Many athletes get into competitive mode by listening to a pump-up playlist before they compete.
Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” and “Lose Yourself,” “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and “We Will Rock You” by Queen are among the classics for athletes to warm up to.
On Friday, July 26, the 2024 Olympics will officially kick off in Paris, France. Athletes from around the world will be representing their country in sports, including beach volleyball, basketball, hockey, tennis, swimming, gymnastics and more.
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, here is what some athletes competing for Team USA listen to before battling it out for the gold.
- Logan Edra
- Daniel Roberts
- Cordell Tinch
- McKenzie Coan
- Rai Benjamin
- Rachel Glenn
- Veronica Fraley
- Samantha Bosco
- Jaydin Blackwell
- Chase Budinger
- Daniela Moroz
- Minna Stess
1. Logan Edra
Logan Edra, will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in breaking, more commonly known as breakdancing.
During the Olympic breaking competition, dancers will compete in one-on-one battles, dancing to music randomly selected by a DJ, according to the Olympics website.
Before hitting the dance floor, Edra often listens to “World’s Famous” by Malcolm McLaren, according to The Associated Press. She first discovered the 1983 song on an old mixtape.
“I felt like I was brought back to when breaking first started,” Edra told the outlet.
“I’m starting to see how the music brings us together,” she said.
2. Daniel Roberts
Daniel Roberts is another Olympian who likes to take it back in time with his pump-up music.
If you pop on Roberts headphones before he competes in the hurdles, you’ll probably hear some old-school R&B playing, like “Use ta Be My Girl” by The O’Jays.” He told The Associated Press that he likes listening to music for pure enjoyment, rather than songs that are going to get him hyped up.
“If I like the music or song a lot, it’s going to bring that good energy. I’m going to dance. I’m going to move,” he told the outlet.
3. Cordell Tinch
Cordell Tinch, a hurdler on Team USA, likes to mix it up with his music.
“Today, it was ‘God Did.’ That was the last song I listened to before I took my headphones off,” Tinch told The Associated Press.
“It was that song today, but it could be different another day,” he said, noting that he even opts for Broadway hits here and there.
4. McKenzie Coan
McKenzie Coan competed in the Paralympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020, earning four gold and two silver medals.
She is returning to the 2024 Olympics as part of the swim team.
Before she hits the water, she often listens to Britney Spears, more specifically, the songs “Circus” and “Womanizer.”
She told The Associated Press that she has a Spotify playlist full of songs that get her pumped up before a competition.
“Some of those songs I can’t listen to unless I’m getting ready to race, because it gets me so amped up,” she said. “I can’t even handle it…. I listen to things I can really move to.”
5. Rai Benjamin
Rai Benjamin is a professional hurdler and sprinter.
The Olympic athlete doesn’t have one single song or artist he enjoys listening to in order to get pumped up.
Artists like Drake and G Herbo are often favorable to Benjamin, but sometimes, he likes to listen to film scores from movies like “Interstellar” and “The King,” he told The Associated Press.
6. Rachel Glenn
Rachel Glenn is an Olympic track and field athlete who currently competes in 400m hurdles and high jump, according to Team USA.
Her warm-up songs are often upbeat hits.
Artists she listens to include Snoop Dogg, Soulja Boy, Lil Vada and Tommy the Clown, according to The Associated Press.
“I like to listen to music anywhere I go,” she said. “I’ll listen when I’m doing my homework, when I’m trying to go to sleep. It’s super important. Track and field is a mental thing. If your mentality right, then you’re going to compete right.”
7. Veronica Fraley
Another track and field athlete who enjoys upbeat tracks to get her pumped up before competing is Veronica Fraley.
Fraley, who competes in the discus throw, opts for rap music just before it’s time for her to compete, like Future’s “March Madness,” she told The Associated Press, adding that music really helps her get in the zone to compete.
“It helps me come with my hardest energy,” she told the outlet.
8. Samantha Bosco
Samantha Bosco is a cyclist in the Paralympics.
When she is training to compete, there are two songs that she usually chooses to play.
Her go-to tunes are “I Am Here” by Pink and “Chant” by Macklemore and Tones and I.
Bosco was born with a posteromedical bow of the right tibia and a calcaneal valgus foot that was corrected surgically at the age of 4, according to Team USA.
Bosco is a two-time bronze medalist.
9. Jaydin Blackwell
Jaydin Blackwell is a Paralympic sprinter born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Before he was a year old, he moved to Michigan, where he grew up, according to Team USA.
Blackwell was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 6 years old.
Music isn’t a go-to for Blackwell, rather, motivational speeches are what he listens to before competing.
According to The Associated Press, a speech that Blackwell enjoys listening to is the introduction to Madden NFL 13, which features words from Ray Lewis.
David Goggins, an ultramarathon runner, is another he often listens to, according to the outlet.
10. Chase Budinger
Chase Budinger’s road to competing in the Olympics on the beach volleyball court is an interesting one.
The 6-7 athlete was formally in the NBA, as the 44th pick in the 2009 draft with the Detroit Pistons.
In his NBA career, he played with the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns.
Currently, Budinger has traded the basketball court for sandy beaches, as a professional beach volleyball player. His current teammate on the sandy court is Miles Evans.
As far as his playlist goes, Budinger typically chooses to stick to the classics, with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem as his go-to song, according to USA Today.
11. Daniela Moroz
Daniela Moroz is an American sailor born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, according to Team USA.
One of Moroz’s favorite songs to listen to before competing is “All Too Well (10 minute version), by Taylor Swift, according to USA Today.
She also opts for “All Star” by Smash Mouth.
12. Minna Stess
Minna Stess is a skateboarder competing for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Stress’ playlist is full of all different kinds of songs, including some she considers to be “joke songs,” according to USA Today.
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One of Stess’ “joke songs” that she listens to is the soundtrack from “Minions,” according to the source.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
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