Olympic bummer

Geneva cross country runner Kevin McDowell works on the stationary bikes at the school with his teammates. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@kcchronicle.com)

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Chicago’s failure to land the 2016 Olympic Games brought acute disappointment for a handful of elite local athletes.

The possibility of a Chicago Olympics in 2016 was tantalizing to a few area teenagers audacious enough to harbor Olympic aspirations.

Kevin McDowell, 17, of Geneva, is among a trio of teenage triathlete stars in the Tri-Cities area that has the 2016 Games on their radar. Ben Kanute, of Geneva, and Jenn Howland, of Elburn, are the others.

News that Rio de Janeiro, not Chicago, nabbed the Games figures to be one of the first – but certainly not the last – setbacks on a grueling path toward one of sports’ most ambitious goals.

“I was really disappointed,” McDowell said. “I was in shock that we lost in the first round and we were knocked out but I wasn’t so shocked we didn’t win because I knew Rio had a huge shot, with them maybe having a chance to have the first one in South America.”

Making the Olympics is a whopper of a goal, but there is evidence to embolden those ambitions. McDowell and Kanute – longtime best friends – have had success at national and international youth competitions, including McDowell’s fourth-place finish at the Triathlon Union Junior World Championships last month in Australia.

A Chicago berth in 2016 would have been perfect timing for the triathlon trio.

“That’s definitely the first Olympics that’s a realistic shot,” McDowell said. “It’s kind of in our little plan that we’re trying to work toward. That’s the first one our age really allows us to be able to contend and get in there.”

Kanute, 16, said that although the Olympics are his ultimate goal, he tries to direct his focus to the many smaller steps along the way he will need to take to one day qualify.

“I think regardless of where it is I’d be pretty excited to be there,” Kanute said. “If it were here in Chicago, it would make it that much more special because all my friends and family would be able to see me race.”

While 2016 is the year targeted by the trio of triathletes – all of whom compete for the Multisport Madness team – Rosary swimmer Olivia Scott might make a push for the 2012 Games in London.

Scott, a senior for Rosary, has helped lead her team to three consecutive IHSA state championships. Scott participated in the Olympic Trials in the summer of 2008, and hopes that experience helps spur her toward a more realistic chance to qualify as she grows older. The 100 butterfly is her best chance.

“I really have no idea which one would be more realistic for me,” Scott said. “I would love to go for the one in 2012 but it all depends on how things go.”

Like her triathlon counterparts, Scott said an Olympics in her home city would have made qualifying for the Olympics all the more incredible. But whether it is London in 2012 or Rio de Janeiro in 2016, area athletes would gladly cozy up to a foreign destination if it means reaching their sky-high goals.

“It’s just an honor even to get to go to the Olympics,” McDowell said. “No matter where it would be, it would be unbelievable.”