Meet the Minnesota athletes competing in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris
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More than a dozen Minnesotans are in Paris this week to compete in the 2024 Paralympics.
Why it matters: In addition to being some of the best in their sports, these athletes have overcome personal and physical adversity to compete on the world stage.
State of play: The Team USA roster lists 11 athletes with a hometown in Minnesota. Several more have ties to the state.
Zoom in: The local Paralympians will compete in sports ranging from swimming to table tennis to wheelchair basketball, per the Star Tribune.
They include:
🏀 Chuck Aoki, a three-time medalist hoping to lead the United States' No. 2 ranked men's wheelchair rugby team to a gold.
🏀 The women's team will feature Josie Aslakson, an Edina native and coach of the University of Arizona's women's wheelchair basketball program, Savage's Abby Bauleke, and Elysian's Rose Hollermann.
- USA won bronze in 2021.
🏊 Mallory Weggemann, a swimmer from Eagan with five medals — including three golds.
🏓 Ian Seidenfeld, a 2023 University of Minnesota graduate from Lakeville is defending his gold medal in men's table tennis.
🏐 Lexi Shifflett-Patterson, a sitting volleyball player from Waseca, won gold in the 2016 and 2021 games.
🦽 Aaron Pike, a six-time Paralympian is set to race in various events as part of the Track and Field team. The Park Rapids native also competes as a Nordic skier in the Winter Games.
Zoom out: This is the first time that all 22 Paralympic sports will be broadcast live.
- Athletes are hoping that high interest in the Summer Olympics plus social media and advertising campaigns on this week's competition will bring even more fans to the Paralympics this year.
What they're saying: "I have never seen such a large excitement for the Paralympics from people who haven't seen it before," Aoki, who has used a wheelchair for most of his life as a result of a genetic condition, told KARE 11.
How to watch: The Paralympics kick off Wednesday and run through Sept. 8.
- Viewers can tune in via NBC, USA Network, and CNBC, and the network's Peacock streaming service.
📆 Go deeper with the full roster and schedule.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Chuck Aoki plays for the wheelchair rugby team (not the basketball team).