U.S. Paralympics Swimming Names 51 Athletes to National Team Ahead of Paralympic Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – U.S. Paralympics Swimming today announced the 51 athletes named to its 2024 national team as it enters the Paralympic year. The roster is comprised of 32 women and 19 men, many of whom competed at the highest level last season, either at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships or the 2023 Parapan American Games.

In addition to returning 19 Paralympic medalists in 2024, Team USA’s roster features 10 up-and-coming stars who made the national team for the first time in 2023. In total, 25 athletes on the 2024 edition of the national team will be competing to make their Paralympic debuts this summer at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

“We have a stellar combination of veteran experience and new talent on this roster, and we’re excited to see where they lead the program into such an important year for us,” Erin Popovich, Director of U.S. Paralympics Swimming, said. “Having just a three-year gap between Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 has presented a unique challenge for our athletes, but one I think they’ve handled extremely well. We expect Paris to be one of our most successful Games yet from a team standpoint.”

Headlined by 29-time Paralympic medalist Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland) and Paralympic champion Morgan Stickney (Cary, North Carolina), Team USA returns four athletes who won world championship titles in Manchester last summer. One of the top performers for the U.S. was Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California) who had a breakout meet with four medals, including a title in the 100-meter freestyle S8. Additionally, Christie Raleigh Crossley (Toms River, New Jersey) won the first world title of her career in the women’s 100-meter backstroke S9. Jaffe and Raleigh Crossley, along with another top performer in Manchester, Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas), who brought home a team-leading six medals, will be seeking their first Paralympic berths this summer.

Standout performances at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, helped lead eight athletes to their national team debuts to start the 2024 year. Evan Wilkerson (Wake Forest, North Carolina) and 13-year-old Chloe Cederholm (Salt Lake City, Utah) won the first two major international medals of their careers in Chile, and are joined by fellow Santiago medalists Noah Busch (Dunkirk, Maryland), Maria Francescotti (Bluffton, South Carolina) and Grace Nuhfer (Greenwood, Indiana) in making the national team for this first time.

Joining them in their national team debuts are Santiago teammates Carson Bruner (Dayton, Ohio), Rachel Keehn (Carollton, Georgia), and Braxton Wong (Clovis, California), each of whom competed in their first major international meets at Parapan Ams.

Rounding out the newcomers to the national team roster are Hannah Nelson (Yankton, South Dakota) and Alexandra Truwit (Darien, Connecticut). Nelson made her world championships debut in Manchester last summer, while Truwit, who swam at Yale University, is brand new to Para swimming.

The full 2024 national team roster can be found below.

2024 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team

Men

David Abrahams (Havertown, Pennsylvania)

Evan Austin (Terre Haute, Indiana)

Carson Bruner (Dayton, Ohio)

Noah Busch (Dunkirk, Maryland)

Yaseen El-Demerdash (Overland Park, Kansas)

David Gelfand (Weston, Connecticut)

Connor Gioffreda (Timonium, Maryland)

Jamal Hill (Inglewood, California)

Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California)

Jeff Lovett (Orlando, Florida)

Trevor Lukacsko (Bernardsville, New Jersey)

Jack O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Morgan Ray (St. Augustine, Florida)

Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland)

Zach Shattuck (Mount Airy, Maryland)

Matthew Torres (Ansonia, Connecticut)

Evan Wilkerson (Wake Forest, North Carolina)

Adin Williams (Happy Valley, Oregon)

Braxton Wong (Clovis, California)

Women

Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, North Carolina) 

Chloe Cederholm (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas)

McKenzie Coan (Clarkesville, Georgia)

Maria Francescotti (Bluffton, South Carolina)

Julia Gaffney (Mayflower, Arkansas)

Megan Gioffreda (Timonium, Maryland)

McClain Hermes (Dacula, Georgia)

Mikaela Jenkins (Evansville, Indiana)

Rachel Keehn (Carollton, Georgia)

Audrey Kim (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Keegan Knott (Lake Villa, Illinois)

Ahalya Lettenberger (Glen Ellyn, Illinois)

Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland)

Elizabeth Marks (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Hannah Nelson (Yankton, South Dakota)

Grace Nuhfer (Greenwood, Indiana)

Anastasia Pagonis (Long Island, New York)

Gia Pergolini (Atlanta, Georgia)

Cali Prochaska (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Christie Raleigh Crossley (Toms River, New Jersey)

Summer Schmit (Stillwater, Minnesota)

Haven Shepherd (Carthage, Missouri)

Natalie Sims (Edina, Minnesota)

Leanne Smith (Salem, Massachusetts)

Lizzi Smith (Muncie, Indiana)

Morgan Stickney (Cary, North Carolina)

Alexandra Truwit (Darien, Connecticut)

Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minnesota)

Madelyn White (Athens, Georgia)

Taylor Winnett (Hershey, Pennsylvania)

Colleen Young (St. Louis, Missouri)

For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.