Local Olympians won medals, fell short, overcame injuries and broke records. Here are their stories.

The Paris Olympics closed Sunday, ending a 16-day testament to the human spirit, gender equity and French hospitality.

Staged to celebrate the city’s grandeur, the Games legacy will be its iconic venues and a groundbreaking equal number of male and female athletes. It leaves indelible memories of stars such as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Léon Marchand, and made once-unsung athletes like Stephen Nedoroscik, Quincy Hall and Ilona Maher household names.

For the more than three dozen athletes with Illinois ties, these Olympics will be the one where they broke a world record, fell short of their own expectations, overcame injury, achieved something no other American has done, balanced training with an Ivy League education, fenced in the Grand Palais, sailed one last time with a best friend, nailed a critical vault, returned as a coach, advocated for mental health issues, rowed fast enough for a medal, celebrated with their families, made a teammate believe in themselves, stood on the podium and received a long overdue gold medal.

Here are their stories, in pictures and words.

Opening ceremony breaks the rules, pushes limits and sets the bar for future Olympics

The 2024 Summer Games began with a groundbreaking opening ceremony that sent athletes sailing down the Seine River so an entire city could welcome them.

Marking the first time in modern Olympic history that the parade of nations took place outside a stadium, an estimated 320,000 people lined the riverbanks to see the barges carrying the athletes float past. Even more watched from rooftops and apartment balconies, turning the city into the world’s biggest outdoor theater.

Striking a balance between breathtaking and bawdy, the ceremony broke rules, pushed boundaries and set a new standard for other host cities to follow. It also showcased the city’s resilience, holding the celebration amid heavy rains and just hours after suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s high-speed rail lines.

It was a spectacular, if made-for-TV, start for these Games. And that was true even before Celine Dion appeared. Read more here.

From sharing a meal to having their families cheer: How Paris offers a 2nd chance for Tokyo Olympians

Olympic triple jumper Tori Franklin hopes to ride a barge down the Seine River during the opening ceremony and venture outside the athletes village to watch a fencing competition.

Rhythmic gymnast Evita Griskenas is excited to share a meal with athletes from other sports without plexiglass separating them.

BMX racer Felicia Stancil looks forward to competing on a familiar track as she vies for the Olympic medal she so narrowly missed three years ago.

Sailor Maggie Shea intends to explore the host city and soak up the atmosphere of what she says could be her last Summer Games.

For these four Chicago-area athletes — all of whom made their Olympic debuts during the COVID-hobbled Tokyo Games — Paris offers a second chance of sorts. Read more here.

‘Why can’t that be me?’ Chicago-area native Paul Juda shines in his Olympic debut.

As a freshman in high school, U.S. gymnast Paul Juda attended a training camp for the junior national team where the coaches instructed the athletes to look around.

“There will be an Olympian in this room,” they said. “There will be a world champion.”

As he looked at the other gymnasts, Juda’s mind opened to the possibilities for someone with his talent and determination. He purchased an Olympic flag soon after and hung it in the bedroom of his family’s Deerfield home as a reminder of his potential.

“​​I knew if the coaches were saying it, they meant it,” Juda told the Tribune. “I was, like, why can’t that be me?” Read more here.

• ‘It’s all worth it’ as Deerfield’s Paul Juda, teammates take Olympic bronze in gymnastics

The water that raised her: How Wilmette’s Maggie Shea set her Olympic sailing course on Lake Michigan

On her trips back to Chicago, Olympic sailor Maggie Shea makes sure to look out the airplane window and take stock of Lake Michigan.

She wants to see how the waves are cresting, how the current is moving. She locates her old racing circles and checks to see who’s on the water, whether it’s the junior sailors or the big boats.

This is the lake that raised her, that taught her how to sail in unpredictable waters and provided some of her happiest childhood memories. It’s where the Wilmette native sat with her grandpa and listened to him explain racing strategy. It’s where she first competed against rival sailor Stephanie Roble, who would later become her teammate and close friend.

And it’s where, when Shea and Roble needed money to fund their Olympic dream, the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation stepped in to help.

“This lake is my home,” Shea said. Read more here.

How a father-daughter bike ride turned Lake Villa’s Felicia Stancil into a 2-time Olympian

After a young Felicia Stancil’s mother died in a car accident, her father began looking for things they could do together.

Activities that would help them both heal, he thought. Activities that would bring them both joy.

When she was only 4, he took her on a short bike ride through their Lake County neighborhood, watching carefully as she pedaled her way around with the help of training wheels. As soon as they arrived home, however, Felicia had a demand.

“I wasn’t going in the house until he took off my training wheels,” she recalled to the Tribune. “I just stood there and wouldn’t let him go inside. So he went into the garage and took them off.” Read more here.

The hardest-working boy in the boat: Winnetka rower Peter Chatain took a high-tech job while pursuing his dream

Peter Chatain had all the qualifications for the job.

A master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University. Deft coding skills. A deep appreciation for artificial intelligence ethics.

Chatain thought he’d be a great fit for the machine learning engineer position at Ello, a San Francisco-based startup that produces an AI-powered reading app that listens and engages with children as they read out loud from books. He had proved as much during an internship there in 2022.

There was just one thing, the Winnetka native told his prospective employers: he hoped to make the U.S. Olympic rowing team in 2024, so he would need some flexibility in his schedule. Read more here.

• 2 North Shore Olympians help row US boat to a bronze — the 1st medal in the event in 16 years

Why Northwestern coach Tracey Fuchs, the ‘Michael Jordan of field hockey,’ is back at the Games

When the United States women’s field hockey team took on Argentina earlier this week, the only American with Olympic experience on the bench never entered the match.

Instead of taking her trademark penalty corners, Tracey Fuchs sat on the sidelines with the other assistant coaches and offered words of encouragement to the young squad, trying to keep the magnitude of the moment from overwhelming them. It’s not an easy job — the U.S. squad is winless in four pool play matches — but Fuchs believes in this team’s potential.

And the Evanston resident hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be in their shoes.

“There was no greater joy for me than to play for my country,” Fuchs said before the Games started. “There’s no better jersey to wear than your country’s jersey, so I would have worn it forever if I could have.” Read more here.

Chicago’s Shamier Little helps relay team take silver in heavy medal day for Illinois Olympians

There are several reasons why Shamier Little could be disappointed with her silver medal in the Olympic mixed relay.

The Chicago native had built a comfortable lead for the U.S. team with her blazing second leg Saturday evening on a rain-soaked track in the Stade de France. She and her teammates also had been the heavy favorites to win gold, having set the world record the previous evening.

And everything seemed to be going the Americans’ way, until the team from the Netherlands passed them just a few feet from the finish line.

Shamier Little, however, knows what disappointment is. And this — a silver medal and a world record in her Olympic debut — is not it. Read more here.

How Jeff Jendryk — Wheaton’s ‘Jungle Cat’ — ended up prowling the Olympic volleyball courts

As Jeff Jendryk prepared to enter his first Olympic volleyball match, the Wheaton native took a second to acknowledge the magnitude of the moment — and then he let it go.

His job here is not to be reflective. It’s to be instinctive.

“My nickname is the Jungle Cat, so I am going to come on the court and be super fiery for our guys,” he said. “I’m here to bring energy when needed, find a way to score a point and help my teammates as much as I can.”

For the past four years, Jendryk, 28, has made a career of putting the team’s needs before his own. Read more here.

Tori Franklin of Chicago comes up short in triple jump but is ready to live ‘happii’

Tori Franklin wants you to know that she is OK.

She wasn’t herself at the Tokyo Games, she admits. She didn’t feel ready physically, mentally or spiritually. But here, at her second Olympics, the U.S. triple jumper has a different perspective. She can enjoy the moment, appreciate the rarified air in which she competes and take pride in what she has accomplished.

“I’ve been on a journey to build myself back up,” she said. “And I’m just in a really good place.” Read more here.

Itasca’s Zach Ziemek sets an American record with his 3rd decathlon: ‘That’s what drove me the entire time’

After running a painful, rain-soaked 1,500 meters to finish the Olympic decathlon, Zach Ziemek sat down on the track and let the exhaustion envelop him.

The Itasca native had partially torn his left LCL the previous day during the long jump, instantly dashing his hopes for a medal and making the remaining eight events increasingly difficult. The final four laps around the track — never his favorite event — were a test of determination, done almost solely to secure his place in the U.S. record books.

“I was going to finish no matter what,” said Ziemek, who finished the decathlon in 17th place. “I was going to do whatever it took, whether it was crawl or hop on one leg, whatever it was going to be.”

As he watched the medalists celebrate, Ziemek, 31, called no attention to himself or the feat he had just accomplished. Read more here.

How Dana Rettke’s best friend since kindergarten put her on an Olympic volleyball path

At 14, Dana Rettke’s best friend, Molly Gates, suggested she join her volleyball club so they could spend more time together.

Rettke was a talented basketball player with dreams of playing in college and the WNBA. Already well over 6 feet heading into high school, the Riverside native for years had shot down her mother’s advice to give volleyball a chance.

A best friend’s suggestion, however, was something different.

“My mom had been begging me to try volleyball for years and I was like ‘no, no, no.’ I was just so resistant to it,” Rettke told the Tribune. “But once Molly started playing and she thought I should do it, too, it seemed like a good idea.”

There are good ideas. There are great ideas. And, if you’re Dana Rettke, there are ideas that put you on a path to becoming a member of the U.S. women’s Olympic volleyball team. Read more here.

Addison’s Alexa Knierim and the US figure skating team receive ‘historic’ gold medals from 2022 at Paris Games

Addison native Alexa Knierim and the 2022 U.S. figure skating team made Olympic history Wednesday, becoming the first Winter athletes to be awarded a gold medal at a Summer Games.

The 20-minute ceremony, conducted in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, came more than 900 days after the American squad competed in Beijing. No medals were awarded for the team figure skating event in China while officials tried to sort out a doping scandal involving a Russian skater.

“This is such a historic moment,” she said. “I was just looking around and thinking how nothing like this has ever happened. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in front of the Eiffel Tower, in the sunshine and just be acknowledged with my teammates.” Read more here.

• Alexa Knierim has waited more than 900 days to receive the Olympics gold medal she won in 2022. Here’s why.

‘I wanted more’: Chicago’s Joe Rau loses Olympic consolation match in Greco-Roman wrestling

Chicago’s Joe Rau lost his Greco-Roman consolation match Wednesday, ending his Olympic tournament and leaving the wrestler struggling to regain perspective.

Rau, 33, twice missed making the Olympic team and had retired before launching an unlikely comeback bid about a year ago. When he made the U.S. team in the spring, he told the Tribune that being an Olympian would be victory enough.

After losing to Kyrgyzstan’s Uzur Dzhuzupbekov in a close match, he said he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I wanted more, you know,” an emotional Rau said after the match. “I wanted to become Olympic champion or medalist. I wanted to give USA Greco and my family and friends something to really be proud of. The competitor in me — this is never going to be good enough. You know, I’m never going to be good enough.” Read more here.

• Chicago-area wrestlers Kamal Bey and Joe Rau lose their 1st Olympic matches
• ‘It still doesn’t feel real.’ Chicago wrestler Joe Rau’s improbable journey leads him to the Olympics — at age 33.

Aurora’s Lauren Carlini — the last player cut from the 2020 team — is battling back from an injury to live her volleyball dream

When the U.S. women’s volleyball team beat Poland in straight sets Tuesday, setter Lauren Carlini threw her arms into the air and ran onto the court, celebrating far more than just advancing to the semifinals.

Nearly 72 hours earlier, the Aurora native’s entire Olympics was in jeopardy because of a back injury that left her unable to bend over or move easily. Carlini had waited so long and worked so hard to be here, but she knew there was only one thing she could do: She had to be honest about her injury with the coaching staff, even if it meant an abrupt end to her Paris Games.

“The only thing that mattered was what was best for the team,” Carlini said. “I asked myself, ‘Can I go out there and help the team?’ After (that first match), I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do my job.” Read more here.

• Italy beats defending champion US for gold in women’s volleyball at Paris Olympics

Orland Park’s Evita Griskenas commuted between Chicago and New York for 3 years to reach the Olympics

As U.S. rhythmic gymnast Evita Griskenas finished her final routine at the 2024 Olympics on Thursday, her emotions rushed to the surface.

The gratitude. The relief. The pride. The exhaustion.

It has been a difficult journey for the 23-year-old Orland Park resident, the only American competing in rhythmic gymnastics at these Games. In the past year alone, she has nursed a broken foot, earned an Ivy League degree and become a two-time Olympian.

“It means I’m living in an answered prayer,” Griskenas said through tears after the competition. “Many answered prayers.” Read more here.

Wheaton natives Thomas Jaeschke and Jeff Jendryk win ‘incredible’ bronze with the US men’s volleyball team

Wheaton natives Thomas Jaeschke and Jeff Jendryk are bringing home Olympic medals after the U.S. men’s volleyball team won its third-place match over Italy on Friday.

Jaeschke, 30, was the youngest member of the squad that won the bronze medal in Rio in 2016.  Jendryk, 28, made his Olympics debut in Paris on the veteran-heavy squad after being among the last to be cut from the team before the Tokyo Games.

With Friday’s win, the U.S. men’s team has now claimed six Olympic medals since 1984. Read more here.

‘I knew I was different’: Wrestling phenom Kennedy Blades of Chicago is ready to step onto the Olympic mat

While still in grade school, Kennedy Blades walked into the Martinez Fox Valley Elite Wrestling Club and immediately started drilling with the boys.

Veteran youth coach Jose Martinez liked what he saw in Blades and her younger sister, Korina. The two had been taking Brazilian jiujitsu lessons since preschool and had begun wrestling in recent years.

They were a coach’s dream: Disciplined students, quick learners and attentive listeners. Korina was the more technically skilled of the pair, despite being 10 months younger. But skinny, scrappy Kennedy didn’t back down from anything.

More than a dozen years later, that approach has taken Blades all the way to Paris. Read more here.

• Chicago wrestler Kennedy Blades brings home a silver medal in her Olympic debut

Chicago’s Shamier Little strikes gold in the 4×400 relay — the last race on the track of the Paris Olympics

Chicago’s Shamier Little has ended these Summer Games just like she started them: with an Olympic medal and a record-setting run.

Little won gold Saturday with the U.S. women’s 4×400 relay team, which crossed the finish line in 3 minutes, 15.27 seconds to break a North American record. The Americans’ time was just 0.1 seconds off the world and Olympic record set by the Soviet Union in 1988.

The women cut such a punishing pace that the second-place Dutch team finished 4.23 seconds behind.

After the win, Little became emotional as she took a victory lap with teammates Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes. She will leave Paris with a gold and silver medal, as well as a world and North American record. Read more here.

Iconic venues will be Paris’ Olympic legacy — and one Los Angeles will find difficult to surpass in 2028

As Paris says au revoir to the 2024 Summer Games, it leaves a legacy of some of the most iconic venues in modern Olympic history.

From fencing in the Grand Palais to cycling along the Champs-Elysees, it incorporated the city’s grandeur as well as any host city ever has and created a standard that the 2028 Games in Los Angeles will find difficult to surpass.

As expected, the crown jewel — both among the city’s landmarks and the venues — has been the Eiffel Tower, which provided dramatic backdrops for beach volleyball, race walking, road races and the marathon. With the Olympic rings mounted between its first and second floors, it has become the enduring symbol of the Paris Games. Read more here.

Team USA and Illinois Olympians bid adieu to Paris Games

The 2024 Olympic Games came to a close, ending more than a fortnight of memorable performances and stunning accomplishments.

The United States finished atop the medal table, winning 40 gold medals and 126 medals overall. China won 40 gold medals as well, but claimed far fewer silver or bronze spots.

Illinois athletes made a solid contribution to Team USA’s medal count, with half of the state’s three dozen athletes bringing home medals. That total doesn’t include the historic medal ceremony in which the 2022 U.S. figure skating team members — including Addison native Alexa Knierim — finally received the gold they’d won at the Beijing Games.

It marked one of the state’s best performances in years, with athletes winning medals in basketball, gymnastics, rowing, rugby, soccer, swimming, track, volleyball and wrestling. Read more here.

• US wins total medal count at the Paris Olympics with 126: 40 gold, 42 silver and 44 bronze