Top Teens To Watch Ahead of Paris 2024

Born in Delaware, Megumi Field moved to California to pursue artistic swimming as a child. Trained in ballet, gymnastics and artistic swimming, Field is the youngest member of the U.S. artistic swimming team. In 2016, at the age of 11, she made her international debut at the UANA Pan American Championships, where her team placed first. Since then, she has gone on to win 22 medals across all disciplines.

Tate Carew is a goofy-footed skater who competes in the park discipline. In 2019, Carew was the youngest competitor to reach the finals at the World Skate Park World Championships in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Since then, he has gone on to become ranked sixth in the world and fourth in the Olympic ranking system.

Hailing from just outside of Houston, Yoseline Perez grew up on a ranch. A proud Mexican American, her first language is Spanish. She is the reigning Youth World Boxing Champion and now, as a 19-year-old, she is looking to make a name for herself in the elite world.

A relative newcomer to the world of elite Para track and field, Jaydin Blackwell made a name for himself at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris earlier in the month. It was also his first international meet. Blackwell became the world champion in both the men’s 100-meter T-38 and men’s 400-meter T-38, setting the world record with a time of 48.49 in the latter. 

Katie grew up in Las Vegas as the youngest of seven children. Her brother, Carter, also competed for Team USA at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Grimes was Team USA's youngest Olympian at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 at the age of 15. Now, she is set to go back to the Games in Paris after placing third in marathon swimming at the World Aquatics Championships.

Ezra Frech qualified for the Tokyo Games as the second-youngest athlete on Team USA. Now, he competes in long jump, high jump and the 100-meter. This month, he won gold and set a new world record in men's high jump T-63 at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championship in Paris. A recent high school graduate, Frech hopes to become the first-ever above-the-knee amputee athlete to compete in athletics in the NCAA.

Despite still only being 19, Erriyon Knighton has been on the pro circuit for over three years. Knighton started track and field in his freshman year of highschool and spent all four years as a two-sport athlete, competing in both football and track and field. At 18 years old, he broke the under-20 record for men's 200-meter, a record previously set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt.

Ixhelt Gonzalez, or “Itzi” to her teammates, has been on the U.S. women's wheelchair basketball team for six years and is going for her second Paralympic Games at the age of 19. Like some of her teammates, Gonzalez does not use a wheelchair in her day-to-day life but does compete in a wheelchair sport for the U.S. Paralympic team. Currently, she is studying at the University of Alabama where she plays wheelchair basketball alongside many of her Team USA teammates.

Audrey Kim is a high school junior from Salt Lake City, who will soon be competing in her second world championships in Birmingham, England, at the beginning of August. As a baby, Kim had such an intense fear of the water that her mom took her to mommy and me classes in the pool to help her learn to love it. Outside of swimming, Kim plays the violin and sings in choir. She is also a huge University of Michigan fan.