Three Minnesotans Just Made the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team
When team USA takes the field over in Japan for the 2021 Summer Olympic Games, two Minnesotans will be among the athletes wearing red, white and blue!
It's always fun to see Minnesota make the national headlines-- for something positive, that is, instead of the unrest that's put us front and center recently.😳 And having not one, but TWO Minnesotans on Team USA for this year's Summer Olympic Games in Japan certainly is positive!
And, both the latest Minnesotans set to join the U.S. on Team USA right now are gymnasts too. Which, according to this USA Today story, means that 50 percent of the Team USA Women's Gymnastics team are from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
First, 18-year-old Suni Lee of St. Paul put on an incredible show at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials on Sunday. Fox-9 TV said she finished second with an all-around score of 115.832 only behind reigning U.S. champ Simone Biles, who finished first overall with 118.098 points.
But also making the team was fellow Minnesotan Grace McCollum, who, according to the Team USA Gymnastics Team website, hails from Isanti. She just graduated from Connections Academy and has an impressive set of career highlights, including
- 2021 U.S. balance beam bronze medalist
- 2019 World team champion
- 2019 U.S. all-around bronze medalist
- 2018 World team champion
And, it's not just Minnesota women gymnasts who are on Team USA, either. Shane Wiskus, of Minneapolis, also found out Saturday night that he'll be a member of Team USA. He used to be a member of the University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team-- until corporate brass at the U cut that team in the face of revenue losses due to the pandemic.
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