New York connections are rampant in the 2016 Rio Games. Ties run deep on Team USA, from native New Yorkers to those who train in the ctiy. Here is a list of who will be in action this weekend.
Maria Michta-Coffey, who has a Ph.D. from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai on the Upper East Side, and Miranda Melville, a member of the New York Athletic Club, will compete in the 20-kilometer race walk on Friday.
Yue “Jennifer” Wu, who coached at the Wang Chen Table Tennis Club on the Upper West Side for two years, will participate in Round 1 of the women’s table tennis team event Friday afternoon.
KK Clark, Kami Craig, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Courtney Mathewson, Melissa Seidemann, Maggie Steffens and Ashleigh Johnson — all of whom train at NY Athletic Club — and the defending gold medal-winning women’s water polo team will face Hungary in group play Saturday morning.
Phyllis Francis, a Laurelton, Queens native, will be running the 400-meter in Round 1 on Saturday morning.
Jesse Thielke, who trains at NY Athletic Club, will be wrestling in the 130-pound (59 kg) Greco-Roman eliminations Sunday morning.
Tina Charles and Sue Bird, alumnae of Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, Queens, and the women’s basketball team will take on Canada on Friday and China in group play Sunday morning.
Carmelo Anthony, a Red Hook native, and the men’s basketball team will take on Serbia in group play on Friday night and France in group play Sunday afternoon.
