2016 U.S. Olympic Team Fun Facts

  • The 558-member team is comprised of 264 men and 294 women, marking the most women who have competed for any nation at a single Games and topping the previous mark of 289 (China, 2008). For only the second time in history, the U.S. Olympic roster features more female athletes than male.
  • Team USA will be represented in 27 sports (40 disciplines) and 244 of the 306 medal events to be contested in Rio.
  • The 2016 U.S. Olympic Team features 189 returning Olympians, including three six-time Olympians, seven five-time Olympians, 17 four-time Olympians, 50 three-time Olympians and 113 two-time Olympians.
  • Among the returnees are 106 Olympic medalists, 66 of whom are Olympic champions and 43 who have won multiple Olympic medals. Of the 66 returning Olympic champions, 51 are looking to defend their titles from London, including the following 19 athletes in individual events: 

Nathan Adrian, swimming
Kristin Armstrong, cycling
David Boudia, diving
Jordan Burroughs, wrestling
Gabby Douglas, gymnastics
Ashton Eaton, track and field
Missy Franklin, swimming
Vincent Hancock, shooting
Kayla Harrison, judo
Katie Ledecky, swimming
Michael Phelps, swimming
Aly Raisman, gymnastics
Brittney Reese, track and field
Kim Rhode, shooting
Claressa Shields, boxing
Jenn Suhr, track and field
Christian Taylor, track and field
Serena Williams, tennis
Dana Vollmer, swimming

  • The most decorated male on the U.S. roster is Michael Phelps (22 medals, 18 golds), and the most decorated female is Allyson Felix (6 medals, 4 golds).
  • There are 368 Team USA athletes who are making their Olympic debut in Rio. 
  • Nine athletes on the U.S. roster have competed at the Youth Olympic Games, including 2014 Youth Olympic champion Shakur Stevenson (boxing). Other Youth Olympians to represent Team USA in Rio are Nicole Ahsinger (trampoline gymnastics, 2014), Michael Hixon (diving, 2010), Katharine Holmes (fencing, 2010), Alex Massialas (fencing, 2010), Nathan Schrimsher (modern pentathlon, 2010), Richelle Stephens (rugby, 2014), Laura Zeng (rhythmic gymnastics, 2014) and Lily Zhang (table tennis, 2014).
  • Nearly 80 percent of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team competed in collegiate athletics at the varsity and club levels, including 44 athletes in swimming and 125 in track and field. Additionally, for all eligible athletes (i.e. high school graduate and above), the following eight sports had full collegiate participation: basketball (24), diving (10), fencing (14), field hockey (16), indoor volleyball (24), rowing (41), triathlon (6) and water polo (21).
  • Forty-six states are represented – including 124 athletes hailing from California, 39 from Florida, and 33 from Texas – in addition to three from the District of Columbia and one from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • Team USA features six sets of siblings, including Aria and Makenzie Fischer (water polo), Courtney and Kelley Hurley (fencing), Margaux and Isabella Isaksen (pentathlon), Julia and Katie Reinprecht (field hockey), Erik and Kawika Shoji (indoor volleyball), and Serena and Venus Williams (tennis).
  • Thirty-three athletes have Olympic family ties, including 12 with parents who competed at the Olympic Games. 
  • Fifty-two members of Team USA have children, including 42 fathers and 10 mothers.
  • Seventeen athletes have military ties, including:

Hillary Bor (track and field, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Paul Chelimo (track and field, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Glenn Eller (shooting, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
Sean Furey (track and field, U.S. Navy)
Vincent Hancock (shooting, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
David Higgins (shooting, U.S. Air Force)
Edward King (rowing, U.S. Navy)
Shadrack Kipchirchir (track and field, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Leonard Korir (track and field, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Dan Lowe (shooting, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
Michael McPhail (shooting, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
John Nunn (track and field, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Steffen Peters (equestrian, German Army)
Joshua Richmond (shooting, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit)
Keith Sanderson (shooting, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Nathan Schrimsher (pentathlon, U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program)
Cale Simmons (track and field, U.S. Air Force)

  • The oldest and youngest Olympians on the 2016 Olympic Team – equestrian Phillip Dutton, 52, and tennis player Kanak Jha, 16 – are separated by 36 years, while the average age of Team USA is 27. Also entering the Rio Games at age 52 are Beezie Madden (equestrian) and Emil Milev (shooting). Other 16-year-olds include Laurie Hernandez (artistic gymnastics), Sydney McLaughlin (track and field) and Laura Zeng (rhythmic gymnastics), with McLaughlin becoming the youngest American athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games in track and field since 1972.
  • Men’s basketball players DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan are the tallest members of Team USA at 6 feet, 11 inches, while artistic gymnast Simone Biles checks in as the shortest team member at 4 feet, 8 inches.