Getty Veronica Fraley competes in the women's discus throw in 2022. Now she's in the Olympics.
Veronica Fraley’s family has been a big source of support for her athletic career. The Olympic discus thrower’s brother even once referred to himself as her “hype man” in an interview with The Howler.
Fraley has been in the news not only because of her Olympic prowess, but because she ran into trouble paying her rent at Vanderbilt while she was competing. Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian stepped in and offered to help, and now she’s launched a GoFundMe for anyone else who wants to help contribute to her athletic career.
Veronica Fraley’s Brother Said He Tries to Cheer Her Up When She’s Down
In 2018, Coach Vernia Wilson — who had been coaching Fraley since she was in sixth grade — told The Howler that Fraley’s “support system” would play a big role in her future success.
“She has a good head on her shoulders and her support system will accept nothing less,” Wilson said. “She does not just practice, she goes the extra mile to be a better athlete.”
Her brother, Vernon Fraley, told The Howler that he always tried to support his sister as much as he could.
“I support her by attending her meets but also in a moral way,” he said. “If she feels down or angry about a meet I’m here to talk to her and cheer her up. Also, I’m somewhat of a hype man. When she is preparing for a meet I’ll give her a funny pep talk.”
He believed back in 2018 that Fraley would go far.
“I think she is going to go far in track because of the way she works and her drive to win,” he told The Howler. “She hates to lose and when she does, she does everything she can to improve and beat the person next time.”
Fraley Said She Got Into Discus Because of Her Mom
In an interview with Nashville.CityCast, Fraley said she first got into discuss because her mother put her and her brother into a summer track club when they were in middle school.
“I wanted to lose weight and get fit before school,” Fraley recalled. “That was my first time really playing outside. It was just so hot! All the kids were faster than me, and it wasn’t a good time. After about a week, my brother decided to throw shot put instead. I didn’t want to run anymore, so I followed him over there, and it stuck. I ended up getting introduced to discus through shot put first. The rest is history.”
She added that her family was coming to Paris to see her compete and then they would be on a vacation after.
Fraley has already been stealing the spotlight, even before coming to Paris to compete in the Olympics. Vanderbilt Hustler reported in mid-June that Fraley “stole the show” when she won an NCAA individual championship during the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Oregon.
And she caught a lot of attention back in November when a video revealed that she could bench press 350 pounds.
Scary things happening in Nashville…
Vanderbilt thrower Veronica Fraley benching 159kg/350lbs 🤯⚓️
Fraley is a graduate student at Vanderbilt, and her hometown is in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to her Vanderbilt bio. She was a bronze medalist in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, a 2024 NCAA discus champion, and a two-time qualifier for the World Championships in 2022 and 2023.
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How Veronica Fraley’s Family & ‘Hype Man’ Brother Support Her Olympic Dreams