There’s no shortage of athletes with ties to The Natural State competing for the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. If you’re a Razorback fan who mostly supports the big three — football, basketball and baseball – you can root on the Hogs’ undersung track and field stars, who have been quietly winning national championships (more Division 1 titles than any other university!) and breaking collegiate records along the way. Here are some storylines we’re following at this year’s Games. 

Joscelyn Roberson Credit: @josc_roberson

Joscelyn Roberson, an incoming freshman and World Champion from Texarkana, Texas, will be the Razorbacks’ (aka Gymbacks) first representation at the Olympic Games as a traveling replacement athlete for Team USA. Gymbacks Coach Jordyn Wieber won an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and led Arkansas to one of the best seasons in program history in 2024, finishing seventh overall at the NCAA Championships. 

The U.S. National Mountain Bike Team riding Bentonville trails. Credit: USA Cycling/Kate Austin Photography

Northwest Arkansas’s vast network of bike trails has provided training grounds for the Bentonville-headquartered U.S. National Mountain Bike Team. In June, U.S. Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk — who spent part of his childhood in Little Rock attending Catholic High School for Boys — announced at a press conference that this year’s mountain bike team is sending its full quota of two men (Riley Amos and Christopher Blevins) and two women (Haley Batten and Savilia Blunk) to the Olympic Games for the first time. 

Ryan Crouser, an Arkansas volunteer assistant for the men’s track & field program since 2020, will compete for his third Olympic gold in the shot put. He holds the world record and Olympic record in the event. According to the Paris Olympics website, Crouser spends part of his time training in Fayetteville and fuels his body-building workouts by eating up to 5,500 calories a day. 

Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall Credit: @_taarra_

Arkansas Razorback graduate Hunter Woodhall — a double-amputee sprinter and three-time Paralympic medalist — and wife Tara Davis-Woodhall — a world champion long jumper known for donning a cowgirl hat and boots before and after competitions — will make the trip to Paris together to compete for Olympic and Paralympic gold. The Northwest Arkansas couple runs a popular YouTube channel with more than 700,000 subscribers and worked a pre-Olympic shift together at Fayetteville’s Raising Cane’s in July. 

Nikki Hiltz Credit: Erik van Leeuwen

Former Razorback runner Nikki Hiltz set a U.S. Olympic trials record this year in the 1,500 meter race, securing their first Olympic berth. Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, came out as nonbinary and transgender on International Trans Day of Visibility in 2021. Hiltz, who was assigned female at birth, has chosen to postpone testosterone hormone therapy to qualify for the women’s division. “Going to the Olympics is such a dream of mine,” Hiltz said last year in an interview with Runner’s World. “But it’s also such a dream of mine to take testosterone or grow facial hair or have top surgery, and so I think sometimes I can really resent this sport.” After breaking the American record in the mile in 2023, Hiltz posted to Instagram, acknowledging the significance of their achievement. “How cool is it that in a country who seems to be fixated on hurting trans people, a very out, very proud trans nonbinary athlete now holds their mile record? There’s a lot of things I could probably attribute my recent successes to, but I think the most powerful tool I have is my joy. Queer people can thrive when we make a space for them, love them and embrace them for who they are. Thank you to everyone who does this for me. Your love allowed me to run free last night and break a 38-year old American record. That’s powerful stuff.” 

From left: Wayne Pinnock, Jaydon Hibbert and Romaine Beckford will represent Jamaica in the Paris Olympics. Credit: Arkansas Athletics

Eight UA athletes and alumni will represent Jamaica in the track & field competition:

Carey McLeod, long jump 

Wayne Pinnock, long jump 

Rojé Stona, discus 

Ackera Nugent, 100m hurdles

Nickisha Pryce, 400m, 4x400m relay

Janeek Brown, 100m hurdles 

Romaine Beckford, high jump 

Jaydon Hibbert, triple jump 

Natural State athletes and alumni:

ASU alum Camryn Newton-Smith will compete in the heptathlon representing Australia. Credit: Arkansas State Athletics

Lamar Taylor, swimming, 100m freestyle, Henderson State University, representing the Bahamas 

Camryn Newton-Smith, track & field, heptathlon, Arkansas State University, representing Australia. 

Razorback athletes and alumni

Anna Hopkin, swimming, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, relays, representing Great Britain

Tina Šutej, track & field, pole vault, representing Slovenia 

Amber Anning, track & field, 400m, 4x400m, representing Great Britain  

Christopher Bailey, track & field, 400m, 4x400m relay 

Razorback Rachel Glenn broke the Arkansas outdoor high jump record in 2024. Credit: Arkansas Athletics

Rachel Glenn, track & field, high jump 

Jarrion Lawson, track & field, long jump 

Sanu Jallow, track & field, 800m, representing Gambia. 

Shafiqua Maloney, track & field, 800m, representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines 

Taliyah Brooks, track & field, heptathlon

Ayden Owens-Delerme, track & field, decathlon, representing Puerto Rico 

Nicolás Echavarría, golf, representing Columbia 

Gaby López, golf, representing Mexico 

María Fassi, golf, representing Mexico 

Kaylyn Brown, track & field, 4×400 relay pool 

Isabella Whittaker, track & field, 4×400 relay pool

Jah-Nhai Perinchief, track & field, triple jump, representing Bermuda