Ajani Robinson ‘26 proudly sported his custom Team USA jacket, with his name on one chestplate, the USA logo on the other, and the American flag on the sleeve.
He looked like he was about to participate in an opening ceremony, which he actually did, sans the jacket.
Robinson earned two silver medals during the International Jump Rope Union (IJRU) World Championships in Kawasaki, Japan, July 27-August 3. Along with his two second-place finishes, Robinson, a senior pre-law student at William Peace University, had a third-place preliminary finish and a fifth-place finish in the finals of the World Championships.
“I’d say I’m pretty happy with my performance,” Robinson said. “I’d say it was a 7, a 7.5, I could have done better, but I’m happy with how I did.”
Robinson was one of 1,000 athletes to compete at the IJRU World Championships. He qualified during the US Team Trials in Chapel Hill back in February, advancing to the world stage for the third time. A native of Hamilton, Bermuda, Robinson began jump rope competitions when he was 14, and joined the YMCA Super Skippers when he enrolled at Peace.
The sport keeps Robinson busy. He usually participates in three competitions a month, not to mention the YMCA Super Skippers, which are in high demand locally, often performing at halftime of local ACC basketball games.
Robinson has traveled all across the United States for jump rope competitions, but nothing compares to the experience he had in Japan.
“The competition was so fast-paced,” Robinson said. “It was just boom, boom, boom, go, go, go. But it was super interesting, because we had a massive rules overhaul in the last year, so a lot of events were different.”
Robinson usually practices at the YMCA with the Super Skippers, in his dorm, or whatever space he can use around campus. In addition to his jump rope talents, Robinson is an Admissions Ambassador, as well as a member of the Ethics Bowl team, who had a historic second-place finish in February.
Dr. Scott McElreath, Professor of Philosophy and Program Director of Interdisciplinary Studies, taught Robinson and serves as the Ethics Bowl Coordinator. McElreath has marveled at Robinson’s ability to make it all look so easy.
“Before Ajani joined the ethics bowl team, he also completed CC 102: Introduction to Ethics with me and excelled in the course,” McElreath said. “He was competing in international jump rope competitions then, too. I’ve never known Ajani not to be balancing jump rope competitions with academic studies. He doesn’t make a big deal about how much work it is. He just does it.”
Balancing it all has been made possible thanks to the support of the faculty and staff at Peace.
“Whenever I have trips that conflict with classes, faculty are always willing to offer me support when it comes to making up work,” Robinson said. “Or making sure that I get all the information I need from those classes.”
Next up for Robinson is the China Open in December, another major international competition.
“Right now it’s just waiting for approval to go to that competition,” Robinson said. “Just preparing, training every day, making sure I’m still in competition shape when I head over there.”
