27 current, ex-Gators aim for Olympic spots in Paris
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Sanders, who turns 56 in July, didn’t provide specifics about his condition in posting on social media but wrote that he is “taking this opportunity to prioritize (his) health and well-being.”
Sanders, who last September
Florida Gators gymnast Leanne Wong smiles after her floor exercise against the LSU Tigers during the meet on Feb. 23 at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville.
In five weeks, Americans will turn their eyes across the pond to the Seine River and Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
These last two weeks in June mark the occurrence of U.S. Olympic Trials. For athletes in swim and dive, track and field and gymnastics, they hope to earn their spot in the City of Lights, and eat some croissants along the way.
That list of Americans includes many from the “everything school” – UF.
Florida is sending a laundry list of athletes to these trials. Some ventured to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, but for most, the idea of qualification remains a distant, but achievable, dream.
Here are 27 Gators to keep an eye on at Olympic Trials who could earn spots on Team USA.
Caeleb Dressel is in. What other Gator swimmers will join him in Paris?
We’ll start first with swimming since those trials began Saturday. Caeleb Dressel, a Green Cove Springs native and Gator from 2015-2018, won five gold medals in Tokyo.
Dressel locked up his first Olympic spot Wednesday night with a thirdplace finish in the 100-meter freestyle. He didn’t earn a spot in the individual competition, but he did in the 4x100 relay.
The 27-year-old will still compete in more events throughout the weekend from Indianapolis.
Bobby Finke will do the same. The star newcomer of the 2020 Olympics, Finke won gold in Tokyo in the 800 and 1500.
He already qualified in the 800 and will race in the 1500, set for Sunday night.
Finke’s teammate at UF from 20192022 — Kieran Smith — won Bronze in the 400 freestyle in Tokyo. He came in second in the race at trials, which should be good enough to earn a spot in Paris. He also qualified for the games as part of the 4x200 relay.
Two other Gators — Emma Weyant and Luke Whitlock — likely gain spots as well with second place finishes in the 400 IM and 800 freestyle, respectively.
Weyant, a Sarasota native, won Silver in the 400 IM in 2020. She was also a NCAA Champion in the 800 free relay this past season.
Whitlock, an Indiana native, garnered headlines Tuesday after finishing second to Finke in the 800. At 18 became the first Lions player to have a statue built in his honor, was a first-ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. The Lions made Sanders, a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma State, the third overall pick of the 1989 NFL draft.
He spent his entire 10-year career with Detroit (1989-98), running for 15,269 yards — now the fourth-most career rushing yards in NFL history – and 99 touchdowns while catching 352 passes for 2,921 yards and 10 TDs.
Grant Holloway, of the United States, wins the men’s 110-meter hurdles during the Prefontaine Classic on May 25 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. years old, he will likely become the youngest American to qualify since Michael Phelps. Whitlock heads to UF in the fall.
Seven other swimmers to watch over the next three days include Jake Mitchell, Bella Sims, Adam Chaney, MacGuire McDuff, Julian Smith, Micayla Cronk and Isabel Ivey.
Can Parker Valby join Grant Holloway, other Gators, on the track?
Perhaps no American distance runner is as hot entering Trials as Parker Valby. The Tampa area native won two NCAA Championships (5,000 and 10,000m) two weeks ago.
In Eugene, on the same track, she’ll run at Trials in the same two events. Her NCAA record time of 30:50.43 in the 10,000 is faster than Emily Sisson’s gold medal time of 31:03.82 at the 2020 Trials.
The final for the 5,000 is set for Monday night, the 10,000 is next Saturday (6/29).
Grant Holloway rewrote the history books in the 110 hurdles. He took Silver in the last Olympics and remains just as strong after gold in last year’s World Championships.
The final for that event is next Friday night.
UF’s other national champion this season — Grace Stark — will run in the 100 hurdles. The senior won in the same event at NCAAs.
That final is Sunday, June 30.
Two more Olympic medalists and former Gators jump into Eugene.
Will Claye, a Gator from 2010-2012, won Silver in the triple jump at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. He’ll compete in the same event at Trials.
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As will his former teammate — Christian Taylor. The Fayetteville, Georgia, native is one of the best ever to triple jump after golds in 2012 and 2016. He missed the 2020 Games due to an Achilles injury, but he’s back at Trials.
The Triple Jump final is the following Sunday.
Here’s seven other Gators to watch: Ryan Willie, Jacory Patterson, Champion Allison, Marquis Dendy, Omar Craddock, Taylor Manson and Jasmine Moore.
Leanne Wong hopes to make gymnastics history
Closing out Trials is gymnastics, set for June 27-30 from Minneapolis.
Sixteen of America’s best will vie to be the five gymnasts send to Paris.
Leanne Wong was an alternate on the 2020 squad. Wong performed collegiately for the Gators this season and immediately turned her attention to Paris.
At U.S. Championships in May, Wong landed in eighth in all-around.
Her 2023 UF teammate — Kayla DiCello — claimed third. The Maryland native took this collegiate season off after being a five-time All-American her freshman year.
Coming in second at U.S. Championships was Skye Blakely. The Texas native and sister of current Florida gymnast Sloane Blakely deferred enrollment in Gainesville to 2025.
All three trailed Simone won gold in all five events.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@ gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.
Biles, who
MVP, is leading the league in scoring (27.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.3 rpg). She is the top vote-getter with 217,773 votes. Clark is averaging 16.3 points and 6.2 assists, which is third in the WNBA. She is only 1,346 votes behind Wilson after the first returns.
Fever forward Aliyah Boston, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, and Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale round out the top five in voting so far.
— Wire reports