OHIO — The Olympic trials are over and now athletes from across the world are gearing up for Tokyo.
Even before the official games start, the trials were full of excitement with athletes breaking records like Sydney McLaughlin, 17, in the 400-meter hurdles and Athing Mu, 19, with the second-fastest time in the 800-meter run.
But quite a few of the athletes heading to Tokyo either went to college in Ohio or are from the Buckeye State.
Meet the athletes with an Ohio background competing in this year’s summer Olympics:
Swimming
Hunter Armstrong
Armstrong, a junior at the Ohio State University, finished in second place with a personal best of 52.48 seconds in the 100m backstroke to qualify for the games. He’s the first male Ohio State swimmer to make the Olympic team since 1965, according to the university. Armstrong will be representing the U.S.
“The United States has an amazing history of 1000-meter backstrokers and I want to be a part of that,” Armstrong told Spectrum News.
Ruby Remati
The incoming Ohio State student athlete is heading to Tokyo to represent the U.S. in synchronized swimming.
Remati won the 2016 and 2017 U.S. National Championships and has placed competitions globally.
In the 2018 Japan Open, she placed 10th in Duet Tech and 11th in the Duet Free. In the 2018 China Open, she placed 3rd in the Duet Tech and Duet Free.
Emily Armstrong
The incoming Ohio State freshman will also be in synchronized swimming, representing Canada.
Armstrong helped win Team Ontario two team silvers in the at the U1 5Pan American Championships in 2011 and then won a solo gold.
She also competed for Canada at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, securing a spot for Canada in the Tokyo Olympics after helping to win a team gold.
Ruslan Gaziev
The Ohio State junior will be representing Canada in Tokyo this summer.
Gaziev will compete in the 400×10 relay after finishing second finishing second in both the semifinals and finals of the 100 freestyle.
Matthew Abeysinghe
The former Ohio State swimmer is about to compete in his second Olympic games.
He will be competing for Sri Lanka. He was the first Sri Lankan swimmer to qualify under an Olympic standard in 2016.
Abeysinghe was a seven-time relay All-American for Ohio State.
Track and Field
Clayton Murphy
The 2016 bronze medalist once again punched his ticket to the Olympics, coming in first place in the 800-meter run.
With just seconds left of the run, Murphy was in fifth place, but sprinted the last 40 meters, finishing with a time of 1:43.17 — the fastest time recorded so far this year.
The Ohio Olympian will continue to be coached by Lee LaBadie from the University of Akron.
“I really am worried about myself and what I can do. As long as I’m in the best shape that I can be in, the healthiest I can be, and as mentally confident in myself as possible, I think the sky’s the limit,” Murphy told Spectrum News.
Christina Clemons
The former track star for Ohio State held back tears of joy after making the U.S. Olympic team.
“I’m just so happy,” she said in post-race interview.
Clemons, 31, finished third in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.53 seconds.
During her time at Ohio State between 2008-12, she made multiple school records, including the 100-meter hurdles and the 4×100-meter relay. Clemons is also a 10-time Big Ten champion, a two-time national champion and an 11-time All American.
Reggie Jagers
The Solon native and Kent State graduate qualified for the U.S. team in the discus throw after getting a top distance of 62.61 meters.
Although this is Jagers’ first time at an Olympic games, it’s not his first competing on an international stage.
He earned a gold medal in the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taiwan in the discus throw. Then in 2018, he won that event at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2019, he won bronze at the Pan American Games in Peru.
Katie Nageotte
The Olmstead Falls native won first in the women’s pole vault with a finish of 16 feet, 2 and 3/4 inches, which is a personal outdoor best.
According to the Olmstead Falls alumni association, Nageotte is the high school’s first Olympian. She’s also an alumni of Ashland University.
“When the dream, that turned into a goal, became a reality. We did it. OLYMPIAN,” Nageotte posted on her Facebook.
Anavia Battle
The Ohio State standout sprinter finished third in the 200-meter finals with a time of 21.95 seconds, a personal best.
My Goodness! My Goodness! Anavia Battle is going to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She just finished third in the 200 meters at the Olympic Trials and she went under 22 seconds … 21.95 for Anavia Battle … who is a United States Olympian!!!!! Whoo Hoooooo! pic.twitter.com/5Eucy6yl0q
— Ohio State T&F/XC (@OhioStateTFXC) June 27, 2021
Battle also had a personal, season and school record time of 22.28 seconds this season, according to the university. She will be representing Team USA.
Adelaide Aquilla
Another Ohio State Buckeye is heading for Tokyo. Aquilla from Rocky River, Ohio, finished in third place for shot put with a throw of 62 feet and 2 1/4 inches.
Aquilla was recently named the Ohio State female athlete of the year. She’s also the NCAA Champion for the event this year in early June. She was the first Ohio State woman to win an individual national championship in the outdoor NCAAs, according to the university.
Gymnastics
Misha Koudinov
The former Ohio State gymnast will be representing New Zealand this summer in his second Olympic games appearance.
Koudinov, who is from Auckland, New Zealand, specializes in uneven bars. In Rio in 2016, his highest finish was 16th place in vault.
He was the 2012 All-American for the Buckeyes and a 2013 team captain, according to the university.
Alex Yoder
The 2019 Ohio State graduate secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Yoder was an an eight-time All-American for the Buckeyes between 2016 and 2019, and this is his first time at the Olympics.
Simone Biles
That’s right — the G.O.A.T has Ohio ties. The Columbus native has qualified for her second Olympic games.
The moment you’ve been waiting for!
Say hello to your #TokyoOlympics women’s gymnastics team! 🇺🇸@Simone_Biles x @sunisalee_ x @ChilesJordan x @grace_mccallum2 pic.twitter.com/BuHbeUjiPe
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) June 28, 2021
Biles is the undefeated all-around competition, a five-time Olympic medalist and she has 25 world medals. She came out strong in the first day of the trials, heading to the top of the leaderboard with a floor performance that included two moves named after her.
The second day had been a little rough for the athlete, but Biles said in a post-trials interview that she is relieved to have it behind her and has her eyes set on Tokyo.
Fencing
Diego Cervantes
The Ohio State junior will be representing Mexico at the games in the individual men’s foil. He’s been a member of the Mexican National Team since 2015, according to Ohio State.
He finished first at the 2021 Pan American Zonal Olympic Qualifier in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Marc-Antoine Blais Belanger
The Ohio State alumni will be representing Canada in Tokyo this summer.
He places second in the NCAA championships in 2016, finished 24th overall for Team Canada at the 2017 Pan American Fencing Championships and is the 2018 Men’s Epee National Champion.
Alanna Goldie
Goldie is another Ohio State alumna that will be representing Canada this year.
Her achievements go all the way back to 2010 when she won national titles in the Cadet, Junior and Senior divisions all in the same year.
Goldie won individual Pan Am bronze in 2012, 2013 and 2016. In 2015 at the Toronto Pan Am Games, she won individual bronze in foil and helped Canada win gold.
She is also a two-time bronze medalist at the NCAA Fencing Championships.
Eleanor Harvey
This Ohio State alumna will also be representing Canada this summer.
In her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, she made history for her country. She achieved Canada’s best-ever Olympic result in an individual fencing event, after coming in seventh place.
She advanced to the quarterfinals that year after defeating the world’s No. 1 ranked fencer.
While with the Buckeyes, she won the NCAA Championships as a junior in 2016 and tied for third in 2017.
