2016

With the 2016 Rio Olympics just around the corner, we can’t wait to watch some of our most impressive athletes. With a huge variety of sports, we have a large number of athletes that will be competing in their first ever Olympic games this summer. Here is our top 5 list of new Olympic athletes to keep your eye on during the Rio games.

Simone Biles: Gymnastics

Although the Olympic Gymnastics team has not yet been officially selected (the Women’s team trials will occur on July 8th and 10th), Simone Biles is a complete lock for the team. This past weekend Biles won the United States Nationals all around title for the fourth consecutive year. She has also won the World all around championship for three consecutive years, and has been decorated with World floor and beam championships for years. Not only is she considered the best gymnast in the world today, many consider her the greatest gymnast of all time. Rio will be Biles’ first Olympics, although she is likely to be accompanied by returning Olympic athletes Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas. Powerful and consistent, she is quite a sight to watch. Check out her floor routine at the 2016 P&G Championships here.

Steele Johnson: Diving

You may recognize the name David Boudia, as he was the first U.S. male to receive an Olympic gold medal in diving, which occurred just last year at the 2012 London Olympics. Rio will be Boudia’s third Olympics (in 2008 and 2012 he was with synchronized diving partner Thomas Finchum). However, this is the first year Boudia will be diving alongside Johnson. Johnson and Boudia actually grew up diving together in West Lafayette, Indiana (with Johnson a few years behind Boudia). Not only are Johnson and Boudia a force to be reckoned with in synchronized diving (easily clinching the position as our Olympic team during the recent trials), Johnson will also prove to be very competitive in the individual 10 m platform event. During the semifinals of trials he actually led in front of Boudia, and by the end of trials he was not far behind his synchronized partner. Check our Johnson and Boudia’s third round Olympic Trials semi dive here.

April Ross: Beach Volleyball

Yet another old teammate with a new partner is Kerri Walsh Jennings, who used to partner with Misty May-Treanor. The two of them were considered by many to be the best beach volleyball team of all time. The moment Walsh Jennings grabbed the gold medal with May in the London Olympics (with Ross and her partner at the time, Jennifer Kessy, grabbing the silver), Jennings immediately talked to Ross about continuing with her after Misty’s retirement. She identified Ross as the next best athlete in the sport, and the two have been working tirelessly in preparation of the Rio Olympics. Since London, the new pair has managed several impressive wins: including gold medals at the Fuzhou Open in China and the Moscow Grand Slam.

Morgan Craft: Skeet Shooting

At only 23 years old, Craft has been shooting since age 14 and will be heading to her first Olympics in Rio. Craft’s success has rocketed over the past few years. In 2013 she won the Junior National Championships and the Bronze medal at Nationals, and by 2015 she was the World Champion (also winning the 2016 World Cup Cyprus). She grabbed the spot to Rio by beating fellow teammate Caitlin Connor, who was the previous reigning National Champion. Craft has just been getting more and more successful, and could very easily scoop up another medal for the U.S.

Mikaela Mayer: Boxing

Heading into the 2012 London Olympics, Mayer narrowly missed out on making the Olympic Team. Ever since she has proven to be more and more successful, until she eventually scored a gold medal at this year’s Olympic Trials. She was the National Gold Medalist in 2012, 2014 and 2015. She will be sure to keep fighting as the Olympics gets closer to be the best athlete she can be.