Dreaming of gold: Olympians with ties to Raleigh competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics

Light the torch and cue that iconic Olympics theme song — we’re ready for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics happening Friday, July 26 to Sunday, Aug. 11.

At this summer’s Olympic Games, and Paralympics , approximately 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees will compete across 32 sports — including some new ones. Since we’re all about keeping it local, we’ve rounded up seven Paris 2024 Olympians with ties to the 919 + NC that you should keep your eye on. Let the Games begin .

Hannah Aspden , Para swimming, 100m backstroke
This will be Aspden’s third Paralympics — she’s already taken home gold twice. Fun fact: Aspden made her first national team by a margin of 0.1 seconds at 13 years old and was the youngest Team USA member to medal in 2016. The Raleigh native will swim on Aug. 29, at about 4 p.m.

Katharine Berkoff , Swimming, 100m backstroke
Berkoff tears up the pool as a member of the Wolfpack and has multiple gold medals under her belt. Berkoff is the daughter of three-time Olympian David Berkoff and is a five-time NCAA champ with the Pack. Berkoff’s first event will be Monday, July 29 at 5 p.m.

Photo provided by the North Carolina Courage

Veronica Fraley , Track and field: Women’s discus
Hailing from Raleigh + a Wakefield High alum, Fraley was the 2024 NCAA discus champion with the all-time school record at Vanderbilt. Fraley will shoot her shot on Friday, Aug. 2 starting at 1 p.m.

Liana Mutia , Para judo
As of December 2023, Mutia ranked No. 1 in the world for her division. This will be the Oak City native’s second Paralympics — she finished ninth at the 2020 Olympics. Mutia will compete as soon as Sept. 5.

Emily Fox , Casey Murphy , and Kerolin Nicoli , Soccer
Two NC Courage players and one former player will all be competing in the Summer Olympics with Nicoli headlining Brazil’s team and Fox + Murphy representing Team USA. Brazil kicks off against Nigeria at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, and the US Women’s national team will play Zambia at 3 p.m. the same day.