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T here are a quite a few athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympics who hail from the Cincinnati/Ohio area. Whether they were born and raised here or went to school here, quite a few locals are going for the gold.
Nina Castanga: Rowing (Cincinnati)
Nina Castanga is an Olympic rower from Walnut Hills, Ohio. Her interest in rowing began in high school when she became the rowing coach’s assistant. She attended the University of Washington where she began her collegiate rowing career. Her coach, Yaz Farooq became one of her personal heroes. She has qualified for the 2024 Olympics and has been named boat leader.
Carson Foster: Swimming (Cincinnati)
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Carson Foster is a swimmer from Cincinnati. He swims for the University of Texas at Austin and has won 5 medals at the 2019 Junior World Championships. He broke Michael Phelps’ Under-10 100-meter butterfly national record. He recently qualified for the Paris games and will swim the 400 individual medley.
Max Holt: Volleyball (Cincinnati)
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Max Holt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a professional volleyball player. He is a member of the U.S. National Team and a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. He plays professional volleyball in China for the Beijing BAIC Motor Men’s Volleyball Club. He will compete for Team USA in Paris.
Rose Lavelle: Soccer (Cincinnati)
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Rose Lavelle is a Cincinnati, Ohio native and is a professional soccer player. She attended Mount Notre Dame High School, then played soccer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year. She competed in the 2019 and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Aubrey Kingsbury: Soccer (Cincinnati)
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Aubrey Kingsbury was born in Cincinnati and attended St. Ursula Academy, where she won the state championship for soccer in 2007 and 2008. She went on to play college soccer for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons where she broke numerous school records. She will compete for Team USA in the 2024 games in Paris.
Mason Parris: Wrestling (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)
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Mason Parris is a wrestler from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He won three Indiana state titles before attending the University of Michigan. He led the Wolverines in wins and was named an All-American. He will compete for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Miles Robinson: Soccer (FCC Player)
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Miles Robinson is a center-back for FC Cincinnati. He was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, and played soccer in college for the Syracuse Orange. He was drafted with the second overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft by expansion team Atlanta United in 2017. He signed a two-year contract with Cincinnati in January and is now a part of the United States Men’s National Team competing in the 2024 Olympics.
Jordan Thompson: Volleyball (University of Cincinnati)
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Jordan Thompson is an All-American volleyball player participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2019, where she set NCAA and school records. She won gold in the 2021 Olympics and wants to continue winning in Paris.
Annette Echikunwoke: Hammer (University of Cincinnati)
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Annette Echikunwoke is a hammer thrower from Ohio. She attended the University of Cincinnati, where she became the university’s first NCAA champion in track and field. Echikunwoke wanted to represent Nigeria in the 2020 Olympics, but due to issues with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, she represented the United States.
Lewis Johnson: NBC Commentator (University of Cincinnati)
Lewis Johnson is an NBC track and field reporter working his 13th Olympic games for the network. He was an All-American track star for the University of Cincinnati and began broadcasting full-time in 1995.
Piper Kelly: Climbing (Xavier graduate)
Piper Kelly is a speed-climbing champion from Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from Xavier University in 2023, majoring in exercise science and minoring in Psychology and Spanish. She enjoys coaching young athletes and hopes to continue her involvement in youth athletics when she is done competing. She will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games for Team USA.
Molly Bruggeman: Rowing (Dayton)
Molly Bruggeman is a rower from Dayton Ohio. She began rowing in 2007 with the Dayton Boat Club and continued the sport throughout high school. She earned a rowing scholarship to her father’s alma mater, the University of Notre Dame where she was a three-time all-American. She was cut from the Rio Games, a spare in the Tokyo Games, but finally made the 2024 Olympic team.
Simone Biles: Gymnastics (Columbus)
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Simone Biles is one of the most prominent faces of Team USA. Her incredible talent and global recognition have made gymnastics a must-watch. While not raised in Ohio, she was born in Columbus in 1997. She moved to Texas at age 3 to live with her grandparents after being in foster care. She has earned 37 Olympic and World Championship medals and was named Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in 2015.
Lebron James: Basketball (Akron)
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“Just a kid from Akron”, Lebron James is one of the most famous Ohioans and greatest basketball players of all time. He played basketball for St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron winning three state titles. He was drafted number one overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft. He was the youngest player to receive the NBA Rookie of the Year award. After seven seasons, Lebron moved to Miami, winning 2 NBA championships. In 2015, Lebron returned to Cleveland with the promise of bringing a championship to the city. He accomplished it the next year, climbing back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Golden State Warriors to bring Cleveland its first title in over 50 years. He joins many other NBA stars in Paris to compete for Team USA.
Steph Curry: Basketball (Akron)
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Steph Curry is a Professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors. He was born at the same hospital as Lebron James, in Akron, Ohio, while his father Dell Curry played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988. He played college basketball for the Davidson Wildcats, leading them to the Elite Eight, earned Southern Conference Player of the Year twice, and set the NCAA single-season record for three-pointers. Curry was the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Curry won four NBA Championships with the Warriors and is a three-time gold medalist from his USA Basketball participation.
Lee Kiefer: Fencing, Foil (Cleveland)
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Lee Kiefer began fencing at 5 years old. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. She fenced for the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 2017. She is now a medical student at the University of Kentucky. This year, she qualified for her fourth Olympics and won gold in 2020.
Morelle McCane: Boxing (Cleveland)
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Morelle McCane is a Boxer from Cleveland, Ohio. She will compete for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics in her 66 kg weight class. She is the second female boxer from Ohio to compete in the Olympics. She brought home gold and two silvers in 2023 international tournaments.
Kyle Snyder: Wrestling (Ohio State graduate)
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Kyle Snyder is an Olympic gold medalist wrestler. Snyder attended Ohio State University and helped them win an NCAA team championship. He won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and became the youngest wrestler ever to win world, NCAA, and Olympic championships in the same year.
Rhyne Howard: 3×3 Basketball (University of Kentucky graduate)
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Rhyne Howard is a basketball player from Cleveland, Tennessee. She played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and was a two-time SEC Player of the Year. She has earned many honors and gold medals by participating in the U19 FIBA World Cup. She became Kentucky’s first No.1 WNBA draft pick when she was selected by the Atlanta Dream in 2022. She qualified for the 2024 Olympics to play 3×3 basketball.
Bam Adebayo: Basketball (University of Kentucky graduate)
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Bam Adebayo is a Center for the Miami Heat. He was born in New Jersey and played college basketball for the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Adebayo and the Wildcats made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. After a loss to North Carolina, he declared for the NBA draft. He was the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Devin Booker: Basketball (University of Kentucky graduate)
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Devin Booker was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He committed to the University of Kentucky for basketball and was later selected as the thirteenth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 NBA draft. In 2020, he won gold at the Olympics and was recently added to the 2024 Men’s National Team.
Anthony Davis: Basketball (University of Kentucky graduate)
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Anthony Davis is a Professional Basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis was born in Chicago and played basketball in high school. He later committed to play college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats where he led the team to a national championship. After one season, Davis was drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA draft. He won the NBA Finals with the Lakers in 2020. He played on the 2012 United States men’s Olympic basketball team and won a gold medal.
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