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Delta Arranges Departure of Team USA Olympic Athletes from Atlanta Airport

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ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines celebrated members of Team USA at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday before the athletes flew to Paris for the Summer Olympics.

The airline had T-shirts and water bottles at the gate where archers, fencers, basketball players and other athletes were to depart. Signs read: “Good luck to Team USA!” and “A big thank you from us to you.”

Atlanta-based Delta manages travel for all U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Mary Theisen-Lappen, a weightlifter who will compete in the Olympics for the first time, was among the athletes celebrated.

“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m nervous.”

Team USA basketball athlete Mitch Hahn poses with people before his departure for the Paris Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Team USA weightlifter Hampton Morris reads a note of encouragement from a local high school student as they leave the airport for the Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Members of the U.S. Summer Olympics weightlifting team pose before departing the airport, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
An American flag is affixed to the backpack of an Olympic athlete as he leaves the airport for the Summer Games, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A person looks out a window as Team USA athletes depart the airport Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Team USA weightlifter Mary Theisen smiles as she reads a note of encouragement from a local high school student as she leaves the airport for the Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Gillian Tran, a 17-year-old passenger from Tallahassee, Florida, was thrilled to learn she would be on the same flight as the athletes when she arrived at the gate. She said her family won tickets to the Paris Games in a lottery two years ago. She posed for photos with some of the athletes.

“I’m also looking forward to going to the Olympics because I did a historical fair project about the 1936 Olympics two years ago,” she said.

The opening ceremony of the Games is scheduled for July 26.

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