#GoJenniferWu Rio Olympics
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Dear friends,
Last July I won two gold medals in the team and single events at the Pan American Games. Winning a gold medal in the Singles event has automatically qualified me to be on the US Table Tennis team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. I am the second athlete to qualify for the US Olympic team and the first athlete to qualify for the US Olympic Table Tennis team. I cannot put it in words how happy and excited I am to be this much closer to realizing my dream of becoming a Table Tennis Olympian!
In the two years leading to the US National Team trials and the Pan American games I had to work very hard to prepare. The first thing that I focused on was my overall fitness. I ate healthy food; I ate more protein and vegetables and less carbs. I added running to my daily routine to improve my stamina. I did hot Yoga to improve my flexibility and agility. In the process I lost more than 15lbs, but the most amazing part is that I felt great and very happy doing it.
I also worked with my coaches to improve my game strategy, ball placement, service and service return. I increased my training sessions at the local clubs in New York. I also spent months at time training in Taiwan and China to improve my speed and to expose myself to different playing styles. I played many practice matches with more girls and less guys, and that was a key for me to get used to Women table tennis.
Now that my ticket to Rio is confirmed, I must work even harder. What I need the most now is to gain experience playing the women that I will face in Rio in 2016. The Olympics is a chance that comes once every four years and I do not want to be surprised in Rio; I want to be prepared and ready. The USATT has signed me up for two ITTF tours, Poland Open and Sweden Open in October this year. To prepare for these two tours I paid for my travel to Beijing to train in China for a month before the tournaments.
I was born in 1990 in Beijing and I started playing Table Tennis there. However I moved to the US when I was 18 years old. My Table Tennis skills developed and improved a lot while in the US.
Since you are reading this, most likely you have been involved in the sport of Table Tennis in some way or another. And as you may already know, our sport does not have access to a lot of resources. Table Tennis athletes have to pay their own tournament entry fees, travel expenses, coaching fees and sometimes equipment. The prize money and the sponsorships do not even come close to covering these expenses. Most athletes turn to full time jobs, coaching jobs, and to their family and friends for financial support. Playing in tournaments - domestic or international – and training camps always mean lost income to most athletes.
Here are my four goals:
1- Improve my game and bring up my level
2- Gain experience and study the players that I will compete against in Rio
3- Improve my world ranking
4- Win something
I cannot promise that I will be successful but I promise that I will try my best and work very hard. In order to prepare, I have to play more international competitions especially the ITTF tours, and I have to spend time training in Asia and Europe.
I am sharing with you how much it will roughly cost me to participate in these tours and practice camps. Any help, small or big, in sponsoring some of this cost is greatly appreciated! Your help could be financial or could be as simple as a “like” or a “share” of this post with your friends!
Thank you and best regards
#GoJenniferWu
Last July I won two gold medals in the team and single events at the Pan American Games. Winning a gold medal in the Singles event has automatically qualified me to be on the US Table Tennis team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. I am the second athlete to qualify for the US Olympic team and the first athlete to qualify for the US Olympic Table Tennis team. I cannot put it in words how happy and excited I am to be this much closer to realizing my dream of becoming a Table Tennis Olympian!
In the two years leading to the US National Team trials and the Pan American games I had to work very hard to prepare. The first thing that I focused on was my overall fitness. I ate healthy food; I ate more protein and vegetables and less carbs. I added running to my daily routine to improve my stamina. I did hot Yoga to improve my flexibility and agility. In the process I lost more than 15lbs, but the most amazing part is that I felt great and very happy doing it.
I also worked with my coaches to improve my game strategy, ball placement, service and service return. I increased my training sessions at the local clubs in New York. I also spent months at time training in Taiwan and China to improve my speed and to expose myself to different playing styles. I played many practice matches with more girls and less guys, and that was a key for me to get used to Women table tennis.
Now that my ticket to Rio is confirmed, I must work even harder. What I need the most now is to gain experience playing the women that I will face in Rio in 2016. The Olympics is a chance that comes once every four years and I do not want to be surprised in Rio; I want to be prepared and ready. The USATT has signed me up for two ITTF tours, Poland Open and Sweden Open in October this year. To prepare for these two tours I paid for my travel to Beijing to train in China for a month before the tournaments.
I was born in 1990 in Beijing and I started playing Table Tennis there. However I moved to the US when I was 18 years old. My Table Tennis skills developed and improved a lot while in the US.
Since you are reading this, most likely you have been involved in the sport of Table Tennis in some way or another. And as you may already know, our sport does not have access to a lot of resources. Table Tennis athletes have to pay their own tournament entry fees, travel expenses, coaching fees and sometimes equipment. The prize money and the sponsorships do not even come close to covering these expenses. Most athletes turn to full time jobs, coaching jobs, and to their family and friends for financial support. Playing in tournaments - domestic or international – and training camps always mean lost income to most athletes.
Here are my four goals:
1- Improve my game and bring up my level
2- Gain experience and study the players that I will compete against in Rio
3- Improve my world ranking
4- Win something
I cannot promise that I will be successful but I promise that I will try my best and work very hard. In order to prepare, I have to play more international competitions especially the ITTF tours, and I have to spend time training in Asia and Europe.
I am sharing with you how much it will roughly cost me to participate in these tours and practice camps. Any help, small or big, in sponsoring some of this cost is greatly appreciated! Your help could be financial or could be as simple as a “like” or a “share” of this post with your friends!
Thank you and best regards
#GoJenniferWu
Organizer
Yue Wu
Organizer
Fort Lee, NJ
