Two Sporting KC players called up to Team USA soccer roster for ’24 Paris Olympics
Sporting Kansas City is sending two players to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Goalkeeper John Pulskamp and midfielder Jake Davis will be alternates for the U.S. Olympic team in men’s soccer.
“I think it’s the greatest honor,” Davis told The Star. “It’s the Olympics. It’s something that I hadn’t even thought about, to be honest. ... I’m focused on the season here, but it’s a great honor, and I’m very excited.”
Pulskamp said it’s a special feeling to be recognized and called to the Olympic team as an alternate. He trained with the U.S. team during its late-May and June camp in Kansas City.
“It kind of gives you that feeling that you crave as a player,” Pulskamp said. “You feel like you’re being recognized and complimented for your abilities.”
Vermes told The Star he was proud and happy that both get to be a part of the Olympics and represent the United States, something Vermes experienced as a player in 1988.
“They’re once-in-a-lifetime opportunities,” Vermes said. “So when you get it, you gotta grab it with everything you have and hold onto it.
“For Jake, his ascension in such a short period and not being on the radar for a lot of people ... says a lot about that. He’s really focused on his craft, and that’s a good thing.”
Vermes went on to praise Pulskamp’s workmanlike attitude since joining the club.
“I can’t say enough about John,” Vermes said. “From the first day he ever came in our academy, he’s been nothing but a workhorse. So he deserves this as well.”
As two of four alternate players, Pulskamp and/or Davis could be deployed to replace any member of the 18-man U.S. roster. In case of injury, alternate players can be added to the 18-man roster up to eight hours prior to the start of every match.
Both 22, Pulskamp and Davis meet the age restrictions for the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament, which is limited to players under the age of 23 (though three over-age players are allowed on each roster).
The men’s Olympic tourney begins July 24, when the U.S. faces hosts France in Marseille. The U.S. will play New Zealand on July 27 in Marseille before taking on Guinea in Saint-Etienne on July 30. If the U.S. finishes in the top two of its group, the Americans will advance to the knockout stage.
Pulskamp said the call-up was special for multiple reasons.
“I was involved in the U-20 cycle that ultimately had our World Cup canceled, and it really felt like something was being taken away from me,” he said. “Since that day, I was looking toward the Olympics.”
He also not the only John Pulskamp to compete in the Olympics. His grandfather and namesake competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics weightlifting competition, placing fourth.
“Having that family connection made it that much more special for me, made it that much more personal,” Pulskamp said.
Davis recalled some of his favorite Olympic memories — Simone Biles, Michael Phelps and Neymar winning the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics with Brazil.
He said he was in shock as he told his family he was headed to Paris.
“I’m not going there to be comfortable like, ‘I made it,’” Davis said. “I’m just going there to get better and try to help the team get better.”
Davis and Pulskamp joined Chris Snitko and Matt McKeon in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Chris Brown, who was an alternate in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as Kansas City players to represent the U.S. at the Olympics.
The duo will also be reunited with Sporting KC product and former academy teammate Gianluca Busio, who is on the U.S. roster.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 6:50 AM.