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Sports

Top 10 Summer Olympians From Connecticut

With the Olympic Games approaching, Patch ranks the best all-time summer Olympians from the state.

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10. THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS: Cameron and Tyler are well-known for taking Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, to court for allegedly stealing their ideas for the social network. However, the longtime Greenwich residents built a name for themselves in the sport of rowing. They trained at the Saugatuck Rowing Club and competed at Harvard University before earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. In the Beijing Games, Cameron and Tyler participated in the men's coxless pair rowing event, finishing sixth overall.

9. JAMES BLAKE: The Fairfield High School graduate and professional tennis player was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and competed in men's singles during the Beijing Games. Blake, winner of 10 titles during his career and ranked fourth in the world during his impressive run, beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, 6-4, 7-6. Federer was ranked number one in the world at the time. Blake went on to the bronze medal match where he lost to Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 4-6, 6-7.

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8. CHARLES NAGY: The former UConn and star, made the 1988 U.S. Olympic baseball team that competed in the Seoul, South Korea games. It was a demonstration sport at the time, but and Team USA sure made it seem like the real thing. They torched the competition on their way to winning the gold medal. Nagy made two appearances and earned a save before embarking on a solid career with the Cleveland Indians. He's currently the pitching coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

7. MARIE CORRIDON: Corridon, who was raised in Norwalk, won a gold medal as an 18-year-old in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Earlier that year, she became the first woman to break the one minute barrier in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 59.9. Corridon swam the first leg of the woman's 400-yard freestyle relay and helped the United States set a new world record with a time of 4:29:20.

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6. CHARLES SMITH: In the last Olympics before NBA stars were allowed to compete, Smith, a former high school star at Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport, helped the U.S. win a bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. The former Big East Player of the Year and All-American at the University of Pittsburgh went on to enjoy a solid NBA career.

5. JANEL JORGENSEN: After her junior year at , Jorgensen, then just 17-years old, made the 1988 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Seoul, South Korea. Swimming the butterfly leg of the 400-meter medley relay team, Jorgensen helped the U.S win the silver medal in the event. She also placed fifth in the 100-meter butterfly race. Jorgensen went on to become an All-American at Stanford University and is currently the executive director of Swim Across America, a foundation that raises money for cancer research through swimming events.

4. BUTCH JOHNSON: Considered one the best archers in the world, Johnson has been to the Summer Olympic Games five times. The Woodstock resident won a gold medal in the 1996 Games in Atlanta and a bronze medal in the 2000 Games in Australia. He's currently bidding to make the U.S. Olympic team for a sixth time.

3. KRISTINE LILLY: One of the most decorated players in the history of women's soccer, the former phenom competed in the Olympic Games on three occasions. , an All-American at UNC, won gold medals in 1996 and 2004 and earned a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Games. She missed the 2008 Olympics because of the birth of her child. With 352 caps, Lilly is the most capped player, male or female, in the history of the sport.

2. BILL TOOMEY: After barely missing out on making the U.S. Olympic team in 1964, the former star earned the title of "World's Greatest Athlete" four years later. In the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, had a record-setting first day in the decathlon and went on to become the ninth American to win the event.

1. BRUCE JENNER: The graduate went to Graceland College in Iowa to play football, but an injury forced him to quit. He took up the decathlon and went on to become one of the most famous U.S. Olympians ever. took the gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, setting a then world record of 8,618 points.

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