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Newsmakers of the Year - Statewide
Team USA
The state was well represented at the 2012 Olympics in London, where 29 Florida athletes competed and brought home nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
Foluke Akinradewo, 25, Plantation
Volleyball
Silver medal
Laura Bennett, 37, North Palm Beach
Triathlon
17th place
Chris Colwill, 28, Brandon
Diving
5th place in individual 3-meter springboard
Notable: Colwill suffers from 60% hearing loss.
Phil Dalhausser, 32, Ormond Beach
Beach volleyball
9th place
Notable: Dalhausser, who won a gold medal in 2008 in men’s beach volleyball, worked for a concrete company and a short time for a firm that painted stripes on Florida highways.
Brian Fatih, 40, Miami
Sailing
7th place in Star category
Sylvia Fowles, 27, Miami
Basketball
Gold
Notable: Fowles, whose full name is Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles, goes by “Big Syl” and “Baby Shaq.” The 6-foot-6 Miami native plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
Jared Frayer, 34, Clearwater
Wrestling
17th place in the freestyle (146 pounds)
Justin Gatlin, 30, Pensacola
Track and field
Silver in men’s 4x100 meter
Bronze medal in men’s 100 meter
Manuel Huerta, 28, Miami
Triathlon
50th place
LeBron James, 28, Miami
Basketball
Gold
Lacy Janson, 29, Sarasota
Track and field (pole vault)
8th place in qualification
Hunter Kemper, 36, Longwood
Triathlon
14th place
Notable: Kemper was the first professional triathlete to be featured on a Wheaties cereal box in 2007.