Tolkin, a Chatham native and the New York Red Bulls star defender was selected to the United States U-23 Olympic Team roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The announcement was made on July 8 by both Team USA and the Red Bulls.
Tolkin was one of six defenders named to the 18-player roster for the United States, which is making its first Summer Olympics appearance since 2008.
By rule, the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament requires at least 15 of the 18 players to be under the age of 23.
The 21-year-old Tolkin becomes the sixth player in Red Bulls/Metrostars history to be selected to the United States Olympic team while active and the first in 24 years. In 2000, then Red Bulls Tim Howard and Ramiro Corrales were selected to Team USA’s Summer Olympic team.
Tolkin made seven appearances for the United States Olympic Team leading up to the Olympics, the most recent coming in its June 11 friendly against Japan.
In January, Tolkin made his first United State Senior National Team appearance during a friendly against Slovenia. It was Tolkin’s fourth career cap over three Senior National Team call-ups in his young career
Now in his fifth season, Tolkin is one of the top defenders in franchise history. In 105 MLS games, his 15 assists are tied for second all-time in franchise history for a defender. Last season, Tolkin set a single season Red Bulls record for assists by a defender with 10 as he was named to his first MLS All-Star roster.
This season, Tolkin has one goal in 19 games, totalling 1,584 minutes. Tolkin has been a part of the Red Bulls Academy since 2015 and signed a Homegrown Contract with the club in January, 2020.
“He has proven to be one of the top young players at his position globally and despite missing preseason, he has been fighting back and still has a lot of potential to grow with us,” Red Bulls Head of Sport Jochen Schneider said in a release announcing Tolkin’s four-year MLS contract extension in May. “We are very proud to have John with us.”
Back in March, Tolkin and Red Bulls teammate Daniel Edelman were selected to participate in the Olympic team’s training camp. The 20-year-old Edelman, while not selected for the final Olympic roster, previously served as the United States U-20 team’s captain at the U-20 FIFA World Cup last year. Edelman, a Warren native, is in his third season with the Red Bulls.
The United States has one more friendly on July 18 against Spain before the start of the Olympic Games. The U.S. Team, which is in Group A, plays its first group stage match on July 24 against host France before contests against New Zealand (July 27) and Guina (July 30).
The Red Bulls are currently fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 37 points (9-4-10) heading into home games against Montreal on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday before the season pauses for the 2024 Leagues Cup.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)