Eyes on the Olympics

Skylar Hattendorf has her sights set on the Olympics. That is why this freshman spends countless hours training and traveling all over the country and world to compete in judo and wrestling tournaments. Since the age of five, Skylar has participated in Judo, and she said she began wrestling at the age of 10 in order to help with her Judo. Since being born in California, she has lived in six states and most recently moved to the East Coast because the Judo Olympic Coach is in this area.
Since she was five years old Skylar has been in multiple matches all over the world. She has wrestled in some of the highest levels at this age. Skylar said talking to people before the match can keep her loose and calm. Although wrestling and Judo are individual sports, she said, “my parents and teammates have and always will be my biggest supporters.”
Just recently, she won the U.S. Women's National Freestyle Championships while also making the 2019 Cadet World team in the process. And back in February she made the Judo Cadet World team as well.
While still celebrating her victories, Skylar said she always is paying attention to the future. She plans to take a gap year before starting college since she will be 17 at graduation and wants to keep her focus on the Olympics. Though she has already had colleges reach out to her as as freshman because of her wrestling abilities, Division One schools do not include women's wrestling into their sports options within the next 4 or 5 years, and she hopes to see this change soon.
She works hard to stay on top of her work while competing, but is thankful for the flexibility teachers have shown her as well. She also appreciates having incredibly supportive friends and family in her life. Though clearly her hard work and dedication have gotten her where she is today, she also wants to thank “...my teammates here at Bow High school and my teammates at my club, my coaches and my parents” who she believes played a strong role in her success as well.