Summer Games

In this photo, taken just after the 1984 Summer Olympics, Joan Benoit Samuelson’s marathon gold medal victory is being celebrated on Congress Street.

August 5th marked the opening of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
Maine has a fairly long line of Olympic competitors and Olympic champions, however many of us who live here don’t often think of Mainers as Summer competitors. One of the earliest Maine Olympians of note was Robert Legendre. Born in 1898 in Lewiston, Legendre competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games and the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. His sport was track and field competing in the pentathlon and long jump, winning a Bronze medal in Paris.

Robert LeGendre in 1919. Image is in the Public Domain.

The 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles was a great year for Maine champions. Bill Swift of Portland played for the US baseball team who won Silver that year. Bill went on to have a storied career in baseball playing for the Seattle Mariners, the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies as pitcher. Joan Benoit Samuelson of Cape Elizabeth won Gold in the Women’s Marathon that year. She went on to write two books on running, Running Tide and Joan Samuelson’s Running for Women, both of which are in Portland Public Library’s collection. Joan is also the founder of the Beach to Beacon, an elite 10 kilometer road race which starts at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Headlight in Fort Williams Park.

That same year, Jeff Turner of Bangor competed that year with the US Basketball team, bringing home Gold for the country. Turner was a power forward and center, playing professionally for the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic after the Games completed.

More recently, Mainers have been competing in the Summer Games in more aquatic competitions. In Crocker of Portland started his championship career at the 2000 Summer games in Sydney, winning Gold with his teammates in the 400 meter medley. Crocker competed in the 2004 Athens games winning a Bronze medal in the 400 meter freestyle relay, a Silver in the 100 meter butterfly and another Gold as part the 400 meter medley relay team, which broke world records that Summer. Crocker returned to the Olympic pools in 2008 and won Gold again with the 400 meter medley relay.

Anna Goodale of Camden competed in the 2008 Games with the US Women’s Rowing team. She sat alongside Elle Logan of Portland winning the Gold in the women’s 8. Logan returned to Olympic waters in the 2012 London Games, winning Gold again sans Goodale. Elle Logan is looking for Gold again in this year’s Games.

For more information on this Summer’s schedule and when to watch for Logan, click here.