More than 100 athletes with Pacific Northwest ties entered in Tokyo Olympics

If you like cheering for hometown athletes -- or former Ducks, Zags or Huskies -- you're in luck when the Summer Olympics start in less than a week. The team rosters for the USA and a bunch of foreign countries are chockablock with athletes with Pacific Northwest ties.

By our count, 50 U.S. Olympians have strong connections to Oregon or Washington. At least 51 more athletes are at the Olympics representing foreign countries after starring for universities or turning pro in the Northwest.

The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony is happening Friday, July 23, almost exactly one year later than originally planned due to the pandemic. The games, still branded Tokyo 2020, run through August 8. The International Olympic Committee and Japanese government are proceeding with these games in spite of persistent calls to cancel them coming from worried citizens of the largely unvaccinated host nation.