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Harvard will be represented at the 2024 Paris Olympics by 26 students and alumni — a greater showing than 100 national Olympics delegations.
They will compete in nine different sports over the next three weeks alongside some of the world’s most talented athletes as they seek to add a little bit of crimson to the bronze, silver, and gold in Paris.
Harvard’s greatest hope for a medal at the Games is arguably Gabby Thomas ’19, an American track and field athlete. In Tokyo, Thomas took home a bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter dash and a silver in the 4 x 100m relay. This year, all eyes will be on her as she is expected to contend for gold.
The other athletes who will be watched closely from Cambridge include Lauren S. Scruggs ’25 and Jessica Z. J. Guo ’27 in the women’s foil. If Guo does medal at the Games, she will become the first Canadian fencer ever to do so.
These Harvard athletes represent 10 different countries and include current, former, and incoming College students. Here’s who to look out for this summer:
Cycling
Kristen T. Faulkner ’16
When Kristen T. Faulkner ’16 attended Harvard, she was on the lightweight rowing team. Now, she’s headed to the Olympics for two cycling events: road and team pursuit. Faulkner only began cycling after college when she moved to New York City to work at a venture capital firm. In 2021 she quit what she called her “dream job” to train full time in the hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
Fencing
Eli Dershwitz ’19
Eli Dershwitz ’19, who was eliminated in the round of 32 of the men’s saber individual tournament on Saturday, is the reigning world champion in saber. This is his third Olympics after another disappointing eighth place finish in the Tokyo Games. In college, Dershwitz was a star fencer, winning two individual NCAA Championships and entering senior year as the top ranked saber fencer in the world. Now, he’ll have to wait for the team event on July 31 for a chance at a medal.
Filip J. Dolegiewicz ’23
Filip J. Dolegiewicz ’23 will serve as an alternate for the men’s saber team at the Paris Olympics. The Illinois native was men’s saber NCAA Champion in 2022 and the Ivy League Champion in 2023.
Jessica Z. J. Guo ’27
Despite only being a rising sophomore, Jessica Z. J. Guo ’27 already has Olympic experience. She represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she was just 15-years old, and now makes her return for the Canadian team after winning the NCAA Women’s Foil Individual Championship and a bronze medal in the World Cup this year. She will compete for a medal in the individual tournament on July 28.
Colin Y. S. Heathcock
Colin Y. S. Heathcock will have quite the summer adventure to brag about when he moves into Harvard Yard as he will already have an Olympic appearance under his belt. The Beijing native is competing for the Team USA in saber after winning two Junior World Championships in the event in 2022 and 2023. Heathcock was eliminated in the round of 32 in the individual tournament on Saturday.
Mitchell S. Saron ’23
Mitchell S. Saron ’23 is competing in men’s saber after a record breaking career at Harvard, where he went 10-2 in the Ivy Championships. Saron also rounds out the entirely-Harvard men’s sabre team at the Olympics — the first time that a college has ever sent an entire fencing discipline to the Olympics. Saron posted the best showing of all the American saber fencers in the individual tournament on Saturday, but he was eliminated in the round of 16.
Lauren S. Scruggs ’25
After Lauren S. Scruggs ’25 qualified for the Olympics in March, she told The Crimson she was “shocked.” Her achievement, however, comes after a line of impressive fencing victories. Scruggs was the NCAA Women’s Foil Champion in 2023 and has won two World Junior Championships. Scruggs will compete in the individual tournament on July 28.
Elizabeth Tartakovsky ’23
Elizabeth Tartakovsky ’23 will appear in her first Olympics for Team USA on July 29, and told The Crimson she was competing for her parents — who are immigrants from the Soviet Union. The New Jersey native was the Women’s Sabre NCAA National Champion in 2022 and won a bronze medal at the 2023 Tashkent World Cup.
Nicholas Z. Zhang
Nathan Z. Zhang is the second Olympic athlete on this list who has yet to actually start studying at Harvard. The incoming freshmen won silver at the 2023 Pan American Championships and qualified for the Olympics in April. Zhang will fence epee for the Canadian team during the individual tournament on July 28.
Field Hockey
Hannah C. Pearce ’22
Hannah C. Pearce ’22 is finally making her first appearance in the Olympic Games after she didn’t make the team for her home country of South Africa in 2021. Pearce was one of the 22 athletes who trained with the team ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but she ultimately didn’t make the cut. Now, Pearce has a chance at redemption starting with her first game on July 28. Pearce previously served as the captain of the Crimson’s field hockey team and she was named the 2021 Northeast Player of the Year.
Rowing
David F. Ambler ’20
David F. Ambler ’20 will make his debut Olympic appearance in Paris as part of Great Britain’s men's coxless four boat on July 28. Ambler, who followed in his sisters’ footsteps by becoming a rower, hails from London. At Harvard, Ambler competed in the eight boat in the 2019 Head of the Charles Regatta. He has also won two World Championship gold medals in the men’s coxless four in 2022 and 2023.
Olivia F. Coffey ’11
After being an alternate in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and placing fourth at Tokyo, Olivia F. Coffey ’11 will return to the Olympics to compete in the women’s eight boat. Coffey is the only Harvard alum going to the Olympics for women’s rowing. Earlier this month, she praised the coaching she received at Harvard as an important part of her development as an athlete. Coffey has won three gold medals across different events in World Championships and will begin competition on July 29.
Liam R. Corrigan ’19
Liam R. Corrigan ’19 will also be making his return to the Olympics in Paris this year in the men’s coxless four boat. Corrigan finished fourth in the eight boat at Tokyo and won a silver medal in the 2023 World Championship in the four boat. Much like Coffey, Corrigan also credited the coaching he received at Harvard as part of why so many Harvard rowers will race at the Olympics this year.
Clark A. Dean ’23
Clark A. Dean ’23 is yet another Harvard rower set to make his second Olympic appearance — this time in the men’s eight boat. Dean is hopeful the Paris Olympics will bring success to Team USA, which is looking for redemption after failing to earn a single medal in Tokyo. Dean was named to the Academic All-Ivy League in 2023 and also spoke fondly of the coaching he received at Harvard. Dean’s first race will take place on July 29.
Josh A. C. Hicks ’13
Josh A. C. Hick ’13 will race against several Harvard athletes in Australia’s eight boat at the Olympics. Hicks is returning to the Games for the second time and will begin competition on July 29. At Harvard, Hicks was part of the undefeated varsity eight boat in 2011. He went on to win two World Championships in the coxless four in 2017 and 2o18.
Pieter Quinton ’20
Pieter Quinton ’20 will make his Olympic debut in Team USA’s men’s eight boat this summer. As an undergraduate, Quinton rowed all four years aside from his senior spring when the Covid-19 pandemic prematurely ended his final season. Quinton went on to row for University of Washington as a graduate student and finished fourth in the eight boat in the 2022 World Championships. Quinton will race on July 29.
Christian B. Tabash ’22
Christian B. Tabash ’22 is the final of the three Harvard alums competing in Team USA’s men’s eight boat in Paris. Tabash will race alongside Dean and Quinton on July 29. Paris marks Tabash’s first Olympic appearance, who rowed at Harvard before competing with UCLA as a graduate student. In 2021, Tabash won the World Championships Under 23 in the coxed four boat.
Sailing
Sophia G. Montgomery ’26
Sophia G. Montgomery ’26 is set to compete in the women’s dinghy for Thailand — making her one of only four sailors from the country to qualify for the Games. Montgomery qualified in December after a strategic race in which she intentionally missed out on a medal and finished in fourth place to ensure she could beat a rival from India. The first women’s dinghy race takes place on Aug. 1.
Soccer
Jade E. Rose ’25
Jade E. Rose ’25 is the sole Harvard soccer player headed to the Olympics, where she will represent her home country of Canada. In 2022, Rose was the first Harvard player to win Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year — an achievement she repeated in 2023. The rising senior also serves as the captain of the Crimson’s soccer squad.
The Canadian women’s soccer team has been mired in controversy over a drone spying scandal that led FIFA to deduct six points from the team and ban the squad’s head coach for one year just before the start of the tournament.
Despite the controversy, Canada won its first match of the Olympics 2-1 against New Zealand on Thursday. Rose started the match for Canada and played all 90 minutes. Despite the victory, Canada is currently fourth in their group with -3 points.
Swimming
Anthony Rincon ’25
Anthony Rincon ’25 will compete for Colombia in the Paris Games in the 100-meter backstroke. The rising senior was the national champion in Colombia in the 50, 100, and 200 meter backstroke before coming to Harvard. Rincon, who is set to race on July 28, is also co-captain of the Crimson’s swim team.
Apostolos Siskos
Apostolos Siskos is the third and final incoming freshman at Harvard who will appear at the Olympics. Siskos will represent Greece in the men’s 200-meter backstroke. In 2022 and 2023, Siskos was named the best young swimmer in Greece and he broke the U18 Greek national record in the 200-meter backstroke. Siskos will make his Olympic debut on July 31.
Track and Field
K. Graham Blanks ’25
K. Graham Blanks ’25 almost didn’t make the Olympic team.
After a stellar cross country season in which he won the NCAA Championship and set a collegiate record in the 5,000 meters, Blanks suffered an injury that forced him to spend several months recovering. Despite the setback, Blanks said he felt “100 percent” by the time the NCAA Outdoor Championships and Olympic Trials rolled around. Still, he acknowledged the challenge of competing after missing months of training at the peak of his abilities.
In the end, Blanks finished fourth in the 5,000 meters in the Trials — usually not enough to make it on the Olympic team — but he had run the Olympic standard time in December while the third-place finisher had not. Ultimately, Blanks was informed earlier this month that he would join the team in Paris where he will make his debut on Aug. 7.
Maia T. B. Ramsden ’24
Less than two months after Maia T. B. Ramsden ’24 successfully defended her NCAA Championship title in the 1,500 meter, Ramsden will make her first Olympic appearance for New Zealand. The recent graduate is the first Harvard athlete to win three NCAA National Championships and has the second-fastest recorded mile time of any New Zealand female athlete. Ramsden’s first Olympic race will take place on Aug. 6.
Stephanie A. Ratcliffe ’23
Stephanie A. Ratcliffe ’23 is set to compete for Australia in the hammer throw. The Melbourne native was the 2023 NCAA Champion in the hammer throw after throwing a personal best 73.63 meters. Ratcliffe will begin competition on Aug. 4.
Gabby Thomas ’19
Perhaps the best known Harvard athlete at this year’s Olympics, Gabby Thomas ’19 is a favorite to win a medal — perhaps even gold — at the Games. Thomas managed a bronze medal in Tokyo in the women’s 200-meter and a silver in the 4 x 100m relay. In 2023, she earned a silver medal in the 2023 World Championships in the 200 meter. With her main rival Shericka Jackson having suffered an injury this month, Thomas will have gold on her mind when she begins competing on Aug. 4.
Triathlon
Lisa Tertsch ’21
When Lisa Tertsch ’21 was in college, she was a key contributor to Harvard’s track and field team across multiple distances. In 2019, she won the Ivy League Championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races. Now, she is set to compete in her first Olympics in the triathlon, representing her home country of Germany. The women’s individual triathlon begins bright and early on July 31 at 2 a.m. ET.
—Staff writer Jo B. Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Jo_Lemann.
