CJ Nickolas has spoken openly about his desire to win gold at the Paris Olympics. The 22-year-old Team USA athlete is competing in Taekwondoa Korean martial art that Nickolas describes how “more similar to boxing than wrestling”, in which fighters mainly use their feet to strike the opponent.
Born Carl Alan Nickolas, CJ won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games and silver at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, the first US taekwondo medal in the world since 2009. The California-born athlete began taekwondo at age 3 with his immediate family and began competing at age 6.
All of this led to him being the first taekwondo athlete to qualify for this year’s Summer Olympics, which will take place from July 26th to August 11th.
Here’s everything you need to know about CJ Nickolas as he tries to win the Olympic gold medal.
Who are CJ Nickolas’ parents?
Nickolas frequent mentions and credits his mother Denise Nickolas and his stepfather Edward Givans.
“My mother was smart. She researched combat sports for children and found martial arts that are in the Olympics, where you can build a career,” he said. told NBC. “And she found a random taekwondo school and put me in it.”
Denise also enrolled in a taekwondo class to learn from her son and became a black belt before retiring from the sport a few years ago.
In an interview with Teen fashion, Nickolas said his mother began dating — and eventually married — his taekwondo instructor, Givans. Although the two are no longer together, he considers the instructor a “father figure and coach.” In interviews and on his Team USA profile, Nickolas calls Givans his father.
How tall and weight is CJ Nickolas?
Nickolas’ height is 6’2” and he will be in the 68-80 kg weight category in taekwondo at the Olympics.
What is CJ Nickolas’ Taekwondo rank and belt?
According to the world ranking of Taekwondo athletes, Nickolas’ position in the sport rose to second place in his 80kg division at the end of 2023. At the Olympics, there are only eight weight categories – four for each gender. Nickolas was listed as second in the “M-80 kg, Senior Division, Kyorugi World Ranking“until June 2024.
Nickolas earned his black belt when he was just 7 years old.
What is CJ Nickolas’s net worth?
Although Nickolas’ net worth is not known, the prize money awarded for competitions in the sport can vary. For example, in the World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series, the gold medal prize is US$15,000, the silver medal prize is US$4,000, and the bronze medal prize is US$2,000. At the Pan American Games, in which Nickolas won gold last year, prize money for individual athletes ranged from US$3,000 for those who won gold to US$2,000 and US$1,000 for those who won silver and bronze, respectively.
Athletes also often make money through brand partnerships, and Nickolas is an ambassador for Tinder dating app.
What are CJ Nickolas’ other interests?
Nickolas is incredibly active in his Instagram, Youtube channel, and other social media platforms. There, he shared his musicasking his fans to vote for their favorite songs.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
