Five New York and New Jersey athletes to watch ahead of Paris 2024
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games less than 100 days away, there are several American stars from New York and New Jersey aiming for glory in the city of light.
Let's take a quick look at five hopefuls from the area.
Sunny Choi at 35 has transitioned from a corporate career to become the first female Team USA breakdancer, celebrating the sport’s Olympic debut with a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Chile.
“I’m so grateful to show the world what we’re so passionate about as breakers,” Choi told the New York Post.
Jimmer Fredette, a former collegiate basketball star and NBA player, has revitalized his career by leading the USA 3x3 basketball team to earn a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics, something the U.S. squad failed to achieve when the sport made its debut at the Tokyo Games.
Amy Wang is a 21-year-old table tennis prodigy from New Jersey who started her sport in her basement at the age of 4. She's overcome past disappointments in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.
“I had one match left, and I lost. It really killed me,” Wang said of narrowly missing out on a berth to Tokyo 2020. “I thought I was going to quit table tennis after that.”
In addition to her sporting prowess, she is exploring educational pursuits in pre-med and accounting at UCLA.
Molly Reckford, 31, is a rower from New Jersey with a family legacy of Olympic participation: her grandfather, Bill Spencer, competed in the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympic Games in biathlon.
“He’s been a huge inspiration for me,” she said.
In Paris, she's aiming to improve upon her fifth-place finish in Tokyo by reaching the podium in the French capital.
Jesse Grupper, the sport climber from New Jersey, combines his mechanical engineering background and a passion for safety to excel in climbing, earning a quota in the upcoming Olympics with a gold medal at the Pan American Games.
“One of the best things we can do as people is pushing our limits to reach our full potential,” Grupper said.