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The United States will send the second-largest team consisting of 613 athletes in its history to compete at the Tokyo Olympics this month with a majority of women athletes who make up over half of the delegation for a third straight Summer Games, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said on Tuesday.

The USOPC said in a statement that the athletes would take part in the Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo on July 23rd after a one-year postponement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, only the 1996 US Olympic team with 648 members (when the Games were staged on home soil in Atlanta was larger).

The 2021 team also includes 329 women. It is the third Summer Olympics in a row that female athletes have outnumbered their male counterparts.

The team includes 193 returning Olympians, including one seven-time Olympian — equestrian’s Phillip Dutton, and eight five-time Olympians.

A total of fifteen athletes will be competing in their fourth Olympics while 39 are participating in their third Games.

Multiple Olympic medallists spearheading the US challenge include track and field star Allyson Felix (nine medals), swimmer Allison Schmitt (eight medals), swimmer Katie Ledecky (six medals) and also gymnast Simone Biles (five medals).