Jack Alexy, 21, is set to establish himself as the next great American swimmer at the 2024 Paris Olympics .
The freestyle-specialist is ready for a breakout akin to Michael Phelps 's rise at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In Greece, a 19-year old Phelps captured eights medals and took home six golds to start a path to cementing himself as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
ESPN recently ranked Phelps as the top professional athlete of the 21st century . Alexy certainly has a long way to go.
So, who is Jack Alexy?
The New Jersey native is currently an undergraduate at swimming-powerhouse Cal-Berkley alongside his brother, Rob. He grew up swimming at the Somerset Hills YMCA before attending the Delbarton Prep School.
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Alexy is easy to pick out in a crowd: at 6-foot-7, he's set to be the tallest swimmer competing in the Olympics 100m Freestyle . His height and athletic ability can partially be traced back to his grandfather, who played eight games for the NBA's Detroit Pistons during the 1957-1958 season.
Alexy emerged on the youth circuit by helping team USA capture a goal medal in the 4x100 free at the 2019 FINA World Championships. He competed in the U.S. Trials for the 2020 Olympics and broke Caeleb Dressel's national age group record, his roommate during the event.
Dressel is set to be Alexy's stiffest competition this summer. Dressel is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in both the 50m and 100m freestyle, though Alexy beat him in the 100m freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmost, Illinois earlier this year.
Alexy struggled at Cal during his first-year campaign before rebounding by the time 2023 rolled around. At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, the young American shocked the international swimming world by claiming silver medals in both the 50m and 100m freestyle.
Alexy was even faster at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials , posting a ridiculous 47.08 100m time good for the eighth-fastest mark of all-time. Fellow Cal alumni and 2012 100m freestyle winner Nathan Adrian helped Alexy shake off some pre-Olympic jitters. In an interview with NBC , Adrian passed along some advice to the young American phenom.
“You found yourself in a position with the ability to swim fast," he said. "Don’t make any drastic changes, right? You are on the right path.”
Alexy is set to compete in the 100m freestyle as well as a cadre of relay events. He will be joined by a pair of swimmers from New Jersey on the American Olympic team . One of them is Nic Fink, a veteran breastroker from Morristown. The other hits particularly close to home: Matt Fallon, who grew up swimming alongside Alexy at the Somerset Hills YMCA.
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