Here Are Five Olympic Athletes That Call The High Plains Home
Amarillo is famous for a lot of things. Music, food, cowboys, outlaws, and artists have formed the history of Amarillo in the minds of most. Since the winter Olympic games are well underway, I decided to see if Amarillo can claim an Olympians as sons and daughters. Here are five that I found that competed in front of the entire world after getting their start in Amarillo. Some of these Olympians even won the coveted gold medal in their events, proving that there is definitely something special about the people in the High Plains.
- 1
Jack Davis
Jack Davis was born in Amarillo in 1930. His athletic prowess was on full display in the hurdles events. While he made several trips to the Olympics, and was a well decorated athlete, he never won an Olympic medal.
- 2
Dick Hutton
Dick Hutton was born in Amarillo in 1923. He was an Olympic wrestler. Post Olympics, Dick would go on to work as a professional wrestler winning a championship.
- 3
Alex O'Brien
Born in 1970 in Amarillo, Alex would go on to be an Olympic tennis player. He performed in the summer games in Sydney in 2000 in the Men's Doubles category.
- 4
Riley Salmon
Riley was born in Amarillo in 1976, and went to the Olympics in 2004 and 2008 competing in the volleyball event. He would win a gold medal in Beijing in 2008.
- 5
Brandon Slay
Brandon Slay was born in Amarillo in 1975 and would go on to compete in the Olympic games held in Sydney in 2000. Brandon would win a gold medal competing in the wrestling event in the men's middleweight division.
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