Michael Phelps. Mark Spitz. Ray Ewry. The United States have been produced innumerable Olympic heroes who have lit up the men’s Games and scooped gold medals aplenty along the way.

Among the pantheon of swimmers, gymnasts, boxers and more who have taken their place on the medals podium, though, one sport’s medal tally remains blank on the men’s side: football. The States, indeed, are yet to reach the podium in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, with their best showing this century a fourth-place finish at Sydney 2000.

The women, by contrast, are record four-time champions and have only finished off the podium once in seven Olympic Games, while no other nation can lay claim to more than one gold medal. USA defender Jonathan Tomkinson takes plenty of inspiration from the USWNT, and now wants to make a story of his own in Paris this August.

“You could say it’s a good example [the women’s team success],” Tomkinson told FIFA. “The dominance they had for such a long time [is something] everyone would love to achieve, that level of consistency and dominance on the game. It’s very difficult to do so. I think we would love to have the same sort of track record at some point.”

Tomkinson, who is currently with League Two side Bradford City on loan from Norwich City, earned his first U-23 caps for the States in October 2023 before receiving another call-up in November. After several years away from the set-up following his U-17 days, the centre-back is glad to be back in the fold.

“It was really exciting,” Tomkinson continued. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had any action with the US. I probably waited almost four years to be back in that fold and back in those teams, so it was cool.

“I had a few familiar faces and then there was lots of new faces. It’s always nice to meet new people with the same aspirations as you.”

Those aspirations with the national side are now laser-focused on travelling to the upcoming Olympic Games, where USA will be joined by 15 other sides, including the likes of already-qualified Spain, Morocco and New Zealand. Standing at 6ft 4in and a keen athlete growing up, perhaps the Olympics and Tomkinson were always bound to collide.

“I played a bit of basketball, I ran a bit of track and cross country,” Tomkinson said. “As an American, everyone grows up watching the Olympics and that’s something that really brings the country together. There is a huge culture of athletes supporting athletes so regardless of what sport you play growing up, we’d be watching the swimming, the gymnastics, everything.

“We all know about Micheal Phelps and Gabby Douglas and all these other star athletes and that’s mostly through the Olympics. I would really love to be there, I’m working really hard to be there as well so we’ll take it one step at a time but that is a huge goal for sure. It’s every young athlete’s dream to be an Olympian.”

When discussing Team USA’s chances in Paris and the potential squad coach Marko Mitrovic has to pick from – Tomkinson believes the midfield is the side’s strongest position and tips the likes of Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessmann and Jack McGlynn to make an impact – it is Mitrovic himself who earns the most praise from the 21-year-old.

“He’s great, he’s been really good to work with, him and all of his staff as well. It’s like a family environment; everyone’s very easy to talk to [and] it’s an environment where you can approach people at any time about anything if you have questions or concerns.

“Marko actually came to see me while I was injured at Norwich to discuss his plans for the training camps, discuss his vision for group, and just to get to know each other as people. That was really nice. It’s been great working with him.”

“First and foremost, we want to win every game and so if we stick to that thought process then the ambition is always [going to be] gold, but to be on the podium altogether would be a huge achievement for everyone involved.”

A smile breaks out across Tomkinson’s face as the discussion moves on to FIFA World Cup 26™, a tournament which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA, ensuring automatic qualification for the trio. By the time football heads Stateside, the Texan will be just 24 and harbours hopes of returning to the city of his birth during World Cup fever.

“As soon as I saw the draw was going to be on US soil for quite a few games, that was something [playing games back home] that immediately sprung to my mind,” Tomkinson said. “Besides the fact that it’s everyone’s dream to play at a World Cup, to play at a home World Cup is an even bigger deal.

“There’s games that are going to be played in Dallas as well, so if we are fortunate enough to have games there and I was to be there, then that would be a dream come true for sure.”