Long Beach State coaches, alumni to seek glory at Paris 2024 Olympics
The Beach, throughout its history, has fostered a sporting culture that readies athletes and coaches for the crucible of international competition. This tradition now continues as seven coaches and athletes with ties to Long Beach State are preparing for the Summer Olympics in Paris.
The campus’ links to the Summer Olympics date to 1952, when diver Pat McCormick won two gold medals at the Helsinki games. Since then, athletes and coaches with connections to The Beach have participated in every edition of the Summer Games.
“The Olympic Games symbolize the best of athletics competition and sportsmanship, and we are tremendously proud of the continued representation of Beach Athletics at this summer’s Paris Olympics,” Athletics Director Bobby Smitheran said.
This time around, Olympians with Beach ties will coach or compete in track and field, volleyball and water polo. Most will trade Long Beach State’s black and gold for Team USA’s red, white and blue; others will compete while wearing the colors of the Canadian and French national teams.
Beach head track and field coach LaTanya Sheffield is set to have a major role for Team USA as the head coach for women’s track and field. Additionally, campus head water polo coach Gavin Arroyo has accepted a role as an assistant coach for U.S. Men’s water polo.
Beach assistant women’s water polo coach Rachel Fattal also has a ticket to Paris, where she is set to jump in the pool as a member of the U.S. women’s water polo team. A pair of Beach alumni, men’s volleyballers TJ DeFalco ‘21 and Kyle Ensing, ‘19 are also scheduled travel with the U.S. men’s volleyball team. Beach alumnae who competed for the women’s water polo team, Marilia Mimides ‘22 and Orsi Hertzka, ‘22 are respectively on the rosters for the Canadian and French women’s water polo squads.
“Long Beach State University’s history of participation in the summer Olympics on the world stage provides all members of our campus and greater Long Beach community something to cheer for and be proud of,” Smitheran said. “On behalf of Beach Athletics, it’s my privilege to extend our well wishes to those coaches and athletes chasing their dreams of winning a gold medal.”
Meet the Olympians:
Track and Field
LaTanya Sheffield
Long Beach State’s head track and field, LaTanya Sheffield, has been selected as head coach for the U.S. Women’s Track and Field team. She joined the Beach in 2013 and ascended to her current position in 2022. Since Sheffield’s arrival, Long Beach State has claimed five men’s and three women’s Big West track and field championships.
Sheffield also has a record of success in world-class competitions. This includes coaching Olympians during the Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro games. U.S. women competing with Sheffield’s guidance won several medals and swept the 100m hurdles at Rio.
As an athlete, Sheffield competed as an Olympic finalist during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. She also won the 1985 NCAA championship in the 400m hurdles while running for San Diego State.
Volleyball
TJ DeFalco
TJ DeFalco will be participating in his second Olympics since playing for The Beach. DeFalco contributed to The Beach’s back-to-back national championships in 2018 and 2019 and attained First Team All-American status in both seasons, as well as two others. DeFalco also earned National Player of the Year honors in 2017 and 2019 from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Kyle Ensing
Kyle Ensing is the “official alternate athlete” for Team USA’s men’s volleyball team. This means he will go to Paris and be eligible to take the place of any teammate who cannot play for health reasons, according to USA Volleyball. Ensing also competed in the Tokyo games. At The Beach, he was a member of The Beach’s 2018 and 2019 national championship teams and earned First Team All-American selections in both seasons, as well as a Second Team selection in 2017.
Water Polo
Gavin Arroyo
Gavin Arroyo, set to serve as an assistant coach for U.S. men’s water polo team, has been head men’s water polo coach here since 2006. He earned his first of three selections as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year in the following season. The men’s team has secured several Top Ten rankings during Arroyo’s tenure, including a No. 4 ranking in 2014.
Arroyo is also a member of the 2020 USA Water Polo Hall of Fame’s induction class and has previously represented the United States as an Olympic athlete and assistant coach. He was a member of Team USA during the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, and the 2000 Games in Sydney, as well as the 1994 and 1998 World Championship winning teams and the 1997 team that won the World Cup. Arroyo joined the national team’s coaching staff for the Tokyo Olympics.
Rachel Fattal
Long Beach State hired Rachel Fattal as an assistant coach for the women’s water polo team in 2022. She has already won two Olympic gold medals, having played with Team USA’s championship squads in the Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro games. She is now seeking a third gold, set to travel to Paris as a women’s national team athlete. Fattal has held a roster spot throughout a decade of U.S. dominance in women’s water polo. Excepting the pandemic year of 2020, U.S. women have claimed championships in Olympic, World Championship and World Cup events in every year spanning 2014 through 2023.
Orsi Hertzka
Orsi Hertzka scored a team-best 70 goals during her senior year campaign. She earned All-American recognition in three collegiate seasons and is now set to compete for the French women’s national team. She also traveled to Japan to compete on the French side in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
Marilia Mimides
Olympics newcomer Marilia Mimides will be competing for Canada, following up on her World Aquatics Championships appearance with Canada’s national team last year. Her accomplishments at The Beach include a six-goal performance against Cal State Northridge in April 2022 that led to a selection as Big West Player of the Week.
