Passing the torch: The hometown heroes heading to the Paris Olympics

Women's sports are finding larger audiences in Madison these days, but this town has a long history of being home to exceptional female athletes, many of whom won medals on the world’s grandest athletic stage: the Olympics. With the Paris Olympics’ Opening Ceremony approaching on July 26, what better time to reflect on local ties to past summer medalists — and highlight a few of the hometown heroes competing in Paris?

Row Your Boat

Former Badgers Madeleine Wanamaker, Sophia Vitas, Lauren O’Connor and Grace Joyce (Wanamaker, Vitas and O'Connor were also born in Wisconsin) earned spots on the U.S. rowing roster this year. They’re the latest links in a long chain of Olympic athletes: Wisconsin’s rowing program has produced at least 15 Olympians. In 1976, the inaugural year of the women’s eight event at the Olympics, the U.S. took bronze with three UW alumnae on the team. In 1984, the U.S. women’s eight won gold with UW graduate Carie Graves in the boat. Only twice (2004 and 2008) since has the women’s rowing roster not had any former Badgers.

Just Keep Swimming

In 2004, Carly Piper made history as the first female swimmer from UW–Madison to compete in the Olympics, where she claimed a gold medal as part of the U.S. 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Twenty years later, UW swimmer Phoebe Bacon — who made her Olympic debut in 2021 with a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke —will get a second shot to vie for a medal in the same event in Paris.

More Badgers in the Mix

LOVB Madison founding athlete Lauren Carlini and former Badger Dana Rettke are playing volleyball for Team USA at this year’s Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Several other former Badgers have ties to this year’s Olympics: Milwaukee-born marathoner Emily Sisson is one of three women representing the U.S. in the marathon, and she competed for UW–Madison as a freshman before transferring to Providence College. On the Women’s Soccer team, midfielder (and UW alum) Rose Lavelle will make her second Olympic appearance. In Paris, Alev Kelter will her third Olympic appearance on the Women's Rugby team — Kelter is from Alaska but has strong ties to Madison, since she was on both the hockey and soccer teams during her time at UW.

6 More Female Olympians and Paralympians from Wisconsin

Becca Murray (Germantown) — wheelchair basketball

Emily Oberst (Brookfield) — wheelchair basketball

Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (Hayward) — fencing

Maria Laborde (Kenosha) — judo

Mary Theisen-Lappen (Eau Claire) — weightlifting

Stephanie Roble (East Troy) — sailing

Anna Kottakis is digital editor at Madison Magazine.

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