It feels like déjà vu because, once again, we’re in 6-months sight of the Summer Olympics. COVID-19 permitting, Tokyo 2020 (now taking place in 2021) will see a host of top athletes battle it out for the highest of sporting honours. To get you in the mood, we’ve handpicked a list of genuine gold medal contenders to throw your support behind.

 

The Bumpy Road to Tokyo 2020

In late March last year – just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic – the international community let out a collective sigh as the Summer Olympics were officially postponed for a year. Not since WWII had the four-year Olympiad cycle been broken. 

But true to the spirit of defiance and innovation that has defined the global response to the virus, Olympic officials and members of the Tokyo Organising Committee went back to the drawing board. Strict hygiene and safety rules were established, logistical adjustments made and expectations that the Games would take place – albeit in a simplified form – started to crystallise. 

Sadly, the spirit of optimism has dampened; in part, because cases are rising dramatically in Japan, and coronavirus mutations have emerged in the UK and South Africa. Public sentiment in the host country is also souring. In a recent poll by NHK, the national broadcaster, 73% of respondents suggested the Games should be postponed or cancelled outright. 

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga remains resilient. On the 18th of January, he told the Japanese parliament that hosting Tokyo 2020 in 2021 would represent “victory against the coronavirus”. However, much will depend on the course of the virus and the success of immunisation programmes. Whether Japan – a vaccine-hesitant nation – is ready to welcome over 11,000 athletes in July remains to be seen. 

What can we expect if the Games do go ahead?

If, as everyone hopes, Tokyo 2020 is given the green light, it will be unlike any other Olympics. The most noticeable feature will be the lack, or complete absence of, fans cheering on the athletes. Something that is sure to frustrate the brands who have signed multi-million dollar contracts to become official sponsors. 

But there is also a lot to get excited about. Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding and Karate are all scheduled to debut, while Baseball and Softball will return for the first time since Beijing 2008. And in light of recent climate change developments, the decision to manufacture all the medals awarded from recycled materials – mobile phones donated by Japanese citizens – is an important statement. 

As ever, there also promises to be a crop of elite Olympic stars on display. Here’s ten to keep a close eye out for:

10 Olympic athletes destined to shine at Tokyo 2020 in 2021

10. Luis Scola, Argentina.

A member of Argentina’s Golden Generation, which won gold in Athens 2004. They defeated a USA team filled with future NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James along the way. 

Having played in the NBA, as well as professional basketball leagues in China and Europe, the 6’9” 41-year-old veteran is now bidding to represent his nation in a fifth Olympic Games. If he can inspire his teammates to a lengthy run in the tournament, it would represent the fairy-tale ending to an already impressive career. 

9. Fan Zhendong, China.

After being overlooked for selection in Rio 2016, Fan Zhendong will be eager to make up for lost time. One of Asian sport’s brightest stars, he is expected to lead China to a clean sweep in the men’s singles and team Table Tennis events. Ranked No. 1 in the world and fresh off the back of winning his third-consecutive ITTF World Cup, it’s not hard to see why. 

A teenage sensation, Zhendong is still only 23-years old, and could feasibly dominate the sport for years to come. Known for an attacking style of play, his matches are not to be missed. 

8. Ariarne Titmus, Australia. 

At the tender age of 18, Ariarne Titmus defeated Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, ending the American’s seven-year unbeaten run in distance events. Fast-forward two-years to Tokyo 2020 and the stage is set for a much-anticipated rematch. Can the youthful Australian repeat the feat and take down the greatest ever women’s freestyler in the process?

Titmus is a genuine contender for gold in both the 200m and 400m freestyle but raced little during 2020. Nicknamed ‘The Terminator’, she aims to follow in the footsteps of other Australian swimming greats like Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett. 

7. Janja Garnbret, Slovenia. 

Sports Climbing is a brand-new Olympic event and will feature three disciplines: bouldering, lead and speed. The sport’s golden girl is Janja Garnbret, who has dominated the women’s competitive climbing circuit in the last few years; during the 2019 bouldering season, she won every single event. 

Modest, hardworking and with multiple world championship victories to her name, Gambret is Slovenia’s greatest hope of securing gold in Tokyo. 

6. Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya. 

Despite collecting 5000m bronze and silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games respectively, it is in the longest and most historic of Olympic running races – the marathon – where Eliud Kipchoge has developed into a modern-day great. Staggeringly, he has placed first in 11 of the 13 he has entered to date. 

The only human to ever run a sub-2-hour marathon (1:59:40) grew up in rural Kenya, a nation closely associated with long-distance running. A committed philanthropist, Kipchoge has helped thousands of disadvantaged Kenyans over the last two decades. Now in the twilight of his career, the 36-year-old will dream of defending the gold he won in Rio. 

5. Dina Asher-Smith, Great Britain. 

The fastest woman in British history is one of Team GB’s most exciting prospects. Dina Asher-Smith laid down a marker in Doha at the last World Athletics Championships, winning the 200 metres final and clinching silver in the 100 metres. In Tokyo, the goal will be a medal in all three female sprinting events. 

Aside from being a sprinting sensation, the South Londoner is also a fashion model and history graduate from King’s College London. How did she keep fit during the first UK lockdown? By running with deer in a local park. 

4. Armand Duplantis, Sweden. 

A child pole vaulting prodigy with age-group records from U7s to U13s, Armand Duplantis briefly gave up the sport in his teens to focus on baseball. After jumping 6.18 metres last year in Glasgow – surpassing the world record he set just one-week earlier by 1cm – the decision to return to pole vault has certainly been vindicated. 

The World Athletics Male of the Year 2020 spoke about his desire to become the best pole vaulter in history during a recent interview. Olympic gold is surely the next checkpoint on the 21-year-old’s path to greatness. 

3. Sky Brown, Great Britain.

Street culture will take centre stage in Tokyo 2020 when skateboarding makes its Olympic bow. All sports need superstar athletes – and skateboarding might just have found one in 12-year-old Sky Brown. Set to become Team GB’s youngest ever Olympian, she is single-handedly rewriting boundaries in female sport. 

For someone so young, Brown’s achievements are exceptional. A former winner of Dancing on Stars: Juniors, she is also a professional surfer and a Barbie Role Model. Suffering a life-threatening 14ft fall in training last year has not dented her confidence at all. Expect her to be a genuine medal threat. 

2. Noah Lyles, USA. 

Following Usain Bolt’s retirement in 2017 attention quickly turned to potential successors. Christian Coleman, the current World 100 metres champion, was earmarked to inherit the gold medal in Tokyo. But he received a two-year ban for breaching anti-doping regulations in October 2020. Fortunately for the US track and field team, in Noah Lyles, they have another bright star at the forefront of the sprinting world. 

Ranked No. 1 in the 200 metres for the last three years, the consensus is that Lyles will triumph in his favoured event, along with the 4 x 100m and arguably the most anticipated race of the Games, the men’s 100 metres final. Hailing from an athletic family in Florida, he is also an established rapper who has spoken honestly about his mental health struggles on the racing circuit.  

1. Naomi Osaka, Japan. 

After defeating Serena Williams in the final of the 2018 US Open, Naomi Osaka has gone on to win two more grand slams and establish herself as the first Asian tennis player to sit atop the world rankings. But success on the court is only one half of the story. Louis Vuitton recently announced her as their latest Brand Ambassador; in part, because Osaka is a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, using her platform to speak out against police brutality in the US. 

Born in Japan before moving Stateside at an early age, Tokyo 2020 will be a homecoming moment for Osaka. Winning gold on home soil would cap her incredible rise to the top of women’s tennis. 

Takeaway

The Olympics is the ultimate case in point of the power sport holds to bring the international community together. Come the 23rd July 2021, we hope that you’ll be sat down in front of the TV eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Olympic flame at Tokyo’s freshly-constructed Olympic Stadium. Whether you’re supporting Slovenia, Japan or Great Britain, you now have a selection of medal-challenging athletes to cheer on.

Written by Jordan Brunel