A total of ten service members will compete on behalf of the United States at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris — and they are all members of the U.S. Army.
Seven active-duty soldiers will head to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics later this month as part of Team USA, according to a defense official. Three athletes will also compete in the Paralympic Games later in August.
The trials to join Team USA ended on June 30 with the Army dominating the roster for U.S. service members. The soldiers joining Team USA will compete in shooting, rugby, track and field, wrestling and swimming. Additionally, two other soldiers will be coaches for Team USA in the pentathlon and wrestling events.
A handful of service members join Team USA every other year for either the summer or winter Olympics. In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, nine service members competed.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics kick off on July 26, with more than 500 athletes competing for Team USA.
The following U.S. Army athletes will compete in this year’s Olympic Games:
- Staff Sgt. Rachel Tozier (Army Marksmanship Unit) – Shooting: Olympic Trap
- Staff Sgt. Will Hinton (Army Marksmanship Unit) – Shooting: Olympic Trap
- Sgt. Sagen Maddalena (Army Marksmanship Unit) – Shooting: 50m Smallbore event; and 10m Air Rifle event
- Sgt. Ivan Roe (Army Marksmanship Unit) – Shooting: 50m Smallbore event; and 10m Air Rifle event
- Capt. Samantha K. Sullivan (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Women’s Rugby Team
- Staff Sgt. Leonard E. Korir (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Track and Field: Marathon
- Spc. Kamal Bey (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Greco-Roman Wrestling (77 kg)
- Master Sgt. Dennis Bowsher (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Modern Pentathlon Coach
- Sgt. 1st class Spenser Mango (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Wrestling Coach
The following athletes will compete in the Paralympic Games:
- Sgt. 1st class John Wayne Joss III (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Shooting: R6 50m Rifle Prone SH1
- Staff Sgt. Kevin Nguyen (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Shooting: R6 50m Rifle Prone SH1
- Sgt. 1st class Elizabeth Marks (U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program) – Paralympic Swimming
Zamone “Z” Perez is a reporter at Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.
