Twelve UH Athletes To Compete In Paris Olympics - University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics (2024)

The Paris Olympics are upon us, and the University of Hawai'i will be well represented. Thirteencurrent, former and future Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine will participate at the 2024 Paris Olympics – 12 athletes and one coach – and will look to lead their countries to glory as the games begin on Friday.

The 12 athletes matchesthehighest totalfor UH in any Olympics (12 in 2000). Two athletes are representing the United States – kiteboarder Daniela Moroz and men's volleyball player Taylor Averill – along with women's volleyball assistant coach Alfee Reft. Moroz and men's basketball player Akira Jacobs (Japan) are current UH student-athleteswhile water polo player Ema Vernoux (France) is an incoming freshman for the Rainbow Wahine. Water polo player Camille Radosavljevic (France) took a break from UH but is expected to return following the Olympics.

Four of the 12 compete in water polo followed by three each in swimming and basketball (5x5 and 3x3), and one each in sailing and men's volleyball. Along with the two U.S. athletes, other countries represented include France (2), New Zealand (2), American Samoa (1), Australia (1), Canada (1), Japan (1), Latvia (1), and Netherlands (1).

Former Rainbow Wahine basketball player Amy Atwell will represent Australia and is the secondUH women's basketball player to play in the Olympics. Jacobs and Zigmars Raimo are just the second and third UH men's basketball players to appear in the Summer Games.

Below are the athletes and coaches who will represent UH on the biggest sporting stage in the world.

Amy Atwell (Australia Women's Basketball)
Atwell played five seasons for the Rainbow Wahine, evolving from a scoring spark off the bench to a record-breaking stalwart for UH. During her time in Manoa, Atwell was a three-time All-Big West selection, and she was the first UH player ever to be named the Big West Player of the Year. She finished her UH career with the most career starts (126) and 3-pointers made (205) in school history. She also holdsthe record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 76. After a stint with the LA Sparks, Atwell has found great success playing professional basketball in her home country of Australia. She helped the Braves win NBL1 National Championship title, and has also spent time with her hometown Perth Lynx of the WNBL. Atwell earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Asia Cup on home soil with the Australian National Team. She was initially selected as an alternate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, before being elevated to the main roster when Rebecca Allen suffered an injury.

Taylor Averill (USA Men's Volleyball)
Averill spent four years with the Rainbow Warriors. He made an immediate impact as a freshman opposite in 2012, but really took off when he switched to middle blocker as a sophom*ore. As a middle blocker, Averill was a two-time AVCA All-American and All-MPSF first-team selection. He finished his career with the fifth most blocks (151) in program history. Following his UH career, Averill has spent time with a number of European volleyball clubs. He won the French Championship with AS Cannes in 2020-21, and was named the best middle blocker that season. He also won the CEV Challenge Cup in 2023-24 with Projekt Warsaw. As a member of the United States men's national team since 2014, Averill is a two-time gold-medalist in international competitions with two more silver medals and a bronze medal. Averill will be making his first Olympic appearance this year in Paris after serving as an alternate in 2020. Averill becomes one of just four UH men's volleyball players to compete at the Olympics.

Kane Follows (New Zealand Swimming)
Follows swam for UH from 2016 to '20. During his illustrious collegiate career, Follows was an eight-time MPSF first-team selection across five different events and four-time second-team selection. He was a nine-time top-10 finisher at the MPSF Championships, including three silver medals as a junior to help UH capture the conference title. Later that season, Follows competed at the NCAA Championships, finishing seventh in the 200backstroke to earn All-America honors. Following his UH career, Followsfound success in his home country of New Zealand. Over the past three years, hehas earned threegold medals, six silver medals, and two bronze medals at the New Zealand National Championships. He added twogold medals at the Northern Arena Invitational in 2023. Earlier this year, Follows broke a New Zealand record with a 1:57.13swim in the 200m backstroke at the Apollo Projects New Zealand Swimming Championships. Follows beat fellow countryman Gareth Kean's 12-year-old record to qualify for his first Olympic Games.

Akira Jacobs (Japan Men's Basketball)
Jacobs appeared in 28 games as a freshman with the Rainbow Warriors in 2023-24, shooting 40 percentfrom the field overall and 34.8 percentfrom3-point range. Before arrivingatUH, Jacobs was a member of the NBA Global Academy for two years, the first Japanese prospect to join the academy on a full-time basis. He led the Japanese national team to an eighth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary, the highest-everfor Japan in the tournament. Jacobs helped his native countryqualify for the U19 World Cup a year earlier, winning silver at the FIBA U18 Asia Championships. Jacobs is the youngest player to make an appearance and score in Japan's B League first division. After his freshman season at UH, Jacobs was invited to the Japan Olympic training camp, where he impressed coaches and was named to the 12-man Olympic roster at just 20-years-old. He is one of just three UH men's basketball players to compete at the Olympics.

Maartje Keuning (Netherlands Women's Water Polo)
Keuning appeared in all 52 Rainbow Wahine water polo games during her two-year UH tenure. She scored 63 career goals for UH, 23 as a freshman and 40 as a sophom*ore, and was named an All-Big West honorable mention as a sophom*ore. Keuning has competed with the Dutch National Team since 2013, winning a bronze medal with both the Youth and Junior National Teams, and gold with the Junior National Team. In 2017, between her freshman and sophom*ore seasons at UH, Keuning represented the Netherlands in the FINA World Junior Championships in Greece, winning a bronze medal. Keuning and the Dutch National Team won gold at the 2023 World Aquatic Championships in f*ckuoka and the 2024 European Championship in Eindhoven. She also won silver at the 2023 Aquatics World Cup in Long Beach, Calif. Keuning will be making her second Olympic appearance in Paris this year. She made her Olympics debut in the 2020 Summer Games and helped the Netherlands to a sixth-place finish.

Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (Canada Women's Water Polo)
Lemay-Lavoie transferred to UH in 2018, immediately becoming an impact player for the Rainbow Wahine. She scored in every appearance as a sophom*ore and finished second on the team with 53 goals as a junior before eventually becoming UH's leading scorer with 43 goals as a senior. Lemay-Lavoie was named to the All-Big West team in all three seasons at UH, with a second-team selection in 2018 and first-team selections in 2019 and 2022. She finished her UH career ranked No. 3 all-time with a 2.21 goals-per-match average. Lemay-Lavoie is a three-time silver medalist with the Canadian National Team, finishing second at the 2017 World League Super Final and at the Pan American Games in 2019 and 2023. Like Keuning, Lemay-Lavoie will be making her second Olympic appearance in Paris this year after making her Olympics debut in the 2020 Summer Games, where she helped Canada to a seventh-place finish.

Micah Masei (American Samoa Swimming)
Masei swam for three seasons as a Rainbow Warrior, earning two All-MPSF second-team selections in the 200 freestyle relay. Across his time at UH, Masei wracked up six top-15 finishes at the MPSF Championships, including a second-place finish in the 200 free as a junior. Masei earned All-MPSF second-team honors (200 free relay) as a freshman, MPSF All-Academic as a sophom*ore, and MPSF All-Academic and All-MPSF second-team (200 free relay) as a junior. Outside of collegiate swimming, Masei won a silver medal (50 meterfreestyle) and a bronze medal (100m breast) at the 2023 Pacific Games, and won gold (50m breast) and silver (100m breast) at the 13^th Oceania Championships. Masei had his first taste of the Olympics in 2020, before returning in 2024 to become the first swimmer in American Samoa history to swim in two Olympics.

Daniela Moroz (USA Sailing/Kiteboarding)
Moroz sailed at UHfor parts of the2019-21 seasons. She took a break from school in 2022 to focus on the Olympics, but plans to return to Hawai'i in 2025 to finish school. Moroz began kiteboarding at age 12. Two years later, she was competing internationally, and two years after that, Moroz was a world champion at just 16 years old. Her first world title set Moroz on a run of domination that would eventually lead her to the Olympics. Moroz went on to win six consecutive Formula Kite World titles from 2016-22. Shealso won four European Championships between 2017-21, won gold at the Pan American Games in 2023 and won gold at the ANOC World Beach Games in 2019. Moroz was named U.S. Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year in 2016, '19, '21, and '22, and she was a Rolex World Sailor of the Year finalist in 2018 and '21. She became the first U.S. sailor to make the 2024 Olympic team, and first to ever qualify for formula kite, which was added as a new Olympic event for the 2024 games.

Camille Radosavljevic (France Women's Water Polo)
After graduating from Marcelin Berthelot High School in France in 2021, Radosavljevic made her collegiate debut for UH in 2022, scoring in her first game against Marist. As a sophom*ore, she appeared in all 27 games. Radosavljevic scored in each of the first two games of the season, finishing the year with nine goals, eight assists and eight steals. Before coming to UH, Radosavljevic was a U15 Vice Champion in the 2017 French Championship and a U17 Vice Champion in the 2018 and 2019 French Championships. Radosavljevic competed with France at the 2023 World Aquatic Championships in f*ckuoka, finishing ninth. She also helped France to an eighth-place finish at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, the best-ever finish for France. Radosavljevic spent 2024 away from UH in France to prepare for the Olympics, but plans to return for the 2025 season.

Zigmars Raimo (Latvia Men's 3x3 Basketball)
Raimo spent four seasons with the Rainbow Warrior basketball team. He began his UH career as a bench contributor, before blossoming into a key player as a junior. Raimo became a team leader over his final two seasons and earned All-Big West honorable mention and Big West Co-Best Hustle Player as a senior. He was also named the team's Most Improved Player as a junior. After graduating, Raimo returned to Europe to embark on his professional career. He has played for BK Liepaja, BC Kalev/Cramo, and Rigas Zelli of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, averaging close to 10 points per game in three out of four seasons. As a member of the Latvian 3x3 basketball team, Raimo helped the team win the gold medal at the 2023 European Games and a bronze medal at the 2023 3x3 Europe Cup, and is set to make his first Olympic appearance with Latvia. Raimo is one of just three UH basketball players to compete at the Olympics.

Laticia Transom (New Zealand Swimming)
Transom arrived in Hawai'i for the 2022-23 season as an accomplishedtransfer from USC. In her only season swimming for UH, she won individual MPSF titles in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 back, and four relay titles (200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 200 medley). She set MPSF meet records in three of those events, finishing the 50 free in 22.26 seconds, the 100 free in 47.86, and the 100 back in 51.88, all of which are school records as well. She competed at the NCAA Championship, finishing seventh in the 100 free in the best-ever finish by a Rainbow Wahine swimmer, and was named a CSCAA All-American. She was also named to the All-MPSFfirst team in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, and 200 medley relay. Transom also found success on a national level in New Zealand, becoming a four-time silver medalist at the Apollo Projects New Zealand Swimming Championships from 2023-24 while winning two gold medals (100m free and 4x100m free relay).

Ema Vernoux (France Women's Water Polo)
Rainbow Wahine water polo fans can look forward to a Vernoux and Radosavljevic team-up in 2025. If you can't wait that long, look no further than the 2024 Olympics for an early preview. Vernoux and Radosavljevic are teammates on the French National Team and will take on the Olympics together. Vernoux was a key player for France as it secured its best-ever finishes at the World Championships — eighth in 2022 and ninth in 2023. Vernoux also helped France finish in sixth place at the European Championships, the best finish for the country in 34 years. Vernoux also found lots of success on the club level, playing for Olympic Nice and Lille while training at the INSEP, France's high-performance center. Vernoux is set to join the Rainbow Wahine as an incoming freshman after the Olympics.

Alfee Reft (USA Women's Volleyball)
Reft transferred to UH from UC Santa Barbara in 2004 and immediately became an integral part of the Rainbow Warriors team. The libero played in all 114 games that season, leading the team with 238 digs. Despite playing in 12 fewersets than in 2004, Reft set a new program single-season record with 272 digs in 2005. He finished the year tied for third in the nation in digs per set with 2.67. In his final season, Reft again surpassed his own school record with 305 digs in 2006. Reft began his coaching career in 2010 as an assistant coach at Minnesota and went on to serve at Illinois and San Diego. In 2022, he was named the head coach for the UCLA women's volleyball team. Reft also serves as a seasonal assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Team. He missed seven UCLA matches in 2023 as he helped lead Team USA to the 2024 Olympics at the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier.

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