Recently in Olympics Category

Naperville North alumnus Adam Barhamand reached the peak of collegiate rowing this summer when his Wisconsin Badgers went undefeated and captured the national championship on June 7.

Thanks to a great photo from the championship celebration, Barhamand landed on the cover of Rowing News after he splashed down in the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

"It's pretty awesome because that magazine, they cover international rowing," Barhamand said. "It's a U.S. magazine, but they don't really devote a ton of time in there to collegiate rowing. ... If you open that magazine, there is maybe, maybe a page about us at IRA, the national championships. So I think it was just the fact that the picture is pretty cool."

Throwing the coxswain into the water after a big win is a rowing tradition. Thanks to an undefeated season that included winning the Eastern Sprints overall team title for the first time since 1946, Barhamand's crew had some practice before nationals. So when the Badgers got to Jersey, they had this toss Adam into the river thing down pat.

Mackenzie Caquatto had to pull out of her first Olympic Trials because of a hamstring injury two weeks ago in Philly, but when it comes to college, the Naperville gymnast could be heading to Gainesville in a couple years.

Caquatto told The Heat Index on Thursday that she has received interest from 15 schools and emphasized that she is still listening to all of them, but at this point, she is favoring the University of Florida.

The opportunity to compete in the Southeastern Conference, along with the obvious benefits of living in the Sunshine State are appealing to Caquatto, who will be a junior this fall at Naperville Central.

Naperville native Mackenzie Caquatto did not perform on Sunday at the U.S. gymnastics Olympic Trials in Philadelphia. She warmed up, but was a scratch for the second day of competition.

As a result, she was not invited to the Olympic team selection camp.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that Caquatto pulled a hamstring.

Here is a clip of Naperville's Mackenzie Caquatto competing in the vault on Friday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Philadelphia. Caquatto is sixth in vault after day one.

Naperville Central graduate and Indiana University diver Amy Korthauer finished 12th in the 12-diver field for the 10-meter platform on Wednesday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.

Korthauer posted a score of 210.50. Laura Wilkinson is in first place with 362.0 points.

Only the top diver is guaranteed a spot on the Olympic roster.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley might never get a casino at Navy Pier, but he's one step closer to seeing his dream come true of the city hosting an Olympics. The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday named the Windy City one of four finalists (Tokyo; Madrid, Spain; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are the others) for the 2016 Summer Games.

The debate over whether "faster, higher, stronger" necessarily means better for Chicago tends to be a polarizing one. Where do you stand? Will the economic impact and cache the games will bring the city be worth weathering the crowds and other potential pitfalls?

Naperville Central graduate and Indiana University sophomore Amy Korthauer is one of 13 women's divers that have qualified for the 10-meter platform event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which are June 18-22 in Indianapolis.

Korthauer -- part of Central's 2004 and 2005 state championships -- placed seventh on the platform at the Big Ten championships in February.

Neuqua Valley alumna Marisa Mele recently found out from the race director that she actually finished 10th at the Green Bay Marathon, not 11th as the official results still report.

What's the difference, right? Money, that's what. By finishing 10th, Mele was in line for some cash, according to an e-mail sent to The Sun.

Naperville native Candace Parker now has plans for this summer.

Parker was one of nine players, along with Los Angeles Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie, who were named to the U.S. women's basketball roster for the 2008 Summer Olympics on Saturday.

Naperville native Mary DeScenza, who won the short course world title in the 200 butterfly in April, continued her march toward the U.S. Olympic team with her performance at the Santa Clara Grand Prix International meet last weekend.

DeScenza won four silver medals and one gold medal, in you guessed it, the 200-meter butterfly. She talks about her performance in this video.

"It just means that I've been training my little butt off and it just shows that my little workout-practice set has been doing wonders for my butterfly. So it just looks really good going into the trials."

The U.S. Olympic trials begin June 29 in Omaha, Neb.

CHICAGO - While piecing together Team USA, general manager Bob Watson must negotiate competing interests, those of the Olympic movement and the Major League Baseball franchises willing to loan out prospects this August.

The roster for the Beijing Games is expected to be revealed in July, and will exclude players who are on an active 25-man big-league roster. That would leave mid-to-high-level minor league prospects -- at least the ones who won't be needed or saved for a pennant race -- and perhaps a college pitcher with a power arm. One player who probably doesn't need to locate his passport: Roger Clemens.

"He's not on my radar screen," Watson, the former general manager of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, said Tuesday during the U.S. Olympic Committee's media summit at the Palmer House Hilton. "Not because of his off-field issues (but) his last four or five outings in the big-league level - it was a real struggle for him physically.

"He took shots in his elbow and he had hamstring and groin issues...I would rather take (a) 28-year-old who's throwin' well and he's in good physical shape, even though he doesn't have the numbers and the credentials that Roger would have but I could depend on him. See once we go...there's no replacin' him and I don't want to play a man short."