2024 Summer Olympics: New Yorkers headed to Paris, 6 local talents to watch

Team USA’s 592-athlete roster headed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris brings together talents from all corners of the nation and the New York City area is no exception.

Over the next month, New Yorkers will be able to see 34 Olympians who either hail from towns within a 40-mile radius of New York City or who currently call the Big Apple home. An additional 10 members of Team USA live in what we consider upstate New York.

Here is the full list of local products on the cusp of fulfilling lifelong dreams across the pond:

2024 Team USA members from New York City (within 40-mile radius)

2024 Team USA members from New York State

6 local athletes to watch at 2024 Olympics

Sunny Choi, Queens, NY, Breaking: Sunny Choi is America’s top-ranked B-Girl. Initially, Choi was once a gymnast, but that career was cut short because of injury. Searching for a new athletic outlet, she fell in love with breakdancing. The 35-year-old first started breaking during her first year at the University of Pennsylvania.

Upon graduating, Choi worked a series of marketing jobs while breaking on the side. Eventually, she climbed her way to Estee Lauder’s Director of Global Creative Operations for skincare. After finishing second at the World Games in 2022, however, Choi left the corporate world behind to break full-time and train for the Olympics.

Choi has an array of medals she received from global competitions. She holds three silver medals from the 2019 World Urban Games, the 2022 IWGA World Games, and the 2023 Pan American Championships. Additionally, Choi earned her Olympic qualification in November 2023 with a gold medal win at the 2023 Pan American Games.

The 2024 Paris games act as breaking’s Olympic debut. It has never been an Olympic sport, meaning Choi could bring the USA the first-ever breaking Olympic gold medal.

Anne Cebula, Brooklyn, NY, Epee Fencing: Anne Cebula is a 26-year-old Brooklyn native who is ranked second in the United States and 27th in the world for women’s Epee Fencing. Cebula attended Columbia University where she was the 2019 NCAA Epee champion. She too is a two-time Division I national champion (2016 and 2023) in women’s Epee. Most recently, she won gold in October at the North American Cup.

Outside of fencing, Cebula is a working model. She has modeled for companies like Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch. Cebula has put modeling on hiatus, however, to give the 2024 Olympics her undivided attention.

This is her first time competing at the Olympic games for the USA. She credits watching fencing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in her youth as the moment she became captivated by the sport. From then on, Cebula began pursuing her captivation.

Cebula looks to go from dreamer to medal winner in Paris.

 Salif Mane Bronx, NY, Track & Field (Triple Jump): Salif Mane is a 22-year-old track & field stand-out hailing from the Bronx. Mane attended Bronx Medical Science High School before heading to Fairleigh Dickinson University where he became the school’s most decorated student-athlete ever. He is a seven-time All-American and four-time First Team All-American triple jumper.

The past few months have been a whirlwind for Mane. In May, he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in Civil Engineering. Shortly after, she won the NCAA Division I outdoor triple jump title in June. He followed up that performance by posting a personal best jump that awarded him gold and a spot on the USA roster at the Olympic Trials. Following the roster nod, he was invited to Yankee Stadium in his hometown to throw out the first pitch at the Yankees’ 4th of July game.

Mane is ready to add a medal to the most decorated track & field team in Olympic history, by a mile. The USA holds 828 all-time medals with Great Britain in second with 211.

Jack McGlynn, Middle Village, NY, Soccer: Jack McGlynn is a midfielder for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer and has been affiliated with the team’s academy since he was a mere 15 years old. McGlynn comes from a soccer family and has been kicking the ball around his whole life. His older brother plays professionally for Rhode Island FC and his dad previously worked in the soccer realm as the BW Gottschee director of coaching in Queens.

McGlynn has previously represented the USA across the youth levels. He has competed on the U16 and U23 national teams. In 2024, he made his debut on the senior team.

The 21-year-old Queens native has been named to the USA Soccer team with fellow Union teammate Nathan Harriel.

The US men’s Olympic soccer team has never won a medal at the Olympics and this is the first time they have qualified for the competition since 2008. The US team is hopeful to change that notion this year in a field of great competition.

Kate Douglass — Pelham, NY — Swimming: Kate Douglass is a 22-year-old swimmer from Pelham with a very decorated career at a young age. In 2016, she set New York high school records for the 50 and 100-meter freestyle. She still holds the state records today.

Douglass attended the University of Virginia and holds numerous records for the school. She also holds the American record for the 100-meter fly. In 2022 and 2023, she was awarded the Division I Women’s Swimmer of the Year. Douglass is a 15-time NCAA Champion and a 28-time All-American.

At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Douglass earned a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley. For her second Olympic appearance, Douglass looks to make a splash in Paris and bring home gold alongside seasoned veteran Katie Ledecky.

Tahl Leibovitz Ozone Park, NY, Para Table Tennis

Tahl Leibovitz is the most experienced Olympian on this list, but it did not happen easily.

Before his first Olympic Games in 1996, Leibovitz—who suffers from Osteochondroma—was homeless during his teenage years. Leibovitz spent nights sleeping on the subway and days walking the streets of Queens.

Leibovitz discovered his table tennis talents at the South Queens Boys and Girls Club and has been on a tear ever since. The 49-year-old Queens native has competed in six Paralympic Games for the USA. Paris will be his seventh. He has medaled three times. In the 1996 Atlanta games, Leibovitz earned a gold in singles and bronze for the team. In the 2004 Athens games, he earned bronze for his singles performance.

Outside of Table Tennis, Leibovitz has built an astounding life for himself. He has been inducted into the USATT Hall of Fame and has written the books “Ping Pong for Fighters Gold Medal Edition” and “The Book of Tahl: From Homelessness to Paralympic Gold”. Leibovitz is also a licensed clinical social worker with a degree from NYU and works with marginalized populations in New York City.

Leibovitz is no stranger to Olympic competition and searches Paris for a fourth medal to add to his collection.

For more on the Olympics, visit AMNY.com

Read more: Knicks Welcome Back Marcus Morris: Impact on Team’s Rotation