GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WOOD) – An Olympic athlete with the last name Paris is aiming for success this summer in the city that shares her name.
“I hope this is my city that day. Paris won the gold medal in Paris,” Mason Paris said with a laugh.
Parris has emerged as one of the top candidates to join the U.S. national wrestling team at this summer's Paris Olympics.
“My dad started wrestling when I was five years old. And as I got older, it was really cool to realize that maybe it was just a dream, and maybe one day it could become a reality. “It was,” Paris said.
That's definitely the case, especially considering the success he enjoyed last year. Mason won an NCAA championship at the University of Michigan, back-to-back gold medals with Team USA at the Pan American Games, and a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade.
He is also a wrestler who qualified as a heavyweight for Team USA.
“It's great. I love representing the United States. I think America is great, the best country in the world,” Paris said.
With his success at the world championships, Mason will advance straight to the championship round at the Olympic Trials later this month.
While training at the University of Michigan, I prepare my body and mind for each workout.
“I was able to push myself to different limits that I had never experienced before, and it allowed me to test myself as a man and really find out where my limits are. , it made me realize that I can overcome anything,” Paris said.
“I love the personal side of wrestling. It's just me there. All the work I put in is what I get out of it,” he added.
