Pair of WPI coaches with local ties enjoy playing roles at the U.S. Olympic Trials

Mark Wild was an Attleborough Blue Fish Swim Club teammate of Elizabeth Beisel, so it was obviously a thrill for Wild, who grew up in Holden and graduated from St. John’s High, to watch Beisel make her Olympic debut in 2008 and, in 2012, win a silver medal.

“It was so cool to know someone going to the Olympics and represent Team USA,” said Wild, who just completed his third season on the WPI swimming and diving staff.

Likewise, Emily (Mauro) Dippel, WPI’s first-year track and field coach, looked forward to watching her favorite athletes compete every four years at the Olympics.

More: Worcester Tech graduate Stephen Nedoroscik earns spot on U.S. Men's Olympic team

“I’ve always been fascinated with the Olympics,” said Dippel, who grew up in Northborough and graduated from Algonquin Regional. “Growing up, the Olympics was the only time I saw the sport I loved on television, so that was really special. I always loved the Olympics, and I always wanted to go. I’m fascinated by what it takes to be at that level.”

Last month, both WPI coaches had the opportunity to be part of the U.S. Olympic Trials for their respective sports.

Wild covered the swimming trials for swimswam.com , a competitive swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming news site, while Dippel, as a USATF National Championships Mentorship Grant recipient, was at the track and field trials working alongside and learning from a number of elite coaches.

“You had professional athletes walking by you left and right, which was very cool to see,” Dippel said, “and some of the best moments were in the coaches’ hospitality tent talking to coaches and picking their brains about events and getting different perspectives.”

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris run from July 26 through Aug. 11.

Wild, who is a contract writer for swimswam.com, contributed to the website’s multimedia coverage of the swim trials at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis. Yes, the Indianapolis Colts’ home. It marked the first time the event was held on a football field.

“It was surreal seeing a pool inside a football stadium,” Wild said, “and seeing 20,000 people watching was huge.”

Wild wrote articles about the races, including the great Katie Ledecky’s dominating performance. His favorite story was Simone Manuel, who has struggled with overtraining syndrome and mental health issues, making the Olympic team.

“To see the emotion on her face,” Wild said, “she is really someone you want to root for.”

At the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, known as Track Town USA, Dippel paired with Tonja Buford-Bailey, a three-time Olympian, bronze medalist in the 400 hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the men’s and women’s sprint and relay coach at the University of Texas, to oversee the 100 and 400 events.

“There was definitely some feel of that (Team USA) pride,” Dippel said, “but more so, we were in the warmup area, and it was tense. Everyone was on edge, excited, but locked in. Not until after the athletes competed and the weight was lifted off their shoulders, their personalities came out more. It was really intense in the warmup areas leading up to competition.”

Being at Hayward Field, the University of Oregon’s world-class facility, was a highlight for Dippel.

“Eugene is a special place that values track and field,” Dippel, who competed in the high jump, pole vault and 800 in high school, said, “and it was cool to be in a place that really loves track. It almost felt like track was in a higher regard than football. It was cool to be in a place that appreciated track and field and celebrated that.”

Dippel earned her undergraduate degree from Merrimack and her master’s from the University of Tennessee. She previously coached men’s and women’s cross-country at Clark.

“When I was in my master’s,” Dippel said, “we talked a lot about elite athletes and the mental game of the Olympics. At the trials, it was a dream come true to be able to witness it firsthand, especially in that role, in that capacity.”

— Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Pair of WPI coaches with local ties enjoy playing roles at the U.S. Olympic Trials