Olympics: Middleburg Academy Grad Azania Stewart Playing for Host Great Britain in Olympics

photo courtesy University of Florida

Middleburg (July 30, 2012) - Azania Stewart, who graduated from Middleburg Academy (then Notre Dame Academy) in 2008, is playing for Great Britain's 12-member Olympic basketball squad, a team making its first-ever appearance in the international games.

London, her hometown, had been announced as the venue for the 2012 games just as Stewart arrived in Middleburg, at age 15, to begin her U.S. high school career.


A recent feature article in the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph describes how Azania's determination to participate in the event of a lifetime, down the road from where she was born, was what drove her on. Recalling her high school years, she told the journalist, "I remember a teacher pointing to the pictures of former high-school players who had gone on to represent America in the Olympics that were framed 'round the gym and saying to me: 'When you play at the London Games will you send us a picture of you?' And me thinking: 'Really? Yeah, actually, why not?"

It was not easy leaving home and family at such a young age; Stewart has mentioned her homesickness more than once in media interviews, but she also is quick to say how friendly, welcoming, and supportive her classmates and teachers were in Middleburg.

Azania Stewart's talent, energy, and team spirit were instrumental in propelling the 2008 "Notre Dame Dragons" Girls Basketball Team to nationally ranked status. The 6-foot-4 center was subsequently recruited by the University of Florida Gators, and she graduated from there this past May.