CHARLOTTE, N.C. — West Meck High School is the proud alma mater of not one, but two Olympians.
Naya Tapper is the co-captain of the United States women’s sevens rugby team that will play in Tuesday’s semifinal.
In 2022, Sanu Jallow-Lockhart graduated from the school, and she is in Paris representing Gambia’s track & field team.
“I’ve always had this dream since I was younger,” she said.
Jallow-Lockhart moved to Charlotte from Gambia when she was nine years old, learning English through ESL classes.
She won state championships in the 400 and 200 as a senior at West Meck. This year at Arkansas, where she was a teammate of fellow Olympian and Mallard Creek grad Kaylyn Brown, Jallow-Lockhart helped the Razorbacks win silver at the NCAA Championships in the 4×400 relay.
Jallow-Lockhart will run the 800 in Paris after some criticis of her inclusion on the Gambian team. Her biological mother still lives in the African nation, and Jallow-Lockhart was born and partially raised there.
“I feel very honored and proud to want to represent my country because I want to put Gambia on a map,” she said. “I want to show people that no matter the nationality of someone you just need to support who they are, and their background.”
From Gambia, to Charlotte and now to Paris.
I want to taste a croissant,” she said. “I want to see if they’re different from the ones that they’ve got here. And I want to look at the Eiffel Tower, just explore and see what everything’s really about.”
