Former Utah Utes Athletes Set To Compete At 2024 Paris Olympics

SALT LAKE CITY – All eyes turn to Paris, France, next week as the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics take place and there will be a few former Utah athletes taking the big stage.

In total, the Utes will have six representatives in France over the course of the nearly two-week event.

Five of those six athletes competed for Utah Athletics, while one turned a passion she found in a club on the Utah campus into a two-time Olympic dream.

HISTORY MADE 🚨 Canada’s 1st 3×3 team to EVER qualify for the Olympic Games includes 3 Utah alums! Congrats 🎉 Michelle Plouffe, Paige Crozon and Kim (Smith) Gaucher!

Next stop: 📍 PARIS!!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/ao0A1DPgmJ

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) May 19, 2024

Getting To Know The University Of Utah’s Six Olympic Competitors

• Lexi Lagan- Team USA’s Shooting Team

Lagan is a Utah graduate who turned her love for the marksmanship club on campus into two separate visits to the Olympics on Team USA’s Shooting Team. (She also competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 22 points below podium.)

Utah fans can catch Lagan on July 27th at 4:30 am MT during the 10m Women’s Air Pistol Shooting qualifying round. If Lagen gets through that round, she will compete in the finals on July 28th at 4:00 am MT.

Lagan will have one more qualifying competition later in the Olympics on August 2 for the 25m Women’s Air Pistol Shooting.

• Kim Gaucher, Michelle Ploufe, Paige Crozon- Team Canada 3X3 Hoops

Utah women’s basketball will have major representation by former Utes Kim (Smith) Gaucher, Michelle Plouffe, and Paige Crozon in Paris for the Olympics.

Gaucher is the head coach for Team Canada’s 3X3 women’s hoops team, while Plouffe and Crozon play.

The Utah Utes trio will first take the court on July 30th at 10:00 am MT against Australia in pool play. A day later, on July 31, Team Canada is slated to play Team China at 10:00 am MT in pool play.

Gaucher, Plouffe, and Crozon will have a double-header on August 1 starting with Team Germany at 1:30 am MT and then again against the “home team” in Frace at 2:00 pm MT.

Team Canada and Team USA will square off on August 2 at 10:00 am MT, with the former Utes then facing Spain later that day at 1:00 pm MT.

Gaucher, Plouffe, and Crozon will wrap up their time in the “City of Lights” against Team Azerbaijan on August 3rd at 9:30 am MT.

• Simone Plourde- Team Canada Track & Field/Cross Country

Plourde competed for the Utes on their track & field/ cross country team from 2022-2023 after transferring from BYU and holds five first all-time records at Utah.

Plourde’s first competition takes place on August 6 at 2:00 am MT in the women’s first-round of the 1500m. Plourde will compete the race again on August 7th at 4:45 am MT and then look to the semifinal round on August 8th at 11:35 am MT.

August 10th at 12:25 pm MT will be the women’s 1500m final.

Simone Plourde is an Olympian‼️🙌 Can’t wait to watch her compete in Paris! Congratulations!!#GoUtes | #Paris2024 https://t.co/XBCH2qRJlA

— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) July 3, 2024

• Josefine Eriksen- Team Norway Track & Field/Cross Country

Plourde’s former teammate, Josefine Eriksen will also compete in France for Team Norway. Eriksen, like Plourde also has a laundry list of records at Utah including seven first all-time school records.

Eriksen will take the track on August 9th at 2:40 am MT in the first round of the women’s 4X400m relay. Eriksen will then compete in the final on August 10 at 1:22 pm MT.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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