Two Weeks Out

Maybe it should still be the Power 5 after all.

The top five conferences in terms of having produced Olympians for the United States this summer are:

1. Big Ten (116 athletes)
2. ACC (98)
3. SEC (85)
4. Ivy League (47)
5. Big 12 (28)

Don't worry, Big 12. You're not the only league that's looking up at the Ivies. 

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are now just two weeks away, with the Opening Ceremonies to be held on the 26th, 14 days from today. By then, a handful of games will have already been played in soccer, team handball and rugby.

The Opening Ceremonies for these Games will be different than what you're used to, by the way. Instead of having all of the athletes gather in the massive stadium, the parade will be held on water this time around.

The Seine is the river that cuts through the heart of the city, and it will be on boats on the Seine that the 10,500 athletes will make their way through Paris, ending near the Eiffel Tower. What time does the parade of athletes begin? That would be 8:24 pm local time, which is 2:24 Eastern time.

Why so specific? Because 8:24 pm is also 20:24. Clever, right? 

If you've ever been to Paris — and TigerBlog is a veritable expert on the city, having spent 28 hours there once — then you know that this will make for an epic parade. You also know that there are countless buildings that stand next to the river, which has made security a major challenge. 

How much has gone into that aspect for the Opening Ceremonies alone? That would be north of $1 billion. Hopefully it turns out to be money well spent.

The United States Olympic Committee formally announced its rosters for Paris Wednesday. It also announced that 75 percent of U.S. Olympians played in college as well. 

There might be some people who are surprised that the Ivy League ranks fourth in the number of athletes produced, but they shouldn't be. The Ivy League may not have the money that those other power conferences do, but it does have a commitment to broadbased athletic participation and the lure of knowing that an Ivy education and an Olympic dream can go hand-in-hand and always have.

Princeton has produced 13 representatives for the U.S. team, or more than one-quarter of the league's American athletes who will be in Paris. Even more impressively, of those 13 athletes, there are five who are current undergraduates. 

Princeton has had three athletes win gold medals and come back to compete as Tigers afterwards: Bill Bradley in basketball in 1964, Ashleigh Johnson in water polo in 2016 and Sarah Fillier in ice hockey in 2022. Will anyone be added to the list this year? 

Johnson is aiming to become the first Princeton athlete to win gold medals in three different Olympiads. The only other Princeton athlete to win in two different games besides Johnson is rower Caroline Lind (2008, 2012).

If Johnson can make it three golds, then that would also ensure a fourth Princetonian to join the list of returning gold medalists. Jovana Sekulic will be Johnson's teammate on Team USA in Paris. 

The other current undergrads who will be in Paris for the United States are field hockey player Beth Yeager and fencers Hadley Husisian, Tatiana Nazlymov and Maia Wentraub.

Princeton has an extraordinary Olympic history, dating to the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, where four Tiger athletes combined to win nine medals. Since then, Princeton has been represented in every Summer Games except in 1952 in Helsinki.

The 13 American Olympians will be joined by an equal number from Princeton who will be there for other countries. There will be three from Great Britain, three from Norway and one each from seven others.

The 26 Princeton athletes will be the most the school has ever sent to one Olympic Games.

You'll be able to follow all of the Princetonians in Paris right here and through goprincetontigers.com and the Princeton Athletics social media channels.