PARIS, France — The Paris 2024 Olympics are underway in France, and Hoosier athletes are already competing to represent Team USA. In fact, the first two medals the United States won came from Indiana athletes.
Here is how the athletes with Indiana connections did on Saturday, Aug. 3:
Rajeev Ram
Carmel native Rajeev Ram and his partner competed for a gold medal in men's doubles.
Ram and partner Austin Krajicek lost the men’s doubles final to Australia’s Matthew Ebden and John Peers 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 10-8. Ram and Krajicek will go home with the silver medal.
In their first round match, Ram and Krajicek defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin 6-2, 6-3, followed by a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seyboth Wild in the second round. Then, Ram and Krajicek defeated Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Ram and Krajicek defeated Czech Republic's Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlásek 6-2, 6-2.
Ram won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mixed doubles with partner Venus Williams.
Molly Bruggeman
Molly Bruggeman, who went to the University of Notre Dame, is part of the women's eight rowing team.
In the final, the U.S. finished fifth out of six teams with a time of 6:01.73. Romania won gold medal with a time of 5:54.39.
The Americans finished first in the repechage on Thursday, Aug. 1 with a time of 6:03.93, advancing to the final.
On Monday, July 29, the U.S. finished second in their heat with a time of 6:19.00. Romania won the heat with a time of 6:12.31 and advanced to the final.
Allie Wilson
Allie Wilson, who trains in Indianapolis, competed in the 800m run.
She finished third in her heat of the repechage round Saturday with at time of 1:59.73. The winner of each heat advanced to the semifinals, as well as the next two fastest times. Wilson was 0.08 seconds from advancing.
on Friday, Aug. 2, Wilson finished sixth in her heat with a time of 1:59.69. The top three in each heat advanced to the semifinals.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi
Purdue University graduate Chukwuebuka Enekwechi is representing Nigeria in the shot put event.
Enekwechi finished sixth in the final with a distance of 21.42 meters. American Ryan Crouser won the gold medal with a distance of 22.90 meters.
On Friday, Aug. 2, Enekwechi qualified for the final as one of the 12 best performers with a distance of 21.13 meters.
Enekwechi finished 12th in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the shot put.
Tyrese Haliburton
Indiana Pacers' All-Star Tyrese Haliburton is part of the U.S. men's basketball team.
The U.S. stayed undefeated in Group C play by defeating Puerto Rico 104-83. Haliburton played 10 minutes but did not score in the team's win.
The quarterfinals of men's basketball begin at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
The U.S. won its first game Sunday, July 28 against Serbia 110-84. Haliburton did not play in the game. In the team's 103-86 win against South Sudan on Wednesday, July 31, Haliburton scored 6 points.
Alex Shackell
Carmel's Alex Shackell, 17, is competing in the 4x100m medley relay event.
Saturday morning, the U.S. had the fourth fastest time in the heats at 3:56.40, advancing to the final. Shackell swam her leg in 57.32.
The final of the women's 4x100m medley relay is last swimming event of the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is scheduled for 1:32 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 4 and will air on WTHR.
Shackell won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay on Thursday, Aug. 1. The U.S. finished second with a time of 7:40.86, which was 2.78 seconds behind gold medalists Australia. Shackell did not swim in the final, but she swam in the morning's heat, which earned her a silver medal.
In the morning's heats of the 4x200 freestyle relay, the U.S. had the fourth fastest time with 7:52.72, advancing to the final. Shackell swam her leg in 1:59.47.
Also on Aug. 1, Shackell finished sixth in the final of the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:07.73, which was 2.64 seconds behind bronze medalist Yufei Zhang, of China. Canada's Summer McIntosh won the gold medal and set an Olympic record with a time of 2:03.03.
On Wednesday, July 31, Shackell finished second in her semifinal in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:06.46, advancing to the final. Earlier that morning, Shackell had the fifth fastest time of 2:07.49 during the heats, advancing to the semifinals.
Magda Skarbonkiewicz
Magda Skarbonkiewicz, who goes to the University of Notre Dame, is part of the U.S. team in the women's sabre team event.
South Korea defeated the U.S. in the quarterfinals 45-35, eliminating them from the medal rounds. The U.S. then beat Algeria 45-28 and Hungary 45-39 to finish fifth in the team competition.
In the individual sabre event, Skarbonkiewicz lost her first match 15-11 to Turkey's Nisanur Erbil.
Chase Budinger
Chase Budinger, who played for the Indiana Pacers in the 2015-2016 season, is competing in the beach volleyball competition.
Alongside partner Miles Evans, the U.S. duo advanced to the round of 16 by beating Australia in two sets in the lucky loser round.
Budinger and Evans will face Norway in the round of 16 at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5. The match will be available to stream on Peacock.
Here is how Budinger and Evans did in Pool F play:
- Monday, July 29: Defeated France in two sets
- Tuesday, July 30: Lost to the Netherlands in two sets
- Friday, Aug. 2: Lost to Spain in two sets
