.
Feedback

The Top 10 Summer Olympians From Connecticut

With the Olympic Games approaching, Patch ranks the best all-time summer Olympians from the state.


[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Wilton youth or recreational sports in featured on Wilton Patch? ]

10. THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS: Cameron and Tyler are well-known for taking Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, to court for allegedly stealing their ideas for the social network. However, the longtime Greenwich residents built a name for themselves in the sport of rowing. They trained at the Saugatuck Rowing Club and competed at Harvard University before earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. In the Beijing Games, Cameron and Tyler participated in the men's coxless pair rowing event, finishing sixth overall.

9. JAMES BLAKE: The Fairfield High School graduate and professional tennis player was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and competed in men's singles during the Beijing Games. Blake, winner of 10 titles during his career and ranked fourth in the world during his impressive run, beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, 6-4, 7-6. Federer was ranked number one in the world at the time. Blake went on to the bronze medal match where he lost to Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 4-6, 6-7.

8. CHARLES NAGY: The former UConn and star, made the 1988 U.S. Olympic baseball team that competed in the Seoul, South Korea games. It was a demonstration sport at the time, but and Team USA sure made it seem like the real thing. They torched the competition on their way to winning the gold medal. Nagy made two appearances and earned a save before embarking on a solid career with the Cleveland Indians. He's currently the pitching coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

7. MARIE CORRIDON: Corridon, who was raised in Norwalk, won a gold medal as an 18-year-old in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Earlier that year, she became the first woman to break the one minute barrier in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 59.9. Corridon swam the first leg of the woman's 400-yard freestyle relay and helped the United States set a new world record with a time of 4:29:20.

6. CHARLES SMITH: In the last Olympics before NBA stars were allowed to compete, Smith, a former high school star at Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport, helped the U.S. win a bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. The former Big East Player of the Year and All-American at the University of Pittsburgh went on to enjoy a solid NBA career.

5. JANEL JORGENSEN: After her junior year at , Jorgensen, then just 17-years old, made the 1988 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Seoul, South Korea. Swimming the butterfly leg of the 400-meter medley relay team, Jorgensen helped the U.S win the silver medal in the event. She also placed fifth in the 100-meter butterfly race. Jorgensen went on to become an All-American at Stanford University and is currently the executive director of Swim Across America, a foundation that raises money for cancer research through swimming events.

4. BUTCH JOHNSON: Considered one the best archers in the world, Johnson has been to the Summer Olympic Games five times. The Woodstock resident won a gold medal in the 1996 Games in Atlanta and a bronze medal in the 2000 Games in Australia. He's currently bidding to make the U.S. Olympic team for a sixth time.

3. KRISTINE LILLY: One of the most decorated players in the history of women's soccer, the former phenom competed in the Olympic Games on three occasions. , an All-American at UNC, won gold medals in 1996 and 2004 and earned a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Games. She missed the 2008 Olympics because of the birth of her child. With 352 caps, Lilly is the most capped player, male or female, in the history of the sport.

2. BILL TOOMEY: After barely missing out on making the U.S. Olympic team in 1964, the former star earned the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" four years later. In the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, had a record-setting first day in the decathlon and went on to become the ninth American to win the event.

1. BRUCE JENNER: The graduate went to Graceland College in Iowa to play football, but an injury forced him to quit. He took up the decathlon and went on to become one of the most famous U.S. Olympians ever. took the gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, setting a then world record of 8,618 points.

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Wilton Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Victorious Populus May 23, 2013 at 01:15 pm
You miss the DAZE of George W?, failing banks, auto industry going under, record high homeRead More forclosures and unemployment, etc etc. Obama is getting it right! BOSTON (Reuters) - The average 401(k) retirement balance for U.S. workers hit a record high of $80,900 in the first quarter, a growth spurt of 75 percent since the stock market's nadir in March 2009, Fidelity Investments said on Thursday based on a survey of its accounts. Most of the recovery is linked to a stock market rally that has lifted the broad S&P 500 Index 145 percent since the close of trading on March 9, 2009. The 401(k) recovery looks even better for workers 55 and older, according to Boston-based Fidelity, the largest U.S. administrator of 401(k) retirement plans. Those pre-retirement workers have seen their average balance nearly double to $255,000 since the first quarter of 2009 when the average balance was $130,700. The analysis covers people who have been with their current employer 10 or more years, Fidelity said.
Bill May 23, 2013 at 04:39 pm
I did find the remains of a small cat, if anyone wants that. Free.
Mortimer Godfrey May 23, 2013 at 04:38 pm
Fantastic stuff here, Billy boy! Mort Godfrey
Sandra May 22, 2013 at 03:46 pm
British soldier was hacked to death with a machete. The soldier is not allowed to have a gun but theRead More terrorists had a firearm but chose to behead the soldier. The suspects spoke to camera after attack. “We swear by Almighty Allah, we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. The only reasons we killed this man is because Muslims are dying daily. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We apologize that woman had to see this today, but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you.”
Sandra May 22, 2013 at 03:39 pm
Israel knows who their enemy is and are not afraid to call them out. After 4 Americans were killedRead More by terrorists in Benghazi, when violence in the Middle East was raging, President Obama in partnership with Hillary Clinton spent $70,000 in taxpayer money on a commercial that aired on Pakistani television apologizing for the "video." We are sorry. We are going to get the man who made the video who exercised freedom of speech and arrest him. Any terrorist suspects questioned yet?
NarrativeInterruptus May 22, 2013 at 08:14 am
PR - It appears that the writer of this item is none other than McMurphy who has been polluting theRead More Patch since the new format arose (just click on the writer's name and you will be taken to McMurphy's profile page). This person is also Randall McMurphy and all the old names including AZ. From all indications, he/she is also DB Cooper so this person is posting on this Board and then commenting on his/her own posts. As someone pointed out a couple of weeks ago, trying to trick other readers is a violation of the Patch's rules, and yet it continues.
Victorious Populus May 19, 2013 at 08:17 pm
Inspiring story: The company that President Obama saved!Read More http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/these-signs-point-to-a-legitimate-general-motors-revival.html/
Publius Redux May 19, 2013 at 05:53 pm
@DB Cooper: Oh, you mean how you used your multiple personalities and screen names to flag me intoRead More oblivion? The thing is, it won't work this time. Try again, stalker. Try harder. LOL! You don't have enough fake personalities this time around to do such a thing. Thanks again for stopping by my blog. :) LOL! Hook, line, sinker.