North Carolina-Based Colleges, Universities
Boast 60-Plus Athletes At Summer Olympics


By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

Duke, North Carolina and NC State lead a group of at least 10 North Carolina-based colleges and universities represented at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France, according to an NCAA Olympics Dashboard provided by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Wake Forest has the next-most participants in this year’s Summer Olympics. Queens University (located in Charlotte), North Carolina A&T, Davidson, Johnson C. Smith, Livingstone and UNC Wilmington also are represented by at least one athlete or coach in Paris.

NC-Based Colleges/Universities
School — 2024 Summer Olympians

Duke — 20
North Carolina — 18
NC State — 15
Wake Forest — 6
Queens — 4
North Carolina A&T — 2
Davidson — 1
Johnson C. Smith — 1
Livingstone — 1
UNC Wilmington — 1

More than 50 NCAA leagues are represented in France, with the Big Ten Conference (312 athletes), Southeastern Conference (267) and ACC (257) leading the way.

“In the Summer Olympics, the best athletes from around the world come together every four years to compete at the highest level. It’s truly remarkable that nearly 300 athletes, coaches and alumni from our 18 member institutions represent over 50 countries and six continents,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “We extend our heartfelt best wishes to all our ACC family members competing in Paris this year.”

The highest-profile athletes in this year’s Summer Games who are connected to a North Carolina-based college or university include Team USA basketball stars Steph Curry (Davidson) and Jayson Tatum (Duke), Team USA women’s soccer stars Crystal Dunn (UNC) and Emily Fox (UNC), and Team USA swimmer Ryan Held (NC State).

The United States is among the gold medal favorites in both men’s basketball and women’s soccer. Held (who swam in the preliminary round) already has won a gold medal in Paris, as part of the Americans’ 4×100 freestyle relay team.

While more than 25 of the Olympic athletes and coaches with North Carolina connections are competing for the United States in France, others are representing Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden or Zambia.

According to the NCAA, the exact numbers on its Olympics Dashboard may continue to change slightly in the coming days, as the organization tracks late changes and coordinates with its member schools for accuracy purposes.

Also, the numbers below differ slightly from the Olympics Dashboard numbers in some cases. The Dashboard numbers include only current, former and incoming athletes, while the numbers below also include coaches who currently represent a North Carolina-based college or university. Also, the Dashboard numbers often list transfers only with their final NCAA school, while the numbers below include athletes who continued and/or completed their college careers elsewhere.

Olympians From NC-Based Colleges/Universities
(By School, With Country/Sport)

Davidson, Atlantic-10 (1)

Steph Curry, USA, Men’s Basketball

Duke, ACC (20)

Elizabeth Balogun, Nigeria, Women’s Basketball
RJ Barrett, Canada, Men’s Basketball
Ana Belac, Slovenia, Women’s Golf
Celine Boutier, France, Women’s Golf
Leah Crouse, USA, Women’s Field Hockey
Pascual Di Tella, Argentina, Men’s Fencing (Sabre)
Dan Golubovic, Australia, Men’s Track & Field (Decathlon)
Chelsea Gray, USA, Women’s Basketball
Simen Guttormsen, Norway, Men’s Track & Field (Pole Vault)
Lauren Hoffman, Philippines, Women’s Track & Field (400m Hurdles)
Brynn King, USA, Women’s Track & Field (Pole Vault)
Kara Lawson, USA, Women’s Basketball (Assistant Coach)
Leona Maguire, Ireland, Women’s Golf
Khaman Maluach, South Sudan, Men’s Basketball
Toni Payne, Nigeria, Women’s Soccer
Morgan Pearson, USA, Men’s Track & Field (Triathlon)
Maddy Price, Canada, Women’s Track & Field (4x400m Relay)
Quinn, Canada, Women’s Soccer
Sofia Roma, Puerto Rico, Women’s Basketball
Jayson Tatum, USA, Men’s Basketball

Johnson C Smith, CIAA (1)

Danielle Williams, Jamaica, Women’s Track & Field (100m Hurdles)

Livingstone, CIAA (1)

Quanera Hayes, USA, Women’s Track & Field (400 Meters)

North Carolina, ACC (18)

Katie Bowen, New Zealand, Women’s Soccer
Greg Duncan, USA, Men’s Diving (3m Synchronized)
Crystal Dunn, USA, Women’s Soccer
Emily Fox, USA, Women’s Soccer
Rinky Hijikata, Australia, Men’s Tennis
Ashley Hoffman, USA, Women’s Field Hockey
Patrick Hussey, Canada, Men’s Swimming
Martin Kartavi, Israel, Men’s Swimming
Adam Maranna, Israel, Men’s Swimming
Mia Phiri, Zambia, Women’s Swimming
Ethan Ramos, Puerto Rico, Men’s Wrestling
Ashley Sessa, USA, Women’s Field Hockey
Meredith Sholder, USA, Women’s Field Hockey
Kristen Siermachesky, Canada, Women’s Rowing
Cassie Sumfest, USA, Women’s Field Hockey
Naya Tapper, USA, Women’s Rugby
Aranza Vazquez Montano, Mexico, Women’s Diving (Springboard)
Madison Wiltrout, USA, Women’s Track & Field (Javelin)

North Carolina A&T, CAA (2)

Reheem Hayles, Jamaica, Track & Field (4×400 Mixed Relay)
Akeem Sirleaf, Liberia, Men’s Track & Field (4x100m Relay)

NC State, ACC (15)

Katharine Berkoff, USA, Women’s Swimming (100m Backstroke)
David Betleham, Hungary, Men’s Swimming (10K Open Water)
Lorenzo Brown, Spain, Men’s Basketball
Betti Fabian, Hungary, Men’s Swimming (10K Open Water)
Sophie Hansson, Sweden, Men’s Swimming (100 & 200m Backstroke)
Ryan Held, USA, Men’s Swimming (4x100m Freestyle Relay)
Braden Holloway, USA, Men’s Swimming (Assistant Coach)
Nyls Korstanje, Netherlands, Men’s Swimming (100m Butterfly)
McKenzie Long, USA, Women’s Track & Field (200 Meters)
John Payne, USA, Swimming Paralympics (Head Coach)
Bartosz Piszczorowiz, Poland, Men’s Swimming (Mixed 400m Medley Relay)
Diana Shnaider, Individual Neutral Athlete* (Russia), Women’s Tennis
Kacper Stokowski, Poland, Men’s Swimming (Medley; Mixed Medley Relay)
Andreas Vazaios, Greece, Men’s Swimming (4x100m Freestyle Relay)
Kaii Winkler, Germany, Men’s Swimming (100m Butterfly)

Queens, Atlantic Sun (4)

Felix Duchampt, Romania, Men’s Track & Field (Triathlon)
Matej Dusa, Slovakia, Men’s Swimming (50m & 100m Freestyle)
Niklas Klei, Germany, Men’s Track & Field (4x400m Relay)
Seth Rider, USA, Track & Field (Men’s Triathlon & Mixed Relay)

UNC Wilmington, CAA (1)

Kai Toews, Japan, Men’s Basketball

Wake Forest, ACC (6)

Dearica Hamby, USA, Women’s Basketball (3×3)
Samantha Heyison, USA, Women’s Track & Field (Paralympics)
Grace Jale, New Zealand, Women’s Soccer
Ines Laklalech, Morocco, Women’s Golf
Dinos Mitoglou, Greece, Men’s Basketball
Ivana Raca, Serbia, Women’s Basketball