Olympic Gold Medalist Returns to Illinois Rink Where She Trained

A 3-year-old boy named Everette Elbrecht beamed as he wore an Olympic gold medal around his neck, meeting the hockey champion who won it just months ago.

Joy Dunne returned to East Alton Ice Arena on Monday evening, greeting fans at the same rink where she trained long before representing Team USA at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The 20-year-old St. Peters, Missouri native spent two hours signing autographs, posing for photos, and listening to young hockey players share their Olympic dreams.

"It's so great to see familiar faces and to hear the little kids tell me about their hockey teams and how they're going to play in the Olympics someday," Dunne said.

The visit was a homecoming in the truest sense. Before Dunne became the youngest player on the gold medal-winning U.S. Women's Hockey Team, she logged countless hours at this modest Illinois rink. She trained there with Tyler Ebrecht's Elite Hockey School, sometimes starting practice sessions at 5 a.m. with her best friend and teammate Anna Lugge.

Dunne contributed two goals and three assists during the Olympics. She's now back at Ohio State University, where she's already a national champion. Last year, she scored the winning goal in the NCAA championship game and earned National Rookie of the Year honors.

Sunny's Take

What makes this story shine isn't just the gold medal. It's watching a young champion take time to connect with the next generation.

Dunne isn't spending her summer relaxing after her historic wins. She's training across the country, from St. Louis to Ohio to Canada. But she carved out this evening for the community that supported her journey, proving that success doesn't mean forgetting where you started.

Hockey runs deep in the Dunne family. Joy is the youngest of six siblings, and her sister Jincy won Olympic silver with Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Both sisters trained at the same East Alton rink, creating a legacy that local young players can now see and touch.

The steady stream of fans who waited to meet Dunne on Monday included children who play hockey and dream of Olympic glory themselves. They got to hold a real gold medal, hear stories from the international stage, and see proof that big dreams can start in small rinks.

Now those 5 a.m. practice sessions have come full circle, inspiring a new generation of early risers.