Runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre, rugby player Ilona Maher and rower William Bender will represent the U.S.
By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger
Vermonters are famous for skiing and snowboarding off with Winter Olympic medals. But three athletes with Green Mountain State ties are aiming to sprint, grand slam or speed their way into Summer Games history.
Montgomery runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre, Burlington rugby player Ilona Maher and Norwich rower William Bender are part of a more than 500-athlete team set to represent the U.S. in Paris starting Friday, July 26.
Although generations of Vermonters have won gold in the Winter Olympics, only about two dozen have even competed in the Summer Games — the most recognized being the late 1912 long jumper Albert Gutterson, known for the namesake fieldhouse of his alma mater, the University of Vermont.
Purrier St. Pierre, a 29-year-old dairy farmer turned U.S. record holder for the indoor mile and two mile, is set to race the Olympics’ 1,500-meter event a year after the birth of her son.
“I feel like everything I do in my life right now is something that I really enjoy,” the two-time Olympian recently told Harper’s Bazaar. “I love being a mom, I love being a runner, and I love being a farmer.”
Purrier St. Pierre’s farming-and-wellness foundation is selling fundraising lawn signs at several northern Vermont businesses, while Montgomery’s Phineas Swann Inn and Spa is scheduled to host a “community watch party” for her event on Aug. 8, according to its Facebook page.
In rugby, Maher lettered in field hockey, basketball and softball at Burlington High School before moving to her current sport at age 17. A decade later, the 27-year-old will join the 12-woman U.S. team for a second time, with matches starting July 28.
And in rowing, Bender, a 22-year-old recent Dartmouth College graduate, will compete with schoolmate Oliver Bub in the men’s pairs event beginning July 28.
“The publicity, gear, the Olympic village, they’re all distractions,” Bender told VTDigger in advance of the Games. “The goal is to stay focused on racing.”
