Rowers, basketball stars and 1 fencer: Meet the Hamilton-area athletes headed to the Paris Olympics 

Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara Region will have lots to cheer about when the Paris Olympics kick off July 26.

From high-profile athletes like the National Basketball Association's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to local stars such as sailor Will Jones, this area is well-represented in this year's games. 

Here are some of the local Olympians headed overseas.

This list will be updated as more sports' rosters are announced.

Sabrina D'Angelo: Soccer, Welland

Goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo, 31, returns to the Olympics for Canada Soccer after winning a bronze medal at Rio 2016 and playing for Canada in numerous tournaments and events for more than a decade.

She plays for Arsenal in England's Women's Super League. She joined the team last year after four years with Swedish club Vittsjo GIK. 

D'Angelo played college soccer as a University of South Carolina Gamecock before joining the National Women's Soccer League's Western New York Flash in 2015. She moved to the North Carolina Courage in 2017 and then moved to Europe in 2019. 

Kia Nurse: Basketball, Hamilton

Kia Nurse, a point guard with the Los Angeles Sparks in the Women's National Basketball Association, will take her third trip to the Olympics after leading Canada's team with 13 points per game in Tokyo in 2021.

Part of the renowned Hamilton sports family that includes National Hockey League player Darnell Nurse and Professional Women's Hockey League player Sarah Nurse, Kia won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and was a leader on the University of Connecticut women's basketball team that set an NCAA record for 111 consecutive wins in 2017. 

She was drafted by the New York Liberty in 2018, and has since played for the Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm before joining the Los Angeles Sparks following a trade in January. She is a two-time WNBA champion and was named a league all-star in 2019.

Will Jones: Sailing, Hamilton

The pride of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in the city's North End, Will Jones's face is plastered on a banner outside the club as they prepare to support him in his Olympic run, his second after competing in Tokyo in 2021, where he placed 19th. It's a long way from when he first learned to sail, on a Laser with his dad at their cottage.