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Area Athlete Represents US in Olympic Discus
L OCA L
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
AT 27, Sam Mattis is an
Olympian for the first time.

The East Brunswick High
School (New Jersey) and
University of Pennsylvania
graduate, whose mother is
Jewish, is in Tokyo with the
U.S. Olympic Men’s Track &
Field Team for the Summer
Olympics. On July 30, he will compete
in the qualifying round for
the discus event. If he hits the
qualifying distance and/or
finishes in the top 12, Mattis
will advance to the final one
night later.

Mattis won the New Jersey
State Interscholastic Athletic
Association Meet of Champions
in his last three years at East
Brunswick. He also won the
2015 NCAA Men’s Discus
Championship as a junior at
Penn. But for about a decade,
Mattis’ ultimate goal was to
reach the sport’s biggest stage.

Now, he’s there.

Unfortunately, though, he
won’t get a typical Olympic
experience. Pandemic restric-
tions in the village will force
him to stay in his room
unless he’s eating or training.

Mattis also must wear a mask
whenever he leaves the room.

“It’s not ideal, but my goal
was to make the Olympics,” he
said. “Anything that happens at
the Olympics is a nice little plus.”
Mattis competed in the
2016 U.S. Olympic Track and
Field Trials, too. Then 22, he
expected to finish in the top
three, make the team and head
to Rio de Janeiro for the games.

But instead, Mattis placed
ninth. The NCAA champion
was crushed.

“I should have made the
team,” he said.

That same year, the New
Jersey native graduated from
Penn. And even after missing
the Olympic team, he decided
to remain a professional track
and field athlete.

He lifted 4-5 days a week
and threw six times a week. He
participated in the decentralized
U.S. circuit, run by independent
bodies hosting events at colleges.

He made between $25,000 and
$35,000 a year from stipends,
grants and prize money, taking
odd jobs on the side, like
tutoring and laundry delivery, to
supplement his income.

But by 2019, the work paid
off. That September, Mattis
won the discus event at the
Outdoor USA Track and Field
Championships. He launched
the discus 66 meters and 69
centimeters, well above his
usual distance of between
63.50 and 65.50.

“He’s special, man,” said
Mattis’ coach, Dane Miller.

Going into 2020, the discus
champion looked ready to
redeem himself in the Olympic
trials. All he needed was a top
three finish, and he was the
U.S. champion.

But after the pandemic broke
out in March, the summer
games were postponed. Later
that year, Mattis started to
feel stiffness in his back, and
it didn’t go away. The champ
reduced his training schedule
and sometimes went weeks
without throwing a discus.

In 2021, with the Olympics
back on, USA Track & Field
formalized and ran a “Journey
to Gold” circuit leading up to
the summer trials. Since he was
the 2019 national champion,
Mattis didn’t need to qualify
for the penultimate event.

He did, however, need to
throw in some “Journey to
Gold” events to get back into
midseason form. Before 2020,
midseason form was a state of
existence for the track pro.

But during the pandemic
year and into 2021, Mattis
didn’t train for most of August
and September and chunks of
October, December, January
and April. In the spring, he
also missed the first “Journey
to Gold” meet.

Finally, in May, Mattis
dialed up his training regimen
and started launching in meets
again. Except he wasn’t truly
launching. At one early “Journey to
Gold” event in California,
Mattis placed eighth out of
10. In his next competition at
the University of Arizona, he
finished fourth but only threw
the discus 62 meters and 77
centimeters, well below his
pre-injury average.

Trials were looming in
late June at the mecca of U.S.

track & field: Hayward Field in
Eugene, Oregon. And Mattis
was struggling through the
worst season of his career.

But since he was training and
competing again, Mattis found
his confidence before the meet.

“I knew I could make the
team if I stayed focused, and
didn’t worry about what other
people were doing,” he said.

The day arrived and, before
Sam Mattis, left, with his coach,
Dane Miller
Courtesy of Garage Strength
Sports Performance
stepping into the circle, Mattis
cleared his head and visual-
ized the throw. He took a deep
breath and launched the discus
far enough to place third.

“It wasn’t great,” Mattis said.

“But I ended up placing third,
so you can’t be too upset.”
Miller was proud of his
pupil’s grit. He also said that
Mattis has a thrower’s chance
in the Olympics.

“I believe he is capable of
achieving the final,” Miller
said. “From there he will really
need to let it loose.” l
jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
Lone Soldier’s Legacy Persists 15 Years After Death
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
MICHAEL LEVIN, a Philadelphia
native, wanted to join the Israel
Defense Forces since the age of
9. He even broke into an Israeli
army base through a bathroom
window to enlist.

The grandson of two
Holocaust survivors on his
mother’s side, Levin was
imbued with the value of
protecting a Jewish homeland
since childhood. In 2002,
Levin made aliyah, enlisting
in the IDF as a lone soldier,
6 JULY 29, 2021
joining the Israeli military
with no family in Israel or local
support systems.

Michael Levin died in
combat 15 years ago in 2006,
but his parents, Mark and
Harriet Levin, ensured his
legacy would last into futurity.

On July 16, the Lone Soldier
Center in Memory of Michael
Levin, along with Knesset
member Michael Biton of
the Defense Ministry, hosted
its inaugural conference in
Jerusalem’s Knesset in honor
of Michael Levin’s 15-year
yahrzeit. The Lone Soldier Center,
which provides counseling,
meals, financial assistance and
emergency support for 2,000
lone soldiers annually in Israel,
co-organized the event with
Biton to raise awareness of
lone soldiers. Michael Levin’s
parents, Knesset members and
lone soldiers of past and present
attended the conference.

“We were proud to see over
15 Knesset members from
different parties come and
demonstrate their respect for
lone soldiers, their appreciation
for the work that we do, and to
See Lone, Page 17
JEWISH EXPONENT
Michal Berman (left), Harriet Levin, Michael Biton and Mark Levin at the
Knesset’s inaugural conference advocating for lone soldiers
Courtesy of The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM