Congrats to all the Michigan Olympians
Feb 28, 2010 | Leave a comment
Tonight after someone mentioned all of the guys named Ryan (six of them total) on the USA Olympic hockey team it reminded me of when the team was announced and I was impressed that there were five guys on the roster that were born in Michigan.
So it inspired me tonight to do some research on all the Olympians with Michigan connections. There are a lot of them! It’s great to see so many from Michigan and who have came to Michigan to train, thanks in part to the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette. We’re fortunate to see some of the best speedskaters come to Marquette to train, many others like Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski have come through Marquette to train.
Congratulations to all the Michigan Olympians who participated at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and pretty cool to see so many with medals around their neck.
If you know of some others that aren’t on this list please leave a comment and I’ll add them.
Born in Michigan
| Name | Medal | Home | Sport | Bio |
| Nick Baumgartner | Iron River, MI | Snowboard cross | Yooper, attended school at NMU where he played football | |
| Mickie Rzepka | Novi, MI | Bobsleigh | Pole vaulted on Michigan State’s track and field team 2002-04 | |
| Ryan Miller |  |
East Lansing, MI | Hockey | Played hockey at Michigan State 1999-2002 |
| Tim Thomas | |
Davison, MI | Hockey | Played hockey at University of Vermont 1993-97 |
| Tim Gleason | |
Clawson, MI | Hockey | Played for the Ontario Hockey League starting at age 16 |
| Brian Rafalski | |
Dearborn, MI | Hockey | Played for University of Wisconsin hockey team where he was the WCHA defenseman of the year in 1995 |
| Ryan Kesler | |
Livonia, MI | Hockey | Played for Detroit Honeybaked in 1999 then played for the Under 18 U.S. National Team |
| Charlie White | |
Bloomfield Hills, MI | Figure skating | Graduated from Roeper School and attends the University of Michigan |
| Meryl Davis | |
West Bloomfield, MI | Figure skating | Graduated from Wylie Groves High School and attends the University of Michigan |
| Evan Bates | Ann Arbor, MI | Figure skating | Graduated from Huron High School and attends the University of Michigan | |
| Emily Samuelson | Novi, MI | Figure skating | Graduated from Novi High School and attends the University of Michigan |
Northern Michigan University Connections
| Name | Medal | Home | Sport | Bio |
| Allison Baver |  |
Reading, PA | Speedskating | Attended NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Kimberly Derrick | |
Blytheville, AR | Speedskating | Attended NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Katherine Reutter | |
Champagne, IL | Speedskating | Attended NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Ryan Bedford | Yuma, AZ | Speedskating | Attended NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette | |
| Shani Davis |  |
Chicago, IL | Speedskating | Attended NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Travis Jayner | |
USA | Speedskating | Attended United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Simon Cho | |
VA, USA | Speedskating | Attended Marquette Senior High, NMU and United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette |
| Caitlin Compton | NY, USA | Cross country skiing | Former All-American nordic skiier at NMU |
Michigan Tech University connections
| Name | Medal | Home | Sport | Bio |
| Jarkko Ruutu | |
Vantaa, FIN | Hockey | Played hockey for Michigan Tech 1995-96 |
Michigan State University connections
| Name | Medal | Home | Sport | Bio |
| Duncan Keith | |
Winnipeg, CAN | Hockey | Played hockey at Michigan State 2001-03 |
University of Michigan connections
| Name | Medal | Home | Sport | Bio |
| Jack Johnson | |
Indianapolis, IN | Hockey | Played hockey at Michigan 2005-07 |
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Feb 28, 2010
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Good job in compiling this info Yooper Steez! Thanks for taking the time to acknowledge these great Olympic athletes!
Mar 1, 2010
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Mark Grimmette, luger from Muskegon: http://bit.ly/dmZcta
Mar 1, 2010
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Look at all those medals!!! Michigan does good with raising kids to be top sports competitors!!
Mar 1, 2010
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I was very proud of all the Michigan Olympians. Having broken my arm and being home from work I was happily able to watch everything day after day. One question burned in my brain: why are the Michigan Olympiads NOT wearing Yooper Steez shirts, at least at the parties????? God knows they had enough clothing changes
Yooper Steez
Admin
Mar 1, 2010
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I’m working on it Kay! I agree they should be wearing some Yooper Steez shirts. Maybe I should conveniently break my arm for the next Winter Olympics.
Hope you are healing fast, thanks for the comment.
Mar 3, 2010
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I just wanted to add Jilleanne Rookard from Woodhaven, MI. She may not have gotten a medal but was still an amazing sight to see!!
Event: Speed Skating Long Track
•2010 Olympic Winter Games
- 4th place in Ladies Team Pursuit with a time of 3:05.30
- 12th place in the Women’s 3000m with a time of 4:13.05
- 24th place in the Women’s 1500m with a time of 2:01.95
Nov 3, 2011
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Weldon Olson, Marquette, All American hockey player at Michigan State U., late ’50′s. Played on Gold Medal winning U.S. hockey team in 1960.
Feb 1, 2012
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U.P. Athletes Participation in hockey in the Winter Olympics started with Taffy Abel from the Soo. He carried the U.S. flag for the U.S. contingent in that Olympics and won a Silver Medal. I was next with a Silver Medal in 1956 and Rod Paavola from Hancok and I were next on the 1960 U.S. team that won the first Gold Medal for the U.S. Since then there have been a number of players with Olympic participation.