Olympic Spotlight: Eleven Hawkeyes Set to Compete in Paris

The 2024 Olympic Games kick off in Paris this week and Iowa will have representatives in a variety of events. From all-time greats to incoming freshmen, let's look at the athletes representing the Hawks, and their countries, in Paris.

Spencer Lee, one of Iowa's all-time great wrestlers, will represent the United States in wrestling at the 57kg weight class. As a Hawkeye, Lee has amassed an incredible resume, winning three consecutive National Championships, including one with two torn ACLs, and frequently finishing matches with lightning-fast pins.

Lee is a five-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, and finished his career with a record of 98-6. He dominated during the US Olympic Team Trials in April and won four straight matches to qualify the United States at the 57kg weight class at the 2024 World Olympic Games Qualifier in May. He has his eyes set on gold, hoping to bring the Hawkeyes their first Olympic gold medal in wrestling since Tom Brands in 1996.

The 57kg bracket for men's freestyle is scheduled to take place on August 8-9, beginning at 4:30 AM CT on August 8. Peacock will have TV/streaming coverage.

Brittany Brown, a Hawkeye track athlete from 2014-18, will compete for the United States in the 200m race at the Olympic Games. A standout Hawkeye, Brown was an 11-time All-American, a Big Ten champion, set school records in the 100m and 200m events and owns 17 top-ten marks. In 2017, she placed 5th in the 200m race at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 7th at the Outdoor Championships.

At the US Olympic Trials, Brown ran a personal-best 21.90 to earn a silver medal and a spot on the US Track and Field roster. The 200m race is scheduled to take place August 4-6.

The newest Hawkeye on this list, Kennedy Blades officially signed with Iowa this week. Blades won a gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 2021, as well as a bronze medal at that event in 2023. She won a silver medal at the U23 World Championships in 2023 as well.

At the 2020 Olympic Team Trials, Blades, then 17-years old, finished runner-up at 68kg to Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who went on to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics that year. Blades qualified for the Olympic team this year by defeating 2020 silver medalist Adeline Gray at 76kg at the Olympic Team Trials.

The women's freestyle 76kg bracket is set to be contested on August 10-11, beginning at 4:30 AM CT on August 10.

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Megan Gustafson will represent Spain at the Olympics after a historic Hawkeye career. Gustafson rewrote the Hawkeye record books in her four years at Iowa, finishing her career as Iowa's all-time leading scorer (since broken by Caitlin Clark) and rebounder. In her senior season, Gustafson won the Naismith Award as the most outstanding player in the country, leading the country in points per game, field goal percentage, total points, and double-doubles.

A force in the post as a collegiate athlete, Gustafson has transformed her game at the professional level. She's worked tirelessly to develop an outside shot and become more mobile defensively in space, working her way into the rotation with the Las Vegas Aces.

Spain is in a group with Serbia, China, and Puerto Rico. The Spanish is tied with the Australian team for the second-best odds to win gold at the Olympics, though the United States is a heavy favorite (-1800) to win gold. Spain's first game is against China on July 28th (6:30 AM CT).

Tomi Taiwo, a former teammate of Megan Gustafson, will compete for Nigeria at the Olympics. A role player for the Hawkeyes during her four years as a Hawkeye, Taiwo averaged just over three points per game before transferring to TCU for her final season.

After college, Taiwo spent time playing professionally in Portugal while making consistent appearances for the Nigerian national team. Nigeria is in a group with Canada, France, and Australia. Nigeria's first game is against Australia on July 29th (4:00 AM CT)

Peter Jok will represent South Sudan at the Olympic games. A prolific scorer as a Hawkeye, Jok scored more than 1,500 points and ranks 4th all-time at Iowa in three-pointers made. In his senior season, Jok averaged nearly 20 points per game and put up a career-high 42 points in a November game against Memphis.

More recently, Jok was part of the South Sudan team that gave the US National Team all they could handle in a tune-up game last week. The Americans needed a late bucket from LeBron James to pull out a 101-100 victory.

South Sudan is in a group with the United States, Serbia, and Puerto Rico. South Sudan's first game is against Puerto Rico on July 28th (4:00 AM CT). South Sudan is scheduled to play the United States in a group stage game on July 31st (2 PM CT)

Aurelie Tran, Sydney Turner, and Cassie Lee are all incoming freshmen for the Hawkeyes this season and all three will compete for the Canadian National Team in the Olympics before officially beginning their Hawkeye careers.

Tran was the first to qualify for the Canadians, finishing 2nd in the All-Around at the Olympic qualifying meet. She finished 2nd in the beam, bars, and floor events to earn her spot on the team. Cassie Lee finished 5th on beam during the meet to earn her spot and Turner finished 4th on beam and 5th in the all-around to claim a spot on the Canadian roster.

Gymnastics competition begins on July 27th.

Cloe Lacasse, a Hawkeye from 2011-14, will compete with Team Canada in women's soccer at the Olympics. Lacasse was a star for the Hawkeyes throughout her tenure, leading Iowa in points during all four seasons. She was a first-team All-Big Ten award winner during her junior and senior seasons and finished her Hawkeye career tied for first all-time in points (112) and second all-time in goals (43).

As a professional, she's played for the Toronto Lady Lynx in the Canadian USL W-League, Icelandic team IBV and Benfica. She currently plays for English giants Arsenal in the Women's Super League.

She has scored five international goals for Canada, most recently in June against Mexico.

Canada is in a group with France, Colombia, and New Zealand. Canada's first game is scheduled for July 25th against New Zealand (10:00 AM CT).

Eve Stewart, a Hawkeye from 2016-19, will compete with Great Britain in women's rowing at the Olympics. As a Hawk, Stewart was part of the crew that notched the Hawkeyes' best-ever rowing finish, 9th at the 2019 NCAA Championships. The team qualified for three straight NCAA Championships during her career.

She competed for the Dutch national team in the 2019 U23 World Rowing Championships. The rowing events kick off on July 27th.