PHOTO STORY: Friends, families support Hannah Roberts with Olympics watch party

Published 11:33 am Wednesday, July 31, 2024

By Max Harden

BUCHANAN — Hundreds gathered at the Common in Buchanan Wednesday to watch the city’s hometown hero on the world’s biggest stage.

Donning “Team Roberts” shirts and waving American flags, community members rallied to see Hannah Roberts compete in the BMX Freestyle event in the 2024 Paris Olympics. While Roberts ultimately came up short in her quest for a medal, those in attendance were both excited and proud to see Roberts shining a light on Bucktown.

“It’s great to see so much support from the community for Hannah,” said Buchanan Mayor Sean Denison. “Win or lose, she still got to show her talent off on a world stage and we couldn’t be more proud.”

“This is a really tough sport,” said watch party attendee Barbara Pitcher. “She came in mentally and physically strong and you could hear even the announcers there, she’s the best in the world and they thought she had it, we all did. We were all hoping it happens but we’ll see her in L.A.”

Richard Hoppe, a family friend of the Roberts’ and owner of Slam City Skate Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was on hand to provide insight for attendees and support Roberts. While he was disappointed for Roberts, he was proud of her and encouraged to see the community’s support.

“The community here has always been action sports friendly,” he said. “I love coming up here spending time with everybody and I think everyone felt the same thing.”

Roberts began riding at age 9, following in the footsteps of her cousin Brett Banasiewicz. She graduated from Buchanan High School in 2019 and has mentored many young riders. Everyone in attendance was proud of Roberts for being a shining example of the community and are looking forward to watching her in future competitions.

“It’s just really exciting to have somebody that is local that people know and is a real connection to the Olympics,” Pitcher said.

“I think it’s a great message to the rest of our young people that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can do great things,” Denison said. “We’re really proud of the fact that she made her second Olympics and I know that I’ve heard her say she wants to go to four. We have Los Angeles to look forward to in four years. We’ll be doing this again.”

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