8 Illinoisans Have Qualified For The Summer Olympics So Far

From July 26th through August 11th, over 10,000 Olympic athletes will compete in 329 medal events during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games, then from August 28th through September 8th, it's the Summer 2024 Paralympic Games, also held in Paris.

So far, with several Olympic qualifying events still to come, we know that at least eight of the 10,000-plus Olympic competitors will come from the Land of Lincoln, and there will more than likely be several more Illinois athletes added to the mix before the opening ceremonies.

Even though the Olympics over the last few years haven't attracted quite the same massive TV audiences that the Olympic Games of the past used to get, it's still going to be really cool to tune in and root for someone from your own state.

The Time Difference Between Illinois And Paris Is 7 Hours, And NBC Has Planned On At Least 9 Hours Per Day Of Coverage, While The Peacock Streaming Service Is Planning On Televising Every Sport And Event

I guess you'll have to decide how much you want to screw up your internal body clock by getting up (or staying up) at odd hours to catch a favorite athlete or event.

Since there's no official time schedule that's been set yet for individual competitions, I can't tell you when to tune in to catch Illinois' Olympians, but we can take a look at who is going to making the trip from Illinois to Paris in month or so.

Four Illinois Athletes Have Qualified For The Paris Summer Olympic Games, And Four Have Qualified For The Summer 2024 Paralympics In Paris

Illinois Summer Olympic Qualifiers (big hat-tip to Patch.com):

• Kennedy Blades (Broadview), wrestling (first female to win a state title against boys in Illinois, according to Team USA)
• Anthony Davis (Chicago), basketball (won Olympic gold with Team USA in 2012, member of NBA championship Los Angeles Lakers in 2020)
• Evita Griskenas (Orland Park), gymnastics (finished 12th in the individual all-around at 2020 Tokyo Olympics)
• Josef Rau (Chicago), wrestling (2023 U.S. Open champion, three-time NCAA DIII champion)

Illinois Qualifiers for The Summer 2024 Paralympic Games:

• Sarah Adam (Naperville), wheelchair rugby (won gold at the 2023 Para-Pan American Games)
• Marco Delarosa (Chicago), para shooting (finished 25th in the MP1 - 10m Air Pistol SH1 at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro)
• Ixhelt Gonzalez (Chicago), wheelchair basketball (won bronze as member of Team USA at Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020)
• Chuck Melton (Richview), wheelchair rugby (two-time silver medalist at 2020 and 2016 games)