COLLEGE PARK, MD – A trio of Terps will begin their 2024 Olympic competitions this weekend with qualification events on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris.
 
Maryland is represented by alumnae Thea LaFond (Dominican Republic) and Chioma Onyekwere (Nigeria) as well as current throws assistant coach Rudy Winkler (United States). Additionally, assistant coach Danielle Siebert is serving as Women's Head Manager for Team USA – her second straight Olympic Games on the staff.
 
Winkler will open the competition on Friday in the men's hammer throw qualifications as part of the Group B flight which will start at 5:35 AM. The finals will be held on Sunday, August 4 at 2:30 PM.
 
LaFond will be taking part in the triple jump with qualifications being held Friday at 12:15 PM ET. The finals are scheduled for Saturday, August 4 at 2:20 PM.
 
Onyekwere will be in action on Friday for the women's discus qualifications as part of the Group B flight at 2:20 PM. Finals will take place on Monday, August 5 at 2:30 PM.
 
All events will be covered by NBCOlympics.com and streamed on Peacock.
 
Winkler will be appearing in his third consecutive Olympic Games for Team USA after he took second earlier in July at the Team Trials in Oregon. He came into the U.S. Trials ranked seventh in the world for the hammer throw and is the American record holder (271-feet, 4-inches). In 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics, Winkler placed seventh in the hammer after placing 18^th in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
 
LaFond is the Dominican Republic's first world champion triple jumper after she won the title at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. She posted the top jump in the world at 49-feet, 3-inches for the year. This also marks the third Olympics for LaFond as she competed in the 2016 and 2021 games. Before beginning her professional career, LaFond earned multiple All-American honors at Maryland, including placing in the top-ten in both the women's high jump and triple jump at NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2013. In the indoor season in 2013, Lafond was named the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year. During her senior season in 2015, Lafond was named the Big Ten's Field Athlete of the Year.
 
Onyekwere qualified for her second Olympic games (2021 Tokyo) representing her home country of Nigeria. The 2016 Maryland graduate (mechanical engineering) is a three-time African Championships medalist (Gold – 2018, 2022; Bronze – 2024), a two-time All-African Games medalist (Gold – 2019; Silver – 2024), and became the first Nigerian woman to win discus gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. In 2023, she set an African record of 213 feet in the discus. She enters the Paris Olympics ranked No. 22 in the world. At Maryland, Onyekwere was an All-American, an All-Big Ten performer, and an Academic All-Big Ten selection. She still remains among the top-five all-time performers for the Terps in several throws including second in the discus (178 feet, 7 inches) and the outdoor shot put (55 feet, 3.5 inches) as well as third in the indoor shot put (52 feet, 8.25 inches) and the weight throw (69 feet, 9 inches).