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Local Olympian heads to Rio

Local Olympian heads to Rio
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It’s every athlete’s dream. But for Germantown’s Jesse Thielke, he gets to live it out.

Thielke, a four-time state high school wrestling champion, is spending his summer preparing for the experience of his life in Rio at the Summer Olympics.

“Me and my family have been working for this since I started wrestling in second grade,” Thielke says. “Since I was seven years old, it’s always been one of my dreams.”

“It still chokes me up,” Jesse’s mother, Pam Thielke says. “It actually didn’t register or hit, until several days later. And you’re like ‘wow. Our son is an Olympian.’”

And the whole family is headed to Rio, 11 in all. Opening ceremonies are set for Aug. 5.

To listen to Doug Russell’s full story on the Thielkes journey to the Rio Olympics, click on the Soundcloud link above.