The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, have brought star athletes to the forefront, some previously widely known and others not as much. Here are rolling out‘s top 5 Black American star athletes from the first weekend of the games.
Lauren Scruggs, fencing (above)
The 21-year-old earned her first Olympic medal with a Silver placement in the women’s individual fencing category. Scruggs is a Queens, New York, native and Harvard University senior.
Frederick “Flips” Richard, gymnastics
The Boston native and 20-year-old University of Michigan product was the star of this year’s United States men’s gymnastics team. Richard led the American men to their first Olympic medal, a bronze, since 2008.
Sophia Smith, soccer
The 23-year-old scored two goals in the first half of America’s 4-1 win over Germany in the opening match of the Olympics on July 28.
Coco Gauff, tennis
The 20-year-old tennis superstar became the youngest American woman to win an Olympics single match since Venus Williams in 2000. Gauff is currently moving on to the third round after defeating Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle 6-1, 6-1 on July 29.
Kevin Durant, basketball
In the United States’ 110-84 win over Serbia on July 28, Durant finished the first half with 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field. He has now extended his American record for the most 20-plus-point games in international history. Durant has 11 20-point games, including five straight, while Michael Jordan is second on the list with six games scoring 20 or more points. Charles Barkley is third on the list at five games.
