Four Hoyas to Compete in Summer 2024 Paris Olympics

Four Hoyas are headed to Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place July 26-Aug. 11. The athletes in Georgetown's Olympic cohort each represent different countries and will compete in different sports.

Meet the four Hoyas bound for Parisas they compete in women's basketball, the triathlon, track and field and rowing.

Brianna Jones (B'19, SCS'20)

The first Georgetown women's basketball player to appear in the Olympics, Brianna Jones (B'19, SCS'20) will represent Puerto Rico in Paris. The Paris Olympics will be the second time the Puerto Rico women's basketball team will be competing in the Olympics after finishing in 12th place at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

"It's an honor to represent the island of Puerto Rico. To be a part of a group that plays with that Puerto Rican pride and grit is something so special," Jones said. "This is really a blessing and dream come true for myself and my family!"

The Puerto Rican national team qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning a nail-biting 69-67 match against New Zealand in a February tournament in Xian, China. During the match, Jones scored three points and secured one rebound.

Outside of the Olympics, Jones competes in a professional league with a team in Tianjin, China, where she averaged 14.9 points per game in the most recent season.

A five-star recruit out of New York ranked 40th overall in the Class of 2015 by espnW, Jones got her collegiate start at Louisville and played two seasons with the Cardinals. Prior to her junior season, Jones transferred to Georgetown, where in two seasons she averaged 6.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In her final season, Jones started in 24 games and scored 275 points.

Kirsten Kasper (B'13, SCS'14)

Kirsten Kasper (B'13, SCS'14) will represent Team USA as one of five members of the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team.

"To represent the U.S. is incredible," Kasper said in an interview with USA Triathlon. "I have been dreaming about this since I was a kid. It's been a family effort from my parents, to my husband to my support dog, Reggie. This is my third time trying to make the Olympic team, and this really shows that dreams do come true."

Kasper got her start as a triathlete in 2014 through USA Triathlon's Collegiate Recruitment Program, which identifies top collegiate runners and swimmers who have the potential to excel as triathletes. In the first year of her triathlon career, she was named the USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year.

Over the years, Kasper has been a key member of the U.S. Mixed Relay team. In the Mixed Relay World Championships, Kasper won gold in 2016, silver in 2017 and bronze in 2018. She has also been a 17-time World Triathlon podium finisher.

As a student-athlete at Georgetown, Kasper was a key contributor to the women's track and field and cross country team. In 2011, Kasper was a scoring member of the women's cross-country team that clinched the national championship, being the fourth to cross the finish line in the 6000-meter race.

André Matias (L'19)

Angolan rower André Matias (L'19) will compete in his second Olympic Games when he rows in Paris in the lightweight double sculls event.

In addition to competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Matias has represented Angola in four World Rowing Championships, eight World Rowing Cups and five African Rowing Championships.

Matias first learned to row while attending boarding school in the U.S., he said in an interview with Voice of America(VOA). He went on to become a collegiate champion while rowing at Hamilton College in lightweight single sculls.

While Matias thought Rio would be his last Olympics, he still had a "fire" in him to compete, he said in the VOA interview. After graduating from Georgetown Law, Matias founded his own firm, Altius Immigration Law, while training for the Paris Olympics at the Potomac Boat Club in the Georgetown neighborhood.

Jaden Marchan

An incoming first-year student on Georgetown's track and field team, Jaden Marchan was named to Trinidad and Tobago's men's 4x400m relay squad. Marchan is just one of 17 athletes competing for the Caribbean nation.

Marchan is the reigning New Jersey Indoor State Champion in the 400-meter dash. In 2023, the Leonia High School athlete was a runner-up in the New Jersey Outdoor State Championship.

In the Junior and Senior Championships hosted by the National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited, Marchan finished second in the 400-meter dash and clocked a new personal record of 46.30.

Editor's Note: Featured photo at the top of the page taken by Paris 2024. For more on these athletes, visit Georgetown Athletics.