New Jersey will be well represented this summer at the Paris Olympics by a host of athletes with ties to the Garden State.
The world’s eyes will be on Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who was born and raised in New Jersey. The 24-year-old broke her own world record in the women’s 400 hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials in late June. She attended and ran track for Union Catholic in Scotch Plains before turning pro.
Three swimmers from North Jersey are set to compete: Jack Alexy, 21, of Mendham; Matt Fallon, 21, of Warren; and Nic Fink, 31, of Morristown. Both Fallon and Fink attended the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, while Alexy went to Delbarton in Morristown.
Three Olympic fencers also have Jersey roots: Jackie Dubrovich, 29, who was raised in Riverdale and now lives in Maplewood; Elizabeth Tartakovsky, 24, who grew up in Livingston; and Mitchell Saron, 23, who hails from Ridgewood. A handful of others on the team, including Philadelphia’s Maia Weintraub, attended Princeton University.
Gymnastics is always a fan-favorite sport (Jersey fans always rooted for now-retired Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, of Old Bridge.). This year, 16-year-old Oradell-raised Hezly Rivera—who’s trained with fellow New Jersey gymnast and model/influencer Olivia “Livvy” Dunne—is the youngest on the women’s gymnastics team.
Meanwhile, Jesse Grupper, a 27-year-old Montclair native, is one of four men on the U.S. climbing team. This is only the sport’s second appearance at the Olympics. “Watching the Olympics on that TV screen when I was a kid, it became a dream of mine,” he recently told New Jersey Monthly.
Randolph’s Amanda Golini, 29, is co-captaining a resurgent women’s field hockey team, which also includes Ryleigh Heck, 20, of Ocean City, and Caroline Ramsey, 22, of Morristown, in the sport’s first Olympic appearance since 2016.
Two Jersey soccer stars are competing in Paris. John Tolkin, 21, known to soccer fans as JMi (for John Michael), is a defender for the New York Red Bulls and hails from Chatham. Casey Murphy, 28, goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, grew up in Bridgewater and played at Rutgers University, where she also met her future husband.
Amy Wang, 21, of Sewell, looks to help USA table tennis win its first gold medal since the sport’s 1988 Olympic debut. Wrestler Helen Maroulis, 32, of Hoboken, is back for her third Games, and Keturah Orji, 28, of Mount Olive, is attempting to become the first American woman to win gold in the triple high jump.
Two athletes are following in family footsteps. Jack Yonezuka, 20, of West Long Branch, son of five-time US National Judo champion Nick Yonezuka, is making his Olympic debut in judo. Rower Molly Reckford, 30, of Short Hills, is Olympian biathlon team leader Bill Spencer’s granddaughter.
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