5 Western Pennsylvania athletes to compete in 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

Thousands of athletes will descend on Paris, France, this week to compete against the best in the world in their given sports at the Olympic Games.

Five of those world-class athletes cultivated their craft in high school gyms, stadiums, rivers and pools around Western Pennsylvania.

Here’s a look at the local competitors in the 2024 Olympic Games:

Michael Grady, Central Catholic

Team USA, rowing (men’s 4)

Date: July 27 in heat races

How he got here: Grady and his U.S. men’s four teammates qualified by finishing with a silver medal at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Serbia.

Notable: The 6-foot-5 Bradford Woods native is making his second appearance in the Olympics after finishing fifth in the men’s 4 in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. … At Central Catholic, Grady won a gold medal with the varsity eight at the 2013 SRAA National Championship and earned bronze at the 2014 SRAA National Championship. … He rowed in all nine regattas in the Varsity eight during his senior season at Cornell (2019), when they finished sixth at the IRA National Championships. … Grady’s international experience includes a gold medal in the men’s eight at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 championships, a fourth in the eight at the 2018 World Rowing Cup III, and a fourth in the eight at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

Did you know?: Grady, 27, has represented Team USA in eight international competitions.

Quotable: “We got no medal at the (Tokyo) Olympics for my boat,” Grady told TribLive. “Walking away without a medal gives us something to strive for and a little extra motivation as well. ... “The main goal for us as a group is to get a medal and perform to the best of our ability.”

Spencer Lee, Franklin Regional

Team USA, wrestling

Dates: Aug. 8-9 in opening rounds

How he got here: Lee, 25, finished first at the U.S. Olympic team trials at Penn State, beating former Iowa teammate Thomas Gilman twice to earn a spot on the team, but not a spot in Paris. He earned a trip to France at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey.

Notable: The 2017 Franklin Regional graduate was a three-time PIAA Class 3A champion, a four-time WPIAL champion and a three-time world champion. He compiled a 144-1 record in high school before heading to Iowa, where he was a three-time NCAA Division I champion and one-time runner-up at 125 pounds, a three-time Big Ten champion and a two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner (given to the nation’s top wrestler). Earlier this year, he was a Pan American champion at 57 kilograms. … Lee attended the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro as a training partner for former Hawkeye Daniel Dennis.

Did you know?: Lee’s mother, Cathy, was born in France and won a silver medal in judo in the 1991 Pan-American Games. She was an Olympic alternate in ’92 (Barcelona).

Quotable: “I can’t wait to get there and put on a show,” Lee told Triblive. “This has been my goal, to wrestle in the Olympics.”

Josh Matheny, Upper St. Clair

Team USA, swimming (200-meter breaststroke)

Date: July 30 with semifinal races

How he got here: Matheny finished second in 2 minutes, 8.86 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Notable: The 2021 Upper St. Clair graduate just finished his junior season at Indiana University, where he was an All-American in two events and finished sixth in the NCAA in the 100-yard breaststroke. He is a seven-time All-American in his collegiate career and a two-time NCAA medalist, as well as a three-time Big Ten champion. … In high school, Matheny won three gold medals at the PIAA meet his senior season, including capturing the 100-yard breaststroke title for the fourth year in a row with an NFHS and state-record time of 51.84 seconds. That year, he also won a fourth WPIAL title in the 100 breast and led USC to the WPIAL team title.

Did you know?: Matheny nearly also qualified in the 100-meter breaststroke but finished in third place at the Olympic Trials. The top two finishers qualified.

Quotable: “It’s a lot to just step up and race here, and I’m just super excited to wear the cap and do the best I can for the United States,” he told IndyStar at the Olympic Trials.

Ayden Owens-Delerme, North Allegheny

Puerto Rico, track and field (decathlon)

Dates: Aug. 2-3

How he got here: Owens-Delerme scored a career-best 8,732 points at the Mt. SAC Relays in April to qualify for the Olympics. It was the best mark in the world at the time.

Notable: Owens-Delerme finished fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. His track and field career took off during his time at North Allegheny. He was named the 2018 Gatorade state track and field athlete of the year after winning state titles in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 200 meters and taking silver in the long jump. He also was a four-time New Balance National All-American. He then attended Southern Cal (2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year) and Michigan (2021 Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year) before wrapping up his college career at Arkansas. There he won the 2022 NCAA championship in the decathlon and was named the SEC Field Athlete of the Year. He is a nine-time NCAA All-American and three-time NCAA champion. … Owens-Delerme will compete in the decathlon over two days — Day 1 includes the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400. Second-day events are the 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500.

Did you know?: Owens-Delerme has seven siblings. He is competing for Puerto Rico because his mom grew up there before moving to the United States. … His father, Michael, played basketball at Virginia.

Quotable: “I’m really excited, especially to compete for my mom’s home country as well,” Owens-Delerme told TribLive.

Bridget (Guy) Williams, Hempfield

Team USA, track and field (pole vault)

Dates: Aug. 5 in prelims

How she got here: Williams finished first in the pole vault at the U.S. Olympic Trials after clearing 4.73 meters (15 feet, 6 1/4 inches) with no misses.

Notable: Williams, 28, won the PIAA championship in 2014 at Hempfield. She then was a three-time All-American and two-time outdoor ACC individual champion in pole vault at Virginia, where she set indoor (4.38 meters, 14-4 1/2) and outdoor (4.46 meters, 14-7 1/2) school records. … She finished ninth in the pole vault at the 2021 Olympic Trials. Williams most recently won a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, after clearing 4.60 meters (15-1).

Did you know?: She has been a volunteer assistant coach at Virginia Tech since 2020.

Quotable: “My emotions were all over the place when I realized I made the team,” Williams told TribLive after the Trials. “It was really hard to focus. I wasn’t thinking about winning, my focus was making the team. I had a good feeling I could do it.”