GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An Olympian whose last name is Parris is shooting for success this summer in a city that shares his name.
“Hopefully it’ll be my city that day. Parris with the gold in Paris,” Mason Parris said with a laugh.
Parris has emerged as one of the top contenders to compete for the U.S. wrestling team at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
“My dad started getting me into wrestling when I was 5 years old. And just as I got older, realizing maybe that was a dream and it could become a reality one day was really cool,” Parris said.
It’s definitely a reality, especially with the success he’s enjoyed over the last year. Mason has won an NCAA championship for Michigan, back-to-back gold medals for Team USA at the Pan American Games and a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade.
He’s also the wrestler who qualified a spot at heavyweight for Team USA.
“It’s awesome. I love representing the United States. I think the U.S. is awesome, the best country in the world,” Parris said.
Because of his success at Worlds, Mason will head straight to the championship round at the Olympic trials later this month.
While he trains at University of Michigan, he prepares his body and his mind with every workout.
“Being able to push myself to different limits that I’ve never had before, being able to test myself as a man and just really see where my limits are. I realize on these hard days that I can push through anything,” Parris said.
“I love the individual aspect of wrestling. It’s just me out there. All of the work that I put in is what I get out of it,” he added.
