for breaking news visit www.qns.com november 19, 2015 • The CourieR SUN 59 sports Two Queens residents recognized for qualifying for 2016 Olympic games BY QUE NS COURIER STAF editorial@queenscourier.com @QueensCourier Two Queens residents are aiming for the gold and the “World’s Borough” is cheering for them all the way. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz presented Citations of Honor on Nov. 16 to Jennifer Wu from Flushing and Tahl Leibovitz from South Ozone Park – two table tennis players who are among the first Americans to qualify for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. “We in Queens are so proud of Jennifer and Tahl’s accomplishments and are eagerly anticipating seeing them compete in Rio de Janeiro,” Katz said. “Tahl and Jennifer are excellent role models for youth, and in Rio they will certainly be outstanding representatives of our country and the ‘World’s Borough.’” Leibovitz and Wu qualified for the 2016 games – which will take place from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21 — by winning Gold Medals during the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. Wu, also known as Yue Wu, was born in Beijing but moved to the United States in 2008 and became a citizen earlier this year. During this summer’s Pan American Games, she won the women’s singles table tennis title and will now represent the U.S. in women’s table tennis in Rio. The 25-year-old began playing table tennis as a child after a co-worker suggested to her mom that it would help improve Wu’s eyesight. “I’m really happy to qualify for Rio 2016,” Wu said. “It will be the first time that I will have represented the U.S. at the Olympics, so I’m really looking forwards to the Olympic Games.” Leibovitz, 40, is a native of Israel who moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3 years old. He has become one of the most decorated athletes in American table tennis history and in December will be inducted into the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, he won gold at the Parapan American Games, which feature athletes who have physical disabilities. The Paralympics in Rio will be held from Sept. 7 to 18. The South Ozone Park resident has osteochondroma, a condition which is characterized by noncancerous but often painful bone tumors. While he was a teenager he often slept in the city’s subway system while he was homeless. Since then he has obtained degrees in urban affairs and clinical social work. He will soon also take the exam to become a licensed social worker with focus on underserved populations, such as veterans, addicts and homeless people. “First picking up a table tennis racket at the South Queens Boys Club, then training at the Parks Department, then competing against the best players in the United States and finally the world, it has been such an amazing experience and a great journey,” Leibovitz said. The upcoming 2016 games will be the first Olympics appearance for Wu and the fifth Paralympics for Leibovitz, who in 1996 won gold and in 2004 took home bronze. “Queens have Olympic spirit and will be cheering hard for Jennifer and Tahl and all the members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams when the Rio Games begin next summer,” Katz said. Photo courtesy of Borough President Melinda Katz’s office Queens Distance Runners help create first Queens Marathon BY ANTHO NY GIU DICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport One Queens-based running group is bringing the borough its very first marathon next year. A group of local athletes came together to bring a unified running community to Queens. They founded their running organization, Queens Distance Runners (QDR), in 2013 with only three members, and have grown to more than 160 runners in two years. “The Queens Distance Runners came to fruition on the premise that Queens, the largest and most populated borough in the city of New York, lacked a true running community that could unite not only runners living in Queens, but encourage new runners from all communities to join us and be a part of our running community,” said Kevin Montalvo, founding member of QDR. “We like to think of ourselves as the diverse family of runners that lives in Queens and uses its streets and parks as our personal backyard.” Montalvo has had the vision to bring a marathon to Queens for a long time, and now, with the help of the runners of the QDR and their sponsor, they are about to make his vision a reality. Montalvo believes that bringing a marathon to Queens will not only vitalize the borough’s running community, but also bring runners from other cities to Queens. “Our team has been blessed with selfless and enthusiastic members that have done nothing besides help and boost our running community,” Montalvo said. “I’ve traveled to other cities ranging from Albany to Rio de Janeiro to Yonkers, Miami and Boston, and I believe that the effects of hosting a marathon within a city is inspiring and truly gives the city an opportunity to demonstrate to the runners coming by — and to the community itself — what the city and community culture is all about. The bottom line is, since taking part in all these events, I want people to come to Queens.” The inaugural Queens Marathon is scheduled to take place on April 30, 2016, with registration to open earlier in the year. “The course will be five loops of Flushing Meadows Park, and while on a normal day you would have little around you besides Meadow Lake and plenty of open road, we are promising to stack spectators, music groups and beyond to fill our course with entertainment and keep you inspired along the way,” Montalvo said. The QDR is inviting the all communities to come out and be a part of this historic event for the city. “We at the Queens Distance Runners don’t just want runners, we want everyone to be involved in this event one way or another; whether you are interested in spectating, supporting our efforts by volunteering or simply asking their friends and family to come be a part of history, we want this event to honor our great borough for everything it stands for,” Montalvo said.
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