California, Florida, Colorado sent most US Olympians to Tokyo

Americans to watch at the Tokyo Olympics

This year’s American Olympic team, comprised of familiar faces and some newcomers, will try to add to Team USA’s impressive and world-leading medal count.

WASHINGTON D.C. - More than 600 athletes hailing from 46 states will compete for Team USA in this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, according to the U.S. Census.

Out of the 613 athletes competing, California sent 126 athletes, the most out of any U.S. state. Colorado sends the most athletes per capita.

Athletes from California comprise 20.5% of the U.S. Olympic team. Florida comes in second, sending 51 athletes, followed by Colorado with 34, Texas with 31 and New York with 27.

On a per-capita basis, Colorado sends the most athletes with 5.9 athletes per million residents. Hawaii follows with 5.7 per million. The District of Columbia, with 5.6 athletes per million residents, all top California’s per-capita rate — it’s sending 3.2 athletes per million.

This year’s games feature 339 medal events in 33 sports. There are four new additions, including skateboarding, karate, sport climbing and surfing. Baseball and softball return to the games for the first time since 2008.

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 22: Stefanie Dolson and Kelsey Plum of Team USA practice in 3x3 basketball at Aomi Urban Sports Park ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 22, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. ((Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images))

Outside of the 50 states, one Team USA baseball player hails from U.S. territory Puerto Rico and one Italian will play for Team USA men’s water polo.

California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina — all states with populations over 10 million — sent 322 total athletes to Tokyo.

Seven states with populations under 1 million, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, District of Columbia, Vermont and Wyoming will send 10 total athletes.

In 2019, about 140,000 athletes, coaches and umpires worked in the United States’ 114 million-person workforce — making up about 1,228 per million, according to the U.S. Census.

Japan is expected to host more than 11,238 athletes from 206 countries during the two-week-long Summer Games. In 2016, Tokyo was the largest metropolitan area in the world with a 38.4 million person population.

The next three Summer Games are scheduled to be held in Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia in 2032.

India, the second-most populous country in the world, has never hosted the Olympic Games. Neither has any country on the continent of Africa.

This story was reported from Boston.