Bay Area Athletes Look Toward August Olympics in Brazil

By Connor Buestad | connor@section925.com

Missy Franklin:

Missy "The Missile" Franklin won four gold medals at the London Olympics at the ripe age of 17. Since then, Franklin spent two years at CAL before turning pro to focus on the Rio Olympics. She plans on still finishing her Berkeley degree after spending time on Bob Costas' couch this summer.

Alexander Massialas:

Alexander Massialas, a San Francisco native and Stanford student, is the favorite to win the gold in Men's Foil Fencing.

Marti Malloy:

San Jose State product Marti Malloy will try to improve on the Bronze medal she won in Judo back in 2012.

John Mann:

John Mann led the 2006 CAL Bears to a national championship. In 2012, Mann scored three goals at the London Olympics. The U.S. finished eighth that year.

Danny Barrett:

Danny Barrett was a four-time All-American at CAL. Before starring in Berkeley, Barrett attended Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco. Rio de Janeiro will be his first Olympic Games.

Alex Morgan, Kelley O' Hara, Julie Johnston:

Alex Morgan controls the ball in a match versus UC Davis during her college days. (photo via the Daily Cal) — Alex Morgan controls the ball in a match versus UC Davis during her college days. (photo via the Daily Cal)

Alex Morgan played soccer at CAL for four years from 2007 to 2010. Today, she is a superstar on the Women's National Team, both as a player and as a spokesperson for women's athletics in general. Stanford alum Kelley O' Hara and Santa Clara alum Julie Johnston will also play with Morgan in Rio.

Alysia Montano:

Montano at the 2012 London Olympics (photo by Josh Haner)

The girl who runs with a flower in her hair, Alysia Montano, is hoping to appear in her second Olympics this August in Rio. She did her college running in Berkeley, and Section925 wrote a feature story on her before she ran in London back in 2012. Montano finished fifth in the London Games. Sadly, it has been reported that two of the four women that finished ahead of her in that race were reportedly on performance enhancing drugs. Montano has had a baby girl since then and will look to qualify for Brazil in the coming months.

Katie Ledecky:

19-year-old Katie Ledecky is a swimming star in the making. Her coming out party is expected to unfold in Brazil in August. In September, she'll enroll at Stanford and swim on The Farm.