Pictures: Athletes to watch out for at Rio 2016
- Published
You couldn't make a list of famous Olympians without Usain Bolt. The Jamaican holds the 100m and 200m world records and is considered the fastest man on earth. He'll be trying to win three more gold medals in Rio 2016!
Liam Phillips is a Team GB hopeful. He took up BMX at the age of five and won 10 consecutive British titles, winning his first race at the age of 10! He's already been to two Olympics. In 2012, made a great start to the final but unfortunately crashed out.
Simone Biles is a World Champion gymnast, and she’s only 19-years-old. Simone is the star of the United States team and she’s expected to get a gold medal in the Floor routine. She even has a move named after her called the Biles.
Canada has a good track record when it comes to track and field. 22-year-old Shawn Barber is hoping to keep this tradition going in the Pole Vault this summer. He’s the reigning world champion in the event and his personal best is only 20cm away from the world record.
Marcus Vinicius D’Almeida, is home nation Brazil’s star. He’s been nicknamed the Neymar of Archery and at only 18 he’s already been to one Archery World Cup final.
Welsh born Natalie Powell, is a surprise entry for Team GB’s Judo event this summer. She qualified ahead of the silver medallist in London 2012 - Gemma Gibbons and Natalie hadn’t even taken up Judo then. She’s already managed to win a gold at the commonwealth games in Glasgow two years ago and it’s hoped she’ll do just as well on the Olympic stage.
Lydia Ko is New Zealand’s hope in the golf which is making a return to the Olympics after 112 years. She’s ranked top out of all her competitors and has won two majors in the last year. New Zealanders will be hoping she’ll grab the 101st medal in the Olympics.
Rami Anis is part of the newly created team of Refugee Olympic Athletes. He'll compete in the men's 100m butterfly, after his uncle, who was also a competitive swimmer, inspired him to do it. He's from Syria but moved to Turkey after seeing his home town bombed. However he eventually left Turkey so that he could compete internationally. Anis rode an inflatable dingy to Greece and now lives in Belgium.
She’s Ireland’s biggest medal hope, and only Irish reigning champion from London 2012. Katie Taylor will defend her lightweight boxing gold in Rio this summer. The 30-year-old had the honour of carrying the Irish flag at the opening ceremony in London last time around, but she did recently lose in the World Championships, which might have knocked her confidence.
Elaine Thompson represents Jamaica on the running track at Rio 2016. She’ll be trying to add to her growing list of medals after coming second in the 200m at the World Championships in Beijing last year.
Our second athlete is Genzebe Dibaba, Ethiopia's star women’s middle distance runner. She has set four world records ranging from the 1,500m to the 5,000m. Don't be surprised to see her adding to Ethiopia's medal standings.
Our first athlete is Katarina Johnson-Thompson. She has had issues with injuries over the past year or so, but the 23-year-old is tipped to finally make a name for herself in Rio. She’s currently the European pentathlon champion, but she’ll have to throw, run and jump her way to a gold medal place in the heptathlon this summer.
The Rio 2016 Games officially kick off with the opening ceremony on Friday 5 August.
- Published27 July 2016
- Published28 July 2016
