A lot to look forward to with 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games
I was impressed with the millennials at the Paris Olympics. Of course there were a few older athletes from Generation X, and some Gen Z up-and-comers, but the bulk of the competitors were born between 20 and 30 years ago.
Just over 10,000 athletes participated in the Paris Olympics, and 595 represented the United States. Incredibly, 142 of those athletes were from California. No other state had more.
Locals only
It gets even closer to home. Two high schools I cover in this sports column produced Olympians.
Jrue Holiday attended Campbell Hall, where he played basketball and led the Vikings to a pair of California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state titles. He competed for UCLA in 2008-2009 before heading to the NBA. He now plays guard for the Boston Celtics. Holiday was on the men’s gold medal basketball team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and he competed last month for Team USA in Paris.
Johnny Hooper attended high school at Harvard-Westlake, where he played attacker on the water polo team. He helped the Wolverines win back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division I championships. At UC Berkeley, Hooper ended his college career with 245 goals, which is second on the Golden Bears’ all-time water polo scorers’ list. He played for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
COLTRANE RAGSDALE is a ninth grader at St. Francis High.
Take note
I’ve been writing this column for nearly four years and have interviewed and seen great young athletes. The work and talent it takes to move past high school athletics to compete in college is daunting, but to become an Olympian — miraculous. Three local athletes recently have been performing like future Olympians.
SEAN KELLY will play for UCLA next year.
Sean Kelly played outside hitter on Loyola High’s national championship volleyball team this spring. Kelly is 6’7” and was the top recruit in the country. He was named the CIF Player of the Year twice, and he will be playing for UCLA next year. It would be fitting, and not unlikely, for Kelly to play on Team USA when the Olympics come to his hometown.
Zoe Chang attends GALA (Girls Academic Leadership Academy) and is coxswain in an eight-woman boat. Coxswains are responsible for steering and directing team members in
ZOE CHANG, here in a playful mood, attends GALA and is a coxswain for Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing.
rowing competitions and are generally the smallest person onboard. She and her crew compete for Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing. Last year, she coxed her four-woman boat to the U16 US Rowing Youth National title in Sarasota, Florida. The U.S. women’s team has placed fourth in the past two Olympics. Could be time for a new coxswain. Maybe Zoe.
This last athlete is the youngest of the bunch, and he is someone I’ve watched play basketball for several years. Coltrane Ragsdale, a ninth grader at St. Francis High, is possibly one of the best all-around athletes I’ve ever seen. When he played in the SBBA (Saint Brendan Basketball Association) D-League, which is ages 12, 13 and 14, he was the leading scorer, ending with 256 points for the season. At the time, he was only 13. But get this — as good as he is in basketball, he’s apparently better at baseball.
Venues
The 2028 Olympics are approaching fast. Some preexisting venues have already been assigned sports. Wrestling will be held at the Convention Center Downtown, golf at Riviera Country Club and tennis at the Carson Tennis Center. Oddly, the skateboard competition will take place at the Sepulveda Basin Rec Center in the Valley, not in Venice where it all began.
Oklahoma City will be part of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Softball and the canoe and kayak competitions will take place there.
Inglewood’s venues, the Intuit Dome and SoFi Stadium, will be prominent for the ’28 Games. Other venues will be throughout Southern California. But the greatest number of venues will be in the city of Los Angeles proper.
Go Team USA.
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