Jourdan Delacruz is competing in the weightlifting competition at the Paris Olympics 2024. This is the second trip to the Olympics for the former Wylie resident. Courtesy Team USA 

When Jourdan Delacruz moved from Wylie to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs after her sophomore year at Wylie East High School, it was all to realize a dream.

The dream became a reality in 2021 as a member Team USA competing in the COVID-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in weightlifting. 

And although she did not medal in 2021, Delacruz, 26, will have a second chance to make the podium in the snatch and clean and jerk at the Paris Olympics.

In modern Olympic weightlifting, the snatch is when the weightlifter lifts the barbell from the floor to above the head in one continuous motion. In the clean and jerk, the lifter first brings the barbell to the chest (clean) before lifting it overhead (jerk).

Looking back, Delacruz said her first Olympics was truly a dream, but she views her second Olympics as a gift.

To read the full story in print or online in the July 31st issue of The Wylie News subscribe today to support your local community newspaper!