CHICAGO — Washington Park isn't the hub for the 2016 Olympics, but part of the South Side is represented in this year's Games in Rio.
A current and former coach at University of Chicago Laboratory Schools — Bakhyt Abdikulov and Bud James — are playing roles in Rio now.
“I am very proud of both coaches for their expertise as witnessed by their coaching at the highest level within their respective sport," Lab Schools athletic director David Ribbens said. "I'm pleased to have our school represented at the Olympic Games.”
Abdikulov, the Lab School's fencing coach, is serving in Rio as a member of the International Fencing Organization's board. He is representing the Pan American Federation, which includes the United States.
James, a former longtime running coach for Lab Schools, is a coach for Lebanese marathoner Chirine Njeim, a Lakeview resident who's also competed for Lebanon in the Winter Olympics as a skier.
"I have coached a lot of Olympic trials, people who made World Championships and two national teams, but the Olympic Games is tops," James wrote in a text message Sunday.
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Former U-High Chicago Maroons CC TF coach Bud James coaching in Rio2016.
— U-High Maroons (@UHigh_Maroons) August 10, 2016
Lebanese marathon https://t.co/NJI5q2wTBS pic.twitter.com/J9imqhdK9R
James met Njeim while she was competing in the 2015 Chicago Marathon; James had previously been a guest commentator for the women's race.
Abdikulov, head coach of Fencing Center of Chicago, is a former Olympic fencer for Kazakhstan and a champion from the 1993 World Cup.
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