Tokyo Olympics 2021: Which team is Bruce Springsteen’s daughter joining?

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics are just over two weeks away. Already they’re stirring up controversy, outrage, and endless online discussions. Instead of focusing on all the contentious issues related to the upcoming games, why not read some good news? Bruce Springsteen’s daughter is finally going to the Olympics. She’ll be a part of the U.S.A.’s show jumping team.

Jessica Springsteen has gotten close to Olympic competition in the past. She was named as an alternate for the 2012 games in London. In 2016 she hoped to earn a spot on the team going to Rio, but she just missed the mark. Now, she’s set to ride a twelve-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion named Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve as part of the four-person show jumping team.

You may not have known that Bruce Springsteen’s daughter was an athlete at all, much less an Olympic-level champion. Jessica Springsteen is one of the best show jumpers of her generation. We’ll catch you up on her history in the sport ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Born to jump

Jessica Springsteen grew up around Rumson, New Jersey, and she’s been racing horses since she was just four years old. The Springsteen family has a 368-acre farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey which served as the young Springsteen’s training grounds. Very quickly, Springsteen proved that she had a natural talent for riding, and her dedication to the sport paid dividends.

In 2012, Springsteen qualified as an alternate for the London Olympics. While she didn’t end up competing, the qualification was a huge step in the then twenty-year-old’s athletic career. Two years later Springsteen graduated from Duke with a degree in Psychology. After graduating, Springsteen moved to the Netherlands and committed herself wholeheartedly to her athletics.

Glory days

After moving to the Netherlands, Jessica Springsteen’s equestrian career picked up heat. To date, she’s made over $2 million from racing horses. She has competed all over the world, and she constantly comes out on top. By now, Springsteen has proved herself to be one of the great equestrians of her generation. She’s currently ranked third in the U.S. and twenty-seventh in the world overall in her sport.

Just last month, Springsteen won the 4* Grand Prix Hubside Jumping Tour in France. Her top time was 36.16 seconds. Springsteen’s position on Team U.S.A.’s show jumping team was announced on Monday July 5th. She will compete alongside Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, and McLain Ward. Her three team members have competed in past Olympics. At twenty-nine, Springsteen is the youngest on the team by about a decade.

Racing in the Olympics

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics will be Jessica Springsteen’s Olympic debut. The Olympics will commence on July 23rd. After that, Springsteen will have two weeks to prepare herself for the show jumping competition. The individual qualifier will take place on August 3rd, with the individual final occurring the very next day. The full team competition won’t happen until August 6th.

Springsteen has said that Olympic competition has been one of her lifelong goals. Unfortunately, due to pandemic safety concerns, Springsteen’s family won’t be joining her in Tokyo for the 2021 Olympics. However, this could very likely be the first of many times Springsteen is seen at the Olympics. Her forty-five-year-old teammate McLain Ward has competed in three previous games.

There’s less than a month to wait for Springsteen’s first Olympic competition. The world will be watching, and her fans in the U.S., and New Jersey in particular, will be cheering her on. This is just the next step forward for an already incredibly successful equestrian.

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Will you be watching Jessica Springsteen compete in the 2021 Olympics? Let us know in the comments!