The Cougars were well represented in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. A group of seven current and former Cougs represented six countries and one brought home a gold medal.
That was Trinity Rodman, 22 year-old forward for the US Women’s National Soccer Team. After spending a year with the Cougars in 2020, Rodman became the youngest draftee in the National Women’s Soccer League History when she was selected in the 2021 draft by the Washington Spirit.
Rodman was named to the Olympic squad on June 26 and played a key role in Team USA’s gold medal run. She scored two goals in the group stage, against Zambia and Australia, but her best moment came against Japan in the quarterfinals. With the game tied 0-0 in extra time, Rodman delivered the winning goal that sent Team USA into the semifinals. She also started the gold medal match against Brazil.
Also representing Team USA was hurdler CJ Allen. Allen, who holds the US record for 400m indoor hurdles, was competing in his first Olympics. The 29-year old advanced to the 400m hurdles semifinals, where he finished fourth, narrowly missing out on a spot in the finals.
Three other Cougs competed in track and field for other countries. Maribel Caicedo ran the hurdles for Ecuador. A former gold medalist in the World Youth Games, Caicedo came to WSU, where she became a track and field standout. In June 2024, she competed for Wazzu in the NCAA Track and Field Championships, where she finished second in the 100m hurdles. The WSU Grad Student reached the semifinals for the Women’s 100m hurdles, and finished fourth, behind another former Coug.
Charisma Taylor finished third in the same Women’s 100m hurdle semifinal. While neither Taylor nor Caicedo advanced to the finals, it marked an exciting finish for Washington State. Taylor, who transferred from WSU to Tennessee, competed for the Bahamas. Not only did she make the semifinals for the hurdles, Taylor also competed in the women’s Triple Jump event.
Jasneet Nijjar competed for Team Canada. She qualified as a member of their 4x100m relay team, which finished in sixth. Although Nijjar did not race in the events, she practiced with the team as an alternate and will still forever get to call herself an Olympian.
Josh Hawkinson, the WSU all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles, competed for Team Japan’s Basketball squad. Japan went 0-3 in the group stage, but Hawkinson represented the Cougs well. The Seattle native led team Japan in rebounds, with 29 throughout their three games. He also led them in scoring in their third game, picking up 26 points against Brazil.
Ieva Adomaviciute competed for team Lithuania in the Women’s Rowing Coxless Pair event, where she finished fifth. She previously led Wazzu to NCAA championship Appearances in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
