Breaking down the U.S. Olympic Team by home state
With 555 athletes across 27 different sports, the United States will be well-represented in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics. Those athletes hail from across the country, showcasing broad athletic talent from across the nation.
There are certain states, however, that have rather high concentrations of Olympians, and many of them are the usual suspects.
Take California, for instance. Nearly a quarter of the entire roster comes from the Golden State, dwarfing the next closest, Florida, by a margin of 85 athletes. Behind Florida are Texas (33), Pennsylvania (31), New York (30) and New Jersey (29).
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California’s striking total is aided by traditional West Coast sports like water polo and volleyball. The men’s and women’s water polo squads have a combined 26 players, with all but two who are Californians. Of the seven badminton players, six are also from California.
In some not-so-obvious state totals, over half the women’s field hockey team calls Pennsylvania their home state and three of the four taekwondo athletes are from Texas.
The central U.S. supplies a solid chunk of Olympic talent, with Colorado (19), Illinois (17), Ohio (13), Indiana (12), Minnesota (11), Missouri (11) and Michigan (10) all in the double-digits.
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On the other end of the spectrum, there is a quartet of unrepresented states: Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. Alabama, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Vermont each have one athlete, combining to equal Rhode Island’s total of four.
28-year-old sailor Thomas Barrows III is the lone athlete from the Virgin Islands, while Kevin Durant (basketball), Katharine Holmes (fencing) and Gary Russell (boxing) list Washington, D.C., as their home.
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