Scarlet Knights at the Paris Olympics

Five athletes and one coach from four sports will represent Rutgers at the 2024 Games

Jul 22

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers Athletics will be well represented when the Opening Ceremony to the Paris Olympics begin on Friday, July 26 with five former Scarlet Knights – Kahleah Copper, Arella Guirantes, Casey Murphy, Sebastian Rivera and Rudy Winkler – competing in four sports at the 2024 Games. Denise Reddy, an All-American women’s soccer player, will serve on the U.S. Women’s National Team coaching staff.

The opening ceremony will broadcast beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com and the NBC/NBC Sports apps.

The five former competitors mark the most at an Olympics since 2000 when seven former Scarlet Knights qualified for the Sydney Olympics. Winkler, a three-time Olympian, will join Copper and Murphy on Team USA, while Guirantes and Rivera will compete for the Puerto Rican National Team.

Rudy Winkler qualifies for third Olympics

Winkler, the American record holder in the hammer, enters the Paris Olympics with a top-10 ranked throw in the world. He posted a throw of 78.89m (258’ 10”) to claim silver at the U.S. Olympic Trials and earn his roster spot on Team USA. Winkler is the seventh former Scarlet Knight to qualify for three Olympic teams, joining the likes of Carli Lloyd (2008, 2012 and 2016) who most recently achieved the feat. The school record holder in the hammer, Winkler closed out his Rutgers career with a Big Ten Championship and earned his fourth-straight First Team All-America honors with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2018.

Copper is making her Olympics debut after USA Basketball announced its final roster on June 11. A three-time WNBA All-Star and Finals MVP, she looks to lead Team USA to its eighth consecutive gold medal and 10th overall. While ‘On the Banks,’ Copper guided the Scarlet Knights to a 2014 WNIT Championship, earning tournament MVP as a sophomore. She closed out her career third on the all-time scoring list. With extensive experience in international play, Copper has spent six seasons playing overseas and was a member of the 2022 USA Women’s National Team, which captured its 11th World Cup gold medal in Sydney.

Murphy earned her first selection to the U.S. Women’s National Team Olympics roster, marking the fifth consecutive games that a former Scarlet Knight will compete on the pitch. Murphy joins Carli Lloyd (USA) and Jonelle Filigno (Canada) as previous Olympic Games participants since 2008. The former All-American owns 19 international senior caps, including 15 clean sheets in those appearances. She was a member of the 2023 Women’s World Cup roster and the starting keeper for the U.S. U-20 World Cup team in 2016, leading the tournament in saves. Murphy became the fastest goalkeeper in USWNT history to reach 10 shutouts in goal.

Guirantes was one of the most decorated and prolific players in women's basketball history. The Bellport, New York native scored 1,676 career points in college and was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Big Ten selection. Guirantes was the only player in program history to record a season of 20-plus points, six-plus rebounds and three-plus assists per game, a feat she accomplished in back-to-back seasons.

Serving as the flag bearer for Team Puerto Rico when the Opening Ceremony begins, Rivera is making his Olympics debut in Paris. Rivera will compete in men's freestyle wrestling at 65kg after he secured a silver medal last September at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. He finished his final collegiate season with a 30-1 record for Rutgers, including a third-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships to become the fourth individual to secure a top-three finish at nationals for the Scarlet Knights. Rivera closed his collegiate career as a five-time All-American (four NCAA, one NWCA) and two-time Big Ten Champion. He produced 115 career wins at Northwestern and Rutgers, which included 20 at the NCAA Tournament and 42 for the Scarlet Knights.

Reddy, a 1993 Rutgers graduate, was an All-American with the women's soccer program. A two-sport athlete for the Scarlet Knights, Reddy was also a member of the women’s basketball team from 1990-93, appearing in the 1993 Atlantic 10 Championship game. The four-year soccer starter won two ECAC titles on the pitch and served as a two-time team captain. Reddy enjoyed a professional playing career in Europe, competing for 11 years in Sweden with Umeå IK and then Malmö DFF. As a coach, Reddy first hit the sideline while still in college, mentoring the New Jersey Olympic Development Program from 1989-94. Her first professional coaching role was in the USL W-League with the New Jersey Wildcats in 2006. Most recently she served as an assistant with USWNT manager Emma Hayes at Chelsea with the pair winning five consecutive Women’s Super League titles in England.

TUNE IN: SCARLET KNIGHTS IN THE OLYMPICS

Read More