These Are Eight Star Athletes To Watch At The 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games
These Are Eight Star Athletes To Watch At The 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games
Starting July 27 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the AAU Junior Olympic Games will feature athletes from across the country.
Are we ready for another legendary AAU Junior Olympic Games?
Beginning July 27, athletes from across the country will descend on Truist Stadium on the campus of North Carolina A&T for a chance to win championships, set records and secure medals.
Ahead of this year's event, we are taking a closer look at eight athletes who will compete on the big stage.
Some of them are top returners while others have unique stories. Be sure to check out some of the athletes to look out for in Greensboro.
- Here are five current U.S. Olympians who competed at AAU
- Kendrick Jones, Niles Briggman to star in the sprints at AAU JOs
- Flashback Friday: Grace Stark wins the 100mH at the 2017 AAU Junior Olympic Games
Kymora-Lee Williams (Tennessee), Olivia Pace (Ohio) and Maira Scott (Ohio)
Kymora-Lee Williams, a high school junior from Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the heavy favorites to claim double gold in the 100m and 200m.
Last season, she won two AAU Junior Olympic Games titles in the 15-16yo age group in the 100m and 200m as she went 11.89 and 23.84, respectively.
This spring, she gained more experience as she finished fifth at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in the 100m and 200m. Williams qualified from the AAU Region 6 meet with a U.S. No. 12 time and a personal best of 11.37. She followed by clocking a time of 23.54 in the 200m, which netted out a U.S. No. 29 ranking.
As she moves up into the 17-18yo age group, though, she'll face two of Ohio's best athletes.
Olivia Pace and Maira Scott, the University of Southern California signees and Ohio Heat Track Club standouts, will be Williams' top competitors.
Pace will be in the 100m and 200m, while Williams will only run against Scott in the 200m.
This year, Pace went 11.48 and 23.96 across those two distances. Pace added All-American honors to her resume as she was third at Brooks PR and Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 100m.
Scott, on the other hand, will return to the AAU Junior Olympic Games to try to add more hardware to her collection.
In 2023, she finished second in the 200m and was third in the 100m for the 17-18 age group. She currently sits at U.S. No. 15 in the 200m with a 23.38 best from Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Kendrick Jones Jr., Lake Belton (TX)
Kendrick Jones Jr. will be in the hunt to defend his 200m title as he went 21.15 to win the 15-16yo age group as a freshman. His journey didn't end there as he picked up a silver in the 100m with a 10.57.
A year older, he's gone 10.44 for 100m and posted a U.S. No. 14 wind-legal 200m performance of 20.83. He's the fourth-fastest sprinter from the Class of 2026 in this event in 2024.
Jones won't just be on the track, but he will also be on the runway for the long jump.
The UIL Outdoor state champion and sixth-place finisher at Nike Outdoor Nationals jumped a best of 24-5 (NWI) this spring.
Stefon DoDoo, Philadelphia (PA)
Residing from Philadelphia, Stefon Dodoo will be in search of the 400m-800m double in the 17-18yo age group.
Last year he set a lifetime best in the 15-16yo category in the 400m as he went 47.41 to finish second. He added another silver to his collection in the 800m when he crossed the finish line in 1:51.77.
Dodoo set a lifetime best in the two-lap race with a 1:49.69 to win the PAISAA Championship title this spring. This moved him up to U.S. No. 10 on the leaderboard.
Victor Jaimez-Solorio, Compton (CA)
The five-time AAU Junior Olympic champion Victor Jaimez-Solorio of Compton, California, will have a busy weekend as he returns to these championships for the fourth time in his career.
The 13-year-old will contest in the 800m, 1,500m and 3K races. He holds three AAU national records across the 8-and-under, 9- and 10-year-old age groups in the 1,500m.
Jaimez-Soloro could have his eyes set on the 13-year-old 1,500m record, which was set back in 2015 as future Olympian Brandon Miller went 4:13.45.
Michailyn Rose, Faith In Action Ministries Track Club
This name may sound familiar, and that's because it should.
In the 15-16yo age group, Michailyn Rose of Suffolk, Virginia, is entered in the triple jump and heptathlon. Her sister is Michaela Rose, the 2023 NCAA 800m champion out of LSU.
This spring, the younger Rose had one of her best performances at the AAU Region 5 Qualifier. She set a personal best in the 400mH as she went 1:04.92, then followed up with a PR of 39-4 in the triple jump. The multi-faceted athlete also scored 4,242 in the heptathlon, which is one of the highest scores going into the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Last season, she was second in the triple jump with a personal best leap of 40-11. This will be her fifth AAU Junior Olympic Games appearance.
Xavier Drumgoole, Round Rock (TX)
The Round Rock High School (TX) graduate and Stanford signee has competed on the AAU circuit for three seasons, but this time around he will look to earn his first gold medal.
Drumgoole is coming off a successful spring season where he won a Texas UIL Class 6A title in the triple jump, then followed with a national championship at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
He was third at the U.S. Under-20 Championships with a new personal best of 51-0.5, ranking him at U.S. No. 4 to finish the season.
How To Watch The AAU Junior Olympic Games
Here's how to watch the 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games on FloTrack. The 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games starts on Jul 27, 2024 and runs until Aug 3, 2024.
How to Live Stream 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games:
STREAMING: Watch the 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games on FloTrack. SIGN UP HERE.
On Your TV: Now Available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast & Apple TV.
Cast: Cast to your smart TV including Vizio, Samsung and LG TVs.
On The Go: Download the FloSports app on iOS or Android.
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