PARIS, France — The 2024 Paris Olympics begin this week, and few states will have as large a presence in the French capital as Georgia.
We've logged 75 athletes who are either Georgia natives, adopted Georgians or otherwise have a tie of some kind to the Peach State. To keep track of them all, we're dividing them into four categories: swimming & diving, track & field, those competing in other individual sports and those competing in other team sports.
Below, find profiles and information about the track & field athletes with Georgia ties who will be competing in Paris:
Olympic athletes with Georgia ties | Track & field
Full list:
- CJ Allen, 400m hurdles for USA (Life University alum)
- Chris Bailey, 400m for USA (from Atlanta, Carver High alum)
- Graham Blanks, 5,000m for USA (from Athens, Athens Academy alum)
- Aaliyah Butler, 400m for USA (current UGA)
- Christian Coleman, relay pool for USA (from Atlanta, went to Westlake HS and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic HS-Fayetteville)
- Denzel Comenentia, hammer throw for Netherlands (UGA alum)
- Ana Da Silva, shot put for Brazil (current UGA)
- Tara Davis-Woodhall, long jump for USA (former UGA)
- Johannes Erm, decathlon for Estonia (UGA alum)
- Sanaa Frederick, 4x100m relay for Trinidad & Tobago (from Atlanta, Druid Hills HS & incoming UGA)
- Sole Frederick, 4x100m relay for Trinidad & Tobago (from Atlanta, Druid Hills HS & incoming UGA)
- Jehlani Gordon, 4x100m relay for Jamaica (current UGA)
- Cejhae Greene, 100m for Antigua & Barbuda (UGA alum)
- Tatiana Gusin, high jump for Greece (UGA alum)
- Anna Hall, heptathlon for USA (former UGA)
- Daniel Haugh, hammer throw for USA (from Marietta, St. Pius HS & Kennesaw State alum)
- Adaejah Hodge, 200m for British Virgin Islands (from Douglasville, incoming UGA)
- Jasmine Jones, 400m hurdles for USA (from Atlanta, Greater Atlanta Christian alum)
- Elena Kulichenko, high jump for Cyprus (current UGA)
- Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 4x400m mixed relay for Bahamas (UGA alum)
- Katie Moon, pole vault for USA (lives in Powder Springs)
- Jasmine Moore, long jump & triple jump for USA (former UGA)
- Christopher Morales Williams, 400m for Canada (current UGA)
- Marie-Therese Obst, javelin for Norway (UGA alum)
- Janek Oiglane, decathlon for Estonia (current UGA coach)
- Keturah Orji, triple jump for USA (UGA alum, lives in Atlanta)
- Chanice Porter, long jump for Jamaica (UGA alum)
- Stephanie Ratcliffe, hammer throw for Australia (current UGA)
- Daniel Roberts, 110m hurdles for USA (from Hampton, Hampton High alum)
- Gabby Thomas, 200m for USA (born in Atlanta)
- Karel Tilga, decathlon for Estonia (UGA alum)
Athletes and profiles
CJ Allen (400m hurdles) - Online bio
Georgia connection: Life University alum; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Allen is heading to his first Olympic Games in 2024 and is looking to make some noise in Paris. He is currently the U.S. men's national record-holder for the 400m hurdles.
He set the record in January 2023 when he ran a 48.88 at the American Track League Pro Puma Classica at the University of Iowa.
In June, the 29-year-old Allen finished second in the 400m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
According to his Team USA profile, Allen enjoys cooking, camping and making YouTube videos. He said he could see himself owning a restaurant one day. He also co-leads bible studies for athletes and coaches.
Chris Bailey (400 meters) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Atlanta and went to Carver High School; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Chris Bailey will be representing Team USA in the 4x400m relay in Paris. The 24-year-old was born in Atlanta and went to Carver High School. After graduating high school, Bailey went to Mississippi Valley State University, the University of Tennessee and then later attended the University of Arkansas.
Bailey received his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Tennessee in 2022 and received his master's degree in operations management from Arkansas in 2024.
While at Arkansas, Bailey won the NCAA Indoors 4x400m title in March 2023.
Graham Blanks (5000m) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Athens and went to Athens Academy; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Graham Blanks is making his first-ever trip to the Olympics this year, where he will compete in the 5000m. Currently, Blanks is a rising senior at Harvard, where he competes for the Crimson's track and field team.
A graduate of Athens Academy, he finished 6th at the 2022 NCAA Division I Cross County Championships. At the end of 2023, Blanks set the collegiate record for the indoor 5000 meters, where he ran a 13:03.78 in Boston.
Blanks qualified for the 2024 Olympics in the men's 5000m. Despite him placing fourth in the trials, the third-place finisher did not attain the 2024 Olympic qualifying standard, which meant the U.S. Olympic Committee had the option to select Blanks, which they did. Blanks finished with a time of 13:12.61, whereas the third-place finisher, Parker Wolfe of the University of North Carolina, finished with a time of 13:10.75. The Olympic qualifying standard (a time you must have recorded at some recent point) was 13:05.0.
Aaliyah Butler (400 meters) - Online Bio
Georgia connection: University of Georgia sophomore; Country: USA
More about this athlete: She recently ran her best 400-meter dash of the season at the Tiger Paw Invite, where she crossed the finish line at 52.92 to place 15th and secure the third-best time in Georgia history at the event.
The 20-year-old won the 400m at the Texas Tech Open with a time of 52.95. Butler ran the opening leg on the 4x400m relay team that took the crown at the Texas Tech Open with a time of 3:33.28, which was the second-fastest in Georgia history.
Watch a full interview with Butler below:
Christian Coleman (relay pool) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Atlanta, went to Westlake HS and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic HS-Fayetteville; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Coleman, 28, was born in Atlanta and, in recent years, has cemented himself as one of the world's top sprint stars.
His accolades are numerous, including three gold medals between the 100m and the 4x100m relay since 2019 at the World Championships.
Coleman has yet to compete as an individual at the Olympics, however -- he was suspended by world track officials in 2020 for two years, ruling him out for the Tokyo Olympics, for missing three drug tests in 2019. His suspension was later reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which noted he had never failed a drug test, but the remaining time on his ban still covered Tokyo.
He had gotten back on track since the suspension episode -- he won silver in the 100m at the USA Track and Field Championships last year, and later finished fifth in the 100m at the World Championships; Coleman then finished first -- ahead of 2023 world champion Noah Lyles -- at the elite Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon last September.
But he finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials -- just missing a chance to compete in the event in Paris.
Denzel Comenentia (hammer throw) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Netherlands
More about this athlete: Comenentia is from Dutch island of Curacao and represents the Netherlands. He's competed in both World and European Championships in the past, and has the Dutch national record in the hammer throw. At UGA, he was the national champion in the shot put and hammer throw in 2018.
According to his online profile, an accident in high school almost left him blind in one eye, and though he recovered with surgery he is registered as legally blind in that right eye. He also told his mom when he was young he wanted to be a sprinter -- but she told him to try throwing, which worked out pretty nicely for the first-time Olympian.
Ana Da Silva (shot put) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: Current UGA athlete; Country: Brazil
More about this athlete: According to her UGA profile, she set a school record with her shot put toss in 2022 to help the Bulldogs win the SEC Championship. The 25-year-old has also won the last three national championships in Brazil in the shot put.
Tara Davis-Woodhall (long jump) - Online bio
Georgia connection: At UGA for one season in 2018 before transferring to Texas; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Tara Davis-Woodhall is competing in her second Olympics at 25 years old. She heads to Paris after winning the long jump event at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials earlier this year.
At the Tokyo Olympics, she finished 6th place in the women's long jump.
In her one year at UGA, Davis-Woodhall broke Klaudia Siciarz's world under-20 record in the 60m hurdles at 7.98 seconds during the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She decided to transfer to Texas after one season.
Johannes Erm (decathlon) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Estonia
More about this athlete: Erm, who was at UGA from 2018-2023, is headed to his second Olympics after finishing 11th in the decathlon in Tokyo three years ago.
He is coming to Paris in high form - Erm won gold at the European Championships this year, and placed third in the World Indoor Championships. He was ninth at the World Championships in the outdoor event last year.
At UGA, the 26-year-old was the 2019 NCAA decathlon national champion and twice won the SEC indoor championship for heptathlon.
Sanaa Frederick (4X100m relay) - Online bio & Sole Frederick (4X100m relay) - Online bio
Georgia connection: Recent graduates of Druid Hills High School and both will be attending UGA in the fall; Country: Trinidad and Tobago
More about these athletes: A DeKalb County Public School District spokesperson said that the twin sisters had a "stellar career" while they were in high school, leading the Lady Red Devils at Druid Hills High School to back-to-back second-place finishes in the Class 4A State Track meets last year and this year.
"Sanaa Frederick became one of the most decorated girls’ track athletes in DeKalb history as she completed a third consecutive sweep in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, giving her six individual gold medals to go with a silver in the 200 and a bronze in the 100 in 2021," a news release from the school district added.
Sole meanwhile captured the Trinidadian national championship in June in the 200m.
Sole and Sanaa Frederick, who are just a minute apart in age, explained how they run in sync with each other.
"When we run, it's identical; the times are exactly the same," Sanaa Frederick previously said to 11Alive.
"It just feels great to make him proud," Sanaa previously said.
"It's really fun. In practice, we are always going head-to-head, so it's really good competition," Sole Frederick previously.
The girls' father, Peter Frederick, ran professionally for Trinidad and Tobago and coaches their relay team now. He told the school district about how grateful he was that his daughters made it so far in their journeys.
“I am very grateful, thankful, and blessed to be part of this journey, process and accomplishments for the last four years of their athletic career. Being their coach/dad was very challenging, but we made it. I wish them all the best in the future at the University of Georgia, and the best is yet to come out of my daughters," he added.
Jehlani Gordon (4x100m relay) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: Current UGA athlete; Country: Jamaica
More about this athlete: The 20-year-old was a champion at the 2023 North American, Central American and Caribbean U23 championships with the Jamaican relay team.
Last year during the indoor season for UGA he was twice named SEC Men's Freshman of the Week.
Cejhae Greene (100m) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Antigua and Barbuda
More about this athlete: These will be his third Olympics, after he reached a semifinal -- only 24 runners across qualify for the three semifinal races -- in Rio in 2016 and competed in the heats in Tokyo.
The 28-year-old has twice won bronze medals at regional competitions, including the 2019 Pan American Games and 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. At UGA he was a national first team outdoor and indoor All-American in 2018, and in 2017 he finished 24th at the World Championships in the 100m and was named his country's Sportsman of the Year.
Tatiana Gusin (high jump) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Greece
More about this athlete: Gusin, 30, is a 7x Greek national high jump champion and finished seventh this year at the World Indoor Championships.
Paris will mark her first time at the Olympics. She registered a decorated career at UGA -- three-time first team outdoor and indoor All-American and SEC outdoor champion in 2017 and 2018.
At the outdoor World Championships last year and in 2022, she just missed qualifying for the final finishing 13th and 17th. She's also a past silver medalist at the Mediterranean Games.
Anna Hall (heptathlon) - Online bio
Georgia connection: At UGA for two seasons (2020 and 2021) before transferring to Florida; Country: USA
More about this athlete: At just 23 years old, Anna Hall is heading to her first Olympic Games. She won the silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2023 World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. She is the North American record-holder for the pentathlon.
While Hall was at the University of Georgia, she was a NCAA high jump All-American to help the Bulldogs earn third place in the NCAA Outdoor event. She skipped the heptathlon to focus on the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials.
In 2021, while at UGA, Hall broke a bone in her left foot after she hit a barrier and crashed on the track after she hit a barrier. Following a coaching change at UGA, Hall transferred to the University of Florida.
Daniel Haugh (hammer throw) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Marietta, St. Pius X Catholic High School and Kennesaw State University alum; Country: USA
More about this athlete: This will be the second Olympics for Haugh, after he also competed in the men's hammer throw in Tokyo, where he reached the final and finished 11th.
The 29-year-old competed for the Kennesaw State track and field team, where he won gold in the men's hammer throw event at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
In 2019, Haugh also represented the U.S. in The Match Europe v USA, where he finished in 5th in the men's hammer throw event.
He is an NCAA champion who recently set a new world record at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships. He's decorated and trains at Kennesaw State University with Isaiah Rogers, another NCAA champion. He qualified for the Olympics in the hammer throw by finishing first at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 30.
Growing up in Marietta, about 10 miles from his current practice field, football was his first love. However, a severe concussion sidelined him, leading Haugh to pick up track and field. It was a second chance at sports and life that he embraced wholeheartedly.
Adaejah Hodge (200m) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Douglasville, incoming UGA athlete; Country: British Virgin Islands
More about this athlete: The 18-year-old has been ranked as high as 38th in the world in the 200m, and this year won the national championship in the event (as well as 100m) for the British Virgin Islands.
She ran the 200m in the World Championships last year and finished 20th -- as the only teenager in the field.
Jasmine Jones (400m hurdles) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Atlanta, Greater Atlanta Christian alum; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Jasmine Jones graduated from the Greater Atlanta Christian School in 2020 and is a senior at the University of Southern California.
Jones qualified for the Paris Olympics on June 30 and made the U.S. team in women's 400m hurdles after placing third.
According to USC's profile on her, during her high school career, she was a 12-time Georgia state individual champion. During the 2020 indoor season, she ran 8.12 in the 60m hurdles, which was ranked first in the country among high school athletes and No. 7 in indoor prep history.
She's now in her fourth season as a hurdler, sprinter and jumper on USC's track and field team. According to the university's website, she ranks 4th on USC's all-time 100m hurdles list, 7th on its 400m hurdles list and ran on USC's fourth-fastest 4x100m relay. She is also tied for third on USC's all-time indoor 60m hurdles list.
Elena Kulichenko (high jump) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: Current UGA athlete; Country: Cyprus
More about this athlete: Elena Kulichenko is a rising senior at the University of Georgia, where she will now compete in her first Olympic Games for Cyprus at just 22.
Her international achievements include coming in 13th last year at the World Championships and gold at the European U23 Championships last year. She is Cyprus' national record holder in the high jump.
According to UGA, during the 2024 indoor season, she was a bronze medalist in the high jump at the NCAA Championships and SEC Championships with matching season-best jumps of 1.91 meters/6-3.25. A few years ago, she was named SEC Women's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.
In June, she was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South Region Outdoor Women's Field Athlete of the Year. She was the eighth female Bulldog to earn this accolade and was the first since Jasmine Moore in 2021, UGA said.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo (4X400m mixed relay) - Online bio
Georgia connection: UGA alum; Country: Bahamas
More about this athlete: Miller-Uibo is only tentatively set to compete in the mixed relay in Paris because of an injury, but for much of the last decade she's been one of international track's brightest stars.
The 30-year-old, who was at UGA through 2013, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 400m (Tokyo and Rio) and the 2022 World Championships gold medalist in the event.
She has a slew of other achievements to her record -- but a relay medal in Paris, if she's able to compete, would be her first for a relay at a major international competition since 2017.
Katie Moon (pole vault) - Online bio
Georgia connection: Lives in Powder Springs; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Kaite Moon, who many might previously know as Katie Nageotte before she got married in 2022, won gold in the women's pole vault at the Tokyo Olympics.
Moon, who is 33, now makes her home in metro Atlanta. She heads to Paris after finishing second at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Her medal record is extensive, and includes World Championships golds both in 2023 and 2022.
Jasmine Moore (long jump and triple jump) - Online bio
Georgia connection: At UGA for two seasons (2020 and 2021) before transferring to Florida; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Jasmine Moore is competing in her second Olympics this summer. She placed 23rd in Tokyo three years ago.
In 2022, she became the first American woman to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in both the long jump and the triple jump.
At UGA, she won the triple jump at the 2021 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a personal best and the Olympic standard for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her jump of 14.39m was also top 10 in the world that year.
At the U.S. Olympic trials, Moore finished second in the triple jump to clinch her Olympic spot.
Christopher Morales Williams (400m) - Online bio
Georgia connection Current UGA athlete; Country: Canada
More about this athlete: Morales Williams is from Ontario but is now attending the University of Georgia.
Last season was a banner one for Morales Williams -- he captured the NCAA outdoor national title in the 400m, and with a time of 44.05 at the SEC Championships he both won that title and set a Canadian national record. He was also both the SEC and NCAA indoor 400m champion last year.
Morales Williams is running for Team Canada and clinched his spot by running a 45.44 to capture gold in the 400m at the Bell Track & Field Trials/Canadian Championships, UGA said.
Marie-Therese Obst (javelin) - Online bio
Georgia connection: UGA alum; Country: Norway
More about this athlete: Obst, 28, is coming off one of her career high marks as she heads to Paris, with a bronze medal at the 2024 European Championships.
He has won numerous national Norwegian medals in her career, and at UGA was a 2018 NCAA second team All-American in the javelin.
Janek Oiglane (decathlon) - Online bio
Georgia connection: Current UGA coach; Country: Estonia
More about this athlete: Oiglane, 30, is a 2022 bronze medalist at the European Championships who has competed five times at the World Championships, finishing as high as fourth.
He is an assistant coach with the UGA track team.
Keturah Orji (triple jump) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: USA
More about this athlete: At UGA, she was a 4-time NCAA outdoor champion in the triple jump and a one-time long jump national champion.
Orji made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, where she finished 4th in the triple jump. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as well, placing seventh in 2021.
At 5'10" and 174 lbs, Orji is considered one of the top triple jumpers in the U.S. -- this year, she finished second at the Team USA Olympic trials.
She has also represented Team USA at the World Championships, finishing inside the top 10 in 2023, 2022 and 2019, and won a silver medal at the 2022 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships, as well as the 2019 Pan American Games.
Off the track, Orji is known for her community service work and advocacy for mental health awareness. She has spoken openly about her struggles with anxiety and depression and hopes to inspire others to prioritize their well-being.
Watch a full interview with Keturah Orji below
Chanice Porter (long jump) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Jamaica
More about this athlete: The 30-year-old is headed to her second Olympics. In Tokyo, she came 24th.
Her career best in this event was an eighth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships, and her medal record includes a bronze at the 2022 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships.
At UGA, Porter was the 2016 national champion in the long jump.
Stephanie Ratcliffe (hammer throw) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: Current UGA athlete ; Country: Australia
More about this athlete: Ratcliffe, 23, won the NCAA national title in the hammer throw last year.
Her throw of 73.63m at the Division 1 Championships where she earned that national title also set an Australian national record.
Daniel Roberts (110m hurdles) - Online bio
Georgia connection: From Hampton and Hampton High School alum; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Daniel Roberts is a 26-year-old who is making his second trip to the Olympics this year. He placed ninth in the 110m hurdles in Tokyo.
Roberts finished third in the Team USA trials this year to make his first Olympics, coming off a bronze medal last year at the World Championships.
In both 2019 and 2022, Roberts also won the U.S. national title at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Gabby Thomas (200m) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: Born in Atlanta; Country: USA
More about this athlete: Gabby Thomas was born in Atlanta and is a distinguished American track and field athlete specializing in 100- and 200m sprints.
The 27-year-old medaled twice at the Tokyo Olympics, winning bronze individually in the 200 meters and silver as part of the 4x100m relay team.
In 2023, she secured silver in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, alongside gold in the U.S. women's 4x100m relay team.
Raised in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, she honed her skills at the Williston Northampton School before pursuing higher education. Thomas graduated from Harvard University in 2019 with a focus on neurobiology and global health, later obtaining a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Karel Tilga (decathlon) - Online bio
Georgia Connection: UGA alum; Country: Estonia
More about this athlete: Tilga, 26, looks ahead to Paris after finishing fourth last year in the decathlon at the World Championships.
He will be aiming to improve on his first Olympic showing in Tokyo, where he was 20th.
At UGA, he was the 2021 NCAA champion in the decathlon.
