We’ve been transfixed on the hunky Euro players and all things Wimbledon over the past few weeks and in just five days the winners from both disciplines will be crowned. No fear – the sports frenzy will not end there! As you know, it’ll soon be time to wave our flag in support of the hundreds of athletes that will compete in the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Whether you’ll be watching at home sipping on a handmade summer cocktail, or out and about with friends, Rio 2016 will be the perfect stage for up-and-coming talents to shine and show the world what they’ve got.
So, who are we talking about in particular you ask? Well, here are some up-and-comers that you should keep a close eye on because we think they’re bound to shake things up a bit in this years Olympic Games…
Genzebe Dibaba
Ethiopian athlete, Genezebe Dibaba, is a 25-year-old who has established herself as one of the greatest indoor middle-distance runners of all time over the past two years. She has set four world records ranging from 1,500m to 5,000m and she might be hard to beat as she’s set the bar pretty high, beating the records by huge margins.
In 2015, she ended up adding a new record to her name when she started outdoor racing, with the previous best raining for 22 years, she’s definitely making noise as an athlete and she also won a world title in the same event in Beijing.
The pressure is on for Diababa, especially because she is the younger sister of three-time Olympic champion Tirnunesh Dibaba, but that’s only motivating her further as she’s set to go after gold in the 1,500m and 5,000m in Rio next month.
Wayne Van Niekerk
He is the fourth fastest man in history – 23-year-old South African, Wayde van Niekerk, won his gold medal at the World Championships in Beijing last August and at this years Olympics, he’s the man to beat.
Katie Ledecky
She’s well on her way to becoming the Michael Phelps of women’s swimming – 19-year-old American, Katie Ledecky won her first gold medal at age 15, in the 800m freestyle Olympic medal back at the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2013, Ledecky became wold freestyle champion over 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m, picking up four golds in the World Championships and later on, in the 2015 Wold Championships, when she won five gold medals.
She also holds world records in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m and it seems almost certain that she will add more records and gold medals to her collection in Rio.
Dafne Schippers
Dutch athlete, Dafne Schippers, is a heptathlete and sprinter who is breaking the monopoly of American-Caribbean women’s 100m and 200m and is ready to bring the gold to Europe.
As a heptathlete she won the junior world title in 2010 and then bronze at the senior World Championships in 2013, but over the past couple of years she has concentrated on sprinting and her performance have consequently soared.
Having won golds in the 100m and 200m at the European Championships in 2014, she then won gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m at last year’s World Championships and appears certain to be challenging for more medals in Rio.
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