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Meet the Massachusetts Olympians competing for Team USA

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Meet the Massachusetts Olympians competing for Team USA


They’ll race in boats on the track and up walls. They’ll wield sticks, sabers, bows and oars and compete individually and on teams. There will be quite a few athletes with Massachusetts ties wearing red, white and blue in Friday’s Olympic Opening Ceremonies and in competition over the next two weeks in France.

To make this list, someone had to live in Massachusetts now or in the past and be competing in the 2024 Olympics. That includes going to college here and playing professional sports here.

Here’s who they are and what they’re doing:

Women’s Archery

From left archers Casey Kaufhold, Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez and Mackenzie Brown of the United States reacts during the women’s team competition against Russian Olympic Committee’s team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)AP

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Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez — In 2016, the Brockton native watched Olympic archery from the Olympics in London on TV and set her sights on getting there herself. Twelve years later she’s set for her second trip to the games.

Women’s cycling

Kristen Faulkner — Faulkner, a native of Homer, Alaska who went to Phillips Andover, was a Harvard rower but turned to cycling upon graduation. She currently works in finance when she’s not on her bike representing her country.

Men’s Fencing

Massachusetts Olympians

U.S. Eli Dershwitz celebrates after beating France’s Sebastien Patrice during the men’s team Sabre Bronze medal final at the Fencing World Championships in Milan, Italy, Friday, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)AP

Eli Dershwitz — Will three times be the charm for this Harvard alum from Sherborn to win a medal? He’ll compete in men’s saber individual and team in his third Olympics.

Colin Heathcock — This Harvard freshman, who was born in China, will compete in saber.

Mitchell Saron — This Harvard alum took up fencing after seeing “Revenge of the Sith” and fencing was the closest he could get to light saber duels, which are not yet an Olympic event.

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Filip Dolegiewicz — This Illinois native is also from Harvard and is competing in his first Olympics.

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Women’s Fencing

Elizabeth Tartakovsky — This Harvard alum from New Jersey moved from ballet dancing to fencing.

Lauren Scruggs — This Queens, New York native and current Harvard senior will compete in foil in Paris.

Women’s Field Hockey

Massachusetts Olympians

Alexandra Hammel of the United States, left, and Chile’s Manuela Urroz vie for the ball during a women’s field hockey semifinal match at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)AP

Ally Hammel — After the Americans missed the 2020 games, Team USA field hockey is back in the Olympics, partially due to the performance of Hammel, a Duxbury native and former Boston University star.

Men’s gymnastics

Massachusetts Olympians

FILE – Fred Richard performs on the rings during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. Simone Biles is bringing back her Gold Over America Tour this fall, with a twist. This time, the guys are invited too. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)AP

Frederick Richard — Sports Illustrated picked this social media sensation from Stoughton to win the bronze medal in the men’s all-around.

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Stephen Nedoroscik — The Worcester native and pommel horse specialist is headed to his first Olympics.

Women’s Rowing

Margaret Hedeman — After winning a silver medal in the 2023 Worlds, this Concord native and Yale alum will try to bring home a medal in the women’s eight.

Daisy Mazzio-Manson — This Yale alum from Wellesley, who won a silver in the 2023 World Championships, is headed to her first Olympics.

Regina Salmons – This Methuen native from Penn, who writes poetry in her spare time, will compete in the women’s eight.

Kristi Wagner — This 31-year-old native of Weston will make her second Olympic appearance in double sculls.

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Olivia Coffey — The Harvard alum from Walkins Glen, New York will compete in her second Olympics, in the women’s eight. Her father Calvin Coffey, was a silver medalist in rowing in 1976 in Montreal.

Men’s Rowing

Henry Hollingsworth — The Dover native, who starred at Brown will be making his Olympic debut in the men’s eight.

Jacob Plihal — At 6-foot-10, he’s one of the tallest non-basketball players in the games. The 2018 Northeastern alum will row in single sculls. After appearing in the 2022 World Championships, this is his first Olympics.

Christian Tabash —The 2022 Harvard alum should be popular in the Olympic Village. When he’s not competing in the men’s eight, he’s conversational in five languages.

Clark Dean — The recent Harvard alum is headed to his second Olympics as part of the men’s eight.

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Liam Corrigan — Not quite as tall as Plihal, Corrigan is a muscle machine at 6-foot-7. The Harvard alum from Old Lyme, Connecticut will row in the men’s four.

Pieter Quinton — The Portland, Oregon native who went to Harvard has been part of the U.S. National Team five times, but this is his first Olympics. He‘ll compete in the men’s eight.

Men’s Rugby

Massachusetts Olympians

United States’ Madison Hughes passes the ball to teammate United States’ Make Unufe during the men’s Rugby Sevens Pool C match between the United States and Uruguay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in the Stade de France, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)AP

Madison Hughes — This 31-year-old Lancaster native lived part of his childhood in England before starring for Dartmouth. This will be his third Olympics as he’s chasing his first medal.

Women’s Rugby

Kristi Kirshe

Kristi Kirshe of the United States is tackled by Japan’s Haruka Hirotsu, in their women’s rugby sevens match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)AP

Kristi Kirshe — This is Olympics number two for Kirshe, a Franklin native. She played soccer at Williams College before transitioning to rugby where she’s been a key part of Team USA.

Men’s Sailing

David Liebenberg — The 32-year-old Californian who went to Tufts, is headed to his first Olympics despite considerable previous international experience.

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Stu McNay — This will be Olympics No. 5 for McNay, who is still chasing his first medal. The 42-year-old, who’ll compete in dinghy, was born in Boston, grew up in Brookline and lives in Rhode Island.

Women’s Sailing

Erika Reineke — After four failed bids to make the Olympics, the 2017 Boston College graduate from Ft. Lauderdale qualified for Paris. She’ll compete in dinghy.

Shooting

Ada Korkhin — This could be the first of many Olympics for the 19-year-old Brookline, who goes to Ohio State. She’ll compete in the 25-meter air pistol.

Men’s Soccer

Soccer

United States’ Miles Robinson (12) reacts during the men’s Group A soccer match between France and the United States at the Velodrome stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)AP

Miles Robinson — The 27-year-old from Arlington, who is likely to be on the USA World Cup roster in 2026 is one of the older leaders on the Olympic squad.

Women’s Soccer

Sam Coffey — Coffey stretches the Massachusetts connection a bit. The New York City native began her college career at Boston College but transferred to Penn State. Her father and sister are both sportswriters.

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Men’s Sport Climbing

Massachusetts Olympians

Jesse Grupper of the United States holds a United States flag after winning the gold medal of the men’s boulder lead climbing of the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)AP

Jesse Grupper — The New Jersey native, who graduated from Tufts in 2019, won gold at the Pan Am Games in 2023.

Women’s Artistic Swimming

Ruby Remati — A native of Andover and student at Ohio State, Remati is just 21 as she heads to her first Olympics.

Men’s Track and Field

Graham Blanks — If someone is from Athens, albeit Athens, Georgia, the Olympics has to be part of their destiny right? The Harvard track star will compete in the 5,000 meters.

Women’s Track and Field

Gabby Thomas wins a heat in the women's 200-meter run during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Eugene. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Gabby Thomas wins a heat in the women’s 200-meter run during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Eugene. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)AP

Gabby Thomas — The Harvard alum from Northampton has a chance to be one of the faces of this Olympics for Team USA. She has silver and bronze medals from 2020 already and is favored to win gold in the 200 meters.

Women’s Triathlon

Kirsten Kasper — The former running and swimming star at North Andover made the natural leap into triathlon. Now 32, she’s in her first Olympics after winning medals in the World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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Men’s Basketball (5-on-5)

Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derek White — Can this Celtics trio earn rings and medals in the same summer? They’re favored to do so. This is White’s first Olympics and the second for both Tatum and Holiday. They’ll open Olympic play on Saturday morning against Serbia.



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Massachusetts

A magical holiday village is tucked inside Massachusetts’ most famous candle store

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A magical holiday village is tucked inside Massachusetts’ most famous candle store


Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.

And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.

The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.

  • This is the most popular candle scent in Massachusetts, according to The Loupe

Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.

Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.

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Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.

  • ‘Disneyland’ Leverett estate of Yankee Candle founder Michael J. Kittredge II for sale at $23 million

But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.

Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.

And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.

Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

  • Yankee Candle will close 20 stores; parent to lay off 900 employees



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Two stranded dolphins rescued from Massachusetts marsh

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Two stranded dolphins rescued from Massachusetts marsh


It swims in the family.

A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.

On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.

When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.

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Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.

IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.

The IFAW team placed the dolphins onto stretchers to bring them to safety. Wareham Department of Natural Resources

“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.

The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.

Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.

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The small dolphin weighed 90 lbs, with the larger one coming in at roughly 150 lbs. Wareham Department of Natural Resources
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair. IFAW

According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.

“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.



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Man seriously injured after being thrown from moving vehicle during domestic dispute

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Man seriously injured after being thrown from moving vehicle during domestic dispute


A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.

Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.

Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.

The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.

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