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Steamboat Springs — If you live in Steamboat Springs, it's not unlikely that you frequently share casual conversations with Olympic athletes - there are almost 60 of them to get to know. It's possible you've chatted with an Olympian and were not even aware of it.

That's because for 76 years, since John Steele became Steamboat's first Winter Olympian at Lake Placid in 1932, local Olympians have uniformly behaved with humility in our community.

But the grand spectacle of this summer's Olympic Games reminds us that the achievements of local Olympians are far from humble, and should not be taken for granted. Steamboat's vaunted corps of winter athletes obviously is not competing in Beijing, but the inspiring performances of summer Olympians shows us the level of excellence that our own Olympians reach, and heightens our appreciation of their ability.

The parallels are many.

Michael Phelps, the man with eight freshly minted gold medals, might fit right in at the foot of Howelsen Hill, for example. Phelps showed genuine excitement and a childlike exuberance for his teammates on swimming relay teams, bringing to mind images of Olympic athletes Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong pushing each other in training and World Cup competitions.

And for every high-profile athlete like Phelps at these Summer Olympics, there is a Henry Cejudo.

The son of a single mother who brought her children from Mexico to the American Southwest to provide them opportunity, Cejudo grew up in poverty. Yet, at the age of 21, the Coloradan and former Coronado High School athlete became the first American wrestler to win gold at these Olympic Games. Cejudo wept openly and wrapped himself in the American flag when his match was over.

Olympic wrestling is a mostly anonymous sport with rules that are inscrutable even to some fans of American-style high school wrestling. Yet, Cejudo's victory early Tuesday morning, and his sincere display of emotion and pride in his country, was nothing short of spine-tingling. On a smaller scale, the emotion drew recollections of Soroco High School wrestlers competing in the state tournament last winter.

And as Cejudo's medal seemed to spring from the fountain of youth, Steamboat Springs Olympian Todd Lodwick is attempting to find that fountain in his quest for a comeback to the Olympic stage.

Anyone who has attended the Olympic Games knows there's a palpable buzz in the air that cannot be experienced by watching events unfold on television. In the Yampa Valley, we have a chance to get to know future Olympians, and to get a fleeting taste of that energy, by everything from walking down a grocery store aisle to supporting the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club or even helping coach the next generation.

Area residents with the foresight to begin planning now for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., likely have the chance to watch as a humble athlete from Steamboat, one whom they know personally, takes part in the great tradition.

It's a uniquely unforgettable experience - and one that we are lucky to have in the Yampa Valley.