The 2024 Paris Olympics begin on July 26. With a record-high 25 current and former Princeton students competing in the Games, who should Tiger faithful keep an eye on this summer?
The Daily Princetonian looked at which athletes are on track for success at the Games, and when to tune in to catch them as they attempt to secure Olympic glory.
NBC is the official broadcast partner of the Olympic Games and will carry these events live over the air and online.
3x3 Basketball: Kareem Maddox ’11, U.S.A.
For the first time in his nine-year 3-on-3 basketball career, the former Princeton center will represent his country in the Olympics. Kareem Maddox ’11 was a critical player and leader on the 2010–11 Princeton men’s basketball team, which won the Ivy League and reached the NCAA Tournament.
The former Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year amassed a variety of competitive and professional experience on his road to the Olympics. Maddox, who graduated Princeton with a major in English and has worked as a podcast producer, is currently employed by the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development associate.
As a traditional 5v5 basketball player, Maddox played in the Netherlands, England and Poland before converting to the 3-on-3 format. In this unique style of basketball, teams can only roster four players and play just three on the court at once. Games are played for 10 minutes, or until one side reaches 21 points.
After the United States failed to qualify for the inaugural 3-on-3 Olympic tournament in 2021, Maddox will finally get his chance to shine on the world’s biggest stage for the stars and stripes this summer. Playing alongside Jimmer Fredette, one of college basketball’s most memorable superstars, Maddox and the No. 2 ranked United States hope to upset top-ranked Serbia en route to securing the gold.
Catch Maddox and the United States in action against Serbia on July 30 at 4:35 p.m. EST.
Fencing
Seven current and former Tiger fencers will compete in the Olympic Games this summer. Hadley Husisian ’27, Maia Weintraub ’26, Sabrina Fang ’27, and Tatiana Nazlymov ’27 are currently enrolled, while Kat Holmes ’17, Maia Chamberlain ’22, and Mohamed Hamza ’23 will represent Princeton as alumni. Holmes and Hamza are each returning for their third-consecutive games. Holmes will compete in the team format as the United States hopes to improve upon a fifth-place finish at the 2020 Games, while world No. 4-ranked men’s foil Hamza will chase his first medal in individual competition for Egypt.
21-year-old Weintraub, who is ranked 13th in the world, will compete in the team women’s foil tournament in Paris, and a medal is in reach. Weintraub is a former Junior Olympics champion and traveled with the United States to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as an alternate. In 2021, she finished fourth in team foil.
Tune in on July 28 to watch these Tigers compete in individual competitions, while team competitions will begin on July 29.
Track and Field
Princeton’s track and field contingent features perhaps the most interesting pair of athletes representing the Orange and Black on the international stage: brothers Simen and Sondre Guttormsen ’23. The siblings will compete in the pole vault for Norway, a fitting coda to their years together at Princeton.
The brothers vaulted together at Princeton before representing their country internationally. Sondre, the older of the two, won the NCAA Indoor championship in 2022 after competing for Norway in the 2020 Olympics. Simen, younger by 18 months, placed fourth in the 2022 NCAA Indoor event. The brothers make up two-thirds of the Norwegian pole-vaulting squad, so a win could be significant part of Norway’s performance.
Elsewhere in the track and field events, Obiageri Amaechi ’21 will compete for Nigeria in the discus event. Amaechi, Princeton’s women’s discus record holder, is an accomplished athlete both at Princeton and on the African continental stage — at the 2023 African Games, she took gold at the event. Away from athletics, Amaechi majored in psychology and is a published poet.
Elsewhere on the international stage, Lizzie Bird ’17 will compete for Great Britain in the steeplechase. Bird, the all-time record holder for Britain in the steeplechase, reached the Olympic final in 2021 and placed ninth overall. At Princeton, Bird was a three-time Ivy League champion as well as a national All-Academic scholar for four years straight. Bird qualified yet again for the 2024 Games, during her return to academia in pursuit of a law degree.
Watch these four Princetonians compete in the track and field events beginning on August 2.
Rowing
Princeton’s largest Olympic contingent will compete in a variety of rowing competitions at the Games this summer, with a whopping nine Tigers competing for five countries. Claire Collins ’19, Emily Kallfelz ’19, and Kelsey Reelick ’14 will compete for the U.S. women’s squad in Paris. Collins, a four-time Ivy League champion, will row with the U.S. eight-person team, while Kallfelz and Reelick will compete in the four. On the men’s side, Nick Mead ’17 will compete in the men’s four boat. Mead has extensive rowing experience with the U.S. national team and will be a key contributor to the squad’s push for gold.
Competing internationally, Kathleen Noble ’18 has one of the most interesting stories in the entire Games. The Ugandan rower was a swimmer and volleyball player in high school, and only took up rowing after her first-year roommate at Princeton convinced her to try it. She quickly found success, helping the Tigers win two bronze medals at the NCAA national championships. After graduating and working in a cancer research lab in the Utah desert, Noble continued to train for the event and competed in the single scull event, in which each boat holds only one rower. After qualifying for the 2020 Olympics, Noble became the first-ever Ugandan Olympic rower, a distinction she retains to this day.
The rest of the Tiger rowing squad includes a pair of rowers for Great Britain and one each for Australia and Norway. Hannah Scott ’21 will race in the quad scull event for Great Britain, her second time racing at the Games. Tom George ’18 also competed for Britain during the 2020 Games and will do so again in the men’s pair event. George raced in the eight in 2021, taking the bronze with his fellow Britons.
Australian Timothy Masters ’15 also makes his return to the Games for Paris, competing in the eight for the second time after his first appearance in 2021. Masters won the bronze with the Tigers in the national championship in 2015.
Jonas Juel ’22 will make his single scull Olympic debut with Norway after a Princeton career split in two by the pandemic. Juel captained the Tiger Heavies in 2022, their first year back after a two-year hiatus.
Watch the Princeton rowers as their events begin on July 27.
Field Hockey: Beth Yeager ’26, U.S.A.
After taking a year off from school to focus on Olympic qualification, Princeton’s Beth Yeager ’26 will compete in her first Games. Yeager, a rising junior and midfielder for the Tigers is a heavily decorated athlete who won Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year in each of her first two seasons at Princeton.
Yeager was also selected as an NCAA All-American in each of the two years, adding to an impressive trophy cabinet that figures to grow even further in her time at Princeton. In Paris, Yeager and the United States hope to outperform their 13th-place world ranking and chase a medal in what figures to be a competitive field. The squad will first take the field against second-ranked Argentina, an early test of their mettle as they kick off a five-game group stage.
Catch Yeager and the United States in a bout against Argentina at 1:45 p.m. EST on July 27.
Water Polo: Ashleigh Johnson ’17 and Jovana Sekulic ’26, U.S.A.
For years, Princeton women’s water polo has been one of the most formidable squads on campus and across the country. This summer, their success will pay off as a pair of Princetonians head to Paris with the U.S. women’s team. Ashleigh Johnson ’17, widely lauded as the best goalkeeper in the world, was a crucial part of the 2016 and 2020 U.S. Olympic teams, each of which won gold. Johnson ended her time at Princeton as the school’s all-time leader in saves and hasn’t slowed down since. Johnson hopes her long list of accolades will continue to grow this summer as she and the U.S. team enter the tournament as favorites yet again.
Joining her with the squad will be current Princeton student-athlete and center Jovana Sekulic ’26, who took a gap year during the 2023–24 season to play for the United States. Sekulic comes from a family of water polo players as both of her brothers have collegiate water polo experience. Sekulic is perhaps the most impressive of the three, making the U.S. squad for the World Aquatics Championships this year and taking home the gold medal alongside Johnson.
See Johnson and Sekulic battle for a place in the knockouts during group play against Greece on July 27 at 9:35 a.m. EST.
Swimming: Adell Sabovic ’25, Kosovo
Representing Kosovo in the Olympic Games, Princeton’s Adell Sabovic faces a challenging environment in and out of the pool. Sabovic, who will compete in the 100-meter freestyle event, faces a stacked list of competitors for the gold.
Away from the sport, however, Sabovic has been the subject of controversy in his home country. Born in Kosovo, but a resident of the United States, Sabovic has been targeted by the Kosovo Swimming Federation, which maintains that Sabovic is not eligible to represent Kosovo on the world stage. However, the Kosovo Olympic Committee, which holds final sway over Olympic selections, disagrees and selected Sabovic to swim for the country.
Now that his selection is final, Sabovic hopes to leave the controversy behind and surprise at the 2024 Games.
Watch Sabovic swim for glory in the 100m freestyle at 5 a.m. EST on July 30.
Note: A previous version of this article stated that there are ten rowers competing for six countries at the Olympic Games, when in fact there are nine rowers competing for five countries.
Joseph Uglialoro is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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