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2017 Rose Parade goes for the gold with 3 Olympians as Grand Marshals
Gold medalist Allyson Felix of the United States poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's 400 metres final during day seven of the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships Beijing 2015 at Beijing National Stadium on August 28, 2015 in Beijing, China.
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Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for IAAF
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Olympic Diving Champion Greg Louganis attends the Sixth Annual American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 10, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.
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Chris Weeks/Getty Images for American Humane Association
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Former Olympian, Janet Evans speaks during a LA24 press conference on Day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 9, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
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You might have a hard time keeping up with the 2017 Rose Parade if the three Olympians leading it decide to take off. Sprinter Allyson Felix and swimmers Greg Louganis and Janet Evans will serve as Grand Marshals of this year's procession, it was announced Thursday morning.
All three are Southern California natives.
"I am so honored, humbled and thrilled to be a Grand Marshal," Felix said. "I've grown up watching the Rose Parade, a family tradition in our home and never would have imagined that I would be a part of it."
The three athletes serving as Grand Marshals also have another thing in common: They've all been major boosters of LA 2024, the campaign to bring the summer Olympics to Los Angeles.
Commenting on this year's parade theme, Echoes of Success, Evans said, "I think it's very fitting that I can be here with one of my heroes from when I was a young child. I was 12 in 84 when Greg Louganis competed here at the 84 games and I was inspired by all of the other athletes here. They were my echoes of success that inspired me to become an Olympian in 1988."
Evans noted that in 1932, the Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade was William May Garland, a real estate magnate and International Olympic Committee member who helped bring those Games to the city.
This isn't Louganis's first Rose Parade. Although he has never served as a Grand Marshal, he once rode on the Mission Viejo float with his dog Nipper.
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This year's Grand Tournament of Roses Parade starts at 8 a.m. on Monday, January 2.
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