Bonney Lake High Grad Headed To Second Summer Olympics

BONNEY LAKE, WA —Bonney Lake High grad Jordin Andrade is headed to his second Summer Olympics after he was selected to the Cape Verde track and field team for the upcoming games in Tokyo.

Andrade, 29, will run the 400-meter hurdles at the Summer Olympics, which will take place July 23 to Aug. 8. The 400m hurdles first round is scheduled for July 30, while the finals will take place on Aug. 3.

Andrade also competed for Cape Verde, the country of his father's birth, at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. There, the former Boise State-standout finished 16th in the 400m hurdles (running a 49.32 in the semifinal), becoming the first Cape Verdean ever to reach a semifinal round at an Olympic Games.

In 2019, Andrade told Envoyair.com about representing Cape Verde.

"I was born in Federal Way, Washington, and my father is from Brava, Cape Verde. So, I actually hold dual citizenship with USA and Cape Verde, which gives me the opportunity to represent either country," Andrade said. "I represented the USA until 2015, but when the Olympics came around in 2016, I had the opportunity to represent my family and my ancestors."

In 2017, Andrade captured Cape Verde's first international medal in track, winning the 400m hurdles at the Francophone Games in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Andrade said he donated the medal to his father's island of Brava.

What would winning Cape Verde's first ever Olympic medal mean to Andrade?

"I would be ecstatic for the entire country before even myself," Andrade said. "It would be great to help write history for a country that is usually forgotten about, and has not received the opportunity it deserves to shine on the international stage."

Andrade had plenty of success on the track as a collegian and high schooler.

He was runner-up in the 400m hurdles at the 2015 NCAA Track and Field Championships, which was the best finish for a Boise State men's track athlete in school history. He also was the Mountain West 400m hurdles champion in 2013 and 2015.

While at Bonney High, Andrade was on the 1600 relay team that finished third in the state, and he finished fifth in the state in the 300m hurdles.