PARIS, France — Competition kicks off Wednesday for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and a Colorado athlete will take the field with the U.S. men’s soccer team.
Athletes in handball, rugby and soccer are competing Wednesday and Thursday – ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday. Archery also gets an early start with the first arrows shot on Friday.
The U.S. men’s soccer team will play their first game Wednesday against France. On the roster is a player from Colorado: midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, who plays for the Colorado Rapids.
Mihailovic, who’s originally from Jacksonville, Florida, now lives in the Denver metro area. He previously played for Chicago Fire FC and in Montreal and the Netherlands.
This is his first Olympics. He's the second active Colorado Rapids player to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, after Joey DiGiamarino in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
"Djordje's level of performance and output make him one of the top attacking talents in the full U.S. pool, and he is fully deserving of this call-up," said Colorado Rapids President Pádraig Smith. "He has played an instrumental role for us this year, and we are excited to see him represent the Rapids and Colorado on the Olympic stage.”
This is the first Olympic appearance for the U.S. men's team since 2008, when they finished ninth. The team failed to qualify in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Here’s how to watch Mihailovic and the rest of the U.S. men’s soccer team kick off their Olympic journey at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris:
Men’s soccer
Group A: France vs. USA
1 p.m. MT Wednesday
Television: USA and Telemundo; USA will re-air the match at 6 p.m.
Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC and NBC Sports apps
