After breaking two records at the U.S. championships earlier in the year, sixteen-year-old Zach Peckman of New Hope is in Japan for the IJRU World Jump Rope Championships, writes Ariel Simpson for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The New Hope-Solebury High School student set his jump-rope pace to a sped-up version of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” and earned the title of Grand National Champion earlier this summer. He also set the national record in the single-rope speed endurance event.
“Because I had the song in my ear and I had my dad telling me my scores, the second I finished, I had a feeling that I got the record,” said Peckman. “And I was elated because I had put in so much work, not just that year, but for the past three years training several days a week.”
Peckman is now in Kawasaki, Japan, representing the United States in the single-rope sprint and endurance events at the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships.
The event features more than 2,000 athletes representing over 30 countries.
“It’s a little bit nerve-wracking to be with the best people,” said Peckman. “But it’s such an amazing feeling.”
Read more about Zach Peckman’s path from New Hope to the world stage and see how he’s representing the U.S. in Japan in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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