There is perhaps no greater symbol of the thrill of victory than the Olympic medal. As the world focuses its attention on Pyeongchang, South Korea and the Winter Games, let's take a moment to look at Chicagoland's Olympic haul: our area's 239 gold, silver and bronze medals.

There is no perfect way to find all the medalists who have connections here. Mountains of public data exist on who won and by how much at Olympic Games, but not consistent information on where an athlete is "from." We limited our list to athletes born in Cook or surrounding counties using the data at sports-reference.com. This method excludes Johnny Weissmuller, a champion swimmer who is very much "from" Chicago but was born in Romania. (He also played Tarzan in a dozen films.)

If we've missed anyone, please let us know on Twitter, Facebook or by email! Now, let's take a look at some of the best athletes this region has produced.