Algonquin Athlete Competes In Paris Summer Olympics

ALGONQUIN, IL — An Algonquin native is among the 36 athletes from Illinois competing in the Paris Summer Olympic Games, which opened Friday. The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad continue through Aug. 11.

Owen Cravens, 21, will be making his Paralympics debut in Paris. He is a graduate of Huntley High School.

Below, you'll find a roundup of the other Illinois athletes competing in this year's Paris Summer Olympic Games.

BASKETBALL

• Anthony Davis, Chicago — an NBA star for the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis, 31, returns for his second Olympics, first since 2012 (gold medalist). Graduated from Perspectives Charter School.
• Jewell Loyd, Lincolnwood — a point guard for the WNBA's Seattle Storm, Loyd, 30, returns for her second straight Olympics (gold medalist in 2020). Graduated from Niles West.

FENCING

• Filip Dolegiewicz, Park Ridge — Dolegiewicz, 23, is an alternate athlete for the men's sabre team. The Harvard graduate was a NCAA men's champion while in college.

GYMNASTICS

• Evita Griskenas, Orland Park — this will be the second straight Olympics for Griskena, 23, who graduated from Carl Sandburg High School.
• Paul Juda, Deerfield — first Olympics for Juda, 23, who attended Stevenson High School.

JUDO

• John Jayne, Chicago — first Olympics for Jayne, 27, who holds triple citizenship in Britain, Bulgaria, and United States. Graduated from University of Chicago.

PARASWIMMING

• Keegan Knott, Lake Villa — second Paralympics for Knott, 19, who competed as the youngest member of her team in 2020. Graduated from Warren Township High School.
• Ahalya Lettenberger, Glen Ellyn — second Paralympics for Lettenberger, 23, who graduated from Glenbard West.

PARATRIATHLON

• Kendall Gretsch, Downers Grove — Gretsch, 32, is making her third Paralympics Games. She has won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter games.

RUGBY

• Lauren Doyle, Boody — Doyle, 33, makes her third straight Olympics, having competed in 2016 (Rio de Janeiro) and 2020 (Tokyo). She graduated from Meridan High School.

ROWING

• Peter Chatain, Winnetka — Chatain, 24, is making his Olympics debut in Paris. He is a graduate of New Trier High School.
• Grace Joyce, Northfield — Joyce, 26, is also competing in her first Olympics. She graduated from New Trier High School.

SAILING

• Maggie Shea, Wilmette — Shea, 35, is competing in her second straight Olympics. She is a graduate of New Trier High School.

• Marco Delarosa, Chicago — Delarosa, 52, returns to the Paralympics after competing in the 2016 Games. Graduated from Roosevelt High School.

SOCCER

• Korbin Albert, Grayslake — Albert, 20, plays professional soccer for Paris-Saint-Germain in the Premiere Ligue. The graduate of Classical Consortium Academy is a first-time Olympian.
• Casey Krueger, Naperville — Krueger, 33, plays professional soccer for the Washington Spirit, of the National Women's Soccer League. This is the second-straight Olympics for the Naperville Central High School graduate.
• Djordje Mihailovic, Lemont — It's the first Olympics for Mihailovic, 25, who grew up playing for his father's club, Chicago Blast.
• Gabriel Slonina, Addison — It's the first Olympics for Slonina, 20, who is currently a professional goalkeeper for Chelsea Football Club in the Premier League. He is a graduate of Addison Trail High School.

SWIMMING

• Ryan Held, Springfield — Held, 29, returns to the Olympics after competing in the 2016 Games (Rio de Janeiro). He graduated from Sacred-Heart Griffin.
• Anna Peplowski, Germantown Hills — Peplowski, 21, makes her Olympics debut in Paris. She is a graduate of Metamora Township High School.

TRACK AND FIELD

• Tori Franklin, Chicago — Franklin, 31, who was born in Evanston, makes her second-straight Olympics Games in Paris. The triple jumper is a graduate of Downers Grove South High School.
• Courtney Lindsey, Rock Island — Lindsey, 25, will be competing in his first Olympics in Paris. He is a graduate of Rock Island High School.
• Jayden Ulrich, East Alton — It will be the first Olympics for Ulrich, 21, who finished second in the discus at the American Olympic trials. She graduated from East Alton-Wood River High School.
• Zach Ziemek, Itasca — Ziemek, 31, returns to the Olympics, having competed in the 2016 Games (Rio de Janeiro). Ziemek is a graduate of Lake Park High School.

VOLLEYBALL

• Lauren Carlini, Aurora — this will be the Olympics debut for Carlini, 29, who graduated from West Aurora High School.
• Thomas Jaeschke, Wheaton — winner of a bronze medal at the 2016 Games (Rio de Janeiro), Jaeschke, 30, will be competing in his third straight Games. He is a graduate of Wheaton-Warrenville South High School
• Jeff Jendryk, Wheaton — it will be the first Olympics for Jendryk, 28, who graduated from St. Francis.
• Dana Rettke, Riverside — Paris will be the Olympics debut for Rettke, 25, who plays professional volleyball in the Italian Serie A1 League. She is a graduate of Riverside Brookfield High School.
• Kelsey Robinson-Cook, Bartlett — this will be the third straight Olympics for Robinson-Cook, 32, who won gold and bronze medals at the last two. She is a graduate of St. Francis High School.

WATER POLO

• Danijela Jackovich, Chicago — Jackovich, 29, will compete for Australia in Paris. She is a 2013 graduate of Lincoln Way Central in New Lenox.

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

• Ixhelt Gonzalez, Chicago — This marks the second straight Paralympics for Gonzalez, 20, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She is a graduate of St. Francis de Sales High School.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY

• Sarah Adam, Naperville — This will be the first Paralympics Games for Adam, who will be the first woman to ever compete for the U.S. Paralympic Rugby Games. The Naperville North graduate is a professor of occupational therapy at Saint Louis University.
• Chuck Melton, Richview — Paris marks the third straight Paralympics Games for Melton, 45, having won silver at the last two Games. He is a graduate of Marshall County High School.
• Eric Newby, Nashville — This will be the third straight Paralympics Games for Newby, 36, having won silver at the last two. He is a graduate of Nashville High School.

WRESTLING

• Kamel Bey, Bellwood — This will be the Olympics debut for Bey, 26, who graduated from River Forest High School.
• Kennedy Blades, Chicago — Paris will mark the first Olympics Games for Blades, 20.
• Josef Rau, Chicago — Rau, 33, will make his Olympics debut in Paris. He is a graduate of St. Patrick High School.

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Team USA is favored to win the most medals overall, according to a forecast by Nielsen’s Gracenote Sports, which supplies statistical analysis for sports leagues around the world.
More than 10,500 athletes from around the world will compete in 32 sports in the Paris Games.

Team USA is projected to win 112 medals overall — 39 gold, 32 silver, and 41 bronze. China is forecast to win 86 overall — 34 gold, 27 silver, and 25 bronze.

NBC and its affiliated channels again have exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights. The network has said it will provide at least nine hours of daytime coverage during the Paris Games, including live broadcasts of favorite event finals.

NBC will broadcast certain events live. Here’s the full Olympic broadcast schedule, based on Paris local time, which is six hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone.

Peacock is streaming the Games. Other ways to watch the Olympics are through the NBC Sports App or on NBCOlympics.com. On cable, NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, E! and Telemundo will all provide coverage.

Paris hosts the Summer 2024 Paralympic Game, which will take place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
NBC and its affiliated channels again have exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights. The network has said it will provide at least nine hours of daytime coverage during the Paris Games, including live broadcasts of favorite event finals. The NBC streaming service Peacock will provide coverage of every sport and event. The full broadcast and streaming schedules haven’t been announced yet.

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