2004 United States Olympic Team entered into XXVIII Olympic Games in Athens, Greece

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Cecil Bleiker (US Olympic Committee)
07/22/2004


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The United States Olympic Committee today announced its team members for competition at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.  The U.S. Team currently lists 531 athletes, including 274 men and 257 women, but could expand if certain athletes in track and field meet Olympic qualifying standards in the next few weeks.    The U.S. Team will have athletes scheduled to compete in 29 sports at the 2004 Olympic Games including the newest Olympic discipline of women's freestyle wrestling.    "We are very excited by the talented team we have entered for the United States into the 2004 Olympic Games," said U.S. Chef de Mission Herman Frazier. "This team has worked extremely hard to reach this level, and will make us all proud next month in Athens, Greece."    No one on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team has more Olympic experience than equestrian (dressage) athlete Robert Dover (Lebanon, N.J./Wellington, Fla.) who will be competing in his sixth Olympic Games for the United States (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004).    Track and field athlete Gail Devers (Atlanta, Ga.) will be competing for the United States in her fifth Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004).  Her fellow track and field teammate Jearl Miles-Clark (Knoxville, Tenn.) also made her fifth U.S. Olympic Team this year (1988 Did Not Compete, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004).    Jenny Thompson (Dover, N.H.), the most decorated Olympic woman in the United States with 10 Olympic medals (eight gold, one silver and one bronze) will be looking to add to her Olympic medal collection in this, her fourth Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004).    The 2004 Olympic Games will be a family affair for several members of the U.S. Olympic Team.  Siblings competing for the U.S. at the Games in Athens include divers Troy and Justin Dumais (The Woodlands, Texas); fencers Keeth and Erinn Smart (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Sada and Emily Jacobson (Dunwoody, Ga.); gymnasts and twin brothers Paul and Morgan Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.); swimmers Tara and Dana Kirk (Vermerton, Wash.), and Kalyn and Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz.) and tennis players Venus and Serena Williams (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Bob and Mike Bryan (Camarilo, Calif.).    Beach volleyball athlete Misty May (Newport Beach, Calif.) and tennis athlete Taylor Dent (Huntington Beach, Calif.) are cousins.    Three married couples will also be competing on the same U.S. Olympic Team next month in Athens as modern pentathletes Mary Beth and Vaho Iagorashvili (San Antonio, Texas); rowers Danika and Ben Holbrook (Princeton, N.J.); and track and field athletes Alan and Shayne Culpepper (Boulder, Colo.), represent the United States.     "We congratulate the athletes who have earned the opportunity to represent our country as members of the 2004 United States Olympic Team," said USOC Chair Peter Ueberroth.  "This talented team will strive to make America proud, and through their accomplishments, serve as a source of inspiration for our country."    "There is no greater honor for an athlete than earning the opportunity to represent his or her country in the Olympic Games," said USOC Chief Executive and Acting Secretary General Jim Scherr.  "The U.S. Olympic Team is 300 million strong, and we appreciate the support and encouragement of Americans everywhere as our team prepares to compete in the Athens Games."    The USA Team Roster can still be adjusted due to injury, illness or exceptional circumstances up to the technical meetings for each sport.    Other changes could include athletes achieving the Olympic qualifying A standards in track and field events before August 9 and athletes resolving pending doping cases.    Editor's note: A total of 17 wrestlers, including seven men's freestyle wrestlers, six men's Greco-Roman wrestlers and four women freestyle wrestlers, are on the U.S. Olympic Team roster.    2004 United States Olympic Team Roster  (As of 7/22/04)  Subject to Change    USA Delegation Mission Staff  USOC Chair: Peter Ueberroth, Laguna Beach, Calif.  Chef de Mission: Herman Frazier, Honolulu, Hawaii.  Asst. Chef de Mission: Mary McCagg, Cambridge, Mass.  Asst. Chef de Mission: Dale Neuburger, Indianapolis, Ind.  USOC Chief Executive and Acting Secretary General: Jim Scherr, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Delegation Director: Doug Ingram, Colorado Springs, Colo.    U.S. Olympic Team by Sport    Wrestling (17)    Women (4)  Sara McMann, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Patricia Miranda, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio  Tela O'Donnell, Colorado Springs, Colo.    Men (13)  Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif.  Daniel Cormier, Stillwater, Okla.  Rulon Gardner, Cascade, Colo.  Jim Gruenwald, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Eric Guerrero, Stillwater, Okla.  Dennis Hall, Plover, Wis.  Jamill Kelly, Stillwater, Okla.  Garrett Lowney, Freedom, Wis.  Kerry McCoy, Bethlehem, Pa.  Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa  Brad Vering, Colorado Springs, Colo.  Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa  Oscar Wood, Ft. Carson, Colo.    Total Number of U.S. Athletes  Women:  257  Men:  274  Total:  531