Washington Athletes Prepare For The Tokyo Olympics

SEATTLE — 621 Americans will be representing the United States as part of Team USA in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — and you better believe that includes some hometown heroes from right here in the Evergreen State.

The Olympic Games, which kick off with Friday's opening ceremony, run through Aug. 8 in Japan's capital city. The athletes will compete in a variety of events ranging from archery to cycling to diving and beach volleyball.

The list of Washington athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics includes the following:

• Megan Blunk (wheelchair basketball) from Gig Harbor.
• Jordan Chiles (artistic gymnastics) of Vancouver.
• Nevin Harrison (canoe sprint) from Seattle.
• Adrian Hegyvary (track cycling) from Seattle.
• Zach LaVine (basketball) from Renton.
• Harrison Maurus (weightlifting) of Auburn.
• Jacob Riley (marathon) of Bellingham.
• Kara Winger (javelin throw) of Vancouver.
• Katrina Young (diving) from Shoreline.

You may notice there are a few big-ticket names not on the list above — like say, the Seattle Storm's legendary Sue Bird, or the Reign's star forward Megan Rapinoe. That's because Team USA recognizes them by their hometowns (Syosset, NY and Redding, CA respectively), but they are honorary Washingtonians in Patch's eyes, and we'll be cheering them on as well as they fight for the gold medal.

Speaking of cheering our athletes on, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so. The opening ceremonies may be Friday, but the first Washingtonian athlete will compete Monday the 25th, when Jordan Chiles takes the stage for the artistic gymnastics qualification round. Among the last to compete will be Adrian Hegyvary, whose cycling track race will take place on Aug 7, the second-to-last day of the event.

A full schedule for the Tokyo games can be found here.