Barren County graduate is off to the Olympics

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Her name is Mariah Denigan, and she’s realizing her dreams of competing in the Olympics are coming true after years of dedication.

Denigan attended BAVEL, the Barren Academy of Virtual and Extended Learning, while training for her biggest challenge yet – competing in swimming for the gold.

News 40 spoke to the co-director of BAVEL who had a few things to say about the athlete.

Melinda Owens told us that Denigan was a great student while attending BAVEL, maintaining a full course load, as well as AP classes and still traveling for competition. Owens said she and everyone are so humbled and excited to have been a small part of her life and outfit her with the ability to still attend school while chasing her dreams.

According to USA Swimming, Denigan qualified to compete in swimming the 10K at the Paris Olympics after her sixth-place finish at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

News 40 will continue to follow Denigan’s progress as she nears the competition for gold.