UPDATE: Aly Raisman has won a gold medal as part of the U.S. women’s gymnastic team competition. Congrats, Aly!
It may be a long time until Boston ever gets an Olympics, but Boston athletes are still repping the Bay State with pride.
Medal Count: No medals (yet!), one gold medal two hilarious parents and one Judo gold hopeful.
18-year-old Needham-native Aly Raisman doesn’t just have embarrassing parents, she has embarrassing parents on international TV. On Sunday, the team captain came in first amongst her teammates, knocking favored competitor and best friend, Jordyn Wieber from the all-around individual final competition. Shortly after, a video of Raisman’s parents twitching awkwardly while watching her routine went viral.
Boston Lobsters World Team Tennis’ John Isner has reached the third round in the Men’s Singles tournament, after beating Malek Jaziri of Tunisia yesterday.
She may not hail from Boston, but we’re happily adopting the fierce Kayla Harrison, who moved here six years ago after years of sex abuse at the hands of her now-imprisoned coach in her home state of Ohio. Now 22, Harrison has found recovery — and wicked skills — in judo. In fact, she could be the first American to win a gold medal in judo.
The Boston Marathon got Shalane Flanagan hooked on long distance running after watching her father run when she was a teen. Flanagan scored a bronze medal in Bejing in the 10,000 meter race and this year, hopes to snag the gold in the marathon race. Flanagan’s only run two previous marathons, before but has high hopes for the race after months of tough training.
Concord-born Olympian Karen O’Connor is no stranger to the Olympics: she’s been competing in them since 1988. At 54, the Olympian Equestrian is the oldest American athlete to compete; she won a silver in Atlanta and a bronze in Sydney. “These games mean everything to me because, more than likely, it’s my last,” O’Connor told Metro.
