A look at the Lobos and New Mexico athletes in the Paris Olympics

Sixteen athletes with connections to New Mexico competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The athletes, many of whom are former Lobos, represented 10 different countries.

Here is a breakdown of the Olympic sports that New Mexico athletes competed in.

Track and field

Weini Kelati is a former University of New Mexico cross country athlete originally from Eritrea; at 27 years old, she represented the United States in the Paris Olympics. As a Lobo, she was the Mountain West individual champion and the conference’s athlete of the year twice, according to Go Lobos.

Kelati qualified for the Olympics after winning the women’s 10,000m in the Olympic trials, according to the Olympics website. Kelati finished in eighth place out of 23 during the Olympic games.

Josh Kerr, 26, is also a UNM alum and former Lobo track and field athlete. He represented Great Britain in Paris and earned silver in the men’s 1,500m, according to Team Great Britain. Kerr is originally from Scotland.

Tapiwanashe Makarawu, 24, is a recent graduate of New Mexico Junior College. He represented Zimbabwe in the 200m men’s track event and finished in sixth place, according to the Olympics website.

Makarawu and his Team Zimbabwe costar, Makanakaishe Charamba, were the first Zimbabwean sprinters to make it to the 200m Olympic final, according to the New Mexico Junior College website.

Originally from the Bahamas, Lacarthea Cooper, 20, is a current student athlete at New Mexico Junior College. Cooper qualified for the 4x400m relay women’s track event.

Cooper traveled with Team Bahamas to Paris, but was not selected to compete despite finishing third during the women’s senior nationals, according to the Nassau Guardian.

Alicja Konieczek, 29, lives and trains in Albuquerque, according to KOB. Her event is the 3,000m steeplechase in track and field. Representing Poland, she finished in 13th place in the final round. 

Konieczek was also a volunteer assistant coach for UNM track and field before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to Streamline Athletes.

Shot put

Chase Jackson, 30, graduated from Los Alamos High School, according to the Los Alamos Daily Post. Jackson competed in the women’s shot put event for Team USA; in the qualifying round she finished in ninth place with a throw of 17.60 meters, according to the Olympics website.

Pole vault

Anicka Newell, a 31-year-old Canadian pole vaulter, finished in 13th place out of 14 for Group B in the women’s pole vault qualifications in Paris. Newell originally aspired to be a gymnast until she took up track and field while growing up in Albuquerque, according to Texas State University. She has been competing in the Olympics since Rio 2016.

Golf

Former Lobo golfers Victor Perez, 31, from France; Gavin Green, 30, from Malaysia; and Manon De Roey, 32, from Belgium, all competed at this year’s Olympic games.

After a clutch final performance, Perez rose nine spots in the final day of competition to finish in fourth place in Olympic men’s golf, according to ESPN. Green was the only representative of Malaysia in men’s golf and finished in 33rd place out of 58, his new best Olympic record, according to Bernama.

De Roey was the Mountain West Individual Champion in 2013, according to the Mountain West Women’s Golf Record Book. She finished in 29th place out of 59 at the Paris Olympics.

New Mexico State University alums Alena Sharp, 43, from Canada, and Ursula Wikstrom, 44, from Finland both competed in women's golf. Sharp finished in 42nd place out of 59 and Wikstrom finished 57th.

Marathon

Lobos were also represented in Olympic marathon running. Fiona O’Keeffe, 26, from the U.S., and Calli Thackery, 31, from England, both ran in Paris.

O’Keeffe transferred from Stanford University to UNM track and field in 2020, but was never able to compete for UNM and went into professional running, according to Go Lobos. Thackery ran cross country at UNM from 2013-17.

O’Keeffe started her 2024 Olympic debut strong, finishing in first place during her trials. During the Olympic competition, O’Keeffe dropped out of the race before the 5K mark due to a suspected injury, according to Runner’s World.

Thackery, also an Olympic debutant, did not finish her race for unknown reasons, according to Athletics Weekly.

Rugby

In men’s rugby sevens, the captain of Team USA, Kevon Williams, 33, was a wide receiver for the New Mexico Highlands University football team from 2009-12, according to NMHU Athletics. This was his second Olympics with the USA men’s rugby team. Team USA finished eighth out of 12 after losing to Argentina 19-0.

Skateboarding

Skateboarder Mariah Duran, 27, was born and raised in Albuquerque. She previously competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and finished last in women’s street skateboarding for Team USA this summer.

Leila Chapa is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06

Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88

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