The Tokyo Olympics closed Sunday as they began — in an empty stadium with masked athletes celebrating an event many of them feared would never happen.
Built amid uncertainty and sorrow, the Games will be remembered for its many pandemic-era protocols. Its legacy, however, will be so much more than that for the people who competed here.
For the more than 60 athletes with Illinois ties, these Olympics will be the one where they set personal records, fell short of their own expectations, made their debut, suffered a controversial disqualification, won a medal after beating cancer, fought for their sport’s survival, missed their families, advocated for mental health issues, helped a teammate achieve a dream and had historic gold medals hung around their necks.
Here are their stories, in pictures and words.
Illinois athletes head to Tokyo for an unusual Olympics — but without their parents or support teams: ‘This is their moment too’
Every morning for the past year, David Kendziera’s mother sent him a text message with an inspirational quote as he trained for an Olympics postponed by the pandemic.
Maureen Kendziera never missed a day, never repeated a message. They were on this delayed road to Tokyo together. Until suddenly they weren’t.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Olympics Q&A: What was the travel process like from Chicago to Tokyo? And … what does aloe-flavored yogurt taste like?
To entertain themselves during a mandatory three-day quarantine upon arriving in Japan, Tribune photojournalist Brian Cassella and reporter Stacy St. Clair asked their social media followers to send them questions about the Olympics, Tokyo or anything else on their minds.
Allotted only an occasional 15 minutes of freedom to run across the street to a minimart and buy food, they’ve had plenty of time to answer.
>>> Click here to read the full story
What do the Olympics sound like without fans? You can hear cicadas buzzing outside Tokyo Stadium. Welcome to the Quiet Games.
Roughly 30 minutes into Mexico’s first Olympic match, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa made a diving save to keep the game tied against France.
It was the kind of save that, in previous Summer Games, would have made the crowd roar in appreciation of a big moment on a big stage. Songs would be sung, chants would echo throughout the 48,000-seat arena.
But at this Olympics? You could still hear the cicadas buzzing outside Tokyo Stadium.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Olympics begin with a somber opening ceremony in an empty Tokyo stadium, reflecting the reality of the pandemic
Here’s what you should know about Arisa Tsubata, the woman who ran on a treadmill at the beginning of the Olympic opening ceremony.
She is a nurse who worked at a Tokyo hospital throughout the pandemic. She is also a boxing champion who was on track to make the Japanese team when COVID-19 hit and organizers postponed the Games. When the delay forced her sport to change its qualifying criteria, her dreams of making the team ended.
Tsubata has had a difficult year. So it seemed only fitting that she would be the breakout star of the most somber opening ceremony in recent history.
Tsubata’s personal story, like the opening ceremony, reflected the melancholy that threatens to envelop these Olympics. It’s a sadness specific to these Games and to the world as a whole, with neither easy to rectify.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Alie Rusher of Glenview becomes the 3rd Olympian in her family as the Tokyo rowing competition begins
Glenview’s Alie Rusher became the third member of her family to compete in the Olympics when the U.S. women’s quadruple sculls team finished fifth in its preliminary heat.
“I am really excited to join them, but I definitely don’t want the race that we had to be my legacy,” Rusher said. “I’m excited to start at the bottom and have the whole rest of the regatta open to us. Nowhere to go but up.”
Rusher, who rowed for Stanford, is the third Olympic rower in her family. Her father, John, was part of the men’s four crew that claimed bronze at the 1988 Games in Seoul, while her mother, Cynthia Eckert, won silver with the women’s four in 1992 in Barcelona.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Olivia Smoliga of Glenview helps the US reach the final of the 400-meter freestyle relay — then wins a bronze medal in an unexpected way
This is not what Olivia Smoliga expected to be doing here.
After helping the United States secure a spot in the women’s 400-meter freestyle relay final, the Glenview native was not selected for the medal race, bringing an abrupt end to her Olympic competition. She was replaced by teammate Simone Manuel for the medal race.
The United States won the bronze, finishing behind Australia — which set a world record by finishing in 3 minutes, 29.69 seconds — and Canada, which edged the U.S. for the silver. Smoliga received a medal because of her participation in the qualifying rounds but did not join her teammates on the podium, in keeping with Olympic custom.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Stefanie Dolson? Who? At the Olympics, she’s known as ‘Big Mama Stef’ on the 3×3 basketball court for Team USA.
The Chicago Sky’s Stefanie Dolson is having quite an Olympics so far.
More Top Picks Legend Spirit Montblanc For Men
Not that you ever hear her name.
Around these parts, Dolson is referred to almost exclusively as “Big Mama Stef,” a college nickname that has been enthusiastically embraced by the stadium announcers at the 3×3 women’s basketball tournament. He then proceeded to use her nickname more than a dozen times during the 10-minute competition.
“A biiiiiiiiig rebound by Big Mama Stef, he said early in the game.
“Big Mama Stef doing what she does at the post,” he shouted after she scored a point.
>>> Click here to read the full story
A tropical storm — perhaps a typhoon — is expected to make landfall at the Olympics. Because of course.
A tropical storm was expected to make landfall early on Japan’s main island, likely bringing heavy rain, extreme winds and high waves to Tokyo.
Because of course.
In a postponed Summer Games taking place against the public wishes and without any fans, athletes are responding to the forecast with a shrug. After the past 16 months, few things can surprise them.
>>> Click here to read the full story
‘He’s in that peak place right now’: How triathlete Kevin McDowell of Geneva found his swagger again — and took home silver at the Olympics
A week ago, Geneva native Kevin McDowell had never finished higher than 11th at a world championship. Now he’s a silver medalist at the Olympics.
“He’s in one of those moments as an athlete that you train for, but you don’t always know if you’re going to get there,” said John Farra, USA Triathlon’s high performance general manager. “He’s in that peak place right now where he’s got a swagger and he’s having fun.”
The American team of Katie Zaferes, Taylor Knibb and Morgan Pearson won silver in the relay’s Olympic debut. In doing so, McDowell and Pearson became the first U.S. men to win an Olympic medal in a triathlon event. The U.S. women have three medals since the sport debuted in 2000, including the bronze Zaferes won Tuesday.
The relay medal came just five days after McDowell, 28, finished sixth in the men’s individual event, the best-ever finish by an American male. The unexpected result gave him confidence heading into the relay, which takes place on a shortened course and favors athletes like McDowell who have solid transitions and strong technical skills.
“I was riding high and it gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “But, really, everyone believing in me helped instill that belief in myself. I haven’t been the most confident individual in some ways.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
Eliza Stone of Hyde Park vows to keep fencing after a tough Olympics — and difficult attempts to train during the pandemic: ‘It was a very, very long road to get here’
Nothing has been easy for Chicago’s Eliza Stone in the past year — including these Olympics.
The Hyde Park native lost in an early round of the women’s individual sabre competition, then finished sixth in the women’s team event.
But after spending the last nine years working toward qualifying for the Games and finding a way to train during the pandemic, she quickly put the disappointing placements into perspective.
“The fact that I made the Olympics is wonderful,” she said. “Obviously, I wish I could have done more, but that doesn’t change every single thing I did along the way.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
Will softball ever get back on the Olympics roster? ‘We’ve shown that, globally, it’s a competitive sport.’ Now it’s up to the IOC.
The Japanese softball team won its second Olympic gold medal, toppling a favored American squad in a fairy-tale finish for the host country.
Except no one — not the winner, nor the losers — wants the story to end there.
Softball made a one-off appearance at these Games, a discretionary pick by a baseball-loving host country. It won’t be on the program at the 2024 Games in Paris, where breakdancing will make its debut as an Olympic (maybe, kinda) sport.
This is why instead of seeing the top three teams celebrating their medals, the world watched them begging the International Olympic Committee for their game’s survival.
>>> Click here to read the full story
The US women’s volleyball team hasn’t won Olympic gold in 57 years. Bartlett’s Kelsey Robinson is out to change that.
The memory, when Kelsey Robinson thinks about it, still stings.
Predicted to win gold at the 2016 Games, the U.S. women’s volleyball team suffered a stunning loss to Serbia in the semifinals and ended up settling for bronze. It marked the 11th time the American women had tried — and failed — to become Olympic champions.
“I was heartbroken, as anybody would be when it’s right in your hands and you watch it slip away,” said Robinson, who grew up in suburban Bartlett. “Of course there are days when you think about it, but it’s been five years and it’s in the past. But it does fuel me to want to do more.”
Many have picked the Americans to end their 57-year-quest for an Olympic gold. No other country has won more Olympic medals — three silver and two bronze — in women’s volleyball without winning a gold.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Wilmette’s Maggie Shea sails into Olympic competition with her childhood friend. Here’s how the Midwesterners balance their working — and personal — relationship.
Wilmette native Maggie Shea had been telling herself this was just another sailing race in a lifetime of sailing races. Then she saw her boat.
Per tradition, the skiff was rebranded with the Olympic logo and “USA” along the side. The gennaker sail, which typically bears a sponsor’s logo, was now emblazoned with a 270-square-foot American flag.
Shea put her arm around her teammate, Stephanie Roble, and took in the moment. Friends since they were teenagers on the Midwestern racing circuit, the duo marveled at what they had achieved as a team.
“We’ve been sailing together for so long and to have done it together and have that moment was really cool,” said Roble, who lives in East Troy, Wisc.
>>> Click here to read the full story and here to see they fared
Coaching in quarantine: How Erin Virtue — a former Illini standout — handled USA volleyball’s 1st Olympic match from Tokyo’s COVID jail
As the U.S. women’s volleyball team took the court for its first match earlier this week, offensive coordinator Erin Virtue fired up her laptop in a hotel several miles away and began one of the most unusual — but quintessentially pandemic-era — coaching jobs in Olympic history.
Ordered into quarantine because someone on her flight to Tokyo tested positive, Virtue — a St. Charles native and former University of Illinois standout — was barred from competitions and training sessions for several days at the start of the Games. She improvised by watching two spotty livestreams during the opening match and sharing her insights via a walkie-talkie app with a team analyst in Ariake Arena.
The analyst, who was sitting in the stands, then radioed her thoughts to the coaching staff on the bench. The communication was seamless, Virtue said, just not the Olympic experience she had imagined.
“In a selfish way, I was sad to miss the match. I wanted to be there,” she said of the American women’s thumping of Argentina in the opening round. “What gave me comfort was knowing that our team was really well-prepared.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
Eastern Illinois grad Lauren Doyle gets the US women’s rugby team to the quarterfinals — but they come up short in a 21-12 loss to Great Britain
Anchored by Eastern Illinois graduate Lauren Doyle, the U.S. women’s rugby team lost in the quarterfinals and have been eliminated from medal contention.
The U.S. women rallied late in the match, but ultimately lost 21-12 to Great Britain. The squad, which will begin consolation bracket play, can finish no higher than fifth place.
The loss came hours after the team — referred to as the Eagles Seven in the Rugby world — upset top-seeded Australia in pool play. The squad went undefeated in their first three preliminary matches, beating Japan and China as well.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Lake Villa’s Felicia Stancil narrowly misses an Olympic medal in BMX racing after her training partner’s terrifying crash
Lake Villa’s Felicia Stancil finished fourth in the women’s BMX race, narrowly missing a medal following her training partner’s terrifying crash.
“It’s a bit little mixed emotions,” Stancil said after the race. “I definitely wanted to win a medal for my country, but this is my first Olympics and I guess it’s just going to fuel the fire more.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
Nefeli Papadakis’ Olympic journey was one of two cities: Tokyo, where her judo match was, and Gurnee, where her family gathered to watch her compete
About an hour before her first Olympic fight, Nefeli Papadakis jogged alone around the Nippon Budokan, the revered arena where all of judo’s biggest names have competed.
She has traveled by herself to other competitions. In fact, she goes to most international tournaments without her family. It costs too much money to bring her parents and brother along, even if her father has been her coach for her entire life.
This time, however, is different.
Barred from going to Tokyo for the Olympics, the Papadakis family decided to bring the Olympics to Gurnee.
>>> Click here to read the full story
More Top Picks Best Oneplus Phones
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wins gold in the 100-meter hurdles after the sister of Bears linebacker Robert Quinn set an Olympic record in the semifinals
Puerto Rican hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who cheers for the Chicago Bears because her brother is outside linebacker Robert Quinn, will take home a gold medal and an Olympic record after winning the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Crossing the finish line in 12.37 seconds, Camacho-Quinn stared at the results in seeming disbelief, repeatedly saying, “I did it. I did it.” World record holder Kendra Harrison of the United States took silver, while Jamaica’s Megan Tapper won bronze.
“I am really happy right now,” a tearful Camacho-Quinn said after the race. “Anything is possible. Everybody out here trained really hard for this moment. I think honestly all of us, we all should be rewarded for this. We made it.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
After his Olympic wrestling dream ended, Oak Park’s Ellis Coleman is in Tokyo to help someone else’s: ‘It’s difficult. But this is bigger than just me.’
Ellis Coleman’s back aches constantly these days.
The Oak Park wrestler tries to manage the pain with a combination of ibuprofen, lidocaine patches and physical therapy. But mostly, he copes by telling himself to hang in there for a few more days and then he can take time to heal.
This is what you do for an Olympic dream — even when that dream belongs to someone else.
Coleman, who grew up in Oak Park, came to Tokyo as an alternate on the U.S. wrestling team. Unlike the standbys in other sports, he does not sit in a hotel room waiting for someone to twist an ankle or test positive for COVID-19. He trains — as many as three times a day — with Alejandro Sancho, the man who beat him at the U.S. Olympic trials in April.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Sandi Morris’ equipment — and Olympic dreams — are shattered on a rainy night in Tokyo for the Downers Grove-born pole vaulter
American pole vaulter Sandi Morris’ quest for a second Olympic medal ended on a rain-soaked runway after her pole broke and her hip flexor hyperextended.
Morris, who was born in Downers Grove, made three more attempts despite the injury, but she barely made it off the ground and ended up writhing on the mat in obvious pain each time. After faltering on her third and final try, a tearful Morris hugged her fellow competitors and walked off the field with a medical team.
>>> Click here to read the full story
The US women’s volleyball team is into the semifinals. And if they win that elusive gold, it will be because of a ‘strong’ Illini bond.
The first time Jordyn Poulter met Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, she never could have imagined they would end up on the same Olympic team. She was far too star-struck for such daydreams.
A 12-year-old at a University of Illinois volleyball camp, Poulter idolized Bartsch-Hackley, who had helped lead the Illini to the Sweet 16 for three consecutive years before finishing as NCAA runner-up in 2011.
“I just thought she was so cool,” said Poulter, now 24. “She had all these Nike shorts. I remember telling my dad that we needed to go to Dick’s or Sports Authority so I could get some cool shorts like her.”
More than a decade later, Poulter and Bartsch-Hackley are teammates on a U.S. women’s volleyball team favored to medal at these Games.
>>> Click here to read the full story
The entire US rhythmic gymnastic team trains in a park district building in suburban Deerfield. On Friday in Tokyo, they’ll make Olympic history.
At 4 years old, Evita Griskenas begged her mother to take her to gymnastics and then pouted when she got her wish. With one look at the balance beam, Griskenas knew this is not where she wanted to be.
“This is the wrong gymnastics,” she said, refusing to participate. “There is no ribbon!”
Sixteen years later, Griskenas’ preschool demands have her on the cusp of U.S. Olympic history. When her preliminary round begins, it will be the first time since rhythmic gymnastics’ debut in 1984 that the United States has qualified a full team — two individuals and a group — for the Summer Games.
>>> Click here to read the full story
Zach Ziemek falls short of a decathlon medal in the sweltering Tokyo heat, but the Itasca native leaves the Olympics feeling ‘very proud’
Decathlete Zach Ziemek missed the medal stand, finishing sixth after setting two personal-best marks during the 10-event competition.
“I had a couple of awesome events and a couple of events that were alright,” Ziemek, an Itasca native, said. “But I was grinding the entire time, trying to give everything I had and I’m very proud of that.”
Long described as a competition to determine the world’s greatest male athlete, the two-day contest took place amid the sweltering temperatures that have troubled competitors throughout the Games. During the pole vault competition, which took place midday under a burning sun and cloudless sky, the heat index surpassed 108 degrees.
>>> Click here to read the full story
These Olympics’ legacy will be one of an overdue conversation on athletes’ mental health. ‘We’re not robots, we’re not superheroes,’ triple jumper Tori Franklin said.
After failing to qualify for the triple jump final, Tori Franklin returned to the athletes village, crawled into her cardboard bed and stayed there for the next 24 hours.
The Downers Grove South graduate refused to eat or drink anything except for a stale slice of vanilla cake her cousin gave her six days earlier when Franklin left for the Olympics. She watched a mediocre rom-com on Netflix to pass the time, then turned it off and simply stared at the hair on her arms.
“I was still so heartbroken,” she said. “I just didn’t want to feed myself. I wasn’t drinking any water. I didn’t want to see anyone and have to look them in the eye… I wanted to be able to process my emotions instead of pretending everything was OK. And I wanted to do it in my own space.”
Rather than hide her post-competition struggles, Franklin, 28, shared them publicly in a powerful essay upon returning from Japan. In doing so, she became one of many Olympians forcing an overdue conversation about mental health.
>>> Click here to read the full story
The US rhythmic gymnastics team competition started with a cover of ‘It’s My Life’ and will end with ‘a lot of tears’ at the Tokyo airport. It’s now or never.
The U.S. rhythmic gymnastics team sat in a Deerfield gym last fall, listening to song snippet after song snippet as they tried to select music for their Olympic competition.
After years of performing to classical and world pieces, their Russian-born coach Margarita Mamzina agreed to let the women use American pop for one of their two routines in Tokyo. The team had wanted this for so long, but they struggled to find anything that would work.
Then someone played Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” Instantly, they knew they had found their song.
>>> Click here to read the full story
A former White Sox prospect just made Olympic history. Here’s what Eddy Alvarez, Edwin Jackson and Todd Frazier had to say after US baseball won silver.
Former Chicago White Sox prospect Eddy Alvarez made history Saturday, becoming the third U.S. athlete to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Games.
Alvarez cried after winning the semifinal game that assured him a medal of some color. He was less emotional Saturday following the U.S. team’s 2-0 loss to Japan.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’re so close to winning and you fall short,” he said. “It’s one of those things that will hit me eventually how blessed I am to be a part of this.”
>>> Click here to read the full story
US women’s volleyball wins its 1st-ever Olympic gold medal — thanks to a ‘special connection’ in Illini alums Jordyn Poulter and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley
Before every competition for the past five years, the U.S. women’s volleyball team has formed a gratitude circle in which each player states her motivation for the day.
Setter Jordyn Poulter joined the circle ahead of Sunday’s goal medal match and offered thanks for her teammates. The youngest member on the squad, Poulter — a former University of Illinois standout — was simply grateful for the chance to make history with the athletes she had grown up idolizing.
“I have watched all these people their entire careers in different phases and at different levels,” she said, tears filling her eyes at the memory. “Just to be able to stand beside them and go to battle with them to do something that we’ve never done … that’s what I’m so grateful for.”
The U.S. women’s team won its first-ever Olympic gold medal by defeating longtime rival Brazil in three straight sets at Ariake Arena. The victory, in no small part, was due to stellar play by Poulter and fellow U. of I. alum Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, who was credited with 14 points.