Meet all the Utah athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics

SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah is going to be well represented in terms of athletes competing at the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Utah athletes head to Tokyo Olympics

In all, 19 athletes with ties to Utah will take part in the Olympics this summer. However, not all of them will represent Team USA. Additionally, the athletes will take part in a wide range of events from sport climbing to pistol shooting and from men’s indoor volleyball to basketball.

Perhaps the sports that may garner the most interest in Utah will be men’s indoor volleyball, basketball and women’s gymnastics. The state will be represented by three athletes in each of those events. 

The Summer Games will take place July 23 – Aug. 8, 2021.

Here is a list of Utah athletes competing in Tokyo: 

Men’s Volleyball

• Taylor Sander, BYU, is a current professional volleyball player.
• Brenden Sander, BYU, is an alternate for Team USA.
• Ben Patch, Layton and Provo, is an alternate for Team USA.

Men’s Basketball

• Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz, will play for his native Australian team.
• Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz, will play in his second Olympics for France.
• Damian Lillard, Weber State alum and current member of the Portland Trail Blazers, will represent Team USA.

Women’s Gymnastics

• MyKayla Skinner, University of Utah; Skinner plans to retire from the sport following the Olympics.
• Grace McCallum, University of Utah; the incoming freshman will provide fans of the Red Rocks a preview of things to come in the future.
• Kara Eaker, University of Utah, will serve as an alternate for Team USA.

Women’s Basketball

• Leilani Mitchell, University of Utah, is a current member of the Washington Mystics and will play for Australia.

Pistol Shooting

• Alexis Lagan, University of Utah, started shooting at age 15, and has participated in other world events, including the 2019 Pan American Games.

Women’s Indoor Volleyball

• Luka Slabe, BYU, joined the U.S Women’s National Team staff following three seasons as an assistant coach for the BYU men’s team.

Women’s Rugby

• Jordan Matyas, BYU, was a collegiate All-American in 2014, and will represent Team USA in Tokyo.

Baseball

• Eddy Alvarez, Salt Lake Community College, Alvarez played for SLCC in 2011, and made his Major League Baseball debut with the Miami Marlins on Aug. 5, 2020.

Softball

• Hannah Flippen, University of Utah; the California native played at Utah from 2014 to 2017.

Beach Volleyball

• Jake Gibb, Bountiful; the Tokyo Games will be Gibb’s fourth Olympics.

Swimming

• Rhyan White, Herriman, will participate in the backstroke. White currently swims at the University of Alabama.

Sport Climbing

• Nathaniel Coleman, Murray; the Tokyo Games will be Coleman’s debut for the sport.

Cycling

• Haley Batten, Park City, will take part in the Mountain Biking event during the Tokyo Games.

Check out our full Tokyo Olympics coverage from KSL Sports and KSL TV here. 

Read more:

• Tokyo venues for Olympics will not have spectators; Games will be held under a state of emergency
• Yes. Tokyo Olympics are ‘a go’  despite opposition, pandemic
• 3 University of Utah gymnasts heading to Tokyo
• Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas joins Inside Sources
• Sen. Romney calls for non-traditional boycott of Beijing Olympics

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