By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Every four years, the pageantry and competition of the Summer Olympic Games dominates headlines for two weeks.
While the big-name sports like swimming, track and field and gymnastics tend to get a lot of attention, a pair of area athletes are participating in different sports at the games.
Payton Jacobson, a standout wrestler for Elkhorn, qualified for the United States Greco-Roman team in the 87-kilogram weight class April 20.
East Troy native Stephanie Roble, meanwhile, has already started competition in women’s sailing. She and her partner, Maggie Shea, are competing in the 49erFX class of sailing.
A first-time Olympian
Jacobson survived an exhausting trials process. As he wasn’t one of the top-seeded athletes, Jacobson had to compete in the challenge round.
There, he beat a pair of wrestlers ranked ahead of him.
In the championship final, Jacobson upended the top-ranked U.S. wrestler, Spencer Woods.
“I really thought I had a chance, 100 percent,” Jacobson said at the time. “It was just a matter of executing.
“The seed didn’t matter at all,” he added. “I wasn’t worried about that.”
Jacobson took part in the opening ceremonies July 26, but the elimination rounds for Jacobson’s weight class start at 4 a.m. Central Standard Time Wednesday, Aug. 8.
According to Jacobson’s school, Northern Michigan, the wrestler has been training overseas in Croatia, and is now training in Normandy. He competed in a world ranking event in Budapest, Hungary, but did not place.
Roble aims for medal
Roble grew up sailing on Lake Beulah, sailing scows and dinghies starting at age 5.
A graduate of Catholic Central High School in Burlington, Roble competed internationally throughout her teenage years.
After a successful junior career, she attended Old Dominion University and was a two-time All-American. She was also one of the few women competing as a skipper in the open division.
After graduating in 2011, Roble focused on several different classes of sailing before settling in the 49erFX class with teammate Maggie Shea.
The 49erFX is named for its length – 4.99 meters – and is sailed by two people. The skipper sails the boat and makes decisions, while the crew works the sails and speed of the boat.
Roble and Shea have been together in the 49erFX class since the fall of 2016. They won the Olympic trials in February of 2020 before the Tokyo Games were postponed a year because of the pandemic, and then finished 11th in 2021 at the Olympics.
Now, the two will sail in the Marseilles Marina. The final day of competition is Thursday. Roble has said in numerous media outlets that the extra experience has helped her and Shea better weather the highs and lows of a competitive event.
Editor’s note: For full updated results, go to nbcolympics.com.
