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Olympians visit St. Francis High School in Wheaton

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle.

Those words, turned into the Olympic Creed by modern-day Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin, has Catholic roots. And they ring true for St. Francis High School alumni John Vande Velde and Kelsey Robinson.

The two Olympians visited their alma mater in Wheaton Wednesday, to the cheers and applause of hundreds of students dressed in their school colors.

  St. Francis High School alumna Kelsey Robinson shares her experience of playing for the U.S. Olympic volleyball team in Rio with students Wednesday at the Wheaton school. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

Robinson, Class of 2010, wore a bronze medal around her neck, which she just won with the women's volleyball team in Rio. Vande Velde, a cyclist, sported an Olympic jacket and a ring he earned while representing the U.S. in Mexico City in 1968 - just a year after graduating - and in Munich in 1972.

Aside from being St. Francis grads, the two share an understanding of the great joy they experienced making it to the games, but also the heartache they felt watching people get cut at the trials.

"The trials, both times, they were horrible," Vande Velde said. "It's cutthroat."

They both were familiar with the struggle of overcoming mental, emotional and physical pain while working toward their goals.

"You doubt yourself a lot. You question yourself a lot," Robinson said. "I think everybody deals with those mental struggles, everybody has their own battles, but I think the people that end up being Olympians, the people that end up being professional athletes and pursuing their dreams are the ones that have a firm foundation in who they are. And, for me, my foundation comes from my faith."

The two took time to answer questions from students as well, addressing their biggest inspirations and describing what it was like to stay in the Olympic Village. They also shared how it felt to return to St. Francis.

  St. Francis alum and Olympic cyclist John Vande Velde, Class of 1967, speaks to students at the Wheaton school. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

Vande Velde said he was especially impressed with the way the athletic programs have grown and found success.

"We were always the underdog," he said of his time at the school in the '60s. "I think that underdog spirit always stayed with me."

Robinson told her former volleyball coach, Peg Kopec, that coming back to St. Francis felt like "coming home."

"That's what we like at St. Francis, that's what we want our alums to feel," Kopec said. "I'm just so happy for her."

  St. Francis alumna and Olympic volleyball player Kelsey Robinson presents a signed volleyball to former girls volleyball coach Peg Kopec for a future auction. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com

Kopec added that Robinson "never gave less than her best to herself or her teammates" and said she hoped the students walked away with some life lessons.

"They got to hear a lot of good things and also hear that it isn't all rosebuds," she said. "There was a reality to it."

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