Athletes from Buffalo, Western New York, competing in 2024

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games will take place on Friday, July 26. Here is a list of athletes with ties to Buffalo and Western New York to support at the Games.

This list will continue to be updated as more lists are announced by their respective teams.

Is there another local Olympic or Paralympic connection we should know about? Email [email protected] to let us know!

Matt Anderson, volleyball

Hometown: Western Seneca

Olympic appearance: Fourth (won bronze in 2016)

Background: Anderson, 37, will be one of the veteran leaders of Team USA’s men’s volleyball team. The 6-foot-10 opposite hitter played at West Seneca West and Penn State before a professional career that included stops in South Korea, Italy, Russia and Turkey. Anderson was the top scorer for the U.S. team when it won bronze in 2016 and the second-highest scorer at the tournament. The U.S. men are looking to bounce back from their performance in Tokyo, where the team failed to qualify from the pool, going 2-3 in the group stage. Anderson and his family currently reside in his wife’s home state of Indiana.

Make history: Competing in his fourth Olympic Games, Anderson is considered the Western New Yorker with the most Olympic appearances of all time, summer and winter. Pole vaulter Jenn Suhr and a handful of other locals have made three Olympic appearances.

Fun fact: Anderson has a tattoo of a puzzle piece on his wrist to honor an autistic nephew. He has several other tattoos, including an oak tree on his left shoulder which symbolizes his family roots.

Calendar: Corresponds to TBA; pool play starts July 27 (more)

Learn more: After reflecting on the loss in Tokyo, West Seneca’s Matt Anderson decided to take another shot at the Paris Olympics

Anita Alvarez, artistic swimming

Hometown:Kenmore

Olympic appearance: Third

Background: Alvarez, 27, is the first artistic swimmer in United States history to compete in three Olympic Games. After competing as a duo, she is now the linchpin of the eight-member group that qualified for the team competition for the first time since 2008. “It’s huge for the sport in our country,” Alvarez told News 4 when the United States qualified as a team. “The last time I saw an American team compete was in Beijing when I was 12, and that’s when my Olympic dream began. I hope this continues to inspire these athletes in the United States. » Alvarez is the only member of the team with Olympic experience. She placed ninth and 13th in duet at previous Olympics, but was not named as a duet swimmer in the U.S. team announcement.

“I feel the strongest and healthiest”: Alvarez made international headlines in 2021 and again in 2022 after passing out in the pool at the end of routines during an international competition. She told News 4 in February that she continued testing, changed her diet and continued to have blood tests to ensure there would be no problems in the future, adding that she “felt the strongest and healthiest” since her last incident at the hospital. 2022 World Championships.

Fun fact: The International Olympic Committee allowed men to compete in artistic swimming (formerly known as synchronized swimming) for the first time this year. Men have been competing in the world championships for almost a decade. But Bill May, the leading male contender for a spot on the U.S. team, was left off the final list. U.S. coach Andrea Fuentes wrote on Instagram that team selection was “an impossible choice that I wish I didn’t have to make,” adding: “I have peace of mind knowing we made our best, but there was no choice. enough time to achieve this. All the teams with potential male athletes faced the same problem, with more time than us, but no one could do it.

Calendar: Team events start on August 5, duo events on August 9 (more)

Learn more: Qualification for the Olympics in the personal team event for Álvarez

Jessica Pegula, tennis

Hometown: Buffalo

Olympic appearance: This would be his second appearance; she has qualified, but has not yet confirmed her participation.

Background: Pegula, the daughter of Bills and Sabers owners Terry and Kim Pegula, is currently ranked No. 5 in the world in singles and No. 44 in doubles. She is set to compete in her second Olympics with a new personal training team of Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein, having recently parted ways with David Witt. The 30-year-old is looking to avenge her first round defeat at the Tokyo Games, where she was beaten by ninth seed Belinda Bencic, who went on to win gold. Pegula had a better result in doubles in Tokyo, placing fifth while playing alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Success on red clay: The Olympic tennis events take place at the Stade Roland-Garros, site of Roland-Garros. Pegula has enjoyed success on the stadium’s famous red clay, notably reaching the 2022 quarterfinals in singles and the doubles final with Coco Gauff. Pegula has never made it past the quarterfinals of a major singles tournament, reaching the stage six times (three times at the Australian Open and once at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open). Pegula withdrew in May from the 2024 French Open, citing continued recovery from a neck injury, but said that if the tournament had been held a week later, she probably would have been able to play.

Fun fact: Pegula was ranked world No. 3 in singles during her career and No. 1 in doubles, winning four WTA singles events and seven doubles tournaments along the way. She has won over $13 million in prize money during her career.

Calendar: Corresponds to TBA; singles and doubles start July 27 (more)

Learn more: Pegula stopped by a Bills practice last summer while accompanied by a film crew for the Netflix series “Break Point.”

Erik Spoelstra, assistant basketball coach

Hometown: Born in Evanston, Illinois but spent part of his childhood in Buffalo

Olympic appearance: First of all

Background: The two-time NBA champion coach will make his first Olympic appearance as part of Steve Kerr’s staff. Before the Tokyo Games, he led the Team USA select team that practiced against the Olympic team that won gold. Spoelstra’s father, Jon, was a longtime NBA executive who worked for the Buffalo Braves. Erik “spent much of his early childhood in Buffalo before moving to Portland at age 7 or 8” when his father took a job with the Trail Blazers, according to a 2008 Portland Tribune article.

Calendar: The United States is in Group C and will face Serbia on July 28, South Sudan on July 31 and a country not yet qualified on August 3. The quarter-finals begin on August 6 and the final on August 10.

Fun fact: Nothing short of dominance is expected from Team USA men’s basketball, which has won a medal in every Games it has competed in. U.S. men have lost just six Olympic matches — in any round — since 1932. The Americans have won four straight. gold medals since sliding to bronze in 2002 and are 58-4 in the Olympics since they began using NBA players in 1992.

***

Is there another local Olympic or Paralympic connection we should know about? Email [email protected] to let us know!