Any Olympians (past or present) from your town?

[hopein08]

I know, I know, this is kind of a rip-off of the "famous person from my hometown" threads that have been done here (right?). But the Olympics are a big topic and I read an article about Tom Ridge earlier today. What does Tom Ridge have to do with Olympics, you ask? Well, nothing, really...but he's from my town and I'm ashamed! So I figured I'd make myself feel better and brag up my town's Olympians.

So, without further ado...

Bruce Baumgartner---1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 Summer Olympics in wrestling...2 gold medals, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, I believe.

Caryn Kadavy---1988 Winter Olympics in figure skating...couldn't skate in the long program because of the flu

[u4ic]

1. Kurt Browning - figure skating

Pierre Lueders gold in bobsled

When I played minor women's hockey (one year only, I was crap; in my hometown, not my present city) I was bodychecked into oblivion by a future Olympic gold medallist (women's hockey)

[u4ic]

13. Lueders just won another silver today!!

:bounce:

[deadparrot]

2. Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Just across the river.

[Tom Kitten]

3. Matt Lindland-silver medalist in wrestling

went to my high school but I never met him.

[dysfunctional press]

4. Brian (barney) Oldfield's sister used to cut my hair.

he was a shot-putter who first started throwing more like a discus-thrower(spinning into the throw). He could throw a 25-pound shot farther than anyone else could throw a 20-pounder(he didn't compete in the 20-pound shot at the time). he still holds the record of 63'1" for the 16-pound shot from 1979.

[Canadian Socialist]

5. Pretty much the entire Canadian team

cause I live in Calgary!

[dannofoot]

6. Matt Savoie! Woo-hoo!

He may not have won a medal in Torino, but his skating is classic and beautiful!

[SeattleGirl]

7. Roslynn Sumners

From just up the road in Edmonds, WA.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

8. Joey Cheek

Bronze Medalist in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City , Utah

Gold and Silver Medalist in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino , Italy

[Saphire]

9. Babe Zaharis

[EstimatedProphet]

10. Zeus

We used to go drinking together.

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. The Harrison twins, Calvin and Alvin

They're from my hometown.

Not exactly an uplifting story. Both were on the gold-medal 4x400 team in 2000, but Calvin got a two-year suspension when he tested positive in 2003 for a stimulant on the U.S. Anti-Doping Association's banned list. Ten years earlier he'd tested positive for psuedoephedrine, and the two tests resulted in the suspension. The second one also cost the U.S. its gold medal in the 2003 World Championships.

Alvin got a four-year suspension in 2004 for using testosterone, THG, HGH and erythropoietin.

[Aristus]

12. Megan Quann

100 meter breast-stroke 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Her name is on the city limits sign under "Home Of..."

on edit: Puyallup, Washington. B-)

[SeattleGirl]

16. Oh gosh, I forgot about Megan!

My bad!

[Nicole]

14. Shannon Miller for gymnastics

1996 - 2 gold medals, 1992 - 2 silver & 3 bronze

[TallahasseeGrannie]

15. Not a lot of winter olympians down here in FL

[Fenris]

17. That douchebag Chad Hedrick.

[Squatch]

18. Me

[Arugula Latte]

19. We trump you all -- Tanya Harding!!

Bwa ha ha ha ha!!

She's a Portland/Gresham girl -- the Pride of Stumptown! :evilgrin:

[rustydog]

20. Mahre twins

[Darth_Kitten]

21. Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes, Susan Auch........

just off the top of my head....

Speed skating and Cycling here, in one case speed skating in one Olympics, cycling in the other.

[maveric]

22. Next town over. El Cajon CA. Greg Lougainis. Next town over. Gail Devers.

There are many great athletes from the San Diego area but I cant remember any other Olypmians but the ones I mentioned.
Chris Chelios spent a few years in SD too. He's not from here but lived here for about 8 years.

[Blue Belle]

23. Tanya Harding!

Gives Portland a black eye (almost literally) doesn't it?? :+

[Beware the Beast Man]

24. Kurt Angle graduated from my alma mater.

He won the gold in freestyle wrestling in '96 before becoming a pro wrestler.