Top Ten Chicago Athletes in Beijing

There are a few dozen Illinois natives in the large group of Americans competing in the Beijing Olympics this month. Below are arguably the ten best.

10. Brittany Riley- Hammer Throw
Riley is a current World record holder in the weight throw, which is described as an indoor version of the hammer. This is very impressive considering she is only 21. She may not be an impact at these games, look for her a future medalist.

9. Christine Manguson- Swimming
Not much cool information in any of her bios, but I did watch the former Tinley Park resident qualify for the second round of the 100 butterfly on Saturday. That's more than I'll ever do. Enough said, put her on the list.

8. Christina Loukas- Diving
Diving is absolutely foreign to me. But Wrigleyville, bars and the Cubs are not. In her bio they go into great depths explaining how her family owns Wrigleyville rooftops. So by default, she is on the list. It also says something about her winning Olympic Trials but I was too infatuated with the whole Cubs theme to really read on. Our nightlife expert Freddy will have a full in-depth story by Friday.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1297/bio/index.html

7. Matt Grevers- Swimming
A former Lake Forest resident, Grevers has a legitimate shot at two medals in Beijing. While he probably will not overtake fellow American Aaron Peirsol, silver is not out of reach. He is also on the 4x100 freestyle relay team with Michael Phelps. Being the typical American I am who instantly becomes an expert on anything Olympics, anything Phelps enters he wins. Therefore Grevers will be a winner also.

6. Cappie Pondexter- Women’s Basketball
OK, I am not going to lie, I did not know who Cappie was until I saw the WNBA commercial where I was told that according to Alisha Keys, she was a “Super Woman.” I probably should read up on WNBA (I won’t) because she truly is one of the current greats. The former Marshall Commando won a state title in 1998 and was the first two-year Miss Basketball in 2000 and ’01. She also won a WNBA MVP. I feel ignorant.

5. Brian McBride- Men’s Soccer
The Arlington Heights native came out of international retirement to play in will now his last National Team appearance. His goal against Japan was the sole tally of the game and was a huge push to get the US into the second round.

4. Tom Hoff- Men’s Volleyball
Hoff captains a much-improved men’s volleyball squad. While the team may be on the outside-looking-in when it comes to earning a medal, the three-time Olympian’s leadership could prove otherwise.

3. Brad Guzan- Men’s Soccer
Guzan hopes to lead the men’s team to just their second second-round appearance in over 50 years of Olympic soccer. The U-23 starting goalie has looked impressive thus far, blanking Japan 1-0 and settling for a 2-2 draw against the Dutch. Behind Tim Howard, Guzan is maybe the U.S.’s best goalie. The Providence Catholic grad is a former classmate of our very own Ricky O’Donnell also.

2. Candace Parker- Women’s Basketball
While the women’s international has not quite caught up to what the men’s game is, (not at all actually) the Naperville Central grad is probably the best female baller in the World right now, and could arguably go down as the greatest of all-time.

1. Dwyane Wade- Men’s Basketball
The obvious choice for top spot on the list, D-Wade is expected to be the top player off the bench for the “Redeem Team.” An impressive win against a surprisingly decent China team was a good way to start off the games.