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Tokyo Olympics: Five new sports debuting in 2021

The Tokyo Olympics will debut 5 new sports this summer: karate, sport climbing, skateboarding, surfing and 3×3 basketball. Learn more here.

USA TODAY

With only a few days until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, it’s an ideal time to look back at Jersey Shore greats who participated in the games of the past – and also preview the four from the Shore who’ll be competing in Japan.

The official start of the Olympics is Friday, July 23, with the opening ceremony at 7 a.m. ET – though some soccer, softball, archery and rowing will take place earlier during the week.

MORE OLYMPICS: The surprise NJ connection for Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe

WHO’S GOING?: Get to know every Team USA athlete at the Tokyo games 

This will be largest-ever Summer Games with events taking place across 33 sports, including four new Olympic sports — climbing, surfing, karate and skateboarding.

NBC will broadcast the opening ceremony and continue to carry livestreams, medal ceremonies and more through the closing ceremony on Aug. 8.

Jersey Shore athletes from past Olympics:

Robby Andrews (track)

In his memorable senior year at Manalapan High School, Andrews in 2009 set the Meet of Champions record in the boys 800 in 1:48.66, No. 2 all-time in New Jersey, and he set the state record in the mile against high school-only competition (4:03.49). As a collegian at Virginia he won the NCAA 800 in a blazing 1:44.71 and represented the U.S. in the 1500 at the 2016 Olympics

Chester Bowman (track)

Bowman, a West Long Branch native, set the Syracuse record on the 100-yard dash in 1925 (9.6); he was a national sprint champion and made the final of the 1924 Paris Olympics, running fourth. He is depicted briefly in the movie “Chariots of Fire.”

Pam Boyd (team handball)

At Central Regional, where she graduated in 1974, Boyd was a standout in basketball, field hockey and track. But after high school, she excelled as a team handball player. She joined the U.S. National Team as a goalie in 1978, and made it to the 1984 Olympics as a member of the U.S. squad.

Frank Budd (track)

Perhaps the Shore’s greatest athlete regardless of sport, the 1958 Asbury Park High School grad tied the state schoolboy record in the 220-yard dash (21.0) and ran Jersey’s second-fastest 100-yard time ever (9.6) at that point. He placed fifth in the 100 at the 1960 Rome Olympics and, running at Villanova University, broke a 13-year-old world record in 1961 with at time of 9.2. He played two years in the NFL as a wide receiver with the Eagles and Redskins. Budd died in 2014 at age 74.

Cathy Corcione (swimming)

As a 15-year-old swimmer, Corcione, a Long Branch native, qualified for the U.S. squad at the 1968 Olympics in the 4×100 freestyle relay. She went on to become a groundbreaking female athlete at Princeton, winning an NCAA championship, taking gold and silver medals at the World University Games and taking part in an NCAA record-breaking relay team.

Pam Dukes (track)

Between 1980 and 1982, this Freehold Township star was the state’s best thrower, winning three straight shot put titles at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, including a state record of 46-8 as a senior. She also two straight discus titles. She won an NCAA title in the shot put at Stanford, and competed at the 1992 Olympic Games.

Barbara Friedrich (track)

Without a girls’ track team at Manasquan in the 1960s, Friedrich began throwing the javelin with the boys teams. She went out and won the 1967 NJ girls state championship, and at the Long Branch Invitational Meet of Champions she set a high school world record of 198 feet, eight inches. She won a gold medal at the 1967 Pam American Games, and competed at the 1968 Olympics.

Erin Gleason (speed skating)

While Gleason played softball at Jackson High School, now Jackson Memorial, she made it to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan as a short track speed skater. She held three U.S. records, won a pair of bronze medals at the 1996 world championships and competed in three events at the Olympics

Milton Goode (track)

As a senior at Monmouth Regional, Goode high jumped 7-feet, 2 inches in taking the NJSIAA and Penn Relays titles. He won the 1982 Millrose Games with a career-best leap of 7-7, and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team in Los Angeles.

Connor Jaeger (swimming)

A distance swimming specialist from Fair Haven, Jaeger was a three-time All-American at Michigan. He won a silver medal in the 1,500 meter freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games, and was a member of the U.S. team at the 2012 Olympics, placing sixth in the 1,500 meter freestyle.

Sarah Mergenthaler (sailing)

 At Marlboro High School, Mergenthaler earned varsity letters in five different sports, and was the first female in New Jersey to convert a field goal in a varsity football game. At the University of Richmond, she played four years of soccer and set a school record in the javelin. Then she turned her focus to sailing and qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Frank Molinaro (wrestling)

A three-time NJSIAA wrestling champion at Southern, he went 33-0 at Penn State in 2012 to win an NCAA championship, finishing as a four-time All-American. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Molinaro wrestled for a bronze medal, losing the match to finish fifth.

FAREWELL: Frank Molinaro retires from wrestling after loss at Olympic Trials

Christie Pearce (soccer)

She led the Shore Conference in scoring in both soccer and basketball as a senior at Point Boro in 1993, scoring 2,203 points in basketball for her career, as well as starring on the softball diamond. She scored 79 goals in 80 games at Monmouth University and went on to captain the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, winning three Olympic gold medals and two World Cup titles.

MORE CHRISTIE: The best ever: Monmouth University’s top 30 female athletes

Bill Reilly (steeplechase)

Reilly, from the Long Branch High School Class of 1961, became an All-American distance runner at Penn State and later won the U.S. title in the steeplechase, representing America in the event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Andrew Valmon (track)

 A Manchester High School graduate, Valmon burst on to the national scene while running at Seton Hall, where he was a three-time All-American.  He went on to earn gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. 4×400 relay team, and still holds a world record as part of the 1993 World Championship relay that ran 2:54.29.

Quentin Wheeler (track)

Wheeler, a Monmouth Regional 1974 grad, set a state record of 52.8 in the boys 400 hurdles that lasted four years, but his biggest accomplishments came later. At San Diego State he was the 1976 NCAA champion in the intermediates in a time of 48.55 — setting the Franklin Field record — and went on to place fourth in the event at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Tom Wilkens (swimming)

A Middletown native and CBA graduate, Wilkens, who swam at Stanford, earned a gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia in the 200-meter individual medley. He also competed in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Ajee’ Wilson

MORE: U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials: Ajee’ Wilson headed to Tokyo

The 27-year-old Neptune High School legend, for whom the track was named earlier this year, is a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships and advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics. She’s qualified for Tokyo.

2020 Olympians with Jersey Shore ties:

Todd Frazier (baseball)

A Toms River native, Frazier will be Team USA’s starting third baseman in his first Olympics. He became available after the Pittsburgh Pirates designated him for assignment in May.

MORE: Why Todd Frazier is so hyped for the Olympics: ‘What else could be better than that?’

Frazier first emerged to the national stage in 1998 when he led Toms River East to the Little League World Series title. He led Toms River South High School to two consecutive Group 3 titles in 2002 and 2003 before starring at Rutgers and winning Big East Player of the Year in 2007. He’s enjoyed a successful MLB career and owns 218 home runs and 639 RBI for his career.

Morgan Pearson (triathlon)

Pearson, who has ties to Monmouth County, qualified for the Olympics by earning bronze at the World Triathlon Championship Series May 15 in Yokohama, Japan. 

Jessica Springsteen (equestrian)

The daughter of New Jersey rock and roll legends Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, Jessica Springsteen has made her second Olympic team in show jumping. She was an alternate rider in 2012 but did not make the cut in 2016. A Ranney alum and Colts Neck native, Springsteen is currently ranked No. 3 nationally and 27th worldwide.

MORE: Jessica Springsteen says parents share her Olympic dream. It’s ‘such a passion for them’

Earlier this month, Springsteen told the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey, “Being a part of this team is something I’ve dreamed of since I was little, and to do so alongside riders that I’ve admired and been inspired by for years makes it even more special. I am thankful for the continued support of my team, friends and family, and hope to make everyone proud this summer.”

Ajee’ Wilson

Yep, the Neptune native is on her way to her second Olympics in the 800 meters.

Wilson is a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships and advanced to the semifinals at the 2016 Olympic Games. 

Her personal best of 1:55.61 in the 800 is an American record. 

Steve Edelson, Jerry Carino, Danny LoGiudice and Jane Havsy contributed to this story.

Source: Asbury Park

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