NC Olympic medalists, and an NBA champion, show their strength on international stage

It wasn’t a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City, but for Kendra “Keni” Harrison it was just as grand, if not better.

Harrison was back home, in Clayton. She was back with her Olympic silver medal, smiling, waving, showing off her medal, pumping her arms to the chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” as American flags were waved Tuesday on Clayton’s Main Street.

These are the special moments for the Olympic athletes and coaches, the ones after the NBC cameras go off, the cheers in the stadiums fade and the world stops watching. There’s little that can top simply coming home, especially after an Olympics in which so many families and friends had to stay home and watch — wildly cheering from afar — because of the pandemic.

“Man, I feel great just to see so many people come out here and support me and show their love,” Harrison said in a media interview after the hometown parade. “It’s hard to put into words but I’m really appreciative and I’m glad that I can inspire others.”

Harrison, whose silver medal came in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, was among those from the Triangle who returned from Tokyo with medals, with memories, representing their country but also their chosen hometowns or local universities.

Together, along with P.J. Tucker, who helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA championship, these elite athletes demonstrated on an international stage how strength, perseverance and years of working toward a goal can finally pay off.

They’ve been chosen collectively as the Tar Heel of the Month by The News & Observer, which honors residents who have made significant contributions to the Triangle, North Carolina and beyond.

The athletes come a range of sports, from basketball to swimming and diving to BMX and shooting.

Many have deep connections to the Triangle from growing up in the area to going to school and training here. Here’s a closer look at some of those who represented their hometowns (or adopted homes) with pride.

P.J. Tucker

Tucker, a Raleigh native and former Enloe High star, helped spur the Bucks to the 2020-21 NBA championship in July.

The title came after years of toiling with the Toronto Raptors, the team that drafted him, and with teams in five different countries. In 2012, he joined the Phoenix Suns, making stops with the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets before ended up with the Bucks in March.

Since the NBA title win, the 36-year-old has since signed a two-year contract with the Miami Heat.

But P.J. — short for Pop Junior — has never forgotten his hometown of Raleigh. Earlier in August, the City of Raleigh honored him at Chavis Park, not far from where he learned to play basketball.

“I feel like with me winning, the city won it,” he told The News & Observer. “The city built me and made me who I am today.”

As a kid, he played basketball at the Raleigh Boys Club, where he cultivated his style of defense, The News & Observer reported. His father, Anthony Tucker Sr., told The N&O that his son had an “underdog mentality,” which spurred him to play at the level he did.

It’s just one of part of Raleigh he carries with him, P.J. Tucker told The N&O.

“Growing up in Raleigh you had to be tough,” he told The N&O. “You don’t think of Raleigh as a tough city but where I grew up, to be able to play basketball, to be able to play sports you had to be tough. Playing with older kids, it’s just one of those things. It makes tough people.

“And I had a real tough family, so all that stuff played a part in building mental toughness and being able to fight through adversity and get through stuff.”

Kara Lawson

For Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson, the Olympic gold medal was her second, and one of 10 golds in international competition with USA Basketball.

Lawson, who played on the U.S. gold-medal women’s team in Beijing in 2008, guided the U.S. women’s team in the 3x3 competition to gold in Tokyo.

This Olympics represented a first for Lawson and for Team USA’s 3x3 team. It was the first time for 3x3 play in the Olympics and Lawson was not on the bench, sitting in the stands for the 10-minute games that have a frenetic pace with a 12-second shot clock.

“This was really different because you’re not out there in control of anything when you coach,” Lawson said in an Olympic press conference in Tokyo. “When you play, you feel like you have some sense of control or part in it or impact it more in a game. Having experienced that feeling, I really wanted our players to experience that. That’s what my motivation was.”

The U.S. team topped the Russia Olympic Committee 18-15 in the gold-medal game as 6-5 Stephanie Dolson starred. Also on the team was Allisha Gray, who once played at UNC before transferring to South Carolina and now is a member of the Dallas Wings in the WNBA.

“The competition itself alone is really challenging, but to have no practices with a player and then come in and win the tournament, that’s not normal to do,” Lawson said in her Olympics press conference. “Hopefully the sport being on an Olympic platform will get more people interested in it.”

Keni Harrison

Harrison, 28, was representing the U.S. at the Tokyo Games — wrapping herself in the flag after her race — but also Clayton High School and Clayton, N.C. Many gathered Tuesday on a sultry afternoon in Clayton for her parade and then a ceremony in front of the high school gym.

Harrison had her high school jersey retired. She received a key to the city from Clayton mayor Jody McLeod on “Keni Harrison Day.”

“I can’t think of anyone more deserving,” McLeod said. “You have put Clayton, North Carolina on the map for all the right reasons. Look at the great things you’re doing and how you’re bringing everybody with you. And that’s a beautiful thing.”

Clayton resident Michael Sims, who said he served with the Marine Corps before retiring to North Carolina, was one of those downtown at the parade for Harrison.

“She’s a hero,” Sims said. “She’s a hero to Clayton and we’re taking this time to honor her for what she means to us, coming from a large family and persevering and winning a silver medal.”

Harrison barely missed qualifying for Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She responded to that deep disappointment a few weeks later by setting a world record (12.20 seconds) in the 100-meter hurdles — a mark that still stands, she noted Tuesday. Now, she has an Olympic medal and could be after more in the 2024 Olympic Games.

“Watch out, Paris 2024, we’re coming for you,” she said.

Claire Curzan

It was Curzan’s first Olympics and she came back with a silver medal. She might already have her eyes set on Paris and the 2024 Games.

Curzan, a rising senior at Cardinal Gibbons High, turned 17 on June 30, soon after qualifying for the U.S. Olympic swim team with a second-place finish in the women’s 100-meter butterfly.

In Tokyo, she was 10th overall in the 100 meters. But she earned her silver as a member U.S. of the 4x100-meter medley relay team, swimming in a preliminary round. Teammates Regan Smith, Lydia Jacoby, Torri Huske and Abbey Weitzeil swam in the final.

“It has been surreal but the community, the family, has been real supportive and it has been a fun ride,” Dr. Mark Curzan, Claire’s father, said in a story on the website of Cary Orthopaedics, where he practices.

Randolph Ross

Randolph Ross’ individual Olympics didn’t go as planned. As a medal hopeful, he failed to advance out of the preliminary heats of the 400-meter dash when he pulled up early at the finish line.

But the Garner native and NCAA champion at North Carolina A&T came home with a gold medal after he was part of the winning U.S. 4x400-meter relay team.

“Getting to run and represent the U.S. on the relay and come home with a gold medal, it’s a great feeling,” Ross said.

Ross, 20 and a rising junior at A&T, will again be a favorite to medal in the 400 in Paris in 2024.

Tim Federowicz

Tim Federowicz, 34, of Apex brought back a silver medal from Tokyo after competing for USA Baseball’s professional team.

Federowicz, a former Apex High star, helped take North Carolina to a College World Series before beginning his professional career in 2008. He served as the backup catcher for the U.S. team in Tokyo, missing out on gold when Team USA lost to host Japan in the gold-medal game.

He was joined on Team USA by other players with North Carolina connections. Ryder Ryan, of Huntersville, graduated from North Mecklenburg High School before attending UNC and eventually being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Durham Bulls had a presence with Shane Baz and Joe Ryan (though Ryan was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Minnesota Twins shortly after arriving in Japan.)

As for Federowicz, the former UNC standout also returned to a parade Aug. 13, beaming while being driven through the streets of Apex in a vintage, red Chevy Camaro SS convertible with a U.S. flag attached to the radio antenna.

Mayor Jacques Gilbert presented him with the key to the city. The plaque read: “Thanks for representing Apex, the Peak of Good Living” and Federowicz quipped he might take the key and “try all the doors and see if it works” in an interview with ABC11.

Daniel Dhers

At 36, Dhers is considered an “elder statesman” in the sport of BMX and claimed a silver medal in the inaugural men’s BMX Freestyle competing for Venezuela. He trains at the Dhers Action Sports Complex in Holly Springs.

Dhers, a Caracas native, took the silver with a big second run in Tokyo. Logan Martin of Australia took the gold.

“It’s been an amazing journey, because I never thought I’d be able to come to the Olympics in my professional career,” Dhers said in an Olympics press conference in Tokyo. “It’s good for us to be in the Olympics because now people see that we are a real sport and I think this will open a lot of doors, more parks, and with more people in our sport.”

Nikita Ducarroz of Switzerland, who also trains in Holly Springs, took bronze in the women’s BMX Freestyle event.

“When the world ended last year (because of the pandemic) I had a bunch of actual Olympians living in North Carolina,” Dhers said. “It was a bit crazy .... but we had to keep riding.”

Lucas Kozeniesky

Kozeniesky, a 2017 N.C. State graduate, teamed with Mary Tucker of Sarasota, Florida, to take the silver medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event. Kozeniesky and Ticker were outpointed 17-13 by China’s Yang Qian and Yang Haoran in an event making its Olympic debut.

As a member of the NCSU rifle team, Kozeniesky was the first Wolfpack All-American since 1975 and the first shooter from NCSU to compete in an Olympics when he went to Rio in 2016. He was 21st in the individual 10-meter competition in 2016 and improved to sixth at Tokyo.

”To represent N.C. State again in an Olympics was really cool,” he said Wednesday in an interview with The News & Observer.

Kozeniesky, who now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the owner of Team Winning Solutions LLC. He mentors and coaches others who are interested in the sport and is proud of his Wolfpack background.

“I work with a lot of kids and families and try to get them on track for joining collegiate teams,” he said. “My goal is to give back to the school — once a member of the Pack, always a member. I’ve sent three of my students to N.C. State to compete on their rifle team and each has enjoyed their time.”

Of his Olympic medal, he said, “I think it’s a reaffirmation of all the things I preach, that I work on. I walked away from the individual event in sixth place, and to me that was a fulfilling experience. To walk away with a medal reaffirms the work was done and I got rewarded.”

Andrew Capobianco

Capobianco won a silver medal with former Indiana teammate Mike Hixon in men’s 3-meter synchronized diving at Tokyo and finished 10th overall in the individual 3-meter springboard.

Capobianco, 21, moved to Holly Springs with his family after his eighth-grade school year to work full-time with diving coach Drew Johansen, who was then coaching at Duke before leaving to coach at Indiana.

Capobianco, a rising senior at Indiana, is a two-time NCAA champion and said he practices four hours a day, six days a week.

“He worked his butt off. He became one of the best synchro divers in the world,” Hixon said of Capobianco in an interview with USA Diving.

Staff writer Drew Jackson contributed to this story.

Other Olympic medalists with NC ties

The list of Olympic medal winners with ties to the region is long. Here are some others.

Gold

• Chelsea Gray, USA women’s basketball, Duke graduate

• Bam Adebayo, USA men’s basketball, from Washington, NC

• Jayson Tatum, USA men’s basketball, played for the Duke Blue Devils 2016-17

• Trevor Stewart, gold in men’s 4x400m relay and bronze in mixed 4x400 relay, N.C. A&T University graduate

Silver

• Hannah Roberts, BMX, from Jacksonville

• Jessica Springsteen, equestrian jumping, Duke graduate

• Erika Brown, from Charlotte, silver in women’s 4x100m medley relay; bronze in women’s 4x100 freestyle relay

• Katie Zaferes, from Cary, silver in mixed relay triathalon and bronze in women’s triathalon

Bronze

• USA women’s soccer: Samantha Mewis and Lynn Williams (current Carolina Courage players), Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper (former Carolina Courage players) and Tobin Heath (UNC graduate)

• Noe Ponti, men’s 100m butterfly for Switzerland, NC State student

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 11:03 AM with the headline "NC Olympic medalists, and an NBA champion, show their strength on international stage."