Meet the 13 Eagle Scouts competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics

After weeks of qualifying trials, Team USA is set.

And of the hundreds of athletes that will represent the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics, 13 are Eagle Scouts.

We’ve got one basketball player, two swimmers, two rowers, four track and field athletes, one water polo player, one cyclist, one shooting sports specialist and one canoeist.

Here’s a look at the 2024 Team USA Eagle Scouts.

Canyon Barry

Sport: 3X3 basketball
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana

What you need to know: Barry, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, first made a name for himself in college, where, as a Florida Gator, he was known for shooting underhand free throws old-school style, just like his dad. Canyon went on to play professional ball in China, Czech Republic and Finland.

In 2019, he entered the world of 3X3 ball, a unique version of basketball that features just three players for each team on the court at a time. Barry and the rest of the 2019 USA 3×3 World Cup Team went 7-0 in international competition, earning the first gold medal in the sport for Team USA.

Schedule and results:
— Lost to Serbia on July 30
— Lost to Poland on July 31
— Lost to Lithuania on Aug. 1
— Lost to Latvia on Aug. 1
— Win against France on Aug. 2
— Win against China on Aug. 2
— Lost to Netherlands on Aug. 4

Shaine Casas

Sport: 200-meter individual medley (swimming)
Hometown: McAllen, Texas

What you need to know: As a young child, Casas says his mom thought swimming lessons would be good for him to keep him safe around the water. As a teenager, his mom thought Scouting would be good for him, too.

It’s safe to say both worked out.

Casas earned a swimming scholarship from Texas A&M (he eventually transferred to the University of Texas) and, later, a spot on Team USA.

“My mom was on me all the time about getting my Eagle Scout (requirements) done,” Casas said in a 2019 interview with the TexAgs website. “I’m grateful for her pushing me so hard though because now I swim at A&M and I’m an Eagle Scout. It’s paid off.”

Though Casas has competed in multiple international competitions, this will be his first Olympics.

Schedule and results:
— 2nd place in Heat 4 (5th overall) on Aug. 1 to advance to semifinals
— 9th place in semifinals on Aug. 1

Peter Chatain

Sport: Men’s eight rowing
Hometown: Winnetka, Illinois

What you need to know: By day, he’s a machine learning engineer in Alameda, California. When he’s not doing that, though, Chatain is part of Team USA’s 8+ rowing team, a division of rowing that features eight teammates working together at the same time.

“Scouting prepared me for life by always thinking about being prepared,” Chatain said in a story posted to the Northeast Illinois Council website. “It is far easier being proactive rather than reactive in life. This is true as we prepare for the Olympics, where it is far easier to make adjustments in our plan several months in advance rather than two days before a race.”

Chatain has been named to five national teams in his career, but Paris will be his first Olympic team. You can watch him and Eagle Scout teammate Christian Tabash (more on him below) compete on Monday, July 29, and Aug. 3.

Schedule and results:
— 1st place in Heat 1 on July 29 to advance to finals
— 🥉Bronze medal in finals on Aug. 3

James Corrigan

Sport: Steeplechase (track and field)
Hometown: Los Angeles, California

What you need to know: A standout track athlete at BYU, Corrigan will compete in Paris in the steeplechase, an obstacle race that gets its name from the steeplechase in horse racing.

An outstanding swimmer in high school, he eventually chose to focus on track and field. In May 2024, he won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:29.24 at the Big 12 Conference Outdoor Championships. It was an excellent time, but not good enough for the Olympics.

Heading into the Penn Relays Summer Showcase just a few weeks ago, Corrigan knew he needed to run an 8:15 or better to make the U.S. Olympic team. He ran an 8:13.87.

Corrigan’s Olympic debut will be this Monday, August 5.

Schedule and results:
— 10th place in Heat 1 (31st overall) of Round 1 on Aug. 5

Ryan Held

Sport: 4×100 meter freestyle relay (swimming)
Hometown: Springfield, Illinois

What you need to know: We gave you a heads up on Held back in 2016. Then, at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Held won a gold medal in the 4X100 meter freestyle relay, the same event he’ll be competing in in Paris.

Held has said he remembers his time as a Scout as a nice break from the high-pressure world of competitive swimming.

“Scouting was just the perfect break because it taught me valuable skills but also provided a stress-free environment,” he says.

His parents once spoke beautifully about what Scouting means to their family.

Schedule and results:
— 2nd place in Heat 2 (4th overall) on July 27 to advance to finals
— 🥇Gold medal in finals on July 27

Drew Holland

Sport: Men’s water polo
Hometown: Orinda, California

What you need to know: Holland helped the men’s water polo team to a sixth-place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Games. Now, he’s back for more. Holland plays goalie, one of the most important positions on the team. He said playing for Team USA was a goal he had as a child.

“Watching my first senior national team game … I was 11 and remember that being the first time I considered it possible to play water polo for Team USA,” he said in an interview leading up to the 2020 Summer Games.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Holland found trees in the yards of residents in his community from which much of the fruit was going to waste. He then developed a program to encourage homeowners to pick the fruit when it’s ripe and donate it to a local food bank.

The men’s water polo team plays its first match of the Olympics on Sunday, July 28.

Schedule and results:
— Lost to Italy on July 28
— Win against Romania on July 30
— Lost to Greece on Aug. 1
— Win against Montenegro on Aug. 3
— Win against Croatia on Aug. 5
— Win against Australia in quarterfinals on Aug. 7 to advance to semifinals
— Lost to Serbia in semifinals on Aug. 9
— 🥉Bronze medal win against Hungary on Aug. 11

Grant Koontz

Sport: Men’s track cycling omnium
Hometown: Spring, Texas

What you need to know: When he turned 16, Koontz’s parents got him a bike instead of a car. Little did they know he would pedal his way to Olympic glory. After focusing on professional road racing for four years, Grant discovered the track and promptly qualified for Team USA.

An omnium is a multiple race event in track cycling. At Paris, the event will be held over the course of one day and focus on endurance events over four disciplines: scratch (10 kilometers), tempo (also 10K), elimination race (in which one rider is eliminated after each lap) and one final points race.

The men’s omnium is on Thursday, August 8.

Schedule and results:
— Placed 16th in omnium race on Aug. 8

Henry Leverett

Sport: Rapid fire pistol shooting
Hometown: Bainbridge, Georgia

What you need to know: Leverett competed in pistol at Ohio State University with his brother, helping the Buckeyes to the 2021 team national championship. Now, Leverett is aiming for Olympic gold in Paris.

While he was advancing through the ranks of Scouting as a teenager, Leverett was also excelling in shooting sports, setting national records in junior men’s rapid fire and junior men’s sport pistol. At the Tokyo Olympics, he finished 22^nd in the 25-meter rapid fire pistol event.

Schedule and results:
— Placed 25th in qualifications on Aug. 4

Conner Mantz

Sport: Men’s marathon (track and field)
Hometown: Logan, Utah

What you need to know: One of the most accomplished long-distance runners ever to come from the state of Utah, Mantz will be aiming to leave his mark on the international stage at his first Olympics this summer.

Mantz has been a rising star in men’s marathon for years. He turned in a solid performance in the 2021 team trials but came up just short of qualifying for Tokyo. Since then, he’s won the USA Half Marathon Championship and the USA Track and Field 20-kilometer Championship.

His improvement was evident during the 2024 Olympic trials, when he finished first, leaving no doubt about whether he would qualify for Paris.

In high school, he was known for his 4.0 grade point average, his ability to play piano and guitar, and of course his determination to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

Schedule and results:
— Placed 8th in marathon on Aug. 10

Kenneth Rooks

Sport: Steeplechase (track and field)
Hometown: College Place, Washington

What you need to know: Rooks has already had a memorable career at Brigham Young University, earning honors at the regional and conference level. Now, he’s ready to see what he can do at the Olympics.

Before he even got to BYU, Rooks was already making a name for himself. In his school’s classification, he was a two-time cross-country state champ, and he broke a state record in the 800 meters. He was also valedictorian of his graduating class.

He served in Kampala, Uganda, and Orem, Utah, as part of his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Rook’s Olympic debut will be this Monday, August 5.

Schedule and results:
— 2nd place in Heat 3 (19th overall) of Round 1 on Aug. 5 to advance to finals
— 🥈Silver medal in finals on Aug. 7

Aaron Small

Sport: K-1 and K-2 sprint (canoeing)
Hometown: Seattle, Washington

What you need to know: The only thing more inspiring than Small’s journey on the water is his journey away from it. Born hard of hearing, Small learned how to paddle by mimicking the actions of his coaches and older athletes. Eventually, he got hearing aids, which greatly improved his ability to hear but also triggered some bullying instances from his peers.

“If I could talk to my younger self, I’d try to encourage him and say that hearing aids are no different than glasses,” Small said in an interview on the Hearing Like Me website. “They’re just helping everyone stay connected. It’s nothing to be ashamed of — it’s just what you have to do to stay connected.”

Small earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games and silver at the same event in 2024. The K-2 sprint in Paris will be held on Tuesday, August 6.

Schedule and results:
Men’s Kayak Single 100m:
— 6th place in Heat 2 on Aug. 7 to move on to quarterfinals
— 5th place in Quarterfinal 3 on Aug. 7

Men’s Kayak Double 500m:
— 5th place in Heat 2 on Aug. 6 to move on to quarterfinals
— 3rd place in Quarterfinal 2 on Aug. 6 to advance to semifinals
— 4th place in Semifinal 1 on Aug. 9 to advance to finals
— 8th place in finals on Aug. 9

Christian Tabash

Sports: Men’s eight rowing
Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia

What you need to know: Thanks to Tabash and Chatain, 25% of the men’s eight rowing team are Eagle Scouts. In addition to excelling in Scouts, Tabash excelled in rowing as a high schooler, producing strong finishes in multiple national events.

He continued to develop his skills in college. At Harvard, he showed remarkable improvement each year, with the only hiccup being a season that was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a graduate student at the University of California, he developed his skills even further, eventually qualifying for his first Olympic Games.

Schedule and results:
— First place in Heat 1 on July 29 to advance to finals
— 🥉Bronze medal in finals on Aug. 3

Clayton Young

Sport: Men’s marathon (track and field)
Hometown: American Fork, Utah

What you need to know. The United States is sending three athletes to Paris to compete in marathon. Two of them are Eagle Scouts. Along with fellow Eagle Scout and BYU alum Conner Mantz, Young is looking to take his impressive long-distance running skills to a whole other level in Paris.

In high school, Young was twice named the Utah Gatorade cross country runner of the year, in part because of his skill as an athlete, and also in part because of his 4.0 GPA and Eagle Scout rank.

Young won the 2019 NCAA Division I title in the 10,000 meters, finished seventh in the 2023 Chicago Marathon and finished second only to Mantz in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

The men’s marathon is Saturday, August 10.

Schedule and results:
— Placed 9th in marathon on Aug. 10

Though the opening ceremony is on Friday, there are Olympic events to watch on TV this Wednesday (rugby, soccer) and Thursday (rugby, soccer, handball and archery).

Photos from Getty Images unless otherwise noted