Jenna Prandini participated in one of the highly anticipated Grand Slam Tracks by Michael Johnson, which was held at Kingston. Her performance? As a challenger in short sprints, the US track and field athlete battled a strong headwind with a -4.7 m/s speed with a time of 23.36 s. Two-time national champion and silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Prandini is showing her resilience on the track.

The professional achievements always come up in the limelight, but the support behind her strength lies in her family. Jenna Prandini’s parents, Carlo Prandini and Theresa Prandini, have always been her support system and backed her. Let’s learn about the pillar behind the US track sensation, Jenna Prandini.

Who is Jenna Prandini’s father?

Prandini is so attached to her family that, as she put it to Oregon Live, “My family is my whole heart.” Being a proud father, Carlo Prandini once said, “It was a sense of relief in a lot of ways that she was finally rewarded for all of her effort and hard work. She wanted so much to come home with a medal.”

Per AthleticLive, Jenna once revealed that her first coach was her father only. Carlo is a deputy superintendent at Clovis Unified School. Though there is not much information available about Jenna Prandini’s father, he has been her support system throughout her career.

Who is Theresa Prandini?

Jenna Prandini’s mother is Theresa Prandini, who was asked to sign a board that says, “Go Jenna Go! Tokyo 2020” by the mayor of Clovis, California. Per the US athlete website, Jenna had to go through a rough phase in her childhood, as her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The US short sprinter was in kindergarten at that time, and being a young child, she didn’t leave Theresa at any moment. Instead, she sat in the bedroom chair and stayed with her mother for the 6 long months.

Jenna Prandini’s mother once told how much Jenna was loved because of her loving nature. As Theresa put it, “People have just been attracted to her and appreciate the type of person and athlete that she is.” Jenna had a good relationship with all of her neighbors, irrespective of their age. As per her mother, Jenna even painted a garage with someone who was more than 60 years older than her.

After Prandini placed second in the 200-meter final, securing a spot in Tokyo, Prandini’s mother and nephew, McCoy, reportedly pushed their way to the bottom row at Hayward Field. The athlete then wrapped her arms around them. “I’m so proud of you,” Theresa said to her.

What is Jenna Prandini’s parents’ nationality?

Jenna Prandini said after the 2024 Olympic trial, “I just need to survive through the rounds and get to the finals, and then compete.” She further added, “If I run 12 seconds or 23 seconds and get top three, that’s all right with me, but it’s going to have to be a fast time if I want to place.” One question that might loom is, with so much talent, what is her parent’s nationality?

Both Carlo and Theresa come from America, but they are of Italian descent. So, when did they leave Italy? Well, it was Jenna’s great-grandfather, Pietro Antonio Prandini, who left Italy in 1910 to seek opportunities in the US. Pietro was originally from a place called Lodrino, in Brescia province. Jenna’s father also said that he is proud of his Italian heritage, and they still follow their ancestor’s tradition of cooking ravioli at Christmas.