Athletes with U of M connections in the Paris Paralympics

For those who enjoyed watching or following athletes with a University of Minnesota connection at the recent Summer Olympics in Paris, there’s more in store. Four athletes with U of M connections will be among the approximately 4,400 competitors at the Summer Paralympic Games, also in Paris, which will be held Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

Here is a brief summary of each athlete. 

Chuck Aoki – Wheelchair Rugby

Chuck Aoki will be making his fourth straight appearance at the Paralympics Games for Team USA in wheelchair rugby. He won silver medals in Tokyo in 2021 and in Rio in 2016, plus a bronze in London in 2012. In Tokyo, Aoki and Team USA were narrowly defeated by Great Britain in the gold medal game, 54-49.

Aoki, a U of M graduate in public policy, played wheelchair basketball for 11 years, then switched to rugby after watching the 2005 movie Murderball.

Ian Seidenfeld – Table Tennis

Ian Seidenfeld will be competing in his second straight Paralympic Games in table tennis after a wildly successful debut. In the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, Seidenfeld was seeded 11th in his Class 6 field and upset top-seeded Peter Rosenmeier of Denmark in the table tennis finals. His father and coach, Mitch, was a four-time Paralympic medalist in table tennis himself.

Seidenfeld earned his degree from the Carlson School of Management, graduating in December 2022 with a double-major in finance and entrepreneurial management and a minor in international business. 

Read a Q&A with Seidenfeld as he prepared for the Paris Paralympic games. 

Mallory Weggemann – Swimming

Gopher alum Mallory Weggemann, like Aoki, will be competing in her fourth Paralympic Games in Paris. She won two medals in London in 2012—a gold in the 50-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 4x100-meter medley. Weggemann made the podium multiple times in Tokyo in 2021. She won gold in the 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley; silver in the 50-meter butterfly; and also took 5th in the 100-meter freestyle. 

Weggemann grew up in Eagan, MN, and earned her degree from the University of Minnesota in public relations. She also hosted studio coverage for NBC during the Paris Olympics. 

Summer Schmit – Swimming

Gopher women's swimming team junior Summer Schmit earned a spot on the U.S Paralympic Team for a second time, after an impressive performance at the Paralympic trials at the U’s Aquatic Center. Schmit also competed for Team USA in Tokyo in 2021. She placed fifth in the 200-meter individual medley, sixth in the 100-meter fly, and seventh in the 400-meter freestyle.  

As a freshman, Schmit was named the team's hardest worker and earned an Outstanding Student-Athlete Award. Schmit was also recently recognized as a 2024 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.