Meet the Massachusetts Olympic Athletes

Some of Massachusetts finest athletes are only weeks away from a trip to Rio de Janeiro and the 2016 Olympic Games.

On July 18, the US Olympic Committee confirmed the roster for the Rio Games. The United States roster includes more than a dozen athletes from Massachusetts and more with ties to the area.

• How to Watch the Olympics
• SCHEDULE: When Massachusetts Olympians Will Compete

Below are the Massachusetts members of the U.S. Olympic team.

ATHLETES FROM MASSACHUSETTS

GYMNASTICS

Aly Raisman

Surprising the gymnastic world with a second attempt at Olympic glory at the age of 22, Raisman has excelled despite being in the older age bracket for gymnasts. At this year's U.S. Championships, the Needham native took second place in the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercises. In 2012, Raisman won gold medals in the team competition and floor exercise.

TRACK AND FIELD

Shalane Flanagan

The Marblehead native will become a four-time Olympian when she competes in the marathon. A familiar face in long distance running for well over a decade, Flannigan is a two-time national marathon champion, four-time national cross country champion, two-time national 5,000-meter road race champion, and a bronze medalist in the 10,000-meter run at the 2008 Olympics. In 2014, Flanigan finished seventh at the Boston Marathon, posting the fastest time ever for an American woman on the course.

Sean Furey

A native of Methuen, Furey returns to the Olympics in the javelin. At the London games, Furey finished 37th overall. Despite an 11th place finish at the Olympic Trials, Furey will head to Rio as one of only three American javelin throwers to hit the Olympic standard this year.

Abbey D'Agostino

The seven-time NCAA champion from Topsfield heads to Rio to compete at 5,000 meters. While at Dartmouth, D'Agostino became the first Ivy League athlete to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship. In 2016, she placed sixth at 3,000 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Portland.

WRESTLING

Elena Priozhkova

The Greenfield High School graduate is back for her second games. The 2012 world champion has won silver medals at the 2010 and 2014 World Championship, seven U.S. Open titles, and a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championship. The 10-year Team USA veteran enters the games as the top-ranked American at 63 kilograms/138.75 pounds.

FENCING

Eli Dershwitz

The Sherborn native who studies at Harvard enters his first Olympic Games as a member of the saber fencing team. The young fencer enters the game with a gold medal from the 2015 Pan American Games.

ROWING

Gevvie Stone

Rowing runs in the family of this Newton native. The child of two Olympic rowers, Stone's last appearance at the games in 2012 saw a seventh place finish in single sculls. Last year, she took fourth in the same event at the World Championships.

Mike DiSanto

A Belmont native, DiSanto enters the games on the heels of a bronze medal in the eight at 2016 World Rowing Cup II. He placed first at the 2016 Olympic Qualification Regatta.

Andrew Campbell

By day he works at a Boston-based financial technology startup, but in August, he's an Olympian. Campbell, a Connecticut native who studied at Harvard and now resides in Cambridge, is heading to Rio for his first Olympic games. His top finish came at the 2011 World Championship when he finished fourth in the lightweight single sculls.

JUDO

Kayla Harrison

The 2012 gold medalist in the 78 kg weight class is back to defend her title. Originally from Ohio but now residing in Danvers. Earlier this year, she took silver at the Grand Slam Paris and bronze at Grand Slam Havana. She is the only American to win gold in judo.

SHOOTING

Sarah Scherer

Retirement was not meant for Scherer, who is back on Team USA after previously competing in 2012. At the London games, she finished seventh. Scherer, who previously resided in Billerica, retired to have back surgery but returned in 2015.

DIVING

Michael Hixon

The Amherst native started diving when he was seven years old and was coached by his mother, who was a diver at Ohio State and coaches at UMass. Hixon won the 2014 NCAA title on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. He is a nine-time junior national champion and was a finalist in the 3-meter dive at the 2016 World Cup.

RUGBY SEVENS

Victoria Folayan

A former basketball, cross country, football and tennis player in high school, the Boston-native excelled at rugby while at Stanford. She won two National Championship with the Cardinals.

Madison Hughes

England-born and Lancaster-raised, the captain of the 2014-15 rugby sevens team is back for the sports return to the Olympics. A standout at Dartmouth, he was named an All-American in 2012 and served as the team's captain.

ATHLETES WITH CLOSE TIES

RUGBY SEVENS

Nate Ebner

The New England Patriots safety and special teams mainstay took a break from football this year to focus on making the rugby sevens team. He first joined the national team at age 17, making him the youngest person to do so. He was named the team MVP at the 2007 U19 IRB Junior World Championship in 2007, and 2008 U20 IRB Junior World Championship.

SOCCER

Whitney Engen

The Boston Breakers centre-back was recently named an Olympic-squad with dreams of defending their gold medal from the London games. In 2015, she was named to her first World Cup team and played six matches for the Yanks, starting in three, scoring a goal, and earning an assist.

Image Credit: US Olympic Committee