If you’ve been following the Olympics over the past few weeks, chances are you’ve been cheering on some Ohioans.
According to Team USA, 13 Olympic and four Paralympic athletes hail from the Buckeye State. And even more athletes have ties here. Two dozen current and former student-athletes from Ohio State alone are participating in the games, the second-largest group in the school’s history.
David DeGuzman is an Olympic enthusiast and sports reporter for NBC4 in Columbus. He was in Paris for the opening ceremony and spoke with the Ohio Newsroom about Ohio’s Olympic highlights so far.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
About Paris
“It was magical. Paris has done a really great job of hosting the Olympics so far this year. It’s kind of a turning point for the Olympic movement. You know, we just had two back-to-back games during the pandemic. So I feel like the Olympics really needed a push. And Paris definitely delivered by bringing sports to iconic places like the Place de la Concorde and beach volleyball at the base of the Eiffel Tower. I think it exceeded all expectations. You could tell there was this magic in the air just riding through the metro and walking around the city. I think it really brought the city to life.”
About Ohio’s Olympic highlights so far
“The first week, of course, swimming was the buzzword. And we in Ohio have been following Hunter Armstrong, who is competing in his second Olympics. He did so well in the 4×100 freestyle and won gold as part of that relay. So that was his second gold medal in his career. He also competed in the 100 backstroke. And then he also competed in another relay, the 4×100 individual medley (to win a) well-deserved silver medal. So Hunter Armstrong, who has won three medals in his career, is definitely making Ohio State proud.”
And then this weekend in track and field, a story came out of the blue: Annette Echikunwoke. She’s from Pickerington, and she won silver in the women’s hammer throw this week. She’s technically competing in her second Olympics, but she wasn’t able to compete the first time in Tokyo. In short, she was competing for Team Nigeria. And the Nigerian Federation screwed up a little bit with the doping tests. So she didn’t undergo the proper testing. And that was the fault of the Nigerian Olympic Committee. So she was in Tokyo and found out she couldn’t compete.
So she switched sides and competed for Team USA. She qualified and met the Olympic standards. And then she made it to the Olympic finals by one throw. And this week she led for several rounds in the women’s hammer throw. She ended up losing to the Canadian, but it was still a well-deserved silver medal in that competition. Those were the two standout moments, so to speak.
Of course, a lot of people talk about Simone Biles and forget that she was born in Columbus and obviously had a great Olympics with several outstanding performances, including gold in the team final, of course, and of course the individual all-around. So there are so many places to look for great memories that have already been created by Olympians from Ohio.”
To lesser-known Olympic events
“The synchronized swimming kind of caught my eye. There were three athletes with ties to the Buckeyes and two for the United States, including Kiana Hunter and Ruby Ramadi. And they jumped from fourth place to second place after two days of synchronized swimming. So they are definitely contenders for a medal this week.
Fencing is another sport that we don’t really talk about outside of the Olympics, and we have Lee Kiefer, who was able to win individual gold in foil and then also helped her team win the women’s team foil event, which I think is the first time in quite a while, or even forever, that that’s happened to the United States.
You have to remember that many of these athletes aren’t going to bring home a medal, but just making it to the Olympics is an accomplishment in itself, so Ohio is very proud.”
What else is there to see
“One athlete to definitely keep an eye on this coming weekend is (wrestler) Kyle Snyder, a graduate of Ohio State University. He’s competing in his third Olympics. He won gold in Rio in 2016. And then he failed to get gold in Tokyo. So he’s on his own little redemption tour, so to speak. He’s a guy who made history in 2016. He was the first athlete to win an NCAA title, a world title and an Olympic title in the same year. He was one of the youngest athletes to win a gold medal for the U.S. team in wrestling, and now he’s back as a veteran and definitely has gold on his mind. He had a stellar performance in the Olympic qualifiers, but how will he fare against the best in the world? We’ll have to wait and find out.
And of course, we can’t forget LeBron James, who is from Akron and is going for another Olympic gold medal. This is a U.S. team that hasn’t lost a gold medal since winning the bronze medal in 2004. So this is a team that is going for its fifth consecutive gold medal. And LeBron James is a big part of that run. I think this will probably be his last appearance in the Olympics, so he definitely wants to finish on a high note. Those are two Olympians from Ohio to keep an eye on as the Games come to a close.”
