The handles are the only element that isn’t blurred when 16-year-old Zach Peckman jumps rope.
The competitive teenaged rope jumper from New Hope set new national records before traveling through qualifying contests to compete in the world International Jump Rope Union (IJRU) championships in Kawasaki, Japan, held July 27 to August 3.
Zach was among 2,600 jump rope athletes from more than 34 counties that competed in the world events. He was honored Wednesday during a regular meeting of Bucks County Commissioners.
“It’s pretty noteworthy to be a world champion…and to be from Bucks County,” said Bob Harvie, president of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners.
At the American Jump Rope Federation 2025 Nationals, held in North Dakota, Zach was named the Grand National Champion, SRS Endurance, Male Division. He is part of the Zero Gravity Jump Rope Team, which trains in Doylestown.
In North Dakota, Zach set a new U.S. record in the single jump rope three minute speed event with a jump speed of 515 uninterrupted “jumps.” For the under 18 year old category, Zach also set a 30 second speed sprint jump of 102 uninterrupted “jumps,” tying for second place.
“By far the best speed jumpers are from China and Korea,” Zach said,” I got a glimpse of the Chinese and Korean training routines” which he said were different from any of the other athlete competitors.
He said meeting and speaking with athletes from around the world was the “second take away” he learned from participating in the event in Japan.
“What I discovered talking to them is that athletes from around the world are emotionally the same – regardless of where they’re from,” Zach said.
He said everyone was friendly, eager to stay in touch and wanted to share ideas, which has given him an idea for a jumper and cultural exchange program.
In addition to his desire to compete in future Olympic Games, Zach said hosting a jump rope cultural and social exchange through a series of workshops could benefit everyone.
Zach would love to work with the International Jump Rope Union to bring such an exchange to life in the U.S. – and specifically to Pennsylvania “and capitalize on the camaraderie.”
“A goodwill trip where we have some of the best Chinese and Korean speed athletes come to the U.S., hopefully to Pennsylvania, for a series of jump rope and cultural workshops. We have a lot to learn [from them], and I bet they could learn a few things from the Keystone State, too,” Zach said.
Zach is a member of the U.S. National Jump Rope Team.
A video shared at today’s commissioners meeting featuring Zach may be found here.
“Hopefully we could bring the world a little closer together through sport,” Zach said.
