Florida and Apopka athletes will play a big role in the Olympic Games in Tokyo

By Diane Rado, Florida Phoenix

California will have the largest number of athletes — 126 — at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, but Florida is second in line, with 51 athletes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That figure also includes two athletes with ties to Apopka.

Donald Scott is a track and field athlete who is representing the US in the triple jump. He holds a personal best of 17.74 m (58 ft 2+1⁄4 in), set in 2019. He equaled that mark, to win the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He is a 2017 and 2019 U.S. Indoor Triple Jump Champion and a 2018 U.S. Outdoor Champion. He is also an Apopka High, and Eastern Michigan University graduate.

Donald Scott

At Apopka High, Scott was a two-time All-American in both the 300-meter hurdles and the triple jump, posting a career-best 49 feet, 8 inches in the triple jump. He also won an AAU National title in the triple jump, finished third in the state, and was a district champion.

In football, he played wide receiver for the Blue Darters and was ranked No. 48 on The Orlando Sentinel Central Florida Top 100 players in 2009.

Mattie Rogers, a native of Apopka and the University of Central Florida graduate, was among four women and four men selected to the USA Weightlifting Olympic team.

Rogers, 25, is a two-time IMF World Championship silver medalist, the 2020 Pan-American champion, the FISU World University champion, and holds eight current American and two Pan American records. She also was the first American woman to medal at three consecutive world championships.

Mattie Rogers

Overall, 613 athletes in 46 states will compete in the games, with the opening ceremony last Friday and the closing event on Aug. 8.

Of the total athletes participating, 322 are from nine states with populations over 10 million: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Of the 51-member Florida team, Miami had the most athletes — 10.

A news release from the Census Bureau noted that the Olympics will feature 339 medal events in 33 sports, and four sports are new — karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing.

The next three summer Games are scheduled for 2024 in Paris; 2028 in Los Angeles, and 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.

Here are the Florida athletes: