Olympic Medals
A couple of local athletes won medals at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Fort Collins cyclist Haley Batten took second place in the women’s cross-country mountain biking race, earning her silver medal with a time of 1:28:59. She set a record for the fastest U.S. finish in the event.
Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith, a Fossil Ridge alum from Windsor, won gold on the U.S. women’s soccer team in a 1-0 win against Brazil. Prior to the gold medal match, Smith made her mark at the Olympics with two assists and three goals, the most notable being a goal in extra time that secured the U.S. team’s win against Germany in the semifinals.
Other Olympic Achievements
Jourdan Delacruz, a weightlifter who graduated from the University of Northern Colorado last year, took fifth place in the women’s 49-kilogram weightlifting competition. She lifted an impressive 195 kilograms (429.9 pounds).
Another cyclist from Fort Collins, Olivia Cummins, was on the U.S. women’s track cycling team pursuit squad. While the team earned a gold medal, Cummins did not ride in any of the three races. She did, however, celebrate her 21st birthday in Paris on Aug. 6, making her the youngest on the team by nearly a decade. She is a Rocky Mountain High School alum.
Top photo: Haley Batten. Photo sourced from Facebook.