New Jersey won’t have the most Olympians of any state when the Summer Games begin this month in Paris. That honor falls to California, with 111 athletes among the 592 formally introduced on July 10.
But there’ll be plenty of Olympic spirit in the Garden State, from Alpine to Cape May. And not all of it will be focused on Team USA, with local athletes also competing for Great Britain, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast and other nations.
New Jersey officially has 21 Olympic athletes, according to a list provided by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. But that includes only those who grew up in the Garden State and not the many others who’ve lived or built their college careers here over the years. Princeton University alone can claim 20 of the competitors. Four more have Rutgers connections.
Here’s our list of all the 2024 Olympians with New Jersey ties. Events will begin July 24, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for July 26 on the Seine River.
NORTH JERSEYEdrice “Bam” Adebayo
Basketball, United States
The Miami Heat’s 6-foot-9 center/forward was born in Newark, but grew up in Pinetown, North Carolina.
Named North Carolina’s Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year, Adebayo attended the University of Kentucky for one season and was selected No. 14 overall by Miami in the 2017 NBA Draft. A three-time NBA All-Star and a first-time All-Defensive honoree, he averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 3.9 assists per game.
Swimming, United States
Alexy finished second in the 100-meter freestyle at USA Swimming’s Olympic Trials on June 20 to earn a spot on the 400 free relay. A 6-foot-8 rising senior at Berkeley, Alexy finished second in the 200 free (school-record 1:29.75) and third in the 50 free (personal-best 18.38) and 100 free (school-record 40.59) at the NCAA Championships in March. Alexy was a four-time NJSIAA Meet of Champions winner at Delbarton, capturing the 50 free and 100 back as a freshman and the 50 and 100 free in 2020 to cap his junior season.
Fencing, United States
A Riverdale resident who attended Pompton Lakes High School, Dubrovich will compete in foil for the United States women’s fencing team for the second time.
Dubrovich was a three-time NCAA first-team All-American (2013, 2014, 2016) at Columbia University and won three NCAA tournament medals and two NCAA team titles. While at Pompton Lakes, she won the 2010 NJSIAA foil championship.
Nic Fink
Swimming, United States
Fink, a Pingry and University of Georgia graduate, has qualified for his second Olympics. He won the 100-meter breaststroke at USA Swimming’s Olympic Trials on June 17. Fink had failed to finish in the top two at either the 2012 or 2016 Trials but qualified for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, winding up fifth in the 200 breast.
Field hockey, United States
Golini, 29, began playing field hockey in 2009 in Randolph. She broke Randolph High School’s record and led Morris County with 31 goals and 11 assists her senior season. A two-time unanimous Patriot League selection at Lafayette College, Golini earned her first cap with the full national team in 2017 against Ireland in Melbourne, Australia.
Jesse Grupper
Sport climbing, United States
Grupper, who grew up in Montclair, followed his older sister into climbing and began competing at age 9. He qualified for the Olympics by winning gold in the boulder and lead categories at the 2023 Pan-American Games.
Alexander Hedge
Rowing, United States
As an alternate, Hedge is training with Team USA in Paris but is unlikely to compete. Hedge started as a swimmer, but switched to crew as a Morristown High School junior. He competed for Mountain Lakes Rowing Club and was part of Columbia University’s varsity eight.
Track and field, United States
A recent graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Mane won the triple jump at the Olympic Trials with a personal best 57-5¾ on June 30. Mane, who grew up in the Bronx, had already won the NCAA title with a 56-2.
Track and field, Trinidad and Tobago
Marchan, a recent graduate of Leonia High School, ran a personal-best 46.3 seconds to finish second in the 400 meters at the Trinidad and Tobago Senior National Championships on June 30. An Edgewater resident who won the 400 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Marchan will be part of the 4×400. He has signed a National Letter of Intent with Georgetown.
Track and field, United States
The triple jumper from Mount Olive will be competing in her third Olympics. Already the first American woman to earn a spot in the triple jump final twice, Orji finished fourth at the Rio games in 2016 and seventh three years ago at the COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics. A 10-time U.S. champion, she has held the American outdoor record (48-11¼) since April 2021. She is currently ranked eighth in the world in her event.
Morgan Pearson
Triathlon, United States
Pearson was a swimmer at Berkeley Aquatic Club and distance runner at Delbarton while growing up in the New Vernon section of Harding, in Morris County. He won silver in the mixed team triathlon in Tokyo. A seven-time All-American at the University of Colorado, he transitioned to USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program, which identifies top NCAA swimmers and runners who have the potential to excel as triathletes.
Wrestling, Puerto Rico
The native of Hawthorne in Passaic County made the freestyle team at 86 kilograms at the Pan-Am Olympic Games Qualifiers on March 1 in Acapulco, Mexico. An assistant wrestling coach at Duke University, Ramos won the 2013 NJSIAA 170-pound championship at Hawthorne and was an All-American at North Carolina in 2015.
Molly Reckford
Rowing, United States
Reckford will compete in the lightweight women’s double sculls for the second Olympics, after placing fifth four years ago. Reckford grew up in Short Hills, but competed for Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire and then Dartmouth. Her late grandfather, Bill Spencer, was a two-time Olympic biathlete and longtime coach.
Gymnastics, United States
Born in Hackensack and raised in Oradell, Rivera was invited to try out for a gymnastics team at age 5 after a friend’s birthday party. Her family relocated to Texas two years ago so she could train at WOGA Plano under Valeri and Anna Liukin. At age 16 and in her first year of senior-level gymnastics, Rivera is the youngest on Team USA and the only member who did not compete in Tokyo.
Fencing, United States
A Ridgewood native, Saron will compete in individual and team sabre in Paris. He began training at Bergen Fencing Club in Waldwick at age 9. He went on to win Ivy League sabre titles in his freshman and junior years at Harvard University.
Golf, United States
Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, raised in Montvale, and attended Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Park Ridge before relocating to Dallas at age 6. He won the Masters in April, and has earned more than $62 million in his career.
Elizabeth Tartakovsky
Fencing, United States
A Livingston High School alumna, Tartakovsky was the 2016 NJSIAA sabre champion. She won the Ivy League title as a Harvard University freshman, and the NCAA championship as a junior.
Soccer, United States
The starting left back for Major League Soccer’s Red Bulls, Tolkin made seven under-23 appearances in the leadup to the Olympics, as well as one with the full national team. A 21-year-old from Chatham known for his bleached-blonde hair, Tolkin has seven goals and 13 assists in 109 MLS matches over five seasons.
Cheickna Traore
Track and field, Ivory Coast
Traore, 23, grew up in Jersey City, graduated from Ramapo College and now lives in Linden. A graduate student at Penn State, he qualified for the 200 meters by running 19.93 at the NCAA Regional on May 24, tying the Ivorian national record. A three-time NCAA Division III champion and seven-time All-American, Traore claimed the D-I 200 meter title (19.95) on June 8.
CENTRAL JERSEYLizzie Bird
Track and field, Great Britain
Bird won the United Kingdom steeplechase title on June 29, and had already met the Olympic standard while finishing third at the European Championships (2:19.68). She finished ninth in the steeplechase in Tokyo, setting a U.K. record of 9:19.68. A 2017 Princeton graduate, Bird was a Heptagonal cross-country champion and two-time Heps champion in the steeplechase.
Maia Chamberlain
Fencing, United States
The 2022 NCAA sabre champion, Chamberlain was a three-time All-American at Princeton University. A replacement athlete, Chamberlain will participate in the team competition.
Claire Collins
Rowing, United States
Another Princeton alumna (2019), Collins will be part of the U.S. women’s eight after being part of the four in 2020. A California native who grew up in McLean, Virginia, Collins helped the Tigers win four straight Ivy titles. She was a four-time All-Ivy honoree and three-time All-American, and was nominated as NCAA Woman of the Year in 2019.
Kahleah Copper
Basketball, United States
A 6-foot-1, 165-pound guard-forward, Copper averaged 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds at Rutgers. She was drafted seventh by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in 2016. Now a two-time WNBA All-Star, Copper led Chicago with 15.7 points per game last season, reaching 2,000 for her career on July 23 against New York. She is averaging 22.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in her eighth WNBA season.
Steyn De Lange
Wrestling, South Africa
De Lange is the first Rider University wrestler to qualify for the Olympics, as well as South Africa’s first in 16 years. A rising junior, he won the Africa and Oceanic region at 97 kilograms at the second continental qualifier held in April in Alexandria, Egypt. De Lange also represented South Africa at United World Wrestling’s senior world championships in Belgrade, Serbia earlier this year.
Matt Fallon
Swimming, United States
A resident of Warren in Somerset County, Fallon broke the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:06.54) – the fastest time in the world this year – at USA Swimming’s Olympic Trials on June 19. A rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania, Fallon won the U.S. title in the 200 breast and bronze at the World Championships. A Pingry graduate, Fallon is a YMCA national champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley, setting the national record in the IM.
Sabrina Fang
Fencing, Canada
Fang went 10-5 at the Ivy League foil championships and finished 11th at the NCAA regional in her freshman season at Princeton. A Vancouver, Canada and Greenwich, Connecticut, resident, Fang won back-to-back gold medals in the women’s team foil event at the 2022 and 2023 Pan-American Championships.
Tom George
Rowing, Great Britain
Princeton alum George will race in Great Britain’s men’s pair with partner Oliver Wynne-Griffith. The duo took gold at the European Rowing Championships in May. George also helped Great Britain’s men’s eight win bronze in Tokyo.
Simen Guttormsen
Track and field, Norway
A Princeton University alumnus who competed for Duke last season, Guttormsen won the Atlantic Coast Conference pole vault (school-record 5.65 meters) and finished third at the NCAA Championships.
Sondre Guttormsen
Track and field, Norway
A three-time NCAA pole vault champion while at Princeton, Guttormsen will represent Norway for the second time. He won the indoor European pole vault title in 2023, and is a four-time Ivy League champion in the event. He holds the California high school records in both indoor and outdoor pole vault.
Mohamed Hamza
Fencing, Egypt
A three-time All-American at Princeton, Hamza will represent Egypt in the foil individual and team competitions for the third time. He helped Egypt finish seventh in the team event at the 2016 Olympics, and placed seventh as an individual and eighth with the Egyptian team in Tokyo.
Katharine Holmes
Fencing, United States
A four-time All-American in epee for Princeton, Holmes helped the United States finish fifth at the last two Olympics.
Hadley Husisian
Fencing, United States
Husisian won the Ivy League epee title and was an All-American as a Princeton freshman in 2023. She is the first American – male or female – to repeat as a Junior epee world champion (2022, 2023).
Ashleigh Johnson
Water polo, United States
Johnson was the first Princeton women’s water polo player to be named first team All-America, and third to be selected in each of her four seasons. The Tigers’ goalie finished her college career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage.
A member of the 2016 and 2020 gold-medal American Olympic teams, Johnson grew up in Miami.
Emily Kallfelz
Rowing, United States
A four-time Ivy champion (2016-2019) at Princeton, Kallfelz will row in the women’s four. A Rhode Island native who trains in Boston, she has been a member of the senior national team since 2022.
Kareem Maddox
3×3 basketball, United States
A Los Angeles native, Maddox helped Princeton win the 2011 Ivy League title and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2011 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Maddox played professionally in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Poland. He has been part of Team USA since 2019.
Track and field, United States
Mattis, who grew up in East Brunswick, finished second in the discus at the U.S. trials on June 29. His throw of 216-9 was less than the Olympic standard, but Mattis entered the competition ranked 13th in the world to earn the spot. A NCAA discus champion at the University of Pennsylvania and two-time national champion, Mattis placed eighth at the Tokyo Olympics.
Track and field, United States
The reigning OIympic gold medalist and 2022 world champion, McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record while winning the 400-meter hurdles (50.65) at the U.S. Olympic trials on June 30. The Dunellen native and former Union Catholic High School superstar was the 2016 and 2017 national Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She set a New Jersey record with 11 career gold medals at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
Nick Mead
Rowing, United States
A Princeton University graduate in 2017, Mead will be part of US Rowing’s men’s four. He was part of the fourth-place eight at the 2020 Olympics.
Soccer, United States
A 6-foot-1 goalkeeper, Murphy played soccer at Bridgewater-Raritan and Rutgers. Murphy was a two-time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and a 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. With 45 shutouts, she is Rutgers’ all-time leader and second in Big Ten history. Drafted into the National Women’s Soccer League in 2018 by Sky Blue FC (now Gotham), she is the starting goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage. Murphy earned a 3-0 shutout against Australia in her first senior national team appearance on Nov. 26, 2021.
Tatiana Nazlymov
Fencing, United States
A 2024 USFCA all-region first-team sabre after her freshman season at Princeton, Nazlymov followed her father and grandfather onto the strip.
Kelsey Reelick
Rowing, United States
A 2014 Princeton alumna, Reelick began rowing in 2004 in New Zealand. She will be part of U.S. Rowing’s women’s four.
Anthony Rincon
Swimming, Colombia
A rising senior at Harvard who grew up in Elizabeth, Rincon will swim the 100-meter backstroke. He was an All-Ivy first-team honoree as part of Harvard’s 200- and 400-meter medley relays. Rincon won Colombian national titles in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke in June.
Adell Sabovic
Swimming, Kosovo
Sabovic, a New York City native and rising senior at Princeton, will compete in the 100-meter freestyle.
Hannah Scott
Rowing, Great Britain
The Princeton alumna will race in the women’s quadruple sculls with Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw and Lauren Henry. This group won world and European titles in 2023 and 2024. Scott was also part of Team GB’s quad in Tokyo.
Jovana Sekulic
Water polo, United States
A rising junior at Princeton , Sekulic led the Tigers in goals in her first two seasons. She was named to the 2023 NCAA Tournament first team after Princeton upset third-seeded Cal in a quarterfinal.
Maia Weintraub
Fencing, United States
A two-time All-American, Weintraub will participate in the foil team competition. A two-time Ivy League champion, Weintraub won the NCAA title in her freshman season at Princeton.
Rudy Winkler
Track and field, United States
Winkler will be a three-time Olympian, after finishing seventh in the hammer (252-9) in Tokyo and also competing in Rio in 2016. The American record holder (271-4), Winkler won the NCAA title as a Cornell University senior in 2017. While competing for Rutgers as a grad student, Winkler set the hammer record at the Big Ten championships and finished fourth at the NCAAs.
Beth Yeager
Field hockey, United States
A rising junior midfielder at Princeton, Yeager is the two-time Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-American. She led the Ivy League with 12 goals and 32 points as a sophomore, before taking this year off to train with the U.S. national indoor and outdoor field hockey teams.
JERSEY SHORESebastian Rivera
Wrestling, Puerto Rico
Rivera, who won the 2016 NJSIAA 113-pound title at Christian Brothers Academy, also wrestled for Northwestern and Rutgers. A five-time NCAA All-American, Rivera earned his freestyle berth by finishing second at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. He will compete at 65 kilograms. Rivera was also selected as Puerto Rico’s flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony.
Track and field, United States
A Monmouth University alumna, Wilson ran a season-best 1:58.32 to finish second in the 800 meters at the U.S. trials. She had won her first national title in the 800 at the 2024 USATF indoor championships. A three-time All-American in the 800, Wilson placed fourth (Monmouth record 2:02.56) at the 2019 NCAA Championships. She will be Monmouth’s third Olympian across all sports, joining Christie Pearce (soccer in the 2000-2012 Games) and Wendy Boglioli (swimming in 1976).
Judo, United States
Yonezuka, 21, is the son of 1980 Olympic team member Nick Yonezuka and the grandson of two-time Olympic coach Yoshisada Yonezuka – but will be the first in his family to compete at the Games. A West Long Branch resident, Yonezuka competes at 73 kilograms for Cranford Judo, the club his grandfather founded in 1962. Jack Yonezuka is the first American man to win two medals at the Junior World Championships: bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023.
SOUTH JERSEY
Soccer, United States
An attacking midfielder from Medford, Aaronson is on loan to the Dutch club Utrecht as of July 1. He grew up in the Philadelphia Union’s YSC Academy. Aaronson was called up to the Union’s USL team for the 2020 season, and signed a first-team Homegrown deal in August. In November 2022, Aaronson was transferred to Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga for an estimated $4 million.
Raekwon Noel
Swimming, Guyana
The Highland Regional High School graduate holds multiple Guyanese records. The Indiana University-bound Noel moved to New Jersey in 2021 and joined the South Jersey Aquatic Club. At the Meet of Champions in March, the 18-year-old placed fourth in 100 butterfly (48.96) and fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:40.20).
Tommy Paul
Tennis, United States
Born in Voorhees Township, Paul’s family relocated to Greenville, North Carolina, when he was 3 months old. He started playing on clay courts at age 7, coached by his mom, Jill MacMillan, who had played at East Carolina. Paul turned pro out of high school in 2015, and won his only ATP title – the Stockholm Open – in 2021. Though Paul now lives in Florida, MacMillan has a farm in Lumberton.
Track and field, United States
A 2014 Florence grad, Thompson is heading back to the Olympics. The second American to win back-to-back Trials javelin titles, Thompson wound up 21st in Tokyo. Born in Trenton, Thompson was a four-time first team All-American javelin thrower at Mississippi State. He won the 2016 NCAA championship and the 2018 USATF title.
Amy Wang
Table tennis, United States
Wang began playing table tennis at age 4, and qualified for her first national team at 12 coached by her father, former pro Xiaotao Wang. A 21-year-old sophomore studying neuroscience at UCLA, Wang grew up in Sewell.
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Publish date : 2024-07-13 17:55:43
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