With the Opening Ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris slated for tomorrow, we thought today would make for the best timing for our July eNews Update. In reality, the Paris Games are well underway with 8 Men’s Soccer matches and 12 Men’s Rugby 7s matches already having been played. In this month’s issue we celebrate a milestone on the way to the 2029 FISU World University Games in North Carolina USA, and we provide what we believe is the most comprehensive listing of North Carolina-connected Paris Olympians to be found in any publication. Read on to see if we have succeeded on that front.
North Carolina Celebrates 5 Years To Go To the 2029 Games!
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, a day that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed to be “World University Games Day” in North Carolina, in a festive VIP Luncheon Celebration at the Nature Research Center of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Downtown Raleigh, NC, over 60 guests commemorated the special date as marking exactly 5 Years To Go to the start of the 2029 World University Games on July 11, 2029. Hill Carrow, Chairman & CEO of the Local Organizing Committee for the Games, opened the program recognizing the numerous elected officials and dignitaries, and Games Partners and Supporters in attendance.
Among the featured speakers was North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who read the Governor’s Special World University Games Day Proclamation to the group, and recounted her exciting participation on North Carolina’s Bid Committee that landed the Games. She exhorted the attendees saying, “Our state has demonstrated its abilities to deliver big-time events time and again, and with North Carolina’s leaders and citizens behind this event, the 2029 Games will be another major success story.”
North Carolina Secretary of Commerce, Machelle Baker Sanders, highlighted the hundreds of millions of dollars in positive economic impacts that will come from hosting the Games, but also noted that the 2029 World University Games will be a celebration and showcase for the things that make North Carolina stand out – our sports, our communities, our colleges and universities, our scenic beauty, and, of course, our warm and friendly residents”
Dr. Chip Peterson, a physician with UNC Health, a UNC Chapel Hill graduate and collegiate swimming champion who also won World and National Champion titles in Open Water and Long-Distance Swimming, provided an athlete’s perspective on hosting the Games. He said, “This will be one of the most memorable times in the lives of the world-class athletes participating in the Games, as they will come together with their fellow athletes from all over the world where new friendships are made while records are being broken in the mutual endeavor of trying to achieve athletic excellence.”
Former United States Ambassador to Denmark and former Carolina Hurricanes President Jim Cain concluded the program citing the importance of our collegiate community in central North Carolina, indicating that the Hurricanes turned the corner on becoming the successful professional franchise that they are today only after fully embracing our college and university community in North Carolina – making them a part of the team’s enthusiastic fan base while in turn providing their own support to each of those institutions.
To view the Governor’s World University Games Day Proclamation, click here; to view photos of the Celebration, click here.
North Carolina To Be Well-Represented in the Paris Olympics & Paralympic Games
Among the more than 15,000 participants in Paris for this year’s Summer Olympics (July 26-August 11) and 4,400 participants in the Paralympics (August 28-September 8), is a contingent of over 60 North Carolina-connected athletes and coaches, many of whom are attending or previously attended our North Carolina colleges and universities.
Olympians with Connections to NC
KEY: Blue Text= Paralympians, Green Text= Incoming Freshmen, Red Text=World University Games Alums
Note: Those listed are on Team USA unless noted otherwise. University affiliation includes current or previous enrollment.
Bam Adebayo, grew up in Pinetown NC Basketball
Hannah Aspden, Raleigh NC, Para Swimming
Elizabeth Balogun, Duke U., Basketball (Nigeria)
Ana Belac, Duke U., Golf (Slovenia)
Katharine Berkoff, NC State U., Swimming
Celine Boutier, Duke U., Golf (France)
Katie Bowen, UNC Chapel Hill, Soccer (New Zealand)
Kaylyn Brown, Charlotte NC, Athletics/Track & Field
Cierra Burdick, Charlotte NC, 3×3 Basketball
Gianluca Busio, Greensboro NC, Soccer
Andrew Capobianco, Holly Springs NC, Diving
Carson Clough, UNC Chapel Hill, Para Triathlon
Anna Cockrell, Charlotte NC, Athletics/Track & Field
Leah Crouse, Duke U., Field Hockey
Steph Curry, Davidson College, Basketball
Pascual Di Tella, Duke U., Fencing (Argentina)
Crystal Dunn, UNC Chapel Hill, Soccer
Casey Eichfeld, Charlotte NC, Canoe/Kayak
Emily Fox, UNC Chapel Hill, Soccer
Veronica Fraley, Raleigh NC, Athletics/Track & Field
Chelsea Gray, Duke U., Basketball
Josh Green, Charlotte Hornets, Basketball (Australia)
Dearica Hamby, Wake Forest U., 3×3 Basketball
Sophie Hansson, NC State, Swimming (Sweden)
Quanera Hayes, Hope Mills NC, Athletics/Track & Field
Ryan Held, NC State U., Swimming
Rinky Hijikata, UNC Chapel Hill, Tennis (Australia)
Ashley Hoffman, UNC Chapel Hill, Field Hockey
Braden Holloway, NC State U., Swimming Coach
Lindsey Horan, UNC Chapel Hill, Soccer
Martin Kartavi, UNC Chapel Hill, Swimming (Israel)
Nyls Korstanje, NC State, Swimming (Netherlands)
Evy Leibfarth, Davidson College, Canoe/Kayak
Leona Maguire, Duke, Golf (Ireland)
Khaman Maluach, Duke U., Basketball (South Sudan)
Adam Maraana, UNC Chapel Hill, Swimming (Israel)
Casey Murphey, NC Courage, Soccer
Maria Liana Mutia, Raleigh NC, Para Judo
Fiona O’Keeffe, Chapel Hill NC, Athletics/Track & Field
Tommy Paul, Greenville NC, Tennis
Toni Payne, Duke U., Soccer (Nigeria)
Bartosz Piszczorowicz, NC State U., Swimming (Poland)
Quinn, Duke U., Soccer (Canada)
Ethan Ramos, UNC Chapel Hill, Wrestling
Apsara Sakbun, Charlotte NC, Swimming (Cambodia)
Ashley Sessa, UNC Chapel Hill, Field Hockey
Meredith Sholder, UNC Chapel Hill, Field Hockey
Kirsten Siermachesky, UNC Chapel Hill, Rowing
Jesse Ssengonzi, Cary NC, Swimming (Uganda)
Morgan Stickney, Cary NC, Para Swimming
Kacper Stokowski, NC State U., Swimming (Poland)
Sammy Sullivan, Fayetteville NC, Rugby
Cassie Sumfest, UNC Chapel Hill, Field Hockey
Naya Tapper, UNC Chapel Hill, Rugby
Jayson Tatum, Duke U., Basketball
Pat Tiernan, Durham NC, Athletics/Track & Field (Australia)
Andreas Vazalos, NC State U., Swimming (Greece)
Aranza Vazquez, UNC Chapel Hill, Diving (Mexico)
Jack White, Duke, Basketball (Australia)
Parker Wolfe, UNC Chapel Hill, Athletics/Track & Field
Jullian Wolgemuth, Duke U., Field Hockey
Stats related to our “North Carolina Team”:
- Universities: 6 – Davidson (2), Duke (13), NC State (8), Queens (1), UNC Chapel Hill (17), Wake Forest (1)
- NC Hometowns/Residences: 11—Cary, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Holly Springs, Hope Mills, Pinetown, Raleigh
- Countries: 18 – Argentina, Australia (4), Cambodia, Canada, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel (2), Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Nigeria (2), Poland (2), Slovenia, South Sudan, Sweden, Uganda, USA
News Briefs
Greensboro is in the midst of hosting the 2024 AAU Junior Olympics (July 24-August 3), which includes more than 19,000 athletes competing in 13 sports. The track & field competition alone features over 14,000 athletes and is considered the largest track meet in the nation.
Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, which is hosting the next Summer World University Games, July 16-27, 2025, in the host cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Essen and Mulheim, celebrated One Year To Go to the 2025 FISU World University Games last week, on July 16
Major congratulations to the city of Salt Lake, Utah, for landing the 2034 Winter Olympic Games. During April of 2022, Catherine Raney Norman, Olympian and Chair of the Salt Lake Bid Committee, and Colin Hilton, CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, led a program in Salt Lake hosted by our North Carolina USA World University Games Bid Committee. The program was for members of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce (during an inter-city visit to Salt Lake) to understand and appreciate the significant positive community benefits of hosting a major Olympic multisport event, such as the World University Games. We are so fortunate, like Salt Lake, to be a bid winner, and no doubt we will continue to collaborate with the impressive Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the benefit of both of these premier global events.
Support the Games
Be a vital part of championing the world’s premier event for student-athletes! Bringing the 2029 World University Games to our state promises unparalleled economic advantages for our communities. Seize the chance to spotlight North Carolina on the global stage! Click below to explore the myriad of ways you can contribute and support the Games.
Don’t Forget to Shop Local and Support the WUG
Our online store features 2029 FISU World University Games t’s, polos, hoodies, tanks, caps, and more. Items come in a wide variety of colors, and the store has proven to be quite a popular online shopping destination. Don’t miss your opportunity to show your support of the 2029 FISU World University Games by snagging some excellent quality, name-brand clothing and caps!
Sponsor Thank You’s
We cannot thank our sponsors enough for their strong belief in, and generous support of, the 2029 World University Games. We encourage you to patronize their businesses and give them your own personal thanks when you do.