Nathan Ikon Crumpton (born October 9, 1985) is an Olympic athlete who has competed in

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

(sledding) for the United States of America and

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

, and in

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for American Samoa.

Early and personal life

Crumpton was born in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, where his father was stationed with the

U.S. Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

, and is a natural-born U.S. citizen. His mother is of Chinese and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an descent, and growing up, he spent most of his childhood in Africa before moving to Switzerland, Australia, and then to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where he graduated from high school. Now, most of his family lives in Hawaii. When he was younger, Crumpton was a track-and-field athlete first and foremost. He competed in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, where he was a four-year

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I track and field athlete and an All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

selection in the triple jump, and as the third-farthest triple jumper in Princeton history. He worked as a sports photographer for '' The Daily Princetonian'' and remains a keen photographer. In December 2021, he published a 553-page book titled "Alpha Status: A Non-fiction Novel." He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

with an A.B. in sociology and a certificate in environmental studies in 2008 after completing a 132-page-long senior thesis, titled "Dissonant Realities: Behind the Veil of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

in Tanzania," under the supervision of Elizabeth Armstrong.

Skeleton

In 2015, he raced in his first Skeleton World Cup event, and he finished the 2016–17 season in 11th place overall, a career-best. He had four top-10 and twelve top-15 World Cup finishes in his career, with a best World Cup race result of fifth place at Park City in 2016. At the

IBSF World Championships 2016 The IBSF World Championships 2016 took place at the Olympic Sliding Centre Innsbruck in Igls, Austria, from 8 to 21 February 2016. Schedule Six events were held. ''All times are local (UTC+1).'' Medal summary Medal table Bobsleigh Skeleto ...

, he led all American sliders and finished ranked eighth in the world. However, a herniated disc in his back prevented him from competing further at the World Cup and, ultimately, the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Pyeongchang, South Korea Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

. In 2019 he switched to American Samoa to represent his Polynesian heritage, and he won the first gold medal in a winter Olympic sport for

at the North America's Cup in

Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...

Olympic career

After leaving the US team in 2019, Crumpton went looking for a new nation to represent and was eventually adopted by American Samoa. He competed for

in the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in the

100m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

race. He ran a time of 11.27 seconds, which was the second fastest ever time by an American Samoan athlete at the Summer Olympic Games. He was selected as the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

flag bearer for American Samoa. He also holds the American Samoan national records in both the long jump and triple jump. Crumpton qualified to compete for

at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

. He again served as flagbearer, this time at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, becoming an "Olympic sensation" according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' by marching topless in traditional Samoan clothing in the freezing weather. After qualifying for the fourth and final heat, he posted a total time of 4:06.80 and placed 19th in the field. He later competed at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

, in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in the 100 metres.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crumpton, Nathan 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Nairobi American male skeleton racers American male sprinters American Samoan male sprinters American Samoan male skeleton racers Princeton Tigers men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for American Samoa Olympic male sprinters American people of Chinese descent American people of Native Hawaiian descent American Samoan people of Chinese descent American Samoan people of Native Hawaiian descent Skeleton racers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic skeleton racers for American Samoa