KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Athletics is once again well-represented at the Summer Games, as a school-record 31 past, present and future Vols and Lady Vols will compete on behalf of 18 countries at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
UT’s 31 Olympians ranks tied for sixth nationally among NCAA programs and is second overall in the SEC. The previous school record was 20 during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, during which five medals were won by Vols and Lady Vols. The Big Orange will be represented in five sports: basketball (3×3 and 5×5), soccer, swimming, track & field and volleyball.
With representatives in 16 consecutive Olympiads, UT’s 143 all-time Olympians have won 68 medals, including 41 gold, while competing both as athletes as well as coaches. Tennessee athletes have brought home at least five medals in every Olympics since the 1992 games.
Leading the way for UT, 17 swimmers punched their ticket to Paris, shattering a program record of nine from the previous Olympiad. That number also ranked second in the NCAA and paces all SEC schools. Track & field will be represented by 11 individuals throughout the games, while women’s basketball boasts two alumni on Team USA rosters. Soccer rounds things out with one competitor.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will officially begin on Wednesday, July 24, as soccer begins competition. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, July 23, at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBC, the official television network of the Olympics.
Here’s the full breakdown of Tennessee athletes competing in Paris:
Women’s Basketball
Cierra Burdick (2011-15) | USA | 3×3 Basketball
Cierra Burdick, a four-year letterwinner from 2011 to 2015 and a University of Tennessee Torchbearer in 2015, is the 15th Lady Vol basketball player to earn an opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. Burdick, a veteran of the USA 3×3 women’s basketball program, becomes the first UT woman to compete in that event at the Olympics. The 2023 gold medalist on the USA’s Pan American Games and FIBA World Cup 3×3 squads joins three other Americans to represent their country from July 30-Aug. 5 in Paris.
Kara Lawson (1999-2003) | USA | Assistant Coach
Kara Lawson, a four-year letterwinner from 1999 to 2003 and a University of Tennessee Torchbearer in 2003, will serve as an assistant coach on the USA Women’s Basketball Olympic Team. Lawson, a 2008 gold medalist as a player, is making her coaching staff debut with the USA Women’s Basketball Olympic Team as an assistant in 2024 after serving as head coach of the gold-medal-winning USA 3×3 women’s basketball team in 2020.
Soccer
Michelle Alozie (2019) | Nigeria
Michelle Alozie is set to make her Olympics debut but has experience with the Nigerian Women’s National Team after participating in the 2023 World Cup, 2022 Cup of Nations and three various friendlies from 2021 through 2023. Nigeria, who will be playing in Group C, is set to begin its 2024 Olympic run against Brazil on July 25 and will then go on to face off with Spain (July 28) and Japan (July 31) to round out group play.
The La Jolla, California, native currently plays for Houston Dash. During the 2024 season, Alozie has appeared in a vast majority of the club’s NWSL games, making 14 appearances and accumulating 735 minutes of playing time. Alozie played at Tennessee during the 2019 season after transferring from Yale. In her lone season on Rocky Top, she scored three goals in 17 appearances.
Swimming
Gui Caribe (2022-Pres.) | Brazil | 50 Free, 100 Free
Gui Caribe wasted no time making an impact on Rocky Top, as the sprint freestyler is coming off a sensational sophomore campaign with lofty expectations going into the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the last year, Caribe won a pair of gold medals at the Pan American Games and finished 12th overall in the 100-meter freestyle during the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships. In addition to his success on the international stage, Caribe was the NCAA runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle and placed sixth overall in the 50 free. So far on Rocky Top, he boasts two SEC gold medals and 12 All-American honors. He also was a member of four UT relay program records and has the second-fastest time in program history in the 50 and 100 free.
Erika Connolly (2016-20) | USA | 4×100 Free Relay
A two-time SEC Female Swimmer of the Year, Erika Connolly (formerly Brown) sealed her legacy at Tennessee when she led the Lady Vols to their first-ever SEC Championship title in 2020. She represented Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics while competing in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4×100 freestyle relay and the 4×100 medley relay. She became the sixth Vol or Lady Vol swimmer to win two medals during a single Olympic Games, bringing home the silver in the medley relay and the bronze in the freestyle relay in Tokyo. During her decorated career in Knoxville, she garnered 22 All-America honors and won 18 SEC gold medals. During her senior campaign, she broke the American Record in the 100 butterfly with her time of 49.38 and became just the second woman to ever swim sub 46 seconds in the 100 free, joining Olympian Simone Manuel. Brown also marked the first woman in SEC history to win the same three events (50 free, 100 free and 100 fly) three consecutive seasons.
Jillian Crooks (2024 Signee) | Cayman Islands | 100 Free
Set to join the Lady Vols in the fall of 2024, Jillian Crooks’ international success landed her as a top-10 recruit in the 2024 signing class. The sister of current UT swimmer and fellow Olympian Jordan Crooks, she competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and once again earned her spot on the roster for 2024 Paris. Jillian boasts 11 LCM Cayman Islands national records. After finishing 41st in the 100 free in Tokyo, she will once again compete in the event this year. Her career-best mark in the 100 free is 55.18 from the Commonwealth Youth Games in August 2023 would’ve ranked 29th during the last games. With her signing, she becomes the first Lady Vol swimming Olympian to hail from the Cayman Islands.
Jordan Crooks (2021-Pres.) | Cayman Islands | 50 Free, 100 Free
One of the best sprint freestylers in the world, Jordan Crooks continues to reach new heights during his decorated swimming career. During his first three seasons on Rocky Top, the Cayman Islands native won an NCAA title in the 50 free and owns 21 SEC medals, including six gold. He’s garnered All-America recognition in 18 events, and he owns the program record in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 100 fly. On the international stage, Crooks won the 2022 Short Course World Championship in the 50 free, and he finished inside the top eight in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships. Ahead of his senior season, he will represent his nation on the world stage once again for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 50 and 100 free.
Brooklyn Douthwright (2021-Pres.) | Canada | 4×100 Free Relay
One of the top swimmers of UT’s current roster, Brooklyn Douthwright secured a spot at her first Olympics as a member of the Canadian 4×100 free relay. She was a part of the team that finished fifth in the 800 free relay at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships for Canada. While on Rocky Top, she has won eight SEC medals in addition to being an SEC Champion in the 200 free and 400 medley relay. Douthwright is a seven-time All-American and was the NCAA runner-up in the 200 free in 2023. She boasts six top-10 times in UT history, including the third-fastest 200 free mark.
Lyubomir Epitropov (2020-23) | Bulgaria | 200 Breast
VFL Lyubomir Epitropov punched his ticket to a second Summer Games during the European Championships. The Bulgarian threw down a personal-best and national-record time of 2:09.45 to tie for the title, earn a spot in the Summer Games. His other Olympic appearance came in Tokyo, placing 15th in the 200 breast (2:10.33) and 32nd in the 100 breast (1:00.71). Epitropov owns three Bulgarian national swimming records. While on Rocky Top, he earned three All-American honors and won two SEC medals. Epitropov left his mark on the UT swimming program with the top times in program history in the 200 breast and 400 medley relay.
Martin Espernberger (2022-Pres.) | Austria | 200 Fly
One of the best in the world in the event, rising junior Martin Espernberger will look to continue his recent tear in the 200 fly. Already this year, we brought home bronze at the 2024 Doha World Championships and then won the SEC Championship in the event less than two weeks later. He’s a two-time All-American in the 200 fly and owns the program record, breaking the previous record that stood for 32 years by Olympian Mel Stewart, who won gold in the 200 fly during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Ella Jansen (2024 Signee) | Canada | 400 IM
Ella Jansen has already built an elite resume on the world stage before joining the Lady Vols this fall. The top-ranked recruit in the class of 2024 has competed in several national and international events during her career. She officially qualified for the Paris Games in the 400 IM during the Canadian Olympic Trials in May. During the 2024 Doha World Championships, Jansen helped Canada to a bronze medal in the 4×100 free relay. She tallied five medals at the 2023 World Junior Swimming Championships, two at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and one at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Junior Championships. The Swimming Canada 2022 Breakout Swimmer of the Year has also competed at two consecutive World Championships.
Mona McSharry (2020-Pres.) | Ireland | 100 Breast, 200 Breast
One of the best breaststrokers in the world, Mona McSharry returns to the Olympics for the second time in her career with hopes of building off a successful performance in Tokyo. The Irish swimmer earned an eighth-place finish in the 100 breast and finished 20th in the 200 breast. With her performance in the 100 breast, she became the second Irish swimmer to ever compete in an Olympic final. In addition to her Olympic experience, she holds five medals on the international stage in her career. Throughout her time on Rocky Top, she’s won six SEC Championships and is a three-time NCAA silver medalist in the breaststroke events. McSharry boasts six Irish national records and four Lady Vol program records.
Kayky Mota (2019-22) | Brazil | 100 Fly
During the 2024 Brazilian Swimming Championships, VFL Kayky Mota punched his ticket to the Paris Games in the 100 fly after winning the event. It will be his first trip to the Summer Games. On the international stage, he has tallied two top-10 finishes in the 100 fly in the past two years. A member of the Vols team from 2019-21, he earned All-SEC Second Team accolades along with two bronze medals. Throughout his career he earned three All-American certificates and boasted seven top-10 times in UT history.
Julia Mrozinski (2021-Pres.) | Germany | 200 Free
Julia Mrozinski is in the midst of a stellar career on Rocky Top and the international stage. In late April, she clocked the Olympic standard in the 200 free during the German Swimming Championships to punch her ticket to Paris for her first Olympics. In the event, she dropped her best mark by over a second with a 1:57.22 effort. During her time at UT, the junior has tallied seven All-America certificates along with two SEC Championships in the 500 free and 800 free relay. Mrozinski has been named to the All-SEC team all three years of her career, thanks to her five total medals at the SEC Championships.
Tjasa Pintar (2017-22) | Slovenia | 4×100 Free Relay
For the second time in her career, former Lady Vol All-American Tjasa Pintar will represent Slovenia at the Olympic Games. Pintar earned a spot on the national roster as a member of the 4×100 free relay. Her first appearance in the Summer Games came in 2016, when she was the fastest swimmer on the Slovenian 4×200 free relay that finished 15th overall. During her time at Tennessee, Pintar garnered All-American honors 10 times and was a three-time SEC Champion as a member of multiple Lady Vol relays. In total, she helped bring home seven total conference medals, and she was a member of both UT squads that won SEC Championships.
Regan Rathwell (2022-Pres.) | Canada | 200 Back
The path to Paris was a long and difficult one for sophomore Regan Rathwell. After arriving on campus as one of the best backstrokers in her class, she suffered a season-ending injury in October 2022. From there, she wouldn’t perform in a major meet until March 2024, when she earned a spot at the NCAA Championships. After the delays, her full potential was put on display when she posted an Olympic qualifying mark of 2:09.38 in the 200 back during the Canadian Olympic Trials in May to earn a spot on Team Canada.
Lamar Taylor (2024 Signee) | Bahamas | 100 Free
Lamar Taylor, who just recently arrived on campus ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, punched his ticket to Paris a member of the Bahamian national team. He will compete in the 100 freestyle. A six-time NCAA Division II National Champion, Taylor joined the Vols after a successful career at Henderson State, where he won individual national titles in the 50 free, 100 free (twice) and 100 back.
Kira Toussaint (2015-17) | Netherlands | 100 Back
The first Lady Vol ever to achieve the feat, Kira Toussaint will represent the Netherlands for a third consecutive Olympics this summer. A decorated member of the Dutch national team, she boasts a staggering 51 medals on the international stage, including 33 golds. While at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she placed in the top seven of all three of her events. During the 2024 Doha World Championships, she won gold on the 4×100 free relay. Toussaint earned eight All-America accolades and won three SEC gold medals during her two seasons in Knoxville. At Rio, she became the first women’s swimmer in program history to compete in the Olympics while currently on the Tennessee team, finishing 18th in the 100 back.
Joaquin Vargas (2021-Pres.) | Peru | 400 Free
A current member of the UT roster, Joaquin Vargas secured his second consecutive Olympics appearance for his home country of Peru. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he competed in the 200 and 400 free for Peru. Vargas boasts four LCM Peruvian national records and is a Peruvian national champion in the 100, 200 and 400 free. In addition to his LCM records, he holds four SCM records and currently owns the fifth-fastest 500 free time in UT history.
Ellen Walshe (2021-22) | Ireland | 100 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
Ellen Walshe has already experienced a highly successful international career, qualifying for her second Olympic Games during the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she competed in the 100 fly and 200 IM for her home country Ireland. She also took a silver medal at the 2021 Short Course World Championships. She currently holds three Irish national records and two Tennessee school records. While at Tennessee, she was named the 2022 SEC Female Co-Swimmer of the Year, Female Freshman of the Year and won the Commissioner’s Trophy in her lone season with the program.
Track & Field
Christopher Bailey (2020-22) | USA | 400m, 4x400m Relay
Former Tennessee standout Christopher Bailey will suit up for Team USA and make his Olympic debut this summer after taking third in the men’s 400-meter final at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, with a lifetime-best mark of 44.42. The Atlanta native is no stranger to the world stage after earning contributing to an outdoor world title in the 4×400-meter relay in 2023 before taking silver at the World Indoor Championships in 2024.
Bailey competed at Tennessee for three seasons and earned four All-America certificates during his time on Rocky Top. He ran the second leg of UT’s school-record indoor 4×400-meter relay at the 2021 NCAA Championships to help the Vols finish third nationally after capturing an SEC title in the same event two weeks prior.
Christian Coleman (2015-17) | USA | 4x100m Relay
The fastest man in NCAA history will make his second Olympic appearance for Team USA as a vital leg on the 4×100-meter relay for the Red, White & Blue. Seven years after his illustrious collegiate career wrapped up in Knoxville, Christian Coleman remains one of the world’s top sprinters with a season-best of 9.86 seconds in the 100-meter dash that ranks fifth globally. Earlier this spring, he captured his second world indoor title in the 60-meter with a time of 6.41.
Coleman arrived on Rocky Top in the fall of 2014 and produced one of the most well decorated careers in Tennessee history, culminating with a Bowerman Award (track & field’s version of The Heisman Trophy) winning campaign in the spring of 2017. The Atlanta product claimed four NCAA titles that year and set collegiate records in the indoor 60-meter (6.45) and outdoor 100-meter (9.82) that still hold up today.
Clement Ducos (2023-24) | France | 400m Hurdles
After rounding out his Tennessee career as a five-time NCAA All-American, Clement Ducos will return to his home country to compete this summer in the 400-meter hurdles. The Bordeaux, France, native shattered UT’s school record in the event with a time of 48.26 at the Tom Jones Memorial on April 12, ranking 20th in the world this year and 15th in collegiate history.
Ducos spent two seasons in Knoxville and served the Vols reliably, earning three All-America finishes in the 4×400-meter relay and two All-America certificates in the 400-meter hurdles.
Davonte Howell (2024-Pres.) | Cayman Islands | 100m
An 18-year-old sprinter out of the Cayman Islands, Davonte Howell was one of four athletes selected to represent his country in Paris this summer — alongside UT swimming standouts Jordan Crooks and Jillian Crooks and sailor Charlotte Webster. After a strong and steady freshman campaign for the Vols in 2024, Howell set a personal-best of 10.10 seconds at the NACAC New Life Invitational in June before winning the Cayman national title in 10.30. He also earned his second consecutive CARIFTA title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.15 on March 30.
Joella Lloyd (2019-24) | Antigua and Barbuda | 100m
The Antiguan 100-meter record holder will make her second-straight Olympic appearance this summer after rounding out her six-year Tennessee career in 2024. Joella Lloyd turned in a lifetime-best of 11.06 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, taking down her own national record in the event and earning qualification to her second Olympic Games.
Lloyd earned five All-America honors over the course of her Lady Vol career and in 2021 won Tennessee’s first-ever conference title in the indoor 60-meter dash – running a personal-best 7.15 seconds that ranks second in UT history.
Carey McLeod (2020-22) | Jamaica | Long Jump
Tennessee graduate Carey McLeod (’22) will make his second-straight Olympic appearance for Jamaica in the men’s long jump. McLeod won his first world medal earlier this season at the 2024 World Indoor Championships, taking bronze with a leap of 8.21 meters. His wind-legal season-best of 8.38 meters set at the Jamaican Championships ranks fifth on the 2024 world list.
McLeod collected four SEC individual titles and 10 All-America certificates during his three-year career on Rocky Top, and he currently holds the school records for the indoor long jump (8.26m/27-1.25), indoor triple jump (17.17m/56-4) and outdoor long jump (8.34m/27-4.5).
Jah-Nhai Perinchief (2021) | Bermuda | Triple Jump
Tennessee’s outdoor triple jump record holder will make his Olympic debut this summer, as Jah-Nhai Perinchief is set to represent Bermuda in Paris. The former Vol touts a season-best, wind-legal leap of 16.82 meters that was established at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis earlier this month.
Perinchief rounded out his collegiate eligibility at Tennessee during the 2021 outdoor season, winning an SEC title in the triple jump before earning a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with his school record leap of 17.03 meters (55-10.5).
Stamatia Scarvelis (2017-19) | Greece | Hammer
Three-time SEC champion Stamatia Scarvelis will return to the Olympic stage this summer in Paris, representing Greece in the women’s hammer throw. An eight-time Greek national champion in the event, Scarvelis owns a season-best mark of 70.92 meters that ranks 39th on the 2024 world list.
Scarvelis is a two-time Tennessee record holder in the hammer (71.33m/234-0) and weight throw (24.06m/78-11.25) and earned six All-America honors during her three-year Tennessee tenure. She claimed back-to-back SEC hammer throw titles in 2018 and 2019 to round out her collegiate career and won the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the high points scorer at the 2019 SEC Outdoor Championships.
Charisma Taylor (2022-23) | Bahamas | 100m Hurdles, Triple Jump
One of the most versatile athletes in Lady Vol history, Charisma Taylor will make her Olympic debut for the Bahamas this summer in the 100-meter hurdles and the triple jump. She set a personal-best of 12.76 (+1.8) in the hurdles earlier this year at the Tom Jones Memorial, and touts a season-best of 14.11 meters in the triple jump that ranks top-30 in the world this season.
The Nassau, Bahamas, native finished her Lady Vol career as a 10-time All-American in just two seasons, collecting seven certificates in 2023 and helping UT finish top 10 as a team at both national meets last spring. She became one of 12 athletes in collegiate history to score in three individual events at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships with top 5 finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (3rd), long jump (5th) and triple jump (2nd).
Taylor’s most remarkable performance came with a hop, skip and jump of 14.88 meters (48-10) at the indoor national meet, which established the No. 2 mark in NCAA history. The leap was one of three school records she set during her final collegiate season, in addition to establishing program standards in the indoor 60-meter hurdles (7.91) and outdoor triple jump (13.99m/45-10.75).
Javonya Valcourt (2023-Pres.) | Bahamas | Mixed 4x400m Relay
After a strong sophomore season for the Lady Vols in the 400-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay, Javonya Valcourt was selected to represent the Bahamas in the mixed 4×400-meter relay this summer in Paris. The Nassau product won a Bahamian title in the 400 at the end of June with a time of 52.32 and helped her country win the 2023 CARIFTA title in the mixed 4×4 last season.
Seeing steady improvement at the quarter mile distance over the last two seasons on Rocky Top, Valcourt owns a personal-best time 51.15 that ranks third on the all-time Lady Vol charts. She also served as the leadoff leg on UT’s 4×400 relay this past season, winning the 2024 SEC outdoor title and posting two All-America and school record performances at both national meets.
Volleyball
Kelsey Robinson (2010-12) | USA
After winning gold with USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kelsey Robinson was once again selected to compete with the national team for the Summer Games. This marks her third Olympiad after bringing home a bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a Lady Vol, Robinson was a two-time AVCA All-American and was named the SEC Player of the Year in 2011. She also helped lead the Lady Vols to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-2012.
