Olympians From Illinois

As the Winter Olympics continue in Sochi, we thought we'd take a closer look at some of the more famous past participants from the state of Illinois.

Dwyane Wade is a three time World Champion as a member of the NBA's Miami Heat. He's also a two time medal winner in the Olympics as a member of USA's 'Dream Team.' Wade has a gold medal from the 2008 games and a bronze from 2004. Dwyane was born in Chicago.

One of the most famous Olympic stars of all time, Dorothy Hamill, was also born in Chicago. Hamill won a gold medal in the 1976 Innsbruck games in the ladies singles category of figure skating.

While the WNBA's Candace Parker was born in Missouri, she spent much of her time growing up in Naperville, Illinois and attended Naperville High School. Candace is known for being the first woman to dunk a basketball in an NCAA tournament game and is the first woman to dunk twice in a college basketball game. She has two Olympic gold medals to her name in women's basketball, one from the 2008 Beijing games and another from the 2012 games in London.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee comes from East St. Louis, Illinois. 'Sports Illustrated For Women' named her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century. Jackie has a whopping eight Olympic gold medals to her name. She also boasts one silver and two bronze. She has arguably done more for track and field than anyone else.

Speed Skater Katherine Reutter comes from Champagne, Illinois. Katherine won silver in the 2010 Vancouver games in the 1000 meter, and bronze in the 3000 meter relay the same year.

There are five of the more famous Olympians who come from Illinois. Coming soon... Olympians from Missouri.