Hundreds of American athletes are in Paris right now, waiting for their moment to compete on the world stage. From all around the country, men and women will step up to the plate, starting line, starting block, court, and more to give it their all for an Olympic gold medal. Representing New Jersey on Team USA are 22 athletes from all over the Garden State. Read on for who these athletes are, where they’re from, and where you can watch them compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

The Athletes

There are 22 New Jerseyans who qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and all are representing the USA in a variety of sports this year. More about each, below:

Paxten Aaronson from Medford, NJ, is playing soccer for Team USA. The 20-year-old made his debut on the US Men’s National Team in 2023 and spent his youth career with the Philadelphia Union.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Paxten Aaronson (@paxten_aaronson8)

 

Playing with Paxten is John Tolkin, a 21-year-old from Chatham, NJ. John joined the New York Red Bulls Academy when he was 13 years old and currently plays for the New York Red Bulls MLS team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Read More: New Jersey Adult Sports Leagues to Join This Summer

Professional golfer Scottie Scheffler is competing in the Olympics for the first time. The 28-year-old is from Ridgewood, NJ, and won the 2022 and 2024 Masters Tournament along with collecting 12 PGA Tour wins. He is currently ranked number one in the world (as of July 2024) and held onto that title since May 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jack Alexy from Morristown, NJ, will be swimming for Team USA. The 21-year-old Delbarton graduate will compete in the 100-meter freestyle and be part of the 4×100 men’s relay team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nic Fink from Morristown, NJ, is also swimming in the Olympics again after his first showing in Toyoko in 2020. The 31-year-old Pingry School graduate finished 5th in the 200m Breaststroke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Also swimming for Team USA is Matt Fallon from Warren, NJ. He is currently studying at The University of Pennsylvania where he is a competitive member of the men’s swim team. This is his first time competing in the Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Swimming for the Colombian Olympic Team is New Jersey native Anthony Rincon. He is originally from Elizabeth, NJ, and is studying at Harvard University. His family moved to New Jersey in 1997 looking for a better life. Anthony shared his family’s journey with Harvard, saying, “My dad’s goal was to just live; we didn’t even dream about any of this. This whole process has been surreal, seeing how far our whole family has come.”

Amanda Golini started playing field hockey in 2009 and will be representing Team USA for the first time in Paris this year. The 29-year-old is from Randolph, NJ, and her game-day mantra, according to her team bio, is, “When you think you are tired, keep going!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Amanda Golini (@amanda_magadan)

 

Returning to compete in her third Olympic games is Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone from Dunellen, NJ. The two-time gold medalist will be running again for Team USA. She previously won gold medals for the 4 x 400m Relay and the 400m Hurdles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Keturah Orji is also returning to her third Olympic games to run for Team USA. The 28-year-old from Mount Olive, NJ, competed in the Triple Jump in 2016 and 2020. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2018 and was a three-time NCAA triple jump champion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ethan Ramos is wrestling in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Puerto Rico. The assistant coach for Duke University’s wrestling program is from Paterson, NJ. According to his Olympic profile, Ethan says, “I’m extremely thankful and excited to represent Puerto Rico. I hope I can be an inspiration for wrestlers, especially on the island.”

Also representing Puerto Rico is New Jersey native Sebastian Rivera. From Toms River, Sebastian was a decorated wrestler at Rutgers University. He was named the flag bearer for Puerto Rico during the opening ceremony and will be wrestling in the men’s freestyle wrestling at 65kg.

Molly Reckford from Short Hills, NJ, is returning to row for Team USA. The 31-year-old competed in 2020 in the Lightweight Double Sculls and placed 5th. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 and credits her success to the support of her family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sam Mattis will be competing in the Discus Throw for Team USA in Paris. He previously competed in the 2020 Olympics where he placed 8th. The 30-year-old is from East Brunswick, NJ, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Amy Wang from Sewell, NJ, started playing table tennis at just four years old and will now be competing in her first Olympics in Paris. The 21-year-old has been competing for years and made her first US National Team when she was 12. She’s been named one of five New Jersey and New York athletes to watch this year, along with Molly Reckford and Jesse Gruper.

 

Jesse Gruper is from Upper Montclair and will be climbing in Paris this year. He started climbing at age six and started competing at age nine. The 27-year-old graduated from Tufts University in 2019 and has already climbed all over the world. “One of the best things we can do as people is pushing our limits to reach our full potential,” Grupper told Olympic Reporter Scott Bregman.

Gold medalist Bam Adebayo is returning to play basketball for Team USA. The 27-year-old Miami Heat player competed in 2020 and is originally from Newark, NJ. He joins other NBA stars like Stephan Curry, Devin Booker, and LeBron James.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Casey Murphy from Bridgewater, NJ, is making her Olympic debut in Paris this year on the US women’s soccer team. She started playing soccer at four years old, but by 10 she decided she would strictly play goalie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jackie Dubrovich will be fencing for Team USA. She is from Riverdale, NJ, and started fencing when she was eight years old. She says it’s because “it was a sport that worked for her ‘awkwardly lanky self’” according to her Olympic bio. Jackie previously competed in Tokyo 2020 and is coached by her fiancé, Brian Kaneshige, who is also a New Jersey native.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Elizabeth Tartakovsky will join Jackie on Team USA for fencing. The 24-year-old is from Livingston, NJ, and discovered fencing after watching her great-uncle medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Along with fencing, Elizabeth also likes skiing and swimming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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23-year-old Mitchell Saron is also representing the US in fencing. Originally from Ridgewood, this is Mitchell’s first time competing in the Olympics. He graduated from Harvard University in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Silver medalist Morgan Pearson is from Spring Lake, NJ, and will be competing in the triathlon. He grew up a competitive swimmer, was an ocean lifeguard, and ran in high school. Before his first Olympics, Morgan lost his older brother, Andrew. Before competing, he shared, “Hopefully when I’m at the Olympics, he’ll be there with me”. The 30-year-old then won his silver medal as part of the debut Mixed Relay event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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21-year-old Jack Yonezuka will be representing Team USA in Judo. His father is an Olympian; Nick Yonezuka competed in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Jack is from West Long Branch, NJ, and has competed in Judo around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hezly Rivera is 16 years old, from Oradell, NJ, and will be competing in Gymnastics this summer. She started doing gymnastics in 2013 and said her favorite event is the bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Christie Raleigh Crossley is a Paralympian and will be representing Team USA in Para Swimming in Paris. The 37-year-old is from Toms River, NJ, has been swimming all her life, and dreamed of making the Olympic team. In 2007, she was hit by a drunk driver and suffered a back and neck injury, and then suffered a brain injury in 2008 as a pedestrian in a hit and run. She then had to get surgery after a tumor was discovered in her brain in 2018. Wanting to return to the pool, Christie researched Paralympic sport eligibility and began training as a Para swimmer in 2022. Outside of swimming, she loves her three children and photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Christie Raleigh Crossley (C.R.C.) (@crcswimsusa)

 

Curtis Thompson will be representing the US in Track and Field. The 28-year-old from Florence, NJ, previously competed in Men’s Javelin in the 2020 Toyko Olympics. He says he enjoys watching Pole Vaulting and other sports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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See More: Where to Find Indoor Golf in Northern New Jersey

When To Watch

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics kicks off Friday, July 26th, at 1:30PM EST and will be streaming on NBC, Peacock, and the NBC and NBC Olympic apps. The full schedule for all sports can be found on the 2024 Paris Olympics website.

For those wanting to watch the games on a larger screen, AMC Theaters will be showing all the games, from the first day of competition on July 27th to the closing ceremony on August 11th. Tickets for viewing can be purchased online. The theaters showing the games across New Jersey include the AMC Theaters in Clifton, Elizabeth, Paramus, Rockaway, Cherry Hill, Eatontown, Edison, and New Brunswick.