Art by Stephany Torres
The Summer Olympics are almost here, and competitors from our communities are set to compete in many different events and disciplines from gymnastics to hockey. That includes a whole slew of talented Latina athletes.
With the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics featuring over 200 countries and 400 events, it’s hard to know who to pay attention to, so we’ve rounded up a list of 10 Latina athletes from different countries and disciplines to look out for during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
And don’t forget to check out more on where to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics and what sports are being played!
Marileidy Paulino is a Dominican sprinter specializing in the 400m race. She won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, becoming the first woman from the Dominican Republic to ever win an individual medal in athletics. In Paris, she’ll be going for gold.
Rebeca Andrade is a Brazilian artistic gymnast, widely considered Simone Biles’ greatest competition in Paris 2024. In the last Olympics, Andrade became the first Brazilian female gymnast to medal at an Olympics, winning both the silver in the All-Around and a gold in Vault.
Sandra Lorena Arenas is a Colombian racewalker, who specializes in the 20-kilometer race walk. In Tokyo 2020, Arenas won the silver medal in this event, after participating in the event in the two previous Olympics.
Leylah Fernández, who was born in Canada, but has Ecuadorian and Peruvian roots, will compete in the tennis tournament at the Olympics, in both singles and doubles. In doubles, she will be paired with Gabriela Dabrowski. She is currently Canada’s highest-ranking female player at number 30. To learn more, read our interview with her here.
Idalys Ortiz is one of the most celebrated athletes in Cuba. The judoka has won a medal in the 78k division at the Olympics in every Olympics since 2008 and is set to make it five straight and maybe get a second gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn is a Puerto Rican track and field athlete who specializes in the 100-meter hurdles. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Camacho-Quinn became the first Puerto Rican of Afro-Latine descent and only the second person representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal. She looks to do it again in Paris 2024.
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Only 16, Rayssa Leal is a Brazilian professional skateboarder who already won a silver medal in women’s street skateboarding at the last Olympics in Tokyo. She was 13 at the time. In 2024, with a lot more experience, Leal is one of the big favorites for the Olympic gold in a relatively new discipline.
Natalia Grossman is a rock climber who specializes in competition climbing. Of Mexican heritage, Grossman will be participating in a sport that only made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but one at which she’s already very proficient. She, after all, has 19 podium finishes at World Cup events, including nine golds.
Alexa Moreno is a Mexican artistic gymnast who is set to represent Mexico at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Moreno is the first Mexican female gymnast to medal at the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships, and one of the countries’ biggest Olympic hopes in the discipline.
Agustina Albertario is a field hockey player on the Argentina team who won silver in the category last Olympics. The Lionesses are looking to get that elusive gold in Paris 2024, and they certainly have the team to do it.
