![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AMGL_S1_FG_104_00192824_Still225_f.jpg\" "\\"Sydney")
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Sydney Hunter, 29, a former sprinter at St. Francis High School, pantomimes a bow and arrow in a still from the show American Gladiator. Hunter, who will go by the nickname \u201cHuntress\u201d in the show, will be one of 16 competitors on the show which premieres on Friday, April 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Prime<\/p>\n
Prime<\/p>\n
Carolyn Veal-Hunter has a nickname picked out for the \u201cAmerican Gladiators\u201d watch party she will attend Friday.<\/p>\n
Veal-Hunter is the mother of Sydney Hunter, who grew up in Sacramento and is competing on an Amazon Prime reboot of the 1990s television hit that premieres Friday. Hunter is known on the show as \u201cHuntress.\u201d Her mother will attend the watch party as \u201cMama Huntress.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a big moment for Hunter, 29, who was a standout sprinter at St. Francis High School and later competed on scholarship at University of California, Riverside. She got into personal training toward the end of college. Her \u201cAmerican Gladiators\u201d spot came through the recommendation of a fellow personal trainer, Ayinde \u201cNeon\u201d Warren, who is also on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just got word today that her billboard went up on Sunset and Fairfax (in Hollywood) and the Times Square billboard is up,\u201d Veal-Hunter said. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming real now.\u201d<\/p>\n
From champion sprinter to \u2018American Gladiator\u2019<\/p>\n
Hunter\u2019s had a drive to succeed that goes back years. Hannah Churchwell has known Hunter since fourth grade and attended St. Francis with her. They graduated in 2015 and remain friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always expected Sydney to do big, big things with her life,\u201d Churchwell said.<\/p>\n
At first, that thing for Hunter seemed like it would be sprinting. Fast even as a young girl, she competed at St. Francis in the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and the 400-meter relay. Hunter said that she ran the 400 meters in 55.8 seconds and that her relay team at St. Francis placed fifth at the state championships.<\/p>\n
After competing for three years at UC Riverside, Hunter shifted to personal training, initially working with middle school and high school students. Clients today include Hollywood celebrities, according to Fahizah Alim, who is good friends with Veal-Hunter and considers herself like an aunt to Hunter.<\/p>\n
Hunter has also worked with Alim and Veal-Hunter as a personal trainer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would get up early in the morning, and Sydney would Zoom in and give us all kind of strenuous exercises, a strenuous physical routine to keep her auntie and her mother in shape,\u201d Alim said. \u201cAnd she did that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through the grind of personal training work, Hunter has built about 96,000 Instagram followers, with a handle @_sydhunter<\/a>. One of the post notes that her personal record for the deadlift is 500 pounds. She bills herself on her profile as \u201cSuperhuman Syd.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren, who is also popular on Instagram<\/a>, said he had known Hunter for a few years and that he recommended Hunter for \u201cAmerican Gladiators\u201d after he was approached to be on the show. The show was in need of female contestants, Warren said. And he had long respected Hunter\u2019s work ethic and energy.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s actually here putting in the work,\u201d Warren said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just for show and tell on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n What Hunter\u2019s work on \u2018American Gladiators\u2019 will entail<\/p>\n Hunter is one of 16 season-long competitors on \u201cAmerican Gladiators,\u201d which was filmed last year in France. The competitors will face off against people who come for one-off challenges.<\/p>\n In some respects, she will be right at home on the show, with her athletic background not unusual among the cast. Warren played safety for two college football teams. He said one member of the cast rowed in college and that another also played college football.<\/p>\n \u201cI just love how all of our previous sports that we\u2019ve played translated so well over into \u2018American Gladiators,\u2019\u201d Warren said.<\/p>\n Warren touted what the show will depict.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to see hard hits, you\u2019re going to see great moments, you\u2019re going to see things that might make you cry a little bit,\u201d Warren said. \u201cBut you may see things that are just going to take your breath away.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter didn\u2019t think her younger self would be surprised that the thing making her known would be \u201cAmerican Gladiators\u201d rather than sprinting.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you were to show 16-year-old me like an episode of \u2018Gladiators\u2019 and be like you\u2019re going to be on this, 16-year-old me, honestly, would not be surprised,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cBecause I always say that I knew I wasn\u2019t destined for a desk job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, I didn\u2019t ever know what it would be,\u201d she added, \u201cI just knew it was something big.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter, who is also driven in part by her Christian faith, said she\u2019s right where she needs to be.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing what we filmed and knowing the greatness and the power of media and film today, I\u2019m so excited for the show,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Now based in Los Angeles, Hunter intends to return to Sacramento next week, with stops planned at St. Francis on April 23, St. Hope PS7 Elementary the following day and a downtown watch party at a date and time to be determined.<\/p>\n Alim will host an \u201cAmerican Gladiators\u201d watch party on Friday at her home in Pocket-Greenhaven. Hunter grew up in that area.<\/p>\n Sacramento City Councilmember Rick Jennings, a neighbor of Alim who has also known Hunter for some time, also expects to attend Alim\u2019s watch party.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of people who she\u2019s going to influence, it\u2019s going to be incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Alim said the sky was the limit for her honorary niece.<\/p>\n \u201cShe may become a television star,\u201d Alim said. \u201cShe\u2019s in the right circle, right place with the right discipline and personality. She calls herself the extra extrovert. She\u2019ll be at the top because she believes in hard work and she\u2019s a talented young lady.\u201d<\/p>\n
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