From Sacramento to Rio – locals competing in Summer Olympics
Bee staff writer Joshua Mandell takes a look at the local athletes who will compete for the United States in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Basketball
DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Comment: The two-time All-Star center is Team USA’s leading rebounder. Cousins helped the Americans win the gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Preliminary round: Saturday vs. China, 3 p.m.; Monday vs. Venezuela, 3 p.m.; Wednesday vs. Australia, 3 p.m.; Aug. 12 vs. Serbia, 3 p.m.
Twitter, Instagram: @boogiecousins
Equestrian
Kasey Perry, Orangevale
Comment: Perry and her horse, Dublet, will make their Olympic debut in the dressage competition. She graduated from Sacramento State in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business entrepreneurship.
Competition begins: Aug. 10
Facebook: Kasey Perry Dressage
Twitter: @KaseyPDressage
Marathon swimming
Haley Anderson, Granite Bay
Comment: Anderson won a silver medal in the 10-kilometer marathon swim at the 2012 Olympics in London. She was a three-time NCAA champion at USC. Her sister Alyssa also swam on the 2012 Olympic team.
Competition: Aug. 15
Facebook: Haley Anderson
Twitter: @SwimHaley
Rowing
Sam Dommer, Folsom
Comment: Dommer won three consecutive Intercollegiate Rowing Association national titles with Washington’s varsity eight from 2012 to 2014. He joined the USRowing senior national team in 2014 after earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Competition begins: Aug. 10
Twitter: @samdommer
Rugby
Joanne Fa’avesi, Sacramento
Comment: Fa’avesi played rugby for Burbank High School and the Sacramento Amazons club team before joining the USA Eagles. She plays the “prop” and “hooker” positions, which put her at the front of almost every scrum.
Competition begins: Saturday vs. Fiji, 9 a.m.
Twitter: @nanafaavesi92
Soccer
Megan Rapinoe, Redding
Comment: Rapinoe played for the Elk Grove Pride of the Women’s Premier Soccer League from 2002 to 2005. She won gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and 2015 FIFA World Cup. Rapinoe recovered from a third ACL surgery to make this year’s Olympic team.
Next match: Saturday vs. France, 1 p.m.
Twitter: @mPinoe
Track and field
Kim Conley, West Sacramento
Comment: Conley’s career didn’t take off until after she graduated from UC Davis in 2009. She competed in the 5,000 meters at the 2012 Olympics and will run the 5,000 again in Rio. She trains with the NorCal Distance Project in Sacramento.
Competition begins: Aug. 16
Twitter: @KimConley
Kate Grace, Sacramento
Comment: Grace won the 800 meters in stunning fashion at the Olympic Trials, taking the lead after the two favorites tumbled on the last turn. The 2011 Yale graduate trains with the NorCal Distance Project.
Competition begins: Aug. 17
Twitter: @fastk8
Cale Simmons, Rocklin
Comment: Simmons, a 2013 Air Force Academy graduate, finished second in the pole vault at the Olympic Trials after training with the Air Force’s world class athlete program. After the Games, he will fulfill the remaining two years of his military commitment.
Competition begins: Aug. 13
YouTube: Cale Simmons
Water polo
Alex Obert, Loomis
Comment: Obert played for Pacific from 2011 to 2015, logging the most victories in the program’s history. He has represented the United States in more than a dozen international tournaments.
Competition begins: Saturday vs. Croatia, 6:20 a.m.
Twitter, Instagram: @aobert18
This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "From Sacramento to Rio – locals competing in Summer Olympics."