9 Minnesota Connections To The Rio Olympics

Minnesota was well-represented at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. And when you look at how local athletes or those playing for Minnesota-based teams finished, there was a little bit of everything.

There were gold medals, emotional celebration and even a little controversy. There were just as many great stories about comebacks after athletic careers were seemingly given up for good.

Here are nine Minnesota connections to the Olympics.

Gwen Jorgensen Wins Triathlon

Gwen Jorgensen was one of the great stories of the Rio Olympics. She had struggled in the triathlon in years past and almost gave it up entirely. She decided to give it one more shot this year, and the St. Paul resident had an experience she'll never forget. In the process, she made history. Jorgensen became the first American in Olympic history to win gold in the event. She was overcome by emotion crossing the finish line, and why wouldn't you be knowing her story.

Hassan Mead 5,000 Meters Drama

Hassan Mead was a cross country and track distance star at Minneapolis South High School. He went onto be a star runner at the University of Minnesota. He was in the 5,000 meter run at the Olympics, and ran into a bit of drama just to get into the final. He was in third place in a semifinal run with about 250 meters to go when another runner got into his way, he fell and dropped back to 13th place. Mead appealed the decision, lost the appeal and then had that decision reversed.

Rightfully so. He would've qualified for the finals without the mishap. He ran 5,000 meter finals in 13:09.81, good for 11th place.

Alise Post Gets Silver in BMX

St. Cloud native Alise Post was determined to have a better showing in this Olympics after she crashed and didn't make the London finals in 2012. This year, she missed out on a gold medal by a little more than .03 seconds with a finals time of 34.43 seconds. She brought home some hardware with the silver medal. The silver medal comes after taking third in the BMX World Championships.

Lynx Players, Coach Win Gold

Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and coach Cheryl Reeve were all smiles on Saturday as Team USA handled Spain 101-72 to win Olympic gold. It's not that far removed from the four winning their third WNBA title in five years with the Lynx. It's something they'll always remember and it's even more special for Whalen, a Hutchinson native. The five arrived to a large welcoming party Monday night at the airport.

Ricky Rubio, Spain Win Bronze

Ricky Rubio will likely still be the point guard when the Minnesota Timberwolves open the regular season in a few months (anything can happen). For now, Olympic bronze will have to do. Rubio and Spain edged Australia 89-88 to win the bronze medal after Spain lost to Team USA in the semifinals. While he didn't play his best statistically, he'll lead a backcourt for the Timberwolves and a team that has big hopes and expectations for the season ahead. He's hoping it will result in at least a taste of the NBA Playoffs.

Kelly Catlin (Arden Hills, Cycling)

Arden Hills native Kelly Catlin was part of the team pursuit in cycling for Team USA. She made the most of her experience as her squad took the silver medal with a finals time of 4:12.45, nearly two full seconds faster than their qualifying time. She graduated from Mounds View High School in 2014 and was encouraged her own parents to skip college and focus on cycling.

Garrett Bender (Minneapolis, Rugby)

Garrett Bender is a Minneapolis native who graduated from Washburn High School in 2010 and went to St. Cloud State University. He was originally recruited to play football for the Huskies, but switched to rugby after leading his high school squad to a state title. He signed a contract to play rugby for Team USA in 2012. The Americans went 2-2 in rugby pool play at the Rio Olympics before beating Spain 24-12 for ninth place.

David Plummer (University of Minnesota, Swimming)

Minneapolis native and University of Minnesota swimmer David Plummer had quite the experience at the Olympics. It's a story he can tell the boys swim team he coaches at Wayzata High School. Plummer got to the finals of the 100-meter backstroke and claimed the bronze medal with a time of 52.40 seconds. He got third by just three one-hundredths of a second. Not bad for his first Olympics at 30 years old.

Ben Blankenship (Stillwater, Distance Running)

Stillwater native Ben Blankenship was a star distance runner in high school, winning the 1,600 meter stat state title in both 2006 and 2007. Blankenship stepped away from running due to injuries, but got his inspiration back after going to London to watch the 2012 Olympics. He qualified for Rio in the 1,500 meter run, took fourth in the semifinals and finished eighth in the finals race with a time of 3:51.09.

Not bad for a state where it's allegedly winter for seven months out of the year.