The Paris Olympics have athletes in 32 sports chasing the thrill of victory and gold, silver and bronze medals. Three Rhode Islanders — sailor Stu McNay, of Barrington; rower Emily Kallfelz, of Jamestown; and marathoner Emily Sisson, a part-time Providence resident — are among them. So is URI women’s basketball coach Tammi Reiss, an assistant coach with the USA Women’s 3×3 basketball team.
Stu McNay
Stu McNay, a veteran of the U.S. Sailing team celebrated his 43rd birthday on Aug. 1. He is sailing in his fifth Olympics, tying a record among U.S. sailors.
On Aug. 2, McNay began a new Olympics experience: mixed crew. Olympic organizers adopted mixed crew to promote equality on the water. Gender parity is among their goals.McNay’s partner is Lara Dallman-Weiss, of Shoreview, Minnesota. She raced at Tokyo three years ago and contacted him after those Games about forming a team. They raced together last year and qualified for the Olympics in January.
McNay and Dallman-Weiss are among 330 sailors from 65 nations racing in 250 boats beginning Aug. 2 and finishing with medal races Aug. 7.
Emily Kallfelz
Emily Kallfelz, 27, has prepared for her Olympic debut for a long time, it seems.
Kallfelz and her mates finished fourth in their heat on July 28 but won their repechage — second chance — race two days later. In the final on Aug. 1, the Americans — Kallfelz, Daisy Mazzio-Manson, Kelsey Reelick and Kate Knifton — finished in fifth place.
Emily Sisson
Marathoner Emily Sisson should make a serious bid for a medal when she competes on Aug. 11.
The 32-year-old, a former star a Providence College, is in the prime of her athletic life. She finished second in 2:22:42 at the Olympic Trials in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 22, 30 seconds behind Fiona O’Keefe. She holds the North American record of 2:18:29, set in 2022 while finishing second at the Chicago Marathon.
Tammi Reiss
University of Rhode Island women’s basketball coach Tammi Reiss is also at the Olympics, serving as an assistant to head coach Jen Rizzotti for the U.S. women’s 3x3 basketball squad.
The U.S. women’s 3x3 team has had a rough Olympics so far this year, losing its first three games before finally edging France on Aug. 1.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
