A few Tokyo Olympians have Modesto-area ties. One of them is an Army sharpshooter
Several people with Modesto-area ties will take part in the Tokyo Olympics – in swimming, baseball, golf, basketball and rifle shooting.
Some of the athletes spent part of their youth in the area – swimmer Erika Brown, golfer Bryson DeChambeau and basketball player Gabe Vincent.
Jerry Weinstein, a coach for the USA baseball team, managed the Modesto Nuts for a few seasons. One of the Olympic pitchers, Joe Ryan, excelled in his one year at Stanislaus State University.
And from Groveland in Tuolumne County comes Sagen Maddalena. She qualified for an Olympic rifle event while serving in the U.S. Army.
“It’s very inspiring to see all the different athletes,” Maddalena said in a phone interview from Tokyo, where it was already Thursday morning. “Everyone is here to compete at their very best.”
The Olympics will run from Friday, July 23, through Aug. 8. COVID-19 postponed the Games for a year and will keep spectators from the venues. NBC and a few other networks will carry some of the action.
More about the local connections:
‘The mentality of the shooter’
Maddalena, 27, will compete in women’s 50-meter smallbore rifle. Each entrant takes a total of 120 shots from standing, kneeling and prone positions over 2 hours, 45 minutes. The target is six inches in diameter and roughly half a football field away.
Maddalena arrived Saturday, July 17, and got in three days of range practice before talking with The Modesto Bee. She said the sport requires “mindfulness” as well as strength and endurance. She uses yoga, breathing and other exercises to prepare.
“It’s the mentality of the shooter,” she said. “All the athletes here are at the top of their game, but it comes down to what we have on competition day.”
Maddalena’s event will start at noon Japan time on July 31, which is 16 hours ahead of Pacific time. She also is an alternate for a July 24 air rifle event in case a teammate cannot compete.
Maddalena enlisted in March 2019 and now holds the rank of specialist. She is an instructor at the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Maddalena said she would like to advance to at least sergeant first class in the Army. She has not served in a combat zone but said she’s ready if it happens.
Guns and goats at young age
Maddalena was born in Woodland and grew up on a ranch just east of Groveland. Her family has horses, and she kept her own herd of brush-clearing goats while in 4-H. She started shooting at 13 at the Mother Lode Gun Club near Jamestown.
Maddalena earned her high school degree mostly online through the Keyes to Learning Charter School in Stanislaus County.
She went on to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where she got a degree in natural resources management. Her performance on the Nanooks shooting team earned her Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018.
Maddalena took part in World Cup events in India, South Korea, Croatia and a few other nations. This is her first Olympics.
She and the 11,000-plus other athletes are staying at the Olympic Village in Tokyo. They are tested daily for COVID-19 and must wear masks when not training or competing. Despite all that, Maddalena is enjoying the experience.
“We still get to interact with athletes from all over the world,” she said. “It’s still one big village.”
Swimmer first excelled in Ripon
Erika Brown, 22, will compete in the 4x100 freestyle relay on July 24 and 100-meter freestyle on July 28.
The Modesto native competed with the Ripon Aquatic Center until age 15, then for the Pleasanton Seahawks. She spent her last two years of high school in Cornelius, North Carolina, where she won two state titles.
Brown has just finished her time at the University of Tennessee, where she twice was SEC Female Swimmer of the Year. She plans to become a real estate agent, but first up is the Olympics.
“This is the highest achievement in the sport,” Brown told the Charlotte Observer. “I’m getting to compete for a team again — and not just any team, but Team USA. And we win gold medals. That’s the goal, and that’s my mindset.”
Modesto native plays for Nigeria
Modesto native Gabe Nnamdi Vincent, a guard for the NBA’s Miami Heat, will play for Nigeria’s basketball team in Tokyo. His father, Franklyn Vincent, is from that nation.
Gabe Vincent, 25, spent his freshman year at Modesto Christian High School before transferring to St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. He went on to play at UC Santa Barbara.
Vincent went undrafted in 2018 but then signed with the Stockton developmental team for the Sacramento Kings. He later signed with the Heat and made his NBA debut in January 2020.
Nigeria will open against Australia on July 25. They and the USA are part of a 12-nation field at the Olympics.
Modesto-born golfer has risen fast
Bryson DeChambeau, 27, was born in Modesto but moved to Clovis in the third grade. He won the U.S. Open last year and has seven other victories on the PGA tour.
DeChambeau won the NCAA title in 2015 while playing for Southern Methodist University, along with the U.S. Amateur in the same year.
He reminisced about his early years in Modesto in a 2016 story in The Bee. He lived across Patton Drive from Nate Sudfeld, now a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
“He pushed me and I pushed him,” DeChambeau said. “At some level, it gave us this competitive mindset. He was my best friend.”
The first of four rounds of Olympic men’s golf will start July 29.
Stan State alum will pitch
Joe Ryan, 25, grew up in San Anselmo, Marin County, and spent his final year of college at Stanislaus State. The right-hander was 8-1 in that 2018 season, with a 1.65 ERA and a school-record 127 strikeouts against 13 walks.
Ryan was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and now plays for the Durham Bulls, a Triple-A affiliate in North Carolina.
Team USA manager Mike Scioscia raved about the pitcher to the Tampa Bay Times: “Love Joe Ryan, and I love his makeup. I love his demeanor on the mound. He’s certainly not going to be intimidated by any situation. He has a terrific arm. … Excited to give him the ball.”
Team USA will open July 30 against Israel. Six nations are in the Olympic tournament.
Third Olympics for former Nuts skipper
Jerry Weinstein, 77, will serve as bench coach for the baseball team, advising Scioscia on strategy. He also was on the staffs for the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.
Weinstein managed the Nuts from 2007 to 2011, when they were affiliated with the Colorado Rockies. He amassed a franchise-record 368 wins.
He spent 23 years at Sacramento City College, where his teams were 831-208, including a national championship in 1998. His minor league stops also include teams affiliated with the Brewers, Expos, Cubs and Dodgers.
Weinstein is the author of “The Complete Handbook of Coaching Catchers” and other writings about the position. More information is at www.weinsteinbaseball.com.
