Santa Clarita’s own Azaria Hill carried the Valley’s pride all the way to the 2026 Winter Games — and she was always destined to get there.

Growing up in Santa Clarita, Azaria Hill had a bedroom wall covered in photos of world-class athletes. Some were legends she admired from afar. Others were her own mother and aunt. It was, perhaps, the clearest sign imaginable of the path that lay ahead.

Born on June 14, 1998, Hill is an American bobsledder who made history at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics — becoming one of Santa Clarita Valley’s most celebrated sports exports. But her road to the Winter Games was anything but a straight line. Wikipedia

Born Into Olympic Royalty

Sports were not an abnormality in Hill’s house growing up, but the idea of being a bobsledder was. She belongs to a family of three Summer Olympians. She is the daughter of three-time Olympic medalist Denean Howard-Hill, who won gold and set the American record in the women’s 4×400-meter relay during the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games alongside Florence Griffith-Joyner. Team USA

That makes Howard-Hill’s sister, Sherri Howard, Hill’s aunt. Together, the sisters won gold in the women’s 4x400m relay final at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Denean now coaches sprinting at College of the Canyons right here in Santa Clarita, keeping her Olympic spirit alive in the next generation of local athletes. Team USA

Hill’s father, Virgil Hill, competed in boxing at the 1984 Games, and her parents met at the Olympics — in the cafeteria, no less. “It’s hard to express the feeling that you have inside when you have your child doing almost the same thing that you did,” her father said. “It’s amazing what she’s done. So proud of her.” NBC Los Angeles

A Track Star in the Santa Clarita Valley

Hill was a four-year letter winner at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita, where she became a three-time defending Foothill League champion in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4x100m relay. Those accolades helped her earn a track scholarship to Long Beach State University. Team USA

Growing up in Santa Clarita, Hill decorated her bedroom with pictures of world-class athletes, including her mother and aunt. Unbeknownst to her at the time, her future Long Beach State coach also appeared on her wall — a full-circle moment she only discovered when she visited the campus and met Coach Sheffield, who had competed alongside her mother at the 1988 Seoul Games. California State University Long Beach

As a sophomore at Long Beach State, she qualified for the NCAA championships as part of the 4x100m relay team and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. She backed up her performances the following year and was named a 2019 All Big West Performer in the 200m. Team USA

A Pandemic Pivot That Changed Everything

Her senior year fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected several high school, collegiate, and professional sports seasons globally. The NCAA made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 track & field season entirely, leaving her with a decision that changed the course of her sporting career. Team USA

This led her to transfer to the University of Nevada, where she joined the sprint relay team alongside her future bobsleigh partner and fellow Olympian, Kaysha Love. After their track careers wound down, it was Love who first dove into bobsledding — and eventually brought Hill along for the ride. Hometown Station

A New Sport, A New Dream

Hill found her way to bobsled through a rookie camp invitation in 2023, igniting her passion and rapid rise to USA’s top brakewomen. Her track background proved to be a perfect foundation. “A lot of the things that we do in track and field definitely translate over into pushing the bobsled,” she explained. WCAPNBC Los Angeles

Hill made her bobsled debut for Team USA in November 2023, winning her first race in two-woman bobsled as college teammate Love piloted the team to a first-place finish in the North American Cup in Lake Placid, New York. Love and Hill would finish 4th at the two-woman bobsled at the 2024 IBSF World Championships. Team USA

In November 2025, Hill and Love finished as runners-up in the two-woman bobsled test event on the new track ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Wikipedia

The Olympic Moment

When Hill finally made Team USA for the 2026 Winter Games, the announcement was a family affair. “I was like, ‘Guess what! I’m an Olympian,'” she recalled of calling her family group chat. “Oh my gosh, they were screaming and crying.” NBC Los Angeles

Hill competed in four official heats in the two-woman bobsleigh event alongside teammate Kaysha Love. In Heat 1, the duo finished sixth with a time of 57.18 seconds. They improved to fifth place in Heat 2 and maintained that position through Heat 3. By the final heat, Hill and Love secured a fifth-place overall finish in the competition. Hometown Station

Her former coach’s motto rang in her head throughout the experience: “Make ’em say your name.” “My time at Long Beach — good times, bad times, whether I won or didn’t win — those definitely helped shape me to be resilient and determined and have that grit,” Hill said. “Now, finally having made an Olympic team and competing at the Olympics, there was just that motto that still rang in my head.” California State University Long Beach

Eyes Set on Gold

Hill’s Olympic debut was impressive, but she has made clear it is only the beginning. “Our eyes are set on gold. Our eyes are set on a start record,” Hill said. “We want to be the best of the best.” NBC Los Angeles

For Santa Clarita, Azaria Hill is more than a local athlete who made good — she is living proof that Olympic greatness can run in the family, and that the Santa Clarita Valley continues to produce champions who compete on the world’s biggest stages. From the hallways of Golden Valley High School to the ice of Milan Cortina, she has made the entire community proud.

And she’s just getting started.

To learn more about each “Hometown Champion”. riding on the KHTS firetruck in the 2026 Santa Clarita July 4th parade, click on their links, 5-Time American Ninja, Westley Silvester; Track Star, Hazel Rhodes, Olympians Azaria Hill, Virgil Eugene Hill, Sr., and Denean Howard-Hill. And of course, wrestling legend, Dragon Lee.