A 21-year-old diver who brought home a silver medal from the Tokyo Olympic Games, his first Olympics, was greeted with warm welcomes in Wantagh this week.
Andrew Capobianco, who grew up in Wantagh, visited a Nassau Police Activity League (PAL) practice on Monday and Mandalay School, where he attended elementary school, on Tuesday. Local kids and elected officials alike congratulated him on placing second in the 3-meter synchronized diving event in Tokyo.
“We salute Andrew Capobianco with a hero’s welcome at the same elementary school he attended as a child here growing up in his hometown of Wantagh, right here in the Town of Hempstead,” said Town of Hempstead Councilman Chris Carini. “This young man has spent his life training to get better and to become the world-class athlete that he is today.”
Town Supervisor Don Clavin presented Capobianco with a “key to the town” during his visit to the school. Councilman Bruce Blakeman, Legislator Steve Rhoads, Town Clerk Kate Murray, Tax Receiver Jeanine Driscoll, and proud neighbors also gathered to greet Capobianco.
The Wantagh native became the first seventh-grader to win the Nassau diving championship while competing for Wantagh High School in 2012, breaking a county record and doing the same the next year. He moved to North Carolina in 2013 and continued on his legendary run as an All American at Indiana University
“We wish Andrew and his family all the best,” Clavin said. “His future is bright and we are cheering him on to break more records, compete in more national and international competitions and a return to the Olympics in 2024.”
During Capobianco’s visit to PAL, he met with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, among others.
“Besides being a world class athlete, Andrew is an avid supporter of the Nassau County PAL — assisting children with disabilities play sports,” Curran noted.
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