“We’re so proud of her and the fact that she is going to represent the USA. And to see her dream come to fruition is phenomenal,” Grace Stark’s father said after the 2024 US Olympic trials. In March 2025, the Olympian was chosen to compete in the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing. And there, she achieved a personal best time of 7.73 seconds to advance to the semi-finals. In a race where the top six were separated by just 0.04 seconds, he finished fifth in the final in 7.74 seconds.
Grace Stark opened her outdoor season with 12.51 in the prelims and 12.59 in the finals into a headwind at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. Also, Grace Stark was about to participate in Grand Slam Track‘s first slam in Kingston but withdrew at the last moment. The professional achievements and struggles of an athlete often come into the public domain, but the struggles that a family or an athlete faces personally stay in the background. Though it’s not always about struggles, but the happy moments too. Let’s meet the pillar of strength behind Grace Stark, her parents.
Meet Jim Stark and Rene Stark
The track and field athlete Grace Stark’s father works as a carpenter, and her mother works as a teacher. With her positive journey on track, there are bad days too, and for Grace, it was May 14, 2022. How, you may ask. Well, she was unable to clear a hurdle at the Southeastern Conference championship and took a severe fall on the track. And got her femur smashed into her tibia; it split in half. As a mother, Rene Stark stood by her and held Grace like a kid.
Rene said, “Career ending for 97 percent.” Grace Stark’s mother further added, “If you look up tibial plateau fractures, it’ll say for athletics 97 percent of athletes will not return to their sport after that type of break.” Grace gets all the love from her parents, but are you aware that Grace is an adopted child? Yes, she is the grace of God for Jim and Rene. As Rene put it, “We got her by the grace of God.” The couple wanted to go for adoption after their biological 6-year-old son, and looked overseas to China, but got a local connection who was willing to give her unborn daughter for adoption.
Jim Stark once said, “Oh, my wife has scrapbooks.” The couple has filmed their daughter’s journey in the form of a scrapbook. As Jim said, “It’s a creative memory scrapbook. She’s scrapbooked from birth all the way through her whole track career. She did it for my son. She’s done it for all our trips and everything else. So pictures are no problem. We did an interview with (TV news), and they came to the house, and Renee had all the scrapbooks on the counter and was going through all the pictures.” Being a family, everyone supports each other, right? So, does the Stark family also stand by each other in tough times.
The Stark family: A pillar of support in Grace’s athletic journey
Like any other parents, Olympian Grace Star’s parents have also supported her like a rock. And when she became an athlete to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she got support from everyone, even beyond her family. Grace Stark said she has felt the support of everyone in her hometown of White Lake and beyond, even though she is in Paris with a group of 24 friends and relatives.
Sometimes, it’s not only the close family, like parents or siblings, but you’ve got a family beyond that. For Grace, this could be her coach, Tyrone Logan. But before going to Logan, did you know that Grace started with gymnastics as a sport and not track and field? Well, when she was 21, Grace moved to track and left gymnastics behind, and she never looked back. Even Rene praises Grace Stark’s coach.
According to René, Logan spotted Grace’s potential as a superb hurdler and started teaching her at the start of her seventh-grade year. Grace Stark’s mother, Rene, also said, “She never lost. He quickly brought out the best in her. We have no words for how deeply grateful we are.”
John Kababik, the head track coach at Lakeland High School, also helped Grace. According to René, who offered her “many chances to shine.” Last but not least, Grace’s older brother, James, has always supported her, whether professionally or as a sister. Fans might wonder about the nationality of Grace Stark’s parents, since she is adopted.
What is Grace Stark’s parents’ nationality?
Grace Stark’s Jim and Rene Stark, who have adopted her, are American citizens. Grace was raised in White Lake, Michigan, and that’s the place where Grace and her family live. Only time will tell what the future holds for Grace, and she will be able to fulfill her dream of bagging Olympic gold.
The post Who Are Grace Stark’s Parents? The Carpenter Dad and Supportive Mom Behind Her Success appeared first on EssentiallySports.
