TOKYO 202(1): Athletes to Watch
Breaking news, despite COVID, there are…low key a LOT of athletes going to these games.like over 11 000! And, to quote the NYT (an article which I will be heavily referencing) “ No list of Olympic athletes could encompass all the stories of human achievement on display at the Summer Games.” (honestly, seems like this reporter is just doing a cop out here and we will be following suit!) However, I am here to do my best to round up some of the non-America athletes (they DO exist!)(said in the M&M commercial voice) that you should know about before the Games begin. And before you get overwhelmed, no, we’re not going to do EVERY SPORT what do you think we are INSANE, but we just want to highlight some beautiful stories okay!
Track & Field
Shelley-Anne Fraiser-Pryce (Jamaica) already winning the medal for hyphenated names, has been a consistent presence in track sprinting for some time now, and at age 34, is a veteran in the sport. She’s definitely still got what it takes, after reclaiming her world title in the 100m in 2019 (the oldest woman to do so) and is still the second-faster woman EVER in the event, running a 10.63 in June. See her in : 100m, 200m 4x100 relay Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) is the best marathoner of all time, defending Olympic champ and the only man to have every run a marathon in under 2 hours (this makes me exhausted just typing it). If you think I am going to be able to watch AN ENTIRE MARATHON you have another think coming, but I will tune in for his interviews, as he is apparently known to speak in Zen -like koans. See him in: the marathon, duh. Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) who you may remember from her dive across the finish in Rio, JUST beating out our main girl Allyson Felix (this— diving, and beating an american— is allowed btw) in the 400m. This year, she will be focusing on the shorter events aka 200 m
Swimming
Ariarne Titus (Australia): coming back to continue the great US-Aussie rivalry, Ariarne (I keep mistyping that, also cringing to imagine this name in an aussie accent) posted the second-fastest 400 free time in the world, and is positioning herself as a real threat to Ledecky (who she beat in 2019 at FINA World’s, but Ledecky was sick so). See her in : 200 free, 400 free, 800 free. Emily Seebohm (Australia): a 5-time medalist, Emily recently revealed her 2 year struggle with an eating disorder, caused by intense pressure from her coaches. Wow who knew that the world of professional sports was a toxic environment! She has been outspoken on this issue and hopes to be a contender in the IM and backstroke events. Katinka Hozzu (Hungary) The evil twin version of me, Katrina!!! Jk, i would never swim IM. Katinka is a controversial figure as she is quite aggressive, referring to herself as the Iron Lady, but she is considered to be one of the most versatile swimmers out there. After a disappointing performance in London, she fired her coach (from USC, where she studied) and had her husband coach her. Many people were like, this relationship seems…mildly abusive…because he would SCREAM at her all the time (ok but what was she WEARING) No way to know if we were right, but they did get divorced in 2019 and then he deleted her fan fb page! She’s gone through two coaches since then and now will coach HERSELF for Tokyo (seems like she’s hard to get along with!) Spot Katinka in : 200 IM, 400 IM.
TBD what the story will be for Diving after U.S.A medalist David Boudia failed to qualify and was replaced by as younger model at trials, but typically China is very strong on the board. Chinese diver Shi Tingmao has won every world or Olympic title on springboard (individual or synchronized) since 2015. In Tokyo, Shi will look to keep both her personal – and national – winning streaks alive. In addition, England’s darling Tom Daley, who shot to stardom as a 14-year-old in Beijing, will be returning in both the individual and synchro events. He’s a cutie and a gay icon!
Skateboarding
Welcome all the cool kids!!! Yuto Horigome, Japan, expected to be a top contender in the street skate event. The Brazilian ladies- Leticia Bufoni, Pamela Rosa and Rayssa Leal, ages 28, 21, and 13 respectively, out here repping the previous host country of Brazil. Apparently there’s a big skate culture there!
Surfing
Gabriel Medina (Brazil): I think Brazil ( also HUGE surfing country) is kinda salty this sport is not debuting at Rio in 2016, especially since they have 27-year old Gabriel, world champ and confirmed hottie. Stephanie Gilmore (Australia): OZZIE OZZIE OZZIE another nation that has just been WAITING for this event! At age 33, Gilmore is a world champ several times over and a key rival for U.S. surfer Moore. Also on the Aussie squad is Owen Wright, a member of the First Family of surfing- he’s got 4 other professional surfing sibs (including Tyler Wright who recently came out as a lesbian and is mounting a comeback in the sport! we have no choice but to stan!)
Table Tennis
Hend Zaza (Syria): Since table tennis has no age requirement, Hend, at age 12, is the youngest athlete in the competition! There’s also Tomokazu Harimoto (Japan) is a former child prodigy, winning his first singles title at age 14 in 2017. Harimoto’s parents are Chinese, a traditional power house in the sport, but he is repping Japan, where he was born. China is going to be strong as always, so it’ll be interesting to watch some others challenge their dominance. Table Tennis and Badminton are both sports dominated by Asian countries, for example Indonesia has won seven gold medals in the latter. It is apparently the most popular sport there??
Sport Climbing
Adam Ondra (Czech Republic) is pretty much confirmed as the best climber in the world. However, the mixed format of the event (boulder, lead and speed) will not work in his favor, as he usually competes on fake wall and giant outdoor real rock. Honestly, hard to say! Janja Garnbret (Slovenia) (I guess Central Europe is good at this?), same issue for Janja; the way this event is structured is not ideal for her, but she is really dominant in international competition.
Tennis
Naomi Osaka (Japan): you’ve seen her on all the Beats ads, and you’ve heard about the #FrenchOpen scandal! Naomi was raised in the US , but competes internationally for Japan as she was born there and her mother is Japanese (her father is Haitian). Naomi’s struggle with mental health and the press caused a huge kerfluffle at the French Open, and she has also been seen as a symbol of a future Japan that is more open to multiculturalism. While tennis’s main stage is typically all 800 Grand Slams they have, since Naomi pulled out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, this will be the first time we are seeing her play in a bit. The other tennis stars are some household names you probably know, like Andy Murray (UK) (such a sweetie!) and Novak Djokovic (Serbia) (a sexist anti vaxxer!).
Other Sport Dynasties & Dynamics
Much like in the real world, there are certain powers that be that DOMINATE in certain sports. For example, in water polo, Eastern Europe is an impossible bloc to beat- Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro are all favorites (although I would hate to watch a Croatia-Serbia match up because historically those get ugly!). In Archery, South Korea has been top of the podium for years, winning every gold team medal in the women’s event since its debut. In Artistic Swimming aka synchro, the Russians, are unbeatable (also true for Boxing, a sport apparently v popular in formerly soviet countries), but keep in mind they probably cheat and they DEFINITELY make their swimmers stay underwater until they pass out (to develop skill! In Soviet Russia water synchronize you!). Baseball should be an interesting one, as Cuba has made most gold medal matches in the past, and MLB players will not be participating in the Olympics (what is this the NHL!!!! American leagues can you hold on for two dang weeks!!!)
You won’t see the U.S. compete in field hockey (weird because every girl I knew in high school claimed to be really really good at it, but also our men ALWAYS suck) but this is a huge sport in Europe, as well as for Argentina and, of course, Australia. In another Extremely White Sport, aka Sailing (which the NYT called Yachting, just to give an idea of the vibe of these athletes) New Zealand, Australia, western european teams, and even Croatia are powerhouses.
In Judo, Japan historically has more than double the golds of the next closest country (BECUASE THEY INVENTED THE SPORT) but heavyweight Teddy Riner (France) will be going for a third straight gold medal. Unexpectedly, Judo is actually quite popular in France. The also has a chance for gold in handball, a heavily European sport. Tune in to some handball matches a) to ask yourself, is this a real sport or something my gym teacher made up to make me practice a bunch of skills I’m bad at? and b)to see Mikkel Hansen and the Danes try to continue their dominance (2021 Euro Handball champs baby!)
Can a different country please just win a medal for once?
Glad you asked! If you’re looking for sports that aren’t as dominated by the old guard, don’t worry there are still some wildcards out there. In Taekwondo in 2016, athletes from Ivory Coast, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Niger and the Dominican Republic all won medals. In rugby, on the women’s side it is once again Australia on top, however them men’s medal in Rio went to Fiji. In volleyball, the men’s contenders include Poland and Brazil; in the women’s China and Serbia.
In shooting , you’ll see some random former USSR countries like Kazakhstan (who had an unsuccessful bid for the 2022 Olympics but the IOC thought there were too many human rights violations and then they CHOSE CHINA but I don’t want to harp on it!) and Tajikistan make a run for the podium. Georgia’s Nino Salukvadze, a three-time medalist in shooting, is expected to become the first woman to compete at nine Olympics in any sport. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, her son – Tsotne Machavariani – also competed, making them the first mother-son duo to compete at the same Games. Adorable!!
Potential Record Breakers & Movers & Shakers
Isn’t it wild how some people make history just by getting here?!!? For example, Marta (Brazil, the Beyoncé of women’s football) became the first player (man or woman) to score in five straight Olympics after netting in her country's 5-0 win against China. Her teammate, Formiga already owns the record for most Olympic appearances in soccer (6), having competed in every women’s soccer tournament in Olympic history. She’s competing in her seventh Olympics, at age 43.
In weightlifting (not normally a sport I follow closely, because it really stresses me out!!) we have a trailblazing athlete in Laurel Hubbard (NZ)-unlikely to medal- but the first ever transgender athlete competing in the Olympics. You go girl!! Team Canada has Quinn, a trans soccer player, making history for them as well.
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter has potential to make history by winning Israel’s first track n field medal at the Olympics if she wins the marathon (and she is a strong contender). Neeraj Chopra, one of the best in the world, could be the first Indian gold medalist if he wins the javelin. No athlete from Liberia has ever finished in the top eight in their event at the Olympics, let alone won a medal- but Joseph Fahnbulleh will attempt to be the first when he races in the men’s 200m (an event he won at NCAA Champs this year).
Of course, we’ll all be loving and supporting Team USA, but whenever you get sick of *gestures broadly at country in crisis*, hopefully this article has given you ideas for other countries and athletes to look out for! We’re still number one (often in categories we’d prefer not to be, like incarceration rate) but the Olympics is about WORLD pride and COMING TOGETHER, so get out your Model UN flags and start waving them proudly baby!