ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island honored a hometown Olympian during a city council meeting Monday night.
Mayor Mike Thoms officially made Sept. 24, 2024 "Courtney Lindsey Day" for the City of Rock Island. Lindsey competed for Team USA in the men's 4x100 relay during the 2024 Paris Olympics, anchoring the race that qualified the men's team for the medal race. Unfortunately, Team USA was disqualified from that final race due to issues over the baton handoff, but Lindsey wasn't participating.
The 25-year-old graduated from Rock Island High School in 2018 before attending Texas Tech University. His former track coach, Ed Lillis, was thrilled but not surprised by Lindsey's recent success.
"He was always just really quiet and confident, worked hard," Lillis said. "Never complained about anything. Just kept his nose to the grindstone and led by example. In practice, he'd be in front of the whole group or whatever we were doing. He put in the time, the dedication, the effort, the role model, the leadership. Nothing bad to say about that young man."
In between all his training, News 8 caught up with Lindsey a few weeks before the Olympics.
When asked what advice he would give to current high school athletes who are hoping to compete in the biggest athletic event in the world, he told them that the sky's the limit.
"Just stay focused and dream big. I would say anything is possible, and if you actually want to achieve something, keep striving for it. You can do it," Lindsey said.
"You know when you see something special and he was that right off the bat," Lillis added. "There was one headline in the paper about him that said 'a quiet champion' and that's what he was. He was a champion in everything he did and didn't draw attention to himself at all.
A welcome home celebration will take place Thursday at Riverfront Grille in Rock Island. It lasts from 6 to 8 p.m. and is open to the public.