As the sporting world turns its attention to the 2024 Summer Olympics, the University of Utah is proud to announce that several alumni and one current student will be competing on the global stage. Here is a closer look at the inspiring individuals who will be representing the Utes in Paris.

Emilia Nilsson Garip: 3m Diving, Sweden

Emilia Nilsson, a rising sophomore for Utah Diving, will showcase her talents for Team Sweden in the 3m Women’s Diving event. As a freshman, Nilsson Garip achieved the highest finish ever by a Utah diver at the Women’s 1M NCAA Championships, placing ninth, which earned her All-American status. She is also the only Ute to win two individual Pac-12 championships by taking first in the Women’s 1m and 3m events. That effort propelled the Utes to a Pac-12 team championship in 2023-24, where they posted a program-best score of 338.00.

Michelle Plouffe, Paige Crozon and Kim Gaucher: Canadian 3×3 Women’s Basketball Team

Three alumni will be representing Canada in a sport that debuted in the 2020 Tokyo Games—3×3 Basketball. Michelle Plouffe (who played for Utah Women’s Basketball from 2010-14) and Paige Crozon (2012-16) make up half the four-member roster. This is Plouffe’s third Olympic Games, having previously played on Canada’s Women’s Basketball team in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Crozon is one of the top-ranked 3×3 players in the world.

The Canadians are led by coach Kim Gaucher, who starred at the U from 2002-06 and was the first female athlete to have her jersey retired in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. She won conference player of the year awards in all of her four seasons, and was selected No. 13 overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft. Gaucher has participated as a player in three Olympic Games for Canada, including the 2012 Games in London when she led the Canucks in scoring.

Simone Plourde: 1500m Track, Canada

Another Ute who will be representing Canada is Simone Plourde, a standout middle-distance runner who will be competing in the 1500m track event. Plourde competed for University of Utah’s track team, as well as its cross-country team, from 2021-23, and holds five school records. In 2023, she won the Pac-12 title in the 1500m, and recorded the second-fastest NCAA time in the 5000m event.

Josefine Eriksen: 4x400m Track Relay, Norway

Recent graduate Josefine Eriksen will be competing in the 4x400m track relay for Norway. Eriksen set school records in four individual races and was part of three relay-team record runs.

Alexis Lagan: Shooting Air Pistol, USA

This is Team USA’s Alexis Lagan‘s second Olympics, where she will be competing in the shooting air pistol event. Lagan graduated from the U in 2017 with a degree in pre-law physics. At the collegiate level, she won a handful of national titles in women’s, mixed team events, and earned her spot on several All-American teams.

Sam Watson and Zachary Hammer: Men’s Sport Climbing, USA

BONUS ATHLETES: So Sam Watson (left) and Zachary Hammer (right) are neither alumni nor current students, but they will be freshmen come this fall! First, the two 18-year-olds will be competing in Men’s Speed Climbing, which begins on Aug. 5. Watson is the current world record holder in the Men’s Speed event with a time of 4.79 seconds, and finished 2023 ranked No. 8 in the world. Hammer finished in the top 20 in two world championship events last year. The pair both live in Salt Lake City, where USA Climbing is based, but hail from the other states—Watson from Southlake, Texas and Hammer from Ann Arbor, Mich.

A legacy of Olympic excellence

As the home to the Olympic Cauldron, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the Olympic Village for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games—not to mention the scores of U student-athletes, past and present, who can call themselves Olympians—the Olympic legacy runs deep at the University of Utah. Learn more about our Olympic Legacy at olympics.utah.edu.