(WFRV) – As the Summer Olympics kick off with Friday afternoon’s opening ceremony in Paris, the United States will have nearly 600 athletes competing against some of the best in the world.
According to the Team USA website, The Badger State will be sending 18 Wisconinites to France for the Olympics and Paralympics (starting Wednesday, Aug. 28) as they look to add to America’s historic medal cabinet.
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Of the 18 from Wisconsin, nine are first-timers, and six bring Olympic/Paralympic medal-winning experience to Paris, (11 combined). These are the representatives from Wisconsin that will represent the Red, White and Blue:
Kenny Bednarek – Rice Lake, Wis. (Men’s Track and Field): The 25-year-old Bednarek is in his second Summer Olympics, having won a silver medal in the 200-meter dash at the Tokyo games in 2020 (took place in 2021.) In 2019, he became the first American to break 20 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the NJCAA Championships.
John Boie – Milton, Wis. (Men’s Wheelchair Basketball): The 33-year-old Wisconsin-Whitewater alum Boie began playing wheelchair basketball at age 11. When he’s not playing wheelchair basketball, he’s throwing an ultimate frisbee disc or football. Boie is a one-time Paralympian, having won the gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
Margherita Guzzi Vincenti – Hartland, Wis. (Women’s Fencing): Born in Italy, she was recruited as a fencer for the Penn State Nittany Lions, but trains in Hartland. The 33-year-old won her first senior gold medal at the 2023 Legnano World Cup.
Tyrese Haliburton – Oshkosh, Wis. (Men’s Basketball): The 2018 Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year, Haliburton played two years for the Iowa State Cyclones after graduating from Oshkosh North. Haliburton blossomed into a star with the Indiana Pacers in 2023-24, and is part of the USA Basketball squad looking to secure its fifth straight Olympic gold medal.
Nate Hinze – Cedar Grove, Wis. (Men’s Wheelchair Basketball): Heading to his fourth Paralympics, Hinze has won three medals as a member of Team USA’s Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team, a gold at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games, with a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. The 36-year-old Hinze began his wheelchair basketball career in 2006 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Payton Jacobson – Elkhorn, Wis. (Men’s Wrestling): The 21-year-old Jacobson is one of the youngest on the roster for Team USA, but he brings plenty of winning experience to Paris. Jacobson has won four medals at multiple wrestling competitions, namely a gold medal at the 2022 U20 World Team Trials.
Kenny Bednarek wins a heat in the men’s 200-meter run during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Tyrese Haliburton shoots a free throw as the United State’s men’s team practiced before the start of the basketball competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
U.S. Olympic fencing athlete Margherita Guzzi Vincenti smiles to the crowd after throwing out the first pitch before a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Nate Hinze, of the United States, left, is challenged by Robin Poggenwisch of the Netherlands during their quarterfinal match in the wheelchair basketball event in the Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)
Payton Jacobson celebrates his win over Spencer Woods at 87 kilograms during the U.S. Olympic wrestling team trials in State College, Pa., Saturday, April 20, 2024. Jacobson won the bout 3-1. (AP Photo/Jackson Ranger)
United States players celebrate winning the men’s group B preliminary wheelchair basketball game against Brazil during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. Front, from left are John Gilbert, Joshua Turek and Jake Williams. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Medal winners from left, Mexico’s Guadalupe Carrillo, Brazil’s Vitoria Alba, Maria Laborde of the United States and Brazil’s Amanda Ferreira pose at the podium of the in judo women’s -48kg category, at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Germany’s Marina Mohnen, left (15) competes with United States’s Carlee Hoffman during the final of the Wheelchair basketball Women competitions at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games held in Beijing, China, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. In white, second from left, is United States’s Becca Murray, other Germany player in black is unidentified. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
From left, Grace Joyce, Emily Delleman, Teal Cohen and Lauren O’Connor, of the United States, practice ahead of the women’s quadruple sculls competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Emily Sisson celebrates after winning the women’s 10000-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Stephanie Roble and Margaret Shea, from US, compete during the 49erfx women race at the Enoshima harbour during the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Fujisawa, Japan. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Madeleine Wanamaker, Claire Collins, Kendall Chase, Grace Luczak, of the United States, compete in the women’s four at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Third placed Kristina Wagner and Sophia Vitas of US pose on the podium after the Women’s Double Sculls Final A at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Talen Jourdan – Deerfield, Wis. (Men’s Wheelchair Basketball): The youngest (24) of Wisconsin’s four Men’s Wheelchair Basketball players heading to Paris, Jourdan was introduced to the sport by former Wisconsin-Whitewater head coach Jeremy Lade, a three-time Paralympian himself. In his downtime, Jourdan goes wake surfing.
Maria Laborde – Kenosha, Wis. (Women’s Judo): Born in Cuba, Laborde moved to the United States and achieved citizenship in 2022, and started competing for Team USA in March of that year. The 33-year-old became the second-highest-ranked U.S. Athlete in the world in under a year.
Becca Murray – Germantown, Wis. (Women’s Wheelchair Basketball): Now entering her fourth Paralympics, the 34-year-old Murray won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio Games, with a fourth-place finish at London 2012. She started playing wheelchair basketball at the age of six, joining a club team in Milwaukee at 12 years old.
Lauren O’Connor – Belleville, Wis. (Women’s Rowing): A first-time Olympian, O’Connor graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2020 and also works in environmental conservation and protection. The 25-year-old walked onto the rowing team at Wisconsin after a friend thought she’d enjoy it. Aside from rowing, O’Connor has a black belt in martial arts.
Emily Oberst – Brookfield, Wis. (Women’s Wheelchair Basketball): The 25-year-old Oberst’s story is inspirational, as she had surgery to replace her fibula as her tibia, as a result of cancer in her left leg. Oberst was recruited to play for the University of Alabama at just 17 years old.
Stephanie Roble – East Troy, Wis. (Women’s Sailing): Heading to the Olympics for the second time, Roble finished 11th at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Roble grew up sailing scows and dinghies on Lake Beulah. The 35-year-old was named the US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year in 2014.
Nick Rusher – West Bend, Wis. (Men’s Rowing): The 25-year-old Yale alum is the son of two former Olympians, as his parents met while on the national team, rowing in the 1988 and 1992 Games. Rusher hopes to become a cancer researcher after his rowing career ends.
Emily Sisson – Milwaukee, Wis. (Women’s Track and Field): After finishing 10th at the Tokyo 2020 Games in the 10,000-meter race, the 32-year-old Sisson returns to her second Olympic Games. Sisson is the daughter of Mark Sisson, who ran cross country and track at the University of Wisconsin from 1979-1983.
Mary Theisen-Lappen – Eau Claire, Wis. (Women’s Weightlifting): The 33-year-old Theisen-Lappen started competing in 2019, and won two silver medals at the World Championships in 2023. While attending Winona State University, Indiana State University and the University of Missouri, she qualified for seven NCAA Championships.
Sophia Vitas – Franklin, Wis. (Women’s Rowing): A 2016 graduate from the University of Wisconsin, Vitas began her rowing career as a walk-on. The 31-year-old will make her Olympic debut as a four-time World Championships competitor.
Madeleine Wanamaker – Neenah, Wis. (Women’s Rowing): The 29-year-old Neenah native is the daughter of two former Wisconsin Badger rowers. Wanamaker is making her second appearance at the Olympics, with a seventh-place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Games. Her rowing career started as a walk-on in 2013 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jake Williams – Milwaukee, Wis. (Men’s Wheelchair Basketball): Williams started playing wheelchair basketball four months after he was hit by a car, paralyzing him at just 16 years old. The 32-year-old is a two-time Paralympian, winning gold medals at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games.
Another Wisconsin native will be at the Olympics for Team USA, as a Green Bay area chiropractor will be helping with the treatment of a decathlete, as well.
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The Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics is set for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, while the Paralympics Opening Ceremony is set for Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m.
For more information on Team USA at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, visit their website.
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Publish date : 2024-07-25 22:20:18
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