Team USA is a microcosm of America—it's diverse, featuring athletes of many races, sizes, and ages. From those who are still experiencing the ups and downs of high school to those who are nearing retirement, the range of ages on this year's Olympic team spans decades.
Whether 16 or 60, every athlete at the Paris Games has the same goal: come home with a medal, preferably gold. The youngest and oldest competitors on Team USA this year serve as inspirations in their own rights, showing Americans of all ages they can do anything no matter how many years of experience they might have.
You can find this year's freshest athletes in the gym or on the track, and its most experienced athletes will compete from Versailles in equestrian events. From Hezly Rivera to Quincy Wilson to Steffen Peters, here are the youngest and oldest Olympians on Team USA.
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Who are the youngest athletes on Team USA?
This year, gymnast Hezly Rivera is Team USA's youngest athlete. Born on June 4, 2008, Rivera is newly 16 and will compete with Simone Biles and Suni Lee for the gold. This year was the first time she was age-eligible to compete at the senior elite level after she won the 2023 U.S. all-around junior national championship.
Coming in a close second is Quincy Wilson, the youngest-ever male to make the U.S. Olympic track-and-field team. Wilson is 16, as well, but his birthday is Jan. 8, 2008, making him just under six months older than Rivera. He was named to the men's relay pool and is expected to participate in the 4x400m relay.
Who are the oldest athletes on Team USA?
The equestrian team highlights the oldest members of Team USA.
Rider Steffen Peters will celebrate his 60th birthday on Sept. 18, and 2024 will mark his sixth Olympics after having competed in 1996, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. His best finish came with a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, while he earned bronze in both 1996 in Atlanta and 2016 in Rio, all in team dressage. He will be the oldest U.S. athlete to compete at the Summer Olympics since 1936.
Also on the equestrian team, Laura Kraut will turn 59 in November. She was an alternate in 1992 and competed for Team USA in 2000, 2008, and 2020 in addition to qualifying for 2024. Kraut earned a gold medal in 2008 in Beijing for team jumping and added a silver in Tokyo for the same event.
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Youngest athlete in Team USA history
Dorothy Poynton-Hill was newly 13 when she competed for Team USA as a diver at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. At those games, she won silver for three-meter springboard diving, making her the youngest Olympic medalist in history at the time.
She earned her first gold in 1932 (Los Angeles) for winning the 10-meter platform and repeated in 1936 (Berlin), becoming the first Olympic diver to win the event twice. Poynton-Hill also earned a bronze medal in 1936 for the three-meter springboard.
She was inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968 and died in 1995.
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Oldest athlete in Team USA history
Archer Thomas Scott competed at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis at 71, making him the oldest Team USA competitor. Born in 1833, Scott is also the first-born known American Olympian. He died just seven years after the 1904 Games, where he failed to claim any medals.
His daughter, Matilda Howell, was also an Olympic archer who competed in the 1904 Games where she won three gold medals.
