Celebrities pass Leah Close so quickly in the Olympic Village in Paris that she can't keep up with them all. On Thursday, she spotted famous gymnast Simone Biles and Spanish tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal out and about.
“The Olympic Village is like a college campus with the best athletes in the world,” said Clowes, a graduate of Cox High School in Virginia Beach and a defender on the U.S. Olympic women's field hockey team. “My teammates told me I walked past (seven-time gold medalist in swimming) Katie Ledecky and didn't even notice her.
“There's a lot going on in the village, so we have to keep an eye on it.”
Close's focus will turn Saturday to the stadium of Yves du Manoir, one of the most famous athletics venues in the country and known as Stade Colombes during the 1924 Olympics.
It was there that British sprinters Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell won gold medals at the '24 Olympics, made famous by the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire.” Close will have her Olympic dream come true when the U.S. begins pool play against Argentina at 1:45 p.m. EDT.
“Our stadium is where the Opening Ceremony took place 100 years ago (with the future King Edward VIII in attendance) so it's a really beautiful place,” Clowes said. “Being an Olympian has been my childhood dream so it feels incredible to finally be here.”
She's not alone in this sentiment.
Her supportive crowd of about a dozen people in Paris will include her parents, Brad and Laurie Close, her brother, Grayson Close, her first Cox coach, Julie Swain, and former club coach Sandy Silassy. Cox's second coach, Taylor Rowntree, will be watching the game on television.
Clowes has had Olympic dreams since he was 10, when he walked past Cox High School with his father and was captivated by the field hockey practice. Swain recalls seeing Clowes and his father practicing together on many summer nights.
“Leah has had an incredible work ethic from an early age,” Swain said, “and the technical skills she possesses are the result of that hard work.”
“She had great speed and athleticism, so she made everything look effortless (with her technique) and was beautiful to watch on the field. She was small but strong and had no problem getting past (bigger) opponents.”
“From the beginning, I thought she had great potential.”
She began to realize that while helping Cox win state championships her freshman and junior seasons. Rountree took over during Clouse's senior year, succeeding Swain, who retired after 15 seasons and six state titles.
“I remember playing against her (at Cox rival First Colonial) and we had to completely change our defense because of her,” Rountree said. “When I came to Cox, pairing with Leah felt like I won the lottery.
“We were young, but she carried the team on her back (46 goals and 31 assists) and we were able to get to the first round of states.”
“Cox field hockey has a tradition of success and I feel like I developed my work ethic there. I was encouraged to work hard for my teammates and developed good habits to be more tenacious,” Clowes said.
After graduating from Cox, she played four seasons at Duke University, making one Final Four appearance, before playing a graduate season at the University of Maryland. She was selected to the U.S. Women's National Team 13 months ago, becoming the second Cox alum to be selected to an Olympic team, joining Stephanie Fee (a 2016 Olympian).
“This has been her lifelong dream since she was 10 years old, and now it's come true,” said Brad Close, who hugged his daughter when he got the call on June 10 and shouted, “Leah is going to Paris!”
After playing as a forward or central midfielder for most of his career, Krause, like Fee, is a defender on the Olympic team, and Swain speculates that's because Krause's ball skills allow him to lead counter-attacks from the back.
Regardless of her role, Close is just happy that her Olympic dream came true on Saturday.
“I moved to defender last September, so it was hard to learn a new position,” she said, adding that the U.S. team was “kind of underachieving” to medal out of 12 teams but was determined to win. “I took it as a challenge and took it on.
“That mindset has definitely helped me get to where I am today. What started as a faraway hopeful dream has now become a reality.”
Marty O'Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com
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