In June, just before his 100-meter freestyle final at USA Swimming's Olympic Trials, Jack Alexy had a few minutes to be a fan.
From the pool deck in Indianapolis, the Mendham native watched Matt Fallon , his longtime Somerset Hills YMCA teammate, win the 200-meter breaststroke "by literally two body lengths" to qualify for Team USA.
Alexy's thought: "I can't mess this up now."
He didn't. The Delbarton alum finished first in his prelim, with the world's second-fastest 100-meter freestyle time this season, securing his spot at the 2024 Olympics that open Friday in Paris. He's part of a trio of New Jersey swimmers − along with Warren native Fallon and Nic Fink of Morristown − who will try to win gold for the U.S. and bring glory to the Garden State.
"New Jersey has really started to kick it up a notch now," Fallon said. "I'm excited to see how many Olympians New Jersey can produce . It's an honor to give back to my state. Everyone in New Jersey swimming kind of knows each other already. It's kind of nice to be a figure for that community, to inspire other people."
Meet USA Swimming's 'Jersey Boys'
Dubbed the "Jersey Boys" delegation , seven Garden State swimmers raced for the U.S. at last summer's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, more than from any other state. New Jersey residents – Alexy, Dare Rose from Jersey City and Destin Lasco from Mainland Regional High School in Linwood – swam three of the four legs on Team USA's gold-winning medley relay.
Now, Alexy, Fallon and Fink will carry that hometown pride into the Summer Games.
The current trio has even deeper ties than their common home state. Alexy and Fallon swam together at SHY (now Greater Somerset County YMCA) from when each was 8 years old until middle school. Fink and Fallon both swam for The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, albeit a decade apart.
"That’s small, small world stuff," Fink said earlier this month via Zoom from USA Swimming's training facility in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Pingry’s not a big school anyway. The fact that Matt and I are both on this team is a pretty cool little stat."
"It’s pretty cool seeing all the 'Jersey Boys' rep Team USA as well, getting to know all these guys: Matt, Jack Alexy and the others. It’s great to have a big squad from such a little state."
Nic Fink: USA Swimming's vet at 2024 Olympics
At age 31, Fink is the veteran among both the Jersey Boys and Team USA. He will compete in the 100-meter breaststroke, after finishing fifth in the 200 breast in the Tokyo Olympics.
A two-time Swimmer of the Year and the Somerset County Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior in 2011, Fink set the state high school record while winning the 100-yard breast at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. He swam breaststroke on the meet-record medley relay team and anchored the record-setting 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Fink has amassed a long list of accolades: He's a 19-time All-American and four-time Southeastern Conference 100 breaststroke champion at the University of Georgia. A five-time world champion in the breaststroke, he has been part of Team USA since 2013.
He earned a master's in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech after competing in Tokyo, and now works remotely as an assistant project manager for Atlanta-based Quanta Utility Engineering Services . Fink brought his work laptop along to training camp and has been tracking ongoing work and connecting with his colleagues between practices.
"They don’t quite think I’m on vacation," Fink joked. "But a lot of them think this is a fun work trip where I can work and stay in touch but have other things to focus on – like competing in Paris."
More: Ready for the Olympics? Our guide to NJ athletes headed to the 2024 Summer Games
Fink and his wife, 2016 Olympic gold medal swimmer Melanie Margalis Fink , live in Dallas and are expecting their first child – a boy – in mid-September. He trains at Southern Methodist University, where she is an assistant women's coach.
Melanie Fink has also been trying to explain to her husband what a traditional Olympics is like, unlike the COVID-influenced 2021 Games in Tokyo where Nic competed.
"It’s crazy to think I’m in that role of being the older guy, the veteran," said Fink, who was a co-captain on the U.S. world championships team. "It’s been a lot of fun seeing the young guys on their first Olympic trip, a few of them their first international trip. It’s been kind of good to see them get acclimated and used to how things are done. It’s definitely been a little different."
Matt Fallon leads 'breastroker family' to Paris Games
Fallon and Fink come to Paris as fellow Pingry alumni and part of what Fallon describes as "a breaststroker family."
The top seed in the 200 breaststroke at Trials, the 21-year old lowered the American record to 2:06.54 while finishing first on June 19 in Indianapolis. A rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania, Fallon is a two-time Ivy champ in the 200 breast. He finished second at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
A YMCA champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, he held multiple national age-group records. He finished eighth in the 200 breast at the 2021 Olympic Trials, out of the mix for Tokyo but still the best finish by a swimmer 18 or younger in any swim Trials event.
Jack Alexy living a 'dream' that started at Somerset Hills Y
Fallon and Alexy swam together as kids at the YMCA in Basking Ridge until Fallon moved to the Somerset Valley Y in Somerville. Those two teams merged during COVID, bringing them back together as high school seniors. They were reunited again at the Olympic qualifier in June.
With supporters from Delbarton and his current school, Cal-Berkeley, cheering him on in Indianapolis, Alexy finished second in the 100 free . He'll compete in the individual event, as well as part of Team USA's 4x100 free relay.
More: With spot in 2024 Olympics, Mendham swimmer Jack Alexy is 'living my dream'
A four-time NJSIAA Meet of Champions winner at Delbarton, Alexy might have collected more titles if not for Lasco – a high school competitor turned Berkeley teammate . Alexy made his Team USA debut at worlds in 2023, bringing home five total medals, and this past season was part of Cal's national champion 800 free relay. He is a seven-time All-American.
"As a swimmer, every kid has that dream," he said of his Olympic run. "That goal is in progress right now: making the Olympic podium, winning an Olympic gold medal. I'm really happy. I'm truly living my dream right now."
Alexy, Fallon and Fink joined their U.S. teammates in North Carolina on July 2 for a week-long domestic training camp. Team USA next headed to Croatia for two weeks, to acclimate to European time before arriving in Paris.
"There is definitely an added comfort level that comes with having someone you've known your entire life on the team," Fallon said. "It's hard to mesh onto the team as a newer swimmer. But Jack being there really helps."
When do the Olympics start?
Olympic events began on Wednesday , with the Opening Ceremony two days later. Swimming starts on July 27.
Though Fallon didn't expect to see Alexy before any potential finals, the old friends are already hoping to celebrate together afterward.
"Most kids don't like getting up early and going to swim practice, or going to swim practice after school," Alexy said. "Coming from New Jersey, coming from the Somerset Hills YMCA, having friends from there today, I'm grateful for those relationships, grateful for all the opportunities New Jersey has given me.
"I hope I can make them proud."
Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today .
Want to share your story with me?
Email: JHavsy@gannett.com Twitter/X: @dailyrecordspts
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: USA Swimming's 'Jersey Boys' ready to take on the world at 2024 Olympics
Most Popular
Comments / 0