the Buffs as they realize their Olympic dreams in Paris.”    

Athletes with ties to the region won’t just be participating in the Paris games, they’ll also be broadcasting them. 

For example, Amy Van Dyken, a six-time Olympic gold medalist and a member of the Colorado State University Athletics Hall of Fame, will be on the ground in France calling preliminary swimming heats for NBC.

“It’s pride. My heart starts beating faster when these kids start making the team,” Van Dyken said in a recent interview with CSU writer Mike Brohard. “Obviously, because I cover the Olympics and work for NBC, it’s a bit different for me, but it’s excitement, it’s nerves. I’m so excited for all these athletes to have the experiences I had in the Olympic Village and meeting all the athletes from different countries.”

While Paris might be nearly 5,000 miles from the Front Range, local rivalries don’t simply evaporate over the Atlantic. 

While watching the Olympics, “I find (CSU athletes) more than anybody. And I say to my husband (Tom Rouen, a former Denver Broncos punter who played football at the University of Colorado), where are all your CU people? Sit down,” Van Dyken jokingly told Brohard for his story for CSU’s RamWire. “That rivalry goes on during the Olympics. It’s fun to pick out the Rams. That’s our family. It’s been my family since I went to school there and it hasn’t changed at all.”

Here are some of the athletes with ties to the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado — where they grew up, where they now live and train, or where they went to college — who are competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics:

Team USA athletes

Valarie Allman, Track and Field, Longmont

Age: 29

Education: Stanford University

The Pennsylvania transplant is competing in discus again after winning the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She holds the North American record for the event. Allman started competing in discus while attending Silver CreekHigh School in Longmont so she could attend the annual spaghetti dinner for the throwers. According to her Team USA biography, she loves dance parties, ice cream and dogs.

Elise Cranny, Track and Field, Niwot

Age: 28

Education: Stanford University

Cranny is again competing in the 500-meter race in Paris after placing 13th in Tokyo. A lover of country music and baking, she has overcome RED-S, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, an affliction when athletes do not get enough fuel through food for their athletic endeavors, and is focused on spreading awareness and advice to overcome the syndrome.

Olivia Cummins, Cycling, Fort Collins

Age: 20

Education: Colorado Mesa University

One of the youngest cyclists on Team USA, Cummins has been racing since she was 5 years old. According to her USA Cycling bio, her spirit animal is the llama. Cummins’ mantra: “Enjoy it while it lasts, cycling is a lifelong sport.”

Colin Duffy, Sport Climbing, Broomfield

Age: 20

Education: University of Colorado

Then 17, Duffy was the youngest member of the USA Climbing team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing seventh in the sport climbing event. He’s been climbing since the age of 5 and is studying engineering at CU. According to his Team USA bio, Duffy loves puzzles and Rubik’s cubes and has rescued a dog and cat as pets.

Age: 23

Education: University of San Diego

The daughter of champion climbers, Raboutou started climbing when she was just 1 year old and was the first American climber to qualify for the Olympics when she was invited to the Tokyo Games. After placing fifth in the combined event in Tokyo, she won two bronzes at the 2021 IFSC Bouldering World Cups.

Sophia Smith, Soccer, Windsor

Age: 23

Education: Stanford University

A member of U.S. national soccer teams since 2013, Smith is one of the sport’s biggest stars. The forward helped Stanford win a national title in 2019. The Portland Thorns FC selected Smith first overall in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League draft. She led the Thorns to the league’s 2023 championship and was named league and championship MVP. Now she’s looking to make a similar mark at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Emma Weber, Swimming, Boulder

Age: 20

Education: University of Virginia

Weber was on the swim team at Fairview High School in Boulder before she transferred to Regis Jesuit High School. She won state championships in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley before embarking on her college career at the University of Virginia, where she is part of the class of 2026.

Taylor Knibb, Triathlon, Boulder

Age: 26

Education: Cornell University

Knibb, who is originally from the East Coast but now lives and trains in Boulder, became in 2021 at the age of 23 the youngest woman ever to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. She got into triathlons after seeing her mother compete in an Ironman competition. Also an Ironman competitor, Knibb placed fourth overall in the 2023 Ironman World Championships.

Kirsten Kasper, Triathlon, Boulder

Age: 32

Education: Georgetown University

Born in Canada and raised in Massachusetts, Kasper now lives and trains in Boulder. At North Andover High School, Kasper was a state champion in multiple sports, including swimming, cross country and track and field. In college at Georgetown University, she was a member of the school’s 2011 cross country national championship team. Kasper is married to Canadian triathlete Matthew Sharpe. 

Valerie Constien, Track and Field

Age: 28

Education: University of Colorado

The Eagle County native, who competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Paris 2024 Olympics, attended CU and interned in the athletic department after graduating in 2018. She finished 12th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, then tore her ACL in 2023. The injury did not slow her down; Constien set the meet record during trials for the 2024 games.

Natalia Grossman, Sport Climbing

Age: 23

Education: University of Colorado

Competing in the boulder and lead combined competition, Grossman graduated from CU in 2022. She now resides in Salt Lake City, the home for USA Climbing.

Morgan Pearson, Triathlon

Age: 30

Education: University of Colorado

The New Jersey-born Pearson moved to Colorado to attend CU and continues to live in Boulder. He won a silver medal in Tokyo with the mixed relay team and is competing in the triathlon in Paris after winning the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series in Yokohama, Japan.

Melissa Stockwell, Paralympic Triathlon, Team USA

Age: 44

Education: University of Colorado

A 2002 graduate of CU, Stockwell is a U.S. Army veteran who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004. She competed in swimming at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, and has since competed in three paralympic triathlons, winning the bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Derrick White, Basketball, 

Age: 30

Education: University of Colorado

Fresh off an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, White graduated from CU’s Boulder campus in 2017 after starting his collegiate career at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Originally from Parker, White is known as one of the best defenders in the NBA.

CU and CSU athletes competing for other nations

Gian Clavell, Basketball, Team Puerto Rico

Age: 30

Education: Colorado State University

The Mountain West Player of the Year in 2017 at CSU, Clavell is playing for Puerto Rico at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The guard has played in the NBA as well as pro teams in Puerto Rico and Europe.

Lauren Gale, Track and Field, Team Canada

Age: 24

Education: Colorado State University

A 2022 graduate of CSU, Gale is expected to compete in both the individual 400 meters and the 400-meter relay in Paris. She says her status as an alternate in the 4X400-meter relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics “lit a fire” in her competitive spirit.

Mostafa Amr Hassan, Track and Field, Team Egypt

Age: 28

Education: Colorado State University

The record holder for the Egyptian shot put, Hassan won two national titles for the shot put while attending CSU, setting school and Mountain West records in the process. He finished eighth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Gabby Scott, Track and Field, Team Puerto Rico

Age: 27

Education: University of Colorado

During her senior year at CU, Scott set a school record in the 400 meters in 2019, and followed with a Puerto Rican national record in 2022. Naturally, she’s competing in the 400 meters in Paris.

BizWest managing editor Lucas High contributed to this report.

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