Which NC State athletes are competing in the Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympic games have arrived, and NC State is well represented this year — especially in the swimming pool. The Wolfpack has 13 current, former or incoming athletes competing in the Olympics over the next couple of weeks, including 10 that will hit the pool deck.
Headlining NC State’s representatives is Katharine Berkoff, who will swim the 100 backstroke for Team USA. Berkoff, a five-time NCAA champion and six-time ACC champion, qualified for the games after finishing in second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis earlier this summer.
While Berkoff is the lone female Team USA swimmer NC State will have in Paris, former Wolfpack star Ryan Held will be on the men’s team. The 2016 Gold Medalist is back on the 4×100 freestyle relay, looking to get back on the podium again this summer.
In addition to NC State’s pair of Team USA swimmers, the Wolfpack has eight other athletes that will be in the pool set to represent six different countries.
Incoming freshmen David Betleham and Bettina Fabian will represent Hungary, while former NC State standout Sophie Hansson will swim the 100 and 200 breaststroke for Sweden. Nyls Korstanje is set to compete in the 100 butterfly for the Netherlands, while Bartosz Piszczorowicz and Kacper Stokowski will swim in relays for Poland.
Rounding out the swimmers in Paris will be incoming freshman Kaii Winkler, who will compete in the 100 butterfly for Germany, and former Wolfpack star Andreas Vazaios will swim in his fourth Olympic games for Greece. Vazaios will become the first NC State athlete to appear in four Olympics during their career.
While the Wolfpack’s swimmers will be in the water, current head coach Braden Holloway is serving as an assistant coach for Team USA. He is primarily working with the women’s team, and in turn, Berkoff.
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Although NC State will be well-represented in the swim events, the Wolfpack has a trio of athletes set to compete in other sporting events.
Former women’s tennis star Diana Shnaider will compete as a neutral athlete since Russia is not able to attend the games, while former women’s sprinter McKenzie Long will run the 200-meter dash.
Lorenzo Brown, meanwhile, will make history as just the third former men’s basketball player to compete in the Olympic games. He will represent Spain and will likely start at guard in Paris. He is the first former Wolfpack men’s basketball player since the 1970s to don a jersey at the Olympics.
Schedule of events
Basketball: July 27-Aug. 11
Swim and dive: July 27-Aug. 11
Tennis: July 27-Aug. 4
Track and field: Aug. 1-Aug. 11
Click here for a full Olympic schedule of events. All contests will be broadcasted on the NBC family of networks and Peacock.
