The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are just a week away, with the world’s greatest athletes competing for honors. Two Delaware natives are members of Team USA. Our home state heroes are Megumi Fields and Malacchi Esdale.
Hailing from Wilmington, she has been practicing the sport of artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, since age 5. By 9, she was competing in the Junior Olympics. At age 11, Megumi’s family moved to California to accelerate her training, which includes ballet and gymnastics.
The 2024 Olympics will be the second appearance for the 18-year-old swimmer, who first competed in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. 2024 is the first time the United States has qualified for artistic swimming since 2008. The United States won bronze in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar.
Originally from Newark, Malacchi moved to Florida at 19 for his football career. He finished his senior year in Delaware, played football at ASA College in New York, then transferred back to University of Miami. While he didn’t find success in football, he played rugby for the University of Central Florida’s team. He made his professional debut for the Houston SaberCats in their 2018 season.
Like Megumi, Malacchi is returning to the Olympics. He was a reserve player for the U.S. rugby team, which placed sixth in the 2020 Tokyo Games. This is the third time the United States has qualified for the Olympics in rugby, after defeating Canada, host for the sport’s North American Olympic qualifier.