Don't be surprised if you see some familiar town names on the screen while watching the Summer Olympics: several people from our little corner of the world will be heading to Rio de Janeiro to represent the United States.
Phillip Dutton, riding Fernhill Cubalawn, and Boyd Martin, riding Blackfoot Mystery, are members of the Olympic eventing team. It's the sixth Olympic Games for Phillip (his third riding for the United States) and the second for Boyd. Both are native Australians but now live in the Unionville area.
Cierra Runge of Cochranville is on the swimming team; her event is the 400-meter freestyle relay. Cierra's name and the record-setting times she set during her early days of Y competition are on the wall of honor at the Jennersville YMCA.
Midfielder Katelyn Falgowski of Landenberg will play on the field hockey team. A graduate of St. Mark's High School in Wilmington and the University of North Carolina, this is her third Olympic Games.
Para-equestrian dressage rider Margaret "Gigi" Macintosh, who rides out of Blue Hill Farm in Newlin Township, will be participating at the Paralympic Games with her mare, Rio Rio. Her teammate para-rider Becca Hart (a former barista at the Kennett Starbucks) also trained out of Blue Hill Farm until she recently moved to Florida.
Wheelchair athlete Amanda McGrory of Kennett Square is heading to Rio as part of the 2016 U.S. Paralympics track and field team.
Long-time Tilda reader Laura suggests that I also mention several foreign riders who train locally and are short-listed for their country's teams: Ryan Wood (Australia) and Waylon Roberts (Canada) train at True Prospect Farm; Ronald Zabala has qualified for the Ecuadorean team; and Nilson Moreira da Silva has a chance to represent Brazil on Muggle, a horse owned by Melissa Stubenburg.
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