Local Olympic Spotlight: New Jersey’s Ajee Wilson One of US Up and Coming Stars

Neptune, New Jersey native, Ajee Wilson

After being one of the most dominant high school runners in the history of New Jersey, Neptune native Ajee Wilson is hoping to take the world by storm in the Rio Olympics.

Wilson, 22, punched her ticket to Rio when she finished second in the 800m race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. She placed behind only Kate Grace in her attempt to defend her national title. She trailed Grace by only .41 seconds.

Specializing in the middle distance 800m race, Wilson is considered one of the rising stars in the sport. She won indoor and outdoor national titles before she turned 21, and then earned silver at the world indoor championships this year. She was going to run in the 2015 outdoor championships, but was injured before she could compete.

Despite her up and coming status, it will still be a difficult road for Wilson to travel in order to win her first Olympic medal. She hasn’t posted any of the top ten times this season, and defending silver medalist Caster Semenya of South Africa is gearing to add gold to her collection. Not having the Russian team competing in the event will help a lot, considering they won two of the medals in London’s event.

She still has the ability to go out and win though, considering she posted the best time in the world in 2014 before hurting her leg. She spent most of the 2015 season coming back from that injury. This will be the biggest event that she has ever run before, and she has more than enough talent in order to reach the podium.

Even while running professionally, Wilson is attending Temple University. She attended the Academy of Allied Health and Science in Monmouth County for high school, which she graduated from in 2012. She became a professional the year after. Her father played college football and ran track and field, while her mother also ran the 800m. She currently lives in Philadelphia, where she runs with the Juventus Track Club.