Local Legends: Meet the Olympians from the Suburbs!
The world will gather in Paris to celebrate athletic achievement and competition on July 26th during the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. Team USA will make a push to finish with the most medals, and they will be relying on several athletes from right in the in suburbs!
Here is a list of Olympians that are also our neighbors!
SARAH ADAM
HOMETOWN: Naperville, IL
SPORT: Wheelchair Rugby
Paving the way on Team USA
Sarah Adam is rewriting history as the first woman to clinch Parapan gold in the mixed team sport of wheelchair rugby!#Santiago2023 pic.twitter.com/ySEz2fpdgC
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) November 24, 2023
KORBIN ALBERT
HOMETOWN: Grayslake, IL
SPORT: Soccer
She calls Paris home, and that’s our mission…
⭐️ Korbin Albert ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/7NFEz7hqWz
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 27, 2024
KENNEDY BLADES
HOMETOWN: Broadview, IL
SPORT: Wrestling
KENNEDY. BLADES. 🇺🇸
Blades wins round two 8-3 to make her first Olympic Team!#WrestlingTrials24 | #MTUSA pic.twitter.com/ed5emRqMRm
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) April 20, 2024
LAUREN CARLINI
HOMETOWN: Aurora, IL
SPORT: Volleyball
AURORA NATIVE HEADS TO OLYMPICS WITH U.S. WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM!
Congratulations to Aurora native and @sd129 alum, @laurencarlini, on being selected as one of 12 athletes to represent the @USAVolleyball Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games!
Carlini sat down with… pic.twitter.com/ifsNTLkF6q
— City of Aurora, IL (@CityofAuroraIL) July 1, 2024
KENDALL GRETSCH
HOMETOWN: Downers Grove, IL
SPORT: Paratriathlon
Paralympian 2018, 2020, 2022
Gold Rush (USA Triathlon’s Version) 🥇
Check out USA Triathlon’s best paratriathlete photos of 2023!#IgniteTheSpark | #RoadToParis | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/5LjqjNYZ9U
— USA Triathlon (@usatriathlon) December 31, 2023
EVITA GRISKENAS
HOMETOWN: Orland Park, IL
SPORT: Rhythmic Gymnastics
Olympian 2020
Ribbon for @griskenas_e!
As she prepares for @paris2024, Evita competed at the Brno Grand Prix over the weekend where she won Bronze in the Ribbon Final & finished fourth in the All-Around! We can’t wait to see this routine again at the Olympics! pic.twitter.com/it899s4guX
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) June 17, 2024
THOMAS JAESCHKE
HOMETOWN: Wheaton, IL
SPORT: Volleyball
Olympian 2016, 2020
View this post on Instagram
JEFF JENDRYK
HOMETOWN: Wheaton, IL
SPORT: Volleyball
Did you know USA Volleyball has its very own jungle cat ? U.S. Men’s National Team middle blocker Jeff Jendryk shares the origin of his nickname!
Follow Jendryk and other MNT athletes overseas by checking out our latest update at https://t.co/6Unkc6iYuy. pic.twitter.com/JoaZQNwRy5
— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) January 10, 2024
CASEY KRUEGER
HOMETOWN: Naperville, IL
SPORT: Soccer
Olympian 2020
Caleb’s mom is headed to her second Olympics!!!…
⭐️ @CaseyKrueger ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/BvOz8OnzKX
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 27, 2024
AHALYA LETTENBERGER
HOMETOWN: Glen Ellyn, IL
SPORT: Para Swimming
Paralympian 2020
Thanks so much for having me! https://t.co/jj02XrSpMt
— Ahalya Lettenberger (@ahalyalett) January 19, 2024
DJORDJE MIHAILOVIC
HOMETOWN: Lemont, IL
SPORT: Soccer
The pride of Lemont, IL pic.twitter.com/yl77jxs20K
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) June 25, 2023
DANA RETTKE
HOMETOWN: Riverside, IL
SPORT: Volleyball
✨ ✨
A congratulations to our very own @laurencarlini & @dana_rettke on being named to the 2024 Women’s National Volleyball Olympic Roster!! pic.twitter.com/m6I4oyvDmi
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) June 5, 2024
GABRIEL (Gaga) SLONINA
HOMETOWN: Addison, IL
SPORT: Soccer
OLYMPICS 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ncegxpDkdb
— GAGA (@GabrielSlonina) July 8, 2024
ZACH ZIEMEK
HOMETOWN: Itasca, IL
SPORT: Track and Field (decathlon)
Olympian 2016, 2020
Fought through 🔟 events, found a way.
Zach Ziemek, everyone 👏👏👏#WorldAthleticsChamps x #WCHOregon22 pic.twitter.com/jmilbwBlUm
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 25, 2022
KELSEY ROBINSON-COOK
HOMETOWN: Bartlett, IL
SPORT: Volleyball
Olympian 2016, 2020
View this post on Instagram
There are plenty more athletes from Chicago, the northern suburbs and even tiny towns downstate. I encourage you to get to know your local Olympians and root for them as they compete against the world and fulfil their dreams of earning an Olympic medal!
Click here and scroll down to the map, click on IL to check them all out!
