Bama Central

16 Current, Former Alabama Athletes to Compete in 2024 Olympics: Roll Call, July 23, 2024

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Alabama athletics and how to keep up with the Crimson Tide.

Hayden Kay

Mar 8, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama gymnast Luisa Blanco knows she nailed her vault and was rewarded with a 10 during a quad meet with Illinois, Minnesota, and Talladega at Coleman Coliseum.
Mar 8, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama gymnast Luisa Blanco knows she nailed her vault and was rewarded with a 10 during a quad meet with Illinois, Minnesota, and Talladega at Coleman Coliseum. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

The University of Alabama will have three current student athletes and 13 alumni competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics beginning this weekend. Those athletes will represent a total of 14 different countries.

The three current student athletes are Samuel Ogazi (Nigeria), Tarsis Orogot (Uganda) and Kyle Micallef (Malta). Ogazi and Orogot are both sprinters on Alabama’s track and field team. Ogazi will compete in the men’s 400m, while Orogot will be competing in the men’s 200m. Micallef is a graduate transfer on the swimming team.

Only two of the 16 athletes are representing the United States: Daniel Haugh in the men’s hammer throw and Shelby McEwen in the men’s high jump. 

In gymnastics, Luisa Blanco, who just finished her fifth and final year at Alabama, will be representing Colombia, while Shallon Olsen is back on the Canadian team. Blanco won over 30 athletic and academic accolades in her time in Tuscaloosa, including an NCAA championship in 2021 for the balance beam. 

Erin Routliffe will be making history by being the Alabama women’s tennis team’s first Olympic athlete. She will be representing New Zealand. In her time at UA, Routliffe was a two time doubles champion with partner Maya Jansen and made two NCAA singles championships, as well.

The other Crimson Tide athletes competing in Paris include: Kalia Antoniou (Cyprus, swimming), Kristian Gkolomeev (Greece, swimming), Kirani James (Grenada, track and field), Victor Johansson (Sweden, swimming), Anton McKee (Iceland, swimming), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland, women’s golf), Jareem Richards (Trinidad & Tobago, track and field), and Portious Warren (Trinidad & Tobago, track and field).

Did You Notice?

  • The Alabama baseball team scheduled an exhibition game versus Florida State in Tallahassee.
  • Ezequiel Gils is back with Alabama men's tennis, this time as an assistant coach. He previously served as the program's volunteer assistant coach for three seasons before being named the head coach of the UAB Blazers for the 2023-24 season.
  • Derrick Henry told reporters in Baltimore that he finds the speculation that he's wearing down "Kind of funny," but he's otherwise going to let his play do his talking for him. "I feel good," Henry said per the teams' website. "I don't really try to worry about that. It's kind of funny. Since high school, I probably got 56 carries in a game, 57 the next week. College 44, 46. NFL, 30-35. I really think it's just your mindset, how you take care of your body. If it works and you feel good, just keep working and doing what you do."

Countdown to the Crimson Tide's 2024 Football Season Opener:

 39 Days

On This Day in Crimson Tide History:

July 23, 1969: Don Hutson, Alabama's famed end of the 1930s, was named to the all-time college football team, as the sport began its celebration of its 100th year. Hutson was one of 11 players chosen to the squad.

July 23, 1982: Gerald Wallace, who had a long NBA career stemming from 2001-02 to 2014-15, was born on this date in Sylacauga, Ala.

July 23, 2018: Alabama dedicated its latest facility, the dining hall and nutrition center as part of the Mal Moore Athletic Facilities. The state-of-the-art addition of 25,000 square feet cost approximately $15 million. The area where the players used to eat in the football building was converted into a recruiting room the shape of a large football, and featured both major individual awards and recent national championship trophies.

Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

“When Coach Saban talks about recruits, what they expect when they visit Alabama, they expect us to be the best.” 

- Director of Athletics Greg Byrne

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Hayden Kay

HAYDEN KAY

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