Reaching the Olympic Games requires discipline, resilience and the ability to perform under pressure. Those same qualities are central to the work of first responders.
For some athletes, public service came before elite competition. For others, it became part of life after the Games. In each case, the skill overlap between sport and service is hard to miss.
| MORE: Remember that time firefighting was featured at the Olympics?
2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Games kicked off on Feb. 6 in Italy, with a few athletes (and one referee!) touting ties to the first resopnder community.
Sam Hiller: Lake Forest (Ill.) Fire Department
For years, Firefighter-Paramedic Sam Hiller has served as an ice hockey referree for various leagues in her area, including youth, amateur, collegiate and professional games.
Her experience and decision-making on the ice led to her selection as one of the hockey referees for the 2026 Winter Games. At the Olympics she will officiate women’s ice hockey, bringing her officiating background and crisis management skills from emergency response to world-class competition.
Past Olympians with first responder ties
To earn a spot at the Olympic Games, athletes must prove they have the dedication, commitment and perseverance to overcome physical and mental challenges and come out the other side. It takes a certain kind of individual to reach that skill level; first responders require those same skills on a daily basis.
Firefighter Lea Ann Parsley
Parsley is a retired American skeleton racer from Ohio. She started out her firefighting career as a volunteer firefighter in 1985 and later became a full-time firefighter in 1995. In 1999, she was named Firefighter of the Year for the State of Ohio. She’s currently a member of the Ohio Interagency Wildfire Crew. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, she was one of eight athletes chosen to carry the World Trade Center flag into the Opening Ceremony.
Firefighter Jimmy Watkins
Watkins, who represented the U.S. in match sprint at the London Olympics, trained for the games while also working as a full-time firefighter in Bakersfield, California. In fact, Watkins told Cycling News that he has kept his full-time job as a firefighter for his entire cycling career. Talk about the ability to multitask. Listen as Watkins talks about his experience at the Olympics from a 2012 interview.
Firefighter-Paramedic Lovie Jung
Jung, a former Olympic softball gold medalist, is a Riverside City, California, firefighter-paramedic. She started taking community college classes in 2008 to get an EMT certification, graduated the fire academy and was hired in 2010. Jung told the OC Register that she’s not treated differently as a firefighter because she’s an Olympic medalist.
Firefighter Theodore “T.C.” Bazile
Bazile, who was part of Special Olympics Team USA, participated in the 2014 USA Games in New Jersey. He’s the reigning champion of the state pentathlon and brought home four gold medals. When he’s not competing, he’s singing in his church’s choir and volunteering as a firefighter.
Firefighter Cathy Marino
Cathy Marino is a two-time American Olympic sprint canoer. There have been a lot of firsts for Marino when it comes to the fire service. She was the first female recruit to graduate the Santa Ana College Fire Academy and the first female firefighter for the City of Orange, California. Later, she became the first female firefighter for the City of Long Beach.
Firefighter Casey Wickline
Wickline is a firefighter in Greenville, S.C. He competed at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games with the rest of the USA Bobsled team.
Firefighter Ian Rawn
Rawn, who has Down syndrome, was the only figure skater from Texas in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games. He currently works at a financial company. Before moving to Texas, he was a volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania.
This article, originally published in July 2024, has been updated.
