Hinsdale well-represented at Olympics

By Sandy Illian Bosch

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Isabella Walls-Rodriguez returned home from the Paris Olympics with lifelong memories, a renewed enthusiasm for soccer and a voice hoarse from cheering.

Walls-Rodriguez and her family spend time with relatives in France every summer, so taking the train to Paris from their home near Bordeaux was an obvious choice for the family of sports fans. After taking in a quarterfinals soccer match near Bordeaux, Walls-Rodriguez and her family traveled to Paris in time to see France defeat Spain in the soccer final. That, Walls-Rodriguez said, is likely where she lost her voice.

"My whole family sounds like this now," she said.

"It was huge for our whole family," Walls-Rodriguez said of the opportunity to visit the Olympics and to take in the highlights of Paris.

"We took the opportunity to visit all of the touristy sights," she said, most of which were free and open to the public during the games.

Conor and Cameron Dunne had just finished their master's degrees at Lynn University in Boca Raton when their parents, Susan and J.D., surprised them with a trip to the Paris Olympics, where they watched tennis, beach volleyball, basketball and badminton.

"We were pretty lucky. We got a great overview of a lot of different sports," Cameron said. But the highlight for both former members of the Hinsdale Central swim team was the chance to see some of the best swimmers in the world earn gold medals.

They saw France's Léon Marchand win back-to-back races and watched as American Bobby Finke won a gold medal in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle.

"Getting to see him race was pretty insane," said Conor, who swam distance events in college.

That same night, the brothers saw U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky win gold.

"It was the loudest swim meet I've ever been to," Conor said, with fans from all over the world cheering Ledecky on.

Cameron said beach volleyball was surprisingly entertaining, and Burr Ridge resident Judy Toland agrees. Played at the base of the Eiffel Tower, the game gained new fans in Cameron and Toland.

"The energy is so much fun," said Toland, who traveled to the games with husband Alex and their daughter, 6-year-old Zuri.

Whether it was at track and field, soccer, swimming or basketball, Toland said she enjoyed the positive energy and mutual respect shown by athletes and fans.

"It's high-quality sportsmanship," she said, echoing an observation made by others who attended the Paris games, including Hinsdalean Patty Brand Nalepa.

Brand Nalepa said she chokes up thinking of the encouragement one swimmer received as she lagged far behind the rest in a women's swimming event.

"The whole auditorium cheered her on. They cheered just as much as they were for their own teams," she said.

Jacob Dannhausen-Brun attended the Olympics as an admirer of another water sport. A sailor himself, Dannhausen-Brun was there to watch and support the sister of a college friend, who was competing on the Romanian sailing team.

Sailing events were held in Marseille, a three-hour train ride from Paris. But following the sailing events, Dannhausen-Brun traveled to the epicenter of the Olympic Games, just to be part of it all. There, he spotted world-class athletes admiring other world-class athletes as they excelled in their own sports of choice.

"These are incredible athletes who have done incredible things," he said.

As a cyclist and tri-athlete, Dannhausen-Brun said he would like to watch those events when the games come to Los Angeles in 2028. He's not alone in his desire to repeat his Olympic experience. Brand Nalepa said she's already thinking of attending the 2028 games in LA.

"It was definitely a bucket-list item," she said - and one that she wouldn't mind experiencing again.