John Staton|Wilmington StarNews
With the 2022 OlympicWinter Games beginning this week inBeijing, it's a good time to remember a few Olympians who once called, or who still call,Wilmington home.
From BMX standouts to a gold medal winning boxer and multiple gold medal winning basketball star (you can probably guess who), here are athletes from years past who've competed in the Olympic Games with ties to the Port City.
Perris Benegas
Wilmington ties: Lives in Wilmington.
Olympic experience: Competed in BMX Freestyle at the 2020 Olympic Summer Games, which were held inTokyoin2021.
Benegas, who lives in Wilmington and trains with BMX legend Ryan Nyquist at his local compound, finished fourth in BMX Freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, just shyof a bronze medal. Last yearwas the first time BMX Freestyle was an Olympicevent.
In 2018, Benegas, a native of Reno, Nevada,won a gold medal in BMX freestyleat the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Chengdu, China,
She oftenposts to social media from her Port City home base. Last year, Benegas came out as gay in a heartfeltpost on her Instagram page, prompting an outpouring of support from her fans and the BMX community.
Michael Jordan
Wilmington ties: Grew up in Wilmington,1981 graduate of Laney High School.
Olympic experience: Won gold medals as part of the U.S. men's basketball teamin 1984 and 1992.
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Wilmington's most famous Olympian —Wilmington's most famous everything, if we're being honest— Jordanwas part of the 1992 "Dream Team," the first time professional basketball players were allowed to compete in the Olympics. It's arguably the greatest team ever assembled in any sport.
Unlike most Olympians, Jordan's gold medals are, if not exactly a footnote, far from his topaccomplishments. He won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, along with five most valuable player awards and 10 scoring titles.
He's currently the majority owner and chairman of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Wilmington ties: Born in Wilmington on May 17,1956.
Olympic ties: Gold medal in boxing (light welterweight) atthe 1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal.
Even though he was only in Wilmington for a short time, the Port City still claims boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard as one of our own.
In a 2018 piece for the Wall Street Journal, Leonard talked about moving from Wilmington with his family to Washington, D.C., when he was 3. It was in D.C.that he got involved in boxing as a teenager.
Leonard wrote in the WSJ that he planned to retire and attend collegeafter winning his gold medal in 1976, but when his father fell ill he turned pro to help with medical bills. (His father made a full recovery and lived into his 90s.)
Leonard would go on to amass a 36-3-1 record as a professional over a 20-year career. He won title belts in thewelterweight, junior middleweight, middleweight,super middleweight, and light heavyweight divisions, becomingthe first boxer to win titles in five different weight classes.
Ryan Nyquist
Wilmington ties: Lives in Wilmington.
Olympic experience: BMX freestyle coach for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Although not technically a competitor in the Olympics, Nyquist, 42, coachedHannah Roberts andWilmington's Perris Benegas in the high-flying BMX freestyle events at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Roberts took silver, andBenegas finished fourth.
BMX star in the Port City: Ryan Nyquist makes his home in Wilmington
Nyquist, who moved to Wilmington in 2018,is considered to be one of the best BMX freestyle riders of all time.He didn't have the chance to compete in the Olympics during the peak of his career, as BMX freestyling didn't officially become an Olympic sport untillast year.
Nyquist did, however,win 16 medalsat The X Games during his career, including four golds.
Bobby Sanguinetti
Wilmington ties: Lives in Wilmington.
Olympic ties: Played for the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Teamat the2018 Winter Gamesin Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Related reading: Team USA hockey player calls Port City home
Hockey isn't a sport that's traditionally been huge in Wilmington, but that's OK. Even if Wilmington hasn't fully adopted hockey — aside from some true believers at the Wilmington Ice House —Sanguenetti has adopted Wilmington.
A New Jersey native,Sanguenetti played for four seasons in the NHL:two for the New York Rangers and two for the Carolina Hurricanes. In 2018, he was a defenseman for Team USA's men's ice hockey team, which finished seventhat the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Sanguenetti, who retired from hockey in 2021, is now director of business development and sales at Pier 55 Media, a digital marketing company,in Wilmington.
Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.
