Olympics
Local mettle: A look at the Athens Olympics by way of Washington

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Washington rowers helped the United States win gold in the men's eight and silver in the women's eight. Matt Deakin rowed as the No. 5 seat for the men, and Anna Mickelson, Lianne Nelson and Mary Whipple helped the women.

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How Olympians with ties to the state of Washington fared in Athens:

Lance Bade, 33, Vancouver. In his third trip to the Olympics, Bade was eighth in qualifying, then moved up to fifth in the trap shooting final. He scored 143 out of 150 in the final.

Chris Belz, 29, a University of Washington grad representing Switzerland, finished 12th in his 5,000-meter qualifying race in 13:29.59. He did not advance to the final.

Sue Bird, 23, Seattle Storm, won a gold medal as a reserve guard on the women's basketball team. She averaged 2.9 points in seven games. She played the final few seconds of the gold-medal game, making sure to get the ball at the end to Dawn Staley, who carried the U.S. flag in the opening ceremony.

Sarah Blakeslee, 19, Vancouver, finished 20th overall in the three-position small bore rifle, with a 571 total — shooting 197 prone, 185 standing and 189 kneeling. She did not advance.

Sandy Brondello , 35, formerly with Seattle Storm, took the year off from the WNBA to play for Australia's national team. Despite limited play as a backup, she left Athens with a silver.

David Calder, 26, Seattle, rowed for Canada in the men's pairs, finishing second in his qualifying heat in 6:56.23, but the team was disqualified.

Yung-Chi Chen, a third baseman with the Everett AquaSox, played third base for Taiwan, which finished 3-4 and did not advance to the medal round.

Kathy Colin, 30, a 1997 University of Washington graduate now living in Hawaii, paired with Lauren Spalding to finish seventh in the women's kayak sprint pairs semifinal over 500 meters, in 1:46.786. She was also in the K-4 that finished fourth in the semifinal, again over 500 meters, in 1:35.869.

Matt Deakin, 24, a 2003 University of Washington graduate, was a gold-medal winner in rowing as the No. 5 seat on the men's eight. They clocked 5:42.48 in beating the Dutch crew by 1.27 seconds.

Gail Devers, 37, born in Seattle and now living in California, was seventh in the second round of the 100 meters in 11.22 seconds and did not advance. With an injured left calf, she ran into the first hurdle in the qualifying race of the 100-meter hurdles, which kept her out of the final as well as the short relay. It was her fourth Olympics, but she vowed her career was not over.

Jennifer Devine, 35, Seattle, was third in the women's single sculls "B" final for a ninth-place finish overall. Devine held the No. 3 spot the entire way down the course, clocking a 7:33.69.

J. Sloan DuRoss, 27, formerly of Pocock Rowing in Seattle, was part of the men's quadruple sculls crew that finished fifth in the "B" final and 11th overall. The crew clocked a 6:07.83.

Anson Henry, 25, a former All-American runner at Washington State in 2002, ran on the second leg on the 400-meter relay team for Canada, which finished seventh in the first round and did not advance.

Morgan Hicks, 22, Roy, finished 12th overall in women's three-position small bore rifle with a 557 total — shooting 197 in prone, 189 standing and 191 kneeling in qualifying. She did not advance to the final.

Aretha Hill, 27, a graduate of the University of Washington and Renton High School now living in Alaska, failed to qualify for the final in the women's discus. She only had two legal throws — 173 feet, 8 inches and 193-0 — to place 18th overall.

	STUART HANNAGAN / GETTY IMAGES Storm forward Lauren Jackson was the top scorer in the basketball tournament, and she, former Storm Sandy Brondello and Australia earned silver.

Tiombe Hurd, 30, a Seattle native now living in Virginia, was 13th in her qualifying group in the triple jump and did not advance to the final. Her best mark was 45-8.

Lauren Jackson, 23, Seattle Storm, playing for her native Australia, was the tournament's leading overall scorer with a 22.9 average to help the Aussies to a silver in women's basketball. It was her second Olympics and her second silver medal, as the Aussies placed second to the United States in both Sydney and Athens.

Nate Johnson, 27, Seattle, paired with Jordan Malloch, also of Seattle, to place eighth in the men's 1,000-meter canoe sprint doubles semifinal in 3:46.04, but did not advance to final. The pair also finished eighth in the same event over 500 meters, with a semifinal time of 1:46.424, but did not advance.

Sarah Jones, 30, Stanwood, paired with Kate MacKenzie, of Michigan, to finish third in women's rowing pairs "B" final, finishing ninth overall, in 7:13.71.

Seth Kelsey, 22, Brush Prairie, lost to Ukrainian Dmitriy Karuchenko, 25-14, in epee team fencing. The United States finished sixth overall. In individual epee, Kelsey was upset in the round of 32 in by Russia's Igor Tourchine, 15-11.

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Breast stroke specialist Tara Kirk of Bremerton won a silver in the 400-meter medley relay.

Dana Kirk, 20, Bremerton, was ninth in a 200 butterfly semifinal in 2:10.69. She did not reach the final. She'll continue to swim collegiately at Stanford.

Tara Kirk, 22, Bremerton, won a silver in the women's 400 medley relay. Kirk swam a leg in the qualifying race, so was eligible to receive a medal. In the 100-meter breaststroke final, she finished sixth, in 1:07.59.

Bernard Lagat, 29, who was an All-American at Washington State, captured the silver for Kenya in 1,500 meters in 3:34.30. He took bronze at Sydney.

Walker Loseno, 22, a midfielder who attends Gonzaga, played for the Greek women's soccer team, which did not win in pool play. Loseno is a Kentridge High graduate whose great-grandparents were from Greece.

Jordan Malloch, 23, Seattle and a 2003 UW graduate, paired with Nate Johnson, also of Seattle, to place eighth in the men's 1,000-meter canoe sprint doubles semifinal in 3:46.04, but did not advance to final. The pair also finished eighth in the same event over 500 meters, with a semifinal time of 1:46.424, but did not advance to final.

Brett McClure, 23, Mill Creek, was part of the U.S. men's gymnastics team that won the silver medal. McClure contributed with a 9.65 in the pommel horse and a

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Brett McClure of Mill Creek finished ninth in the all-around gymnastics event and earned a silver medal with the United States in the team

9.412 in high bar. In the men's all-around, he finished ninth, with the following scores: 9.412 in floor, 9.712 in pommel horse, 9.162 in rings, 9.625 in vault, 9.725 in parallel bars, and 9.612 in high bar, for a total of 57.248.

Anna Mickelson, 24, a 2002 UW graduate who lives in Bellevue, won a silver medal rowing in the No. 5 seat with the women's eight. A four-time national team member, she helped UW win national titles in 2001 and 2002.

Aaron Myette, 26, who pitched for Washington in 1996 and now for Class AAA in the Cincinnati organization, pitched for Canada in the Olympics. Canada lost 11-2 to Japan in the bronze-medal game.

Sue Nattrass, 53, Seattle, a pioneer for women trap-shooters around the world, finished 15th in women's double trap qualifying and did not advance to the final. She hit 88 of 120 possible targets, and was representing Canada in her fifth Olympics. She finished sixth in trap shooting, hitting 76 of 100 total targets.

Lianne Nelson, 32, who graduated from Lakeside High School, won a silver medal while rowing as the stroke in the women's eight. She is a seven-time national team member and helped Princeton to three straight NCAA varsity eight titles (1993-95). She was named USRowing's female athlete of the year in 1998.

Nathan O'Brien, 21, Bellevue, was eighth in the men's 200 backstroke semifinal, failing to advance to the final. Representing Canada, O'Brien was clocked at 2:00.13.

Vladimir Radmanovic , 23, the Sonics' 6-foot-10 forward, played for Serbia-Montenegro, which finished last in Group A. Radmanovic averaged 10.6 points per game. An 85-62 victory over Angola gave Serbia-Montenegro 11th place.

Jennie Reed, 26, Kirkland, who also attended UW and Issaquah High School, placed 10th in women's sprint cycling. Reed was second in the 9-12 finals.

Jarred Rome, 27, Marysville, was 14th in discus qualifying and failed to advance to the finals. His best throw was 201-11.

Greg Ruckman, 30, Camano Island, paired with Steve Tucker, of Mooresville, Ind., in the lightweight double sculls. They won the "B" final, finishing seventh overall. They were timed in 6:45.20 in the final.

Jennifer Spediacci, 26, MVP of the 2000 Washington team, played for Italy softball team, and was its ace. But Italy finished 1-6 in round robin and did not advance to the medal round.

Sean Spencer, 29, former UW pitcher who began his major-league career with the Mariners, was one of 22 players from Canada or the United States that represented Greece in the Olympics. Greece finished Olympic play with a 1-6 record.

Jenny Topping, a former UW player, won a gold medal with the U.S. softball team. In the tournament, she hit .667, with four hits in six at-bats, including a triple. A catcher, she played at UW for two years before transferring to Cal State-Fullerton.

	DEAN RUTZ / DEAN RUTZ Amy Tryon of Duvall and Poggio II picked up a bronze in three-day eventing after a scoring change.

Amy Tryon, 34, Duvall, and her horse, Poggio II, a horse she purchased through a Seattle Times classified ad, were part of the three-day eventing team that won a bronze equestrian medal. The United States was awarded the medal three days after the competition ended, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that first-place Germany should receive a time penalty that moved them into the fourth position. Tryon, who is a firefighter with Eastside Fire and Rescue, placed sixth overall.

Ian Waltz, 27, a Washington State grad who was a seven-time All-American with three Pac-10 titles, was 22nd in discus qualifying with a best throw of 193-5. He did not advance to the final. He'll now attend WSU pharmacy school.

Mary Whipple, 24, who helped the University of Washington to three NCAA rowing titles (the eights in 2001 and 2002, and the fours in 1999), won a silver medal as the coxswain on the U.S. women's eight. Whipple's next stop is expected to be back in Seattle, to help coach UW rowing.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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