Area athletes now in Paris for Olympics

While the Summer Olympics represents the world’s greatest sporting event, it has even greater meaning for those athletes who strive for years and finally make their national teams. Nashville and Middle Tennessee is well& represented in the 2024 Paris edition, which begins Friday. There are many area athletes in various sports who will be vying for international glory and Olympic medals over the next couple of weeks. Heading the parade is Vanderbilt’s Veronica Fraley, a 24-year-old graduate student and winner of this year’s NCAA outdoor women’s discus final. The 2024 SEC Field Athlete of the Year, Fraley finished third at the trials. Cyclist Lily Williams also has Vanderbilt ties, though she was a cross-country runner during her time there. She won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.& Another heralded participant is Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman, making his 43rd appearance as a member of the United States’ men’s team. He was previously on the team for& both the 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup teams as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup team, and he’s now part of the Olympic squad. In fact there are many notable returning competitors as well. Former Tennessee swimmer Erika Connolly won...