Several MSU track and field alumni will be competing over the next week for a place in the 2024 Team USA. Erica Bougard, Sarah Blake, Cameron Crump, Curtis Thompson and Tiffany Flynn began their competitions over the weekend.
Bougard and Thompson both made their Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, with Bougard competing in the heptathlon and Thompson in the javelin. Bougard is one of the most-decorated Bulldogs ever with 16 All-America honors and two USATF heptathlon championships. Thompson is a three-time USATF champion as well, winning in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Flynn missed out on the 2020 games and is hoping to make the cut this time around.
The Bulldogs aren’t short of international competitors either. World Champion runner Marco Arop is competing for a spot on Team Canada this week. He currently ranks No. 1 in the world for the 800m event, for which he holds the indoor and outdoor Canadian records and won the 2023 World Championship.
Navasky Anderson and Tyrese Reid will compete to join Team Jamaica, with Reid making his Olympic trials debut after earning second in the 2024 SEC Indoor Championships.
MSU javelin duo Franck Di Sanza and Remi Rougetet are hoping to make it to Paris as well, though they’ll be competing against each other if they do. Di Sanza will compete for Team Switzerland and Rougetet for Team France.
Marta Pen Frietas will compete for a spot on Team Portugal at the end of the week. She is a 10-time Portuguese National Champion for indoor and outdoor events in the 3000m, 1500m and 800m events. This would be her third Olympics as she competed in the 1500m in the 2016 and 2020 games.
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