Meet the Olympians and Paralympians with North Carolina ties heading to Paris
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Paralympian Carson Clough (second from right) at a race in Montreal. Photo: Courtesy of Cannon Clough
It's time for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
State of play: The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games (schedule here) is Wednesday, Aug. 28. Coverage begins at 1pm on USA and Peacock. The opening ceremony starts at 2pm.
Below are all of the athletes with North Carolina ties who competed in the Olympics and will compete in the Paralympics.
Editor's note: Athletes are listed alphabetically and will compete for Team USA unless otherwise noted.
Liel Abada
Charlotte FC's forward represented Israel at the Olympics.
Sport: Soccer
Bam Adebayo
The Miami Heat player grew up in Pinetown, North Carolina.
Sport: Basketball
Hannah Aspden
The Paralympian swimmer, Raleigh native and Queens University of Charlotte alumna is heading to her third Paralympic Games.
- She won two bronze medals in Rio in 2016 and two gold medals in Tokyo.
Sport: Paralympics swimming
Elizabeth Balogun
The Duke alumna represented Nigeria. This was her second Olympics.
Sport: Basketball
R.J. Barrett
The former Duke Blue Devil represented Canada.
Sport: Basketball
Ana Belac
The former Duke golfer represented Slovenia.
Sport: Golf
Katharine Berkoff
Berkoff is an N.C. State alumna.
Sport: Swimming
Celine Boutier
The former Duke golfer represented France.
Sport: Golf
Kaylyn Brown
The Mallard Creek High alumna is currently enrolled at Arkansas. The 19-year-old helped Team USA set a new world record for the mixed 4x400-meter relay. They won silver in the final.
Sport: Track and Field
Go deeper: Charlotte native Kaylyn Brown wins silver with Team USA
Cierra Burdick
The Charlotte native and Butler High alumna won bronze with Team USA in women's 3x3 basketball.
Sport: 3x3 basketball
Go deeper: Charlotte native Cierra Burdick wins Olympic medal with Team USA
Gianluca Busio
The Greensboro native plays professional soccer in Italy for Venezia FC.
Sport: Soccer
Andrew Capobianco
Capobianco, who is from Holly Springs, competed in his second Olympic Games. He earned a silver medal at the Tokyo Games in the men's synchronized 3m springboard dive.
Sport: Diving
Carson Clough
The Charlotte Latin alum played lacrosse at North Carolina. Then a 2019 boating accident on Lake Norman led to partial amputation of his right leg. Clough, a triathlete, is also the co-founder of Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters in Plaza Midwood.
- The Giddy Goat will host a watch party on Sunday, Sept. 1 at either the live time at 4:15am or 7am for the recap. You can weigh in here.
Sport: Paralympics triathlon
Anna Cockrell
Cockrell, a Charlotte native, won silver in the women's 400-meter hurdles. The Providence Day alumna graduated with honors from the University of Southern California in 2019. She also competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
Sport: Track and field
Go deeper: Charlotte native Anna Cockrell wins first Olympic medal
Stephen Curry
The NBA superstar is a Charlotte legend. The Charlotte Christian and Davidson alum has a key to the city. He won gold with Team USA in his first Olympics.
Sport: Basketball
Go deeper: Charlotte native Steph Curry wins gold
Pascual Di Tella
The Argentine athlete athlete attended Duke.
Sport: Fencing
Crystal Dunn
The former North Carolina Tar Heel competed in her third Olympics and won gold in Paris.
Sport: Soccer
Casey Eichfeld
Eichfeld, who calls Huntersville home, went to his fourth Olympic Games. You may have spotted him at the U.S. National Whitewater Center where he trains and worked previously as a raft guide.
Sport: Canoe/Kayak
Heather Erickson
The four-time Paralympic medalist from Fayetteville has won gold twice (in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro) and silver twice (in London and Beijing).
Sport: Sitting volleyball
Field Hockey
Charlotte is home to the USA Field Hockey women's national team. Leah Crouse played at Duke. Several athletes on the roster played at North Carolina, including Ashley Hoffman, Ashley Sessa, Meredith Sholder and Cassie Sumfest. Find the full roster here.
Emily Fox
Fox, a former North Carolina Tar Heel, made her Olympics debut and won gold.
Sport: Soccer
Veronica Fraley
The Raleigh native competed for Clemson and Vanderbilt and recently earned her second master's degree at the latter. She competed in the discus throw.
Sport: Track and field
Go deeper: Olympian: I can't pay my rent. Flavor Flav: "I gotchu"
Daniel Golubovic
The former Duke athlete represented Australia in the decathlon.
Sport: Track and field
Chelsea Gray
The Duke alumna won a gold medal with Team USA in Tokyo and Paris.
Sport: Basketball
Josh Green
The Australian guard, who was recently traded to the Charlotte Hornets, is competing in his second Olympics. He won a bronze medal in Tokyo.
Sport: Basketball
Simen Guttormsen
The pole vaulter, who competed for Duke and Princeton, represented Norway.
Sport: Track and field
Dearica Hamby
The Wake Forest alumna and WNBA player represented Team USA and won bronze.
Sport: 3x3 basketball
Quanera Hayes
Hayes, a world champion 400-meter runner, went to her second Olympics. In college, she ran for Livingstone in Salisbury.
Sport: Track and field
Ryan Held
In 2016, the N.C. State alum won gold in Rio and Paris.
Sport: Swimming
Samantha Heyison
The 19-year-old attends Wake Forest. She was born with constricted band syndrome.
Sport: Paralympics track and field
Rinky Hijikata
The former North Carolina Tar Heel represented Australia in his first Olympics.
Sport: Tennis
Lauren Hoffman
The former Duke Blue Devil will make her Olympic Games debut. She represented the Philippines in the 400-meter hurdles.
Sport: Track and field
Patrick Hussey
The North Carolina Tar Heel represented Canada in his first Olympics.
Sport: Swimming
Desmond Jackson
The Durham native and Campbell University alum will compete in his second Paralympics. Jackson, a sprinter, also competed in Rio.
Sport: Paralympics track and field
Sanu Jallow
The West Mecklenburg High alumna and Arkansas runner represented Gambia in the women's 800-meter.
Sport: Track and field
Brynn King
King's specialty is pole vault. The Texas native earned a degree in evolutionary anthropology at Duke. She competed for the Blue Devils before transferring to Roberts Wesleyan.
Sport: Track and field
Evy Leibfarth
The Bryson City native frequently trains at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. She made history at the Tokyo Olympic Games as the youngest athlete to represent the U.S. in canoe slalom in the Olympics. Now competed in her second Olympics and won bronze in Paris.
Sport: Canoe/kayak
Go deeper: Olympian Evy Leibfarth's perfect day in Charlotte
McKenzie Long
Long, who ran track at N.C. State before transferring to Ole Miss as a graduate student, runs in memory of her late mother, Tara Jones.
Sport: Track and field
Khaman Maluach
The Blue Devil's 7-foot-2 center represented South Sudan.
Sport: Basketball
Leona Maguire
The former Duke athlete represented Ireland.
Sport: Golf
Aranza Vazquez Montano
The North Carolina Tar Heel will compete in her second Olympics. She represented Mexico.
Sport: Diving
Casey Murphy
The North Carolina Courage goalkeeper will compete in her first Olympics. She won gold with Team USA.
Sport: Soccer
Maria Liana Mutia
Mutia, a Raleigh native, will compete in her second Paralympics. The visually impaired athlete wrestled and began competing in judo, a martial art, in high school.
Sport: Paralympics judo
Fiona O'Keeffe
The marathoner calls Chapel Hill home.
Sport: Track and field
Toni Payne
The Duke alumna represented Nigeria.
Sport: Soccer
Tommy Paul
Paul grew up playing on clay courts in Greenville, N.C. He competed in his second Olympics.
Sport: Tennis
Maddy Price
Price earned her undergrad and master's at Duke. She represented Canada at her second Olympics.
Sport: Track and Field
Quinn
The Duke alum represented Canada. Quinn, who has won gold with Canada in Tokyo, became the first openly transgender, non-binary person to win an Olympic medal, according to the Canadian federation.
Sport: Soccer
Ethan Ramos
Ramos competed for the North Carolina Tar Heels in college. Now he's an assistant coach for Duke. He represented Puerto Rico at the Games.
Sport: Wrestling
Hannah Roberts
Roberts lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She won silver at the Tokyo Games.
Sport: BMX freestyle
Sofia Roma
The former Duke basketball player represented Puerto Rico.
Sport: Basketball
Apsara Sakbun
Sakbun, a Wells Fargo analyst who calls Charlotte home, represented Cambodia. She trains at the Dowd YMCA and Queens University of Charlotte.
Sport: Swimming
Emma Schieck
The Statesville native and North Carolina alumna will compete in her second Paralympics. She won gold in Tokyo.
Sport: Sitting volleyball
Morgan Stickney
Stickney is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist. Her family moved to Cary so she could train after surgeries to amputate her legs below the knee. She will compete in her second Paralympics.
Sport: Paralympics swimming
Conner Stroud
The Rutherfordton native will compete in his second Paralympics.
Sport: Wheelchair tennis
Sammy Sullivan
Sullivan, who grew up in Fayetteville, began playing rugby at West Point. She currently holds the rank of captain in the Army. She won bronze in Paris.
Sport: Rugby
Taekwondo
USA Taekwondo is based in Charlotte.
Sport: Taekwondo
Naya Tapper
The West Mecklenburg High alumna and former North Carolina Tar Heel was a member of the Olympic team for the Tokyo Games. Before playing rugby in college, she was an All-America track and field athlete in high school. She won bronze in Paris.
Sport: Rugby
Jayson Tatum
The Boston Celtics star played at Duke.
Sport: Basketball
Jack White
White also played basketball at Duke. He represented Australia at the Games.
Sport: Basketball
Evan Wilkerson
The Wake Forest native, who is visually impaired, will compete in his first Paralympic Games.
Sport: Paralympics swimming
Danielle Williams
The Johnson C. Smith University alumna and two-time world champion 100-meter hurdler represented Jamaica.
Sport: Track and field
Go deeper: JCSU alum Danielle Williams is going to Paris
Editor's note: This guide was first published on July 18 and was last updated on Aug. 27, 2024.