
Quanera Hayes, who graduated from Gray’s Creek High School in Hope Mills, will compete with Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics after winning the women’s 400-meter run at the recent U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore.
Hayes, who will compete in the Olympics for the first time, will run in the 400-meter with two others from Team USA, Allyson Felix and Wadeline Jonathas July 23 to Aug. 8.
Hayes was born in South Carolina but moved to Fayetteville as a freshman at Gray’s Creek; she went on to compete at Livingstone College in Salisbury.
Hayes, who has earned gold medals for the United States in the 4×400 relay, also brought home medals from world championships and world relays in 2017. She also was the world indoor champion in 2016 and 2018.
Hayes will compete with her son Demetrius watching; she and Felix both gave birth to children in 2018.
"Coming back was very tough," Hayes said for CBS 17 in Raleigh. "I had to learn how to run all over again. I couldn't come out of blocks, my stride was different. I would do one run in practice and I would just stop because it would just hurt and I would get discouraged because I wasn't hitting my times."
Graphic courtesy of CommWell HealthCommWell Health, a large private nonprofit Community Health Center, was recently awarded a competitive grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to expand essential healthcare access in C
Spc. Alexander Soto, a paratrooper assigned to the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, presents the modular drone case at the Airborne Innovation Lab, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Feb. 9, 2026. Soto noted the recurring problem of drones
Graphic provided by Sampson County Friends of AgricultureThe Sampson County Friends of Agriculture would like to invite the greater Fayetteville community to their annual Agriculture Rally on March 17, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. Originally organized by