Summer Olympics under way in Paris. These famous medalists have ties to Modesto area
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games began Friday in Paris.
Every four years, athletes from the territories of 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team come together to compete at the Olympic Games. The Summer Games alternate every two years with the Winter Games.
This tradition honors the ancient origins of the Olympic Games, which were held every four years in Olympia.
This year, the Summer Games will run until Aug. 11.
Over the years, several athletes from the greater Modesto area have participated in the Olympic Games in various sports, including swimming, baseball, golf, basketball and rifle shooting.
Here’s who they are:
Erika Connolly
Olympic swimmer Erika Connolly, formerly known as Erika Brown, will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She was 22 when she first competed in the Olympic Games in the summer of 2020, winning a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, The Modesto Bee reported in 2021.
Connolly spent her freshman year at Ripon High School before moving to North Carolina.
In North Carolina, she won two state high school titles and was a member of the University of Tennessee swim team.
Joe Ryan
Professional baseball player and former Olympian Joe Ryan has ties to the Modesto area.
Ryan competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as one of the pitchers on Team USA.
Ryan hails from San Anselmo in Marin County and spent his senior season in 2018 at Stanislaus State University in Turlock, The Bee reported in 2021.
He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and played with their Triple-A club in Durham, North Carolina.
Ryan has since been traded to the Minnesota Twins, according to the Major League Baseball website.
Gabe Nnamdi Vincent
Gabe Nnamdi Vincent, who also competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, is a Modesto native.
From third grade through the end of middle school, Vincent played for a well-known local youth basketball organization, Modesto Slam-N-Jam, The Bee reported in 2023.
He participated in local youth leagues with one of his older brothers before they played together for one season at Modesto Christian, where Vincent was a freshman on the varsity team.
After his freshman year, Gabriel Vincent transferred to St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, where he played his final three high school seasons.
During the 2020 Olympics, Vincent played for the Nigerian basketball team. His father is from that country.
Jerry Weinstein
Jerry Weinstein, who managed the Modesto Nuts from 2007 to 2011, served as a bench coach for Team USA’s baseball team during the 2020 Olympics.
He also previously worked on the Olympic staffs for the 1992 and 1996 games.
Weinstein spent 23 years at Sacramento City College, where his teams went 831-208, scoring a national championship in 1998, The Bee reported in 2021.
Weinstein’s minor league career includes stops with teams affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sagen Maddalena
Olympian Sagen Maddalena will compete in shooting for Team USA during the 2024 Summer Olympics. In total, more than 100 Olympic athletes from California are headed to Paris to compete.
She first competed in the 2020 Olympics, according to the Team USA website.
Maddalena was born in Woodland and grew up on a ranch just east of Groveland in Tuolumne County, The Bee reported in 2021.
She began shooting at 13 at the Mother Lode Gun Club near Jamestown.
Maddalena earned her high school degree primarily online through the Keyes to Learning Charter School in Stanislaus County. She then attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where she earned a degree in natural resources management.
Which other Olympic athletes have ties to Central Valley?
Here are six other Olympic athletes who once called the Central Valley home, according to previous reporting from The Bee:
- Wilbur “Moose” Thompson, an Olympic champion in 1948 for shot put, is a Modesto High graduate.
- Erin Cafaro, a two-time Olympic gold medalist rower, is a Modesto native.
- Cy Young, who won the gold medal in javelin at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, was born in Modesto.
- Tisha Venturini-Hoch, an Olympic champion in 1996 for soccer, is a Modesto native.
- Suzy Powell-Roos was born in Modesto. She competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games in discus.
- Ali Cox, a Turlock native, won a silver medal in rowing at the 2004 Olympic Games.
- Mark Spitz, born in Modesto, is one of the greatest swimmers of all time. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games.
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
