There must be something in the water.
With two New Jersey swimmers already medaling at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and a third competing on Tuesday hoping to bring home a glittering medal of his own, New Jersey is buzzing with pride.
“New Jersey is really starting to step up now,” Matt Fallon, a 21-year-old from Warren who is one of the Olympic stars, told NorthJersey.com.
Fallon, who will compete in the 200-meter breaststroke on Tuesday, will join Nick Fink, 31, of Morristown, and Jack Alexie, 21, of Mendham, on a traditionally strong U.S. team.
Fink famously tied with legendary British swimmer Adam Peaty to win the 100m breaststroke silver medal on Sunday night, which was the culmination of years of hard work and an end to a heartbreaking fifth-place finish at the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
He was a history maker, as the oldest swimmer on the 2024 U.S. National Team and the first U.S. swimmer to win a medal since 1904.
Alexi, who stands 6 feet 8 inches tall and comes from a family of athletes, had his moment of glory on Saturday when he won gold as part of the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.
“We were just overjoyed,” Alexie’s grandmother, Judith Ann Alexie, who lives in Pennsylvania, told The Washington Post on Monday. “He was just amazing, doing what he was meant to do.
“When he and his siblings were little, I would babysit them a lot and I would always take him to the YMCA,” his grandmother said of the UC Berkeley standout. “As far back as I can remember, he’d always been swimming.
“He loved to swim and always tried his best. … He just kept trying.”
But the New Jersey boys’ connection goes beyond just their home states: They’ve known each other for years on the swimming circuit.
At the Olympic Trials in June, Alexie watched as Fallon, a University of Pennsylvania student and longtime teammate at Somerset Hills YMCA, won the 200-meter breaststroke by “literally two body lengths,” ultimately qualifying for the U.S. swimming team heading to the Summer Olympics. According to NorthJersey.com.
Fink, an electrical engineer and soon-to-be father, is 10 years older than Fallon, but both swam at Pingry School, an exclusive college prep school in the affluent town of Basking Ridge.
Pingree Principal Timothy Lear told The Washington Post on Monday that the school launched a social media campaign after the Olympic Trials that has engaged hundreds of alumni, all of whom know the names Nick Fink and Matt Fallon.
“Everybody knew everyone during the race,” he said. “I think you could hear the cheers of about 10,000 alumni in the U.S. during the race, and as soon as it was over the text threads went wild.”
“This is a very small world issue,” Fink said of the link.
“Pingry isn’t a big school to begin with,” he said during a Zoom call earlier this month, the outlet reported. “The fact that Matt and I are on this team is a pretty cool statistic.”
“It’s amazing to see such a big team come from such a small state,” said the University of Georgia graduate, whose wife, Melanie Margaris Fink, won gold in the U.S. women’s 200-meter freestyle relay in 2016.
Fallon was equally proud of its reputation as a small but brave state.
“It’s an honor to be able to serve my state,” he told media, “All the swimmers in New Jersey already know each other, so it’s nice to be an icon for that community and inspire others.”
King Lear praises the pair for being studious students who, despite their swimming prowess, are not tied down to sports.
“Fink was one of the kindest and smartest student-athletes I’ve ever worked with,” Lear said of the 2011 alumnus who managed to balance his passion for sports with marriage and a full-time engineering job.
“He seemed to thrive under all the expectations and pressure. He was a really happy, motivated guy,” Lear continued. “He wasn’t a one-dimensional person. He didn’t sacrifice everything for swimming. He was really well-liked by his friends and teachers. So he was a very sociable, popular and humble kid.
“Nick the person has not put his Olympic or swimming career on hold,” Lear added. “Nick the person has always been there, and the fact that he is an Olympian is a part of him. Being an Olympian is not the only part of him, and it does not completely define him. Again, this is something that is unusual.”
Lear spoke equally enthusiastically about Fallon, a 2021 Pingry graduate, calling him an “exceptional student” who was just as bright and inquisitive as his pool-mates predecessors.
“Like Nick, he wasn’t just recognized for his incredible talent in the pool,” Lear said. “He was someone who took great pride in his academics.”
“We live in a time right now where you have to choose one or the other: You can either be a dedicated student or you can be a dedicated athlete,” Lear continued. “I think they’ve proven that you can actually do both and still be … really good people.”
“I think Matt’s classmates and teammates would say the exact same thing: he’s there for everyone, he’s a humble kid, he’s fun to work with. He’s not just focused on beating his opponents, he’s focused on making them better.”
And, of course, Alexy’s grandmother described him in the same way.
“He’s a really good guy. Very humble, not arrogant at all,” Judith Ann Alexie said of her grandson, whose mother, Lynn, played basketball at Notre Dame and whose grandfather played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA.
Judith Ang added that her grandson volunteers to teach young swimmers the trade that served him so well.
“He took it all in stride and we’re very proud of what he’s achieved because he’s a good guy.”
