London Calling
Area athletes who dream of Olympic gold and others who have already found it

More than 200 athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Games have a California connection. They either live in the state now or were born here. See the list here. You can also follow many of them on Twitter.
Insight Interviews with and News Stories About Local Olympians

Haley and Alyssa Anderson Discuss Their Medal Winning Performances
Wednesday, August 15, 2012Alyssa Anderson brought home gold for the women's 4 x 200 freestyle relay while sister Haley won silver in the Women's Open Water swim. Both talked with Beth Ruyak about their amazing Olympics experiences.

Summing Up The Summer Games in Their Own Words
Friday, August 10, 2012Listen back to this collection of highlights from Beth Ruyak's interviews with local Olympians.

Local Swim Coach Recaps Weltz's London Games
Tuesday, August 07, 2012San Jose's Scott Weltz surprised the swimming world at the US Olympic Trials by winning the 200m breast stroke. He competed in London and finished fifth. His personal coach Pete Motekaitis, whom he met at UC Davis, talks about Weltz's experience.

Reno's Jake Dalton in London: "We Learned A Lot About Ourselves"
Monday, August 06, 2012U.S. men's gymnastics team member Jake Dalton took 5th in the men's floor exercise final on Sunday, capping off an impressive Olympic debut. The day after that performance, the Reno native talked with Beth Ruyak about his experience in London.

Past Olympian With Sacramento Ties Remembers Games
Friday, August 03, 2012Lindsay Davenport played for the Sacramento Capitals for several seasons, but is now playing for the Orange County Breakers in the World Team Tennis league. She talked about her Olympic memories before a recent match here in Sacramento.

U.S. Rowing Team Wins Gold in Women's Eight
Thursday, August 02, 2012Congrats to U.S. Women's Rowing for grabbing gold on Thursday in Women's Eight! (They also won in Beijing.) Coxswain Mary Whipple, a Sacramento native, talks about what it takes to be a great rowing team in this video produced by the New York Times.

Olympics Update
Wednesday, August 01, 2012As the 2012 London Olympic Games continue to unfold, we check in with Mike Sayers about British cyclist Bradley Wiggins winning an Olympic gold medal and the Tour de France.

Memories of Mexico City with 3-Time Gold Medalist Debbie Meyer
Tuesday, July 31, 2012Debbie Meyer became the first swimmer to win three individual gold medals in one Olympics at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City. At the time she was a 16-year old student at Rio Americano High School in Sacramento.

How a Local Computer Programmer Helped Change The Way Gymnastics is Scored
Monday, July 30, 2012In the early 1990's, Sacramento computer programmer Scott Slater, whose daughter was competing in gymnastics, applied his skills to the gym's scoring system. Within a few years he and the owners of Technique Gymnastics developed the ProScore system.

Nevada Family Sees Hard Work Pay Off With Trip to London
Monday, July 30, 2012As we watch the Olympics, we sometimes forget the athletes who have made it to the pinnacle of sport often didn’t get there alone. We have the story of one family who put everything into their child’s dream.

Summer's Olympics: Remembering Barcelona
Thursday, July 26, 2012At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, a 19-year-old from Roseville became the most decorated US swimmer of those games. Summer Sanders won four medals: two golds, a silver and a bronze. Now she’s in London reporting on the games for Yahoo Sports.

Former UC Davis Star Scott Weltz Will Swim For Team USA
Tuesday, July 17, 2012UC Davis swimmer Scott Weltz pulled off an upset during the US Olympic swimming trials in the 200 meter breaststroke, beating out favorites Brendan Hansen and Eric Shanteau. Weltz is now preparing for a trip to the London games.

Beijing Silver Medalist James Williams Looks for More in London
Monday, July 16, 2012Sacramento fencer James Williams went to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as a substitute and returned with the silver medal. This summer in London he looks to increase his medal count.

Sacramento's Inspirational Olympian Jeff Float
Thursday, July 12, 2012Sacramento swimmer Jeff Float recalls the relay race that earned him and his American teammates Olympic gold in 1984.

Native American Olympian Billy Mills On His Legacy
Wednesday, July 11, 2012His 10,000 meter race for the Olympic gold medal in 1964 has been called "the greatest race of the 20th century" by Running Times. Billy Mills joins us to talk about the legacy of his race as the 2012 Olympics near.

2008 Gold Medalist Gabe Gardner an Alternate for London Games
Monday, July 09, 2012After Gabe Gardner won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he retired from the US Men’s Volleyball Team. Fast forward to 2012 and the Carmichael resident is now a team alternate, just one step removed from competing at the London Games.

Swimmer Kevin Ferguson Returns Home After Great Experience at Olympic Trials
Monday, July 02, 2012We spoke with Rio Americano High grad Kevin Ferguson about his quest to make this year's USA Olympic Team. He talks with Insight's Beth Ruyak about his experience competing in the Trials and what his plans are now.

West Sacramento Runner Kim Conley Will Compete in London
Monday, July 02, 2012Kim Conley has qualified for the USA Olympic Team after a dramatic finish in the 5000m race. We've been checking in with Kim throughout the Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Rowing Team Coxswain Mary Whipple Headed For Third Olympics
Monday, July 02, 2012Sacramento born Mary Whipple is headed to her third Summer Games as the coxswain for the USA women's rowing team. Whipple won a gold medal in 2008 and a silver in 2004.

U.S. Men’s Cycling Coach Provides Olympics Preview
Thursday, June 28, 2012Long-time Sacramento-area professional cyclist Mike Sayers, who shifted his career from racing to coaching, will direct the US Olympic Men's Cycling Team at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Kim Conley Update: Qualified for Finals on Thursday
Tue, Jun 26, 2012
West Sacramento runner Kim Conley has qualified for the finals of the US Track and Field Olympic team.
Galt's Stephanie Brown Trafton Looking To Repeat
Tue, Jun 26, 2012
Stephanie Brown Trafton thrilled Northern Californians and fans everywhere by winning the Olympic Gold Medal in Women's Discus Throw in 2008.
Rio Americano Grad Swimming for Spot on US Team
Mon, Jun 25, 2012
Sacramento swimmer Kevin Ferguson found his water legs as a child at Arden Hills and continued on to swim competitively as a member of the Rio Americano High School team.
West Sacramento Runner Kim Conley at Trials in Oregon
Thu, Jun 21, 2012
Runner Kim Conley is hoping to qualify for a spot on the US Olympic Team to compete in the Women's 5000 meters.
Olympic Gold Medalist and Sacramento-area Resident Ruthie Bolton
Thu, Jun 07, 2012
Sacramento's Hall of Famer, Olympic Gold Medalist and Monarchs star Ruthie Bolton has released her biography The Ride of a Lifetime.
From NPR News

The Torch Is Out: Olympic Moments Will Burn On
From the London Games' opening ceremony through 302 medal events, these Summer Olympics have fed fans a rich diet of history and spectacle. I can only wish that I'd been able to eat it all — but part of the allure of the Olympics is that there's no way to watch everything.
London 2012 Games Set A Viewership Record, At 219.4 Million
The London Summer Games have now become the most-watched television event in U.S. history, with a total of 219.4 viewers over 17 days of coverage. Those high ratings push London 2012 past Beijing 2008, which held the previous record of 215 million viewers.

Gabby Douglas Gets One More Gold, For Winning Facebook Fans
They've been called the first "Social Games" — and the London Summer Olympics have made social stars out of athletes like gymnast Gabrielle Douglas, who saw her Facebook fanbase grow by nearly 4,000 percent.

Winners And Losers From London's Summer Olympics, 'The Crying Games'
The London 2012 Olympics were billed as the Social Games, with fans following along on Twitter, Facebook and other services. But it might be remembered as "The Crying Games," for the swelling of emotions many Britons experienced. We run down some of the winners and losers of the Summer Olympics.

Olympics Closing Ceremony: Both Well-Received And Anger-Inducing
The London 2012 Olympics are officially over, but people are still buzzing about Sunday's closing ceremony. It included many of the highlights of British culture and history that weren't in London's opening ceremony. And in America, some viewers are angry about what was left out of the U.S. feed.

London Games Bid Spectacular Farewell
The surviving members of the rock band Queen, The Who and the Spice Girls were on the schedule to entertain millions watching around the world.

At Olympics' End, USA Finishes First In Medal Race
U.S. glory was spread wide across the games, including in places where the country had little success in past games. In the end, it collected 104 total medals, 46 of them gold.

'No One-Hit Wonder': Team USA Beats Spain For Gold In Men's Basketball
It was a one-point game headed into the fourth quarter. It took all of the USA all-stars to put it away.

Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich Wins Men's Marathon
American Ryan Hall dropped out of the race before the half-way mark. The gold for Kiprotich was the first for Uganda in track and field.

Michael Phelps Exits The Olympics, And Enters Retirement At 27
Michael Phelps leaves London with 18 gold medals and a record 22 total medals. He says that his plans for life after the Olympics include visiting some of the cities he's competed in — but outside the bubble of swim meets, for a change.


