A Breakdown of the 613 US Olympic Athletes in Tokyo: Data Viz
The United States roster for the Tokyo Olympics includes 613 athletes: That’s roughly 10% more than the 558 who went to Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The reintroduction of personnel-heavy sports such as baseball and softball, along with new events like skateboarding, climbing, surfing and karate have resulted in the second-largest Olympic roster in the country’s history, trailing only the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
By Sport
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The U.S. is competing in all but five events in Tokyo: men’s soccer, men’s 3×3 basketball, women’s badminton, field hockey and team handball. More than one-fifth of American athletes are participating in track and field.
By Gender
For the third straight Summer Games, more women than men will represent the red, white and blue. Furthermore, the nine most-decorated American Olympians are women, led by sprinter Allyson Felix and her six gold medals.
By Age
The two youngest athletes on the roster are both swimmers: 15-year-old Katie Grimes and 16-year-old Bella Sims. On the flip side, the four athletes over the age of 50 all compete in equestrian, including 57-year-old Philip Dutton.
A number of athletes qualified in events usually dominated by younger competitors. Road cyclist Amber Neben, at age 46, is nearly a decade older than the next oldest U.S. Olympic cyclist, while 44-year-old distance runner Abdi Abdirahman is battling Father Time by competing in the marathon.
By Olympic Experience
Dutton is making his seventh Olympic appearance. Next up are seven five-time Olympians: basketball players Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, track athletes Abdirahman and Felix, water polo alternate Jesse Smith, equestrian Steffen Peters and fencer Mariel Zagunis. The vast majority of the U.S. Olympians, though, are first-timers.
By Collegiate Affiliation
The United States’ college-sports-to-Olympics pipeline has been crucial to the country’s dominance on the podium for a long time. Roughly 75% of the Tokyo roster is composed of former NCAA athletes; that number was even higher in Rio. Stanford leads the way with 32 current or former athletes representing the U.S. in Tokyo, while Pac-12 rival USC has the most Olympians worldwide with 64.
By Home State
About 1 in 5 U.S. athletes hail from California. Colorado, however, has the most Olympians per capita at 5.9 Olympians per million; the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center’s location in Colorado Springs is likely responsible. Hawaii bolted up to second place for the Tokyo games, as it is home to two skateboarders and two surfers.
