In 2012, it was Katie Ledecky, the then-15-year-old swimmer who stunned the pack – and the world – with her gold-medal winning display in the 800-meter freestyle. She finished more than four seconds ahead of the field, shattered an American record and nearly took down the world record.
And in 2016, it was gymnast Simone Biles who became a household name around the world as she claimed gold in the sport’s biggest event – the women’s individual all-around. Biles was already a star in gymnastics, having won her first world title in the all-around in 2013. But in Rio, her star power went off the charts when she won three individual gold medals and a bronze. She also led the Final Five to team gold.
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Ahead of the 2020 Olympics, which is now one year away, here’s a look at 15 athletes who could become rising stars for Team USA next summer:
Caroline Marks, surfing
Marks became the youngest surfer ever to qualify for the Championship Tour in 2017 as a 15-year-old. Now 17, Marks is coming off a strong 2018 campaign in which she finished seventh on the women’s tour and earned Rookie of the Year honors. With surfing debuting as an Olympic sport come 2020, Marks will face steep competition to earn one of the USA’s two spots in the women’s field. But the newcomer opened the 2019 season strong, winning the Boost Mobile Pro Gold Coast event in April.
Morgan Hurd, gymnastics
At 18, Hurd has already experienced success in Tokyo. At the 2019 Tokyo World Cup, Hurd won gold in the all-around competition, adding another medal to an already crowded portfolio. She won all-around gold at the 2017 world championships and took silver on beam, and in 2018 at worlds she won silver on floor and bronze in the all-around. She also has been included in the filming of a year-long documentary from the Olympic Channel, following three gymnasts on the road to the Tokyo Games.
Brighton Zeuner, skateboarding
In another sport making its Olympics debut, Zeuner has a shot to find her way to Tokyo in a year’s time. As a 13-year-old, she became the youngest gold medalist in X Games history, winning the park event in 2017. And the next year, she became the youngest skater to win in back-to-back years. So at 15, Zeuner is no newbie to winning medals. She could be part of Team USA’s contingent in Tokyo, attempting to win yet another gold.
Michael Andrew, swimming
As a 17-year-old, Andrew missed out on making it to the 2016 Olympics by 0.64 seconds. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Andrew broke the junior world record at the Olympic Trials but finished fourth overall in the final. Since then, Andrew, now 20, won gold in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and he captured five medals — four golds and one silver — as a member of Team USA relays at the 2018 Short Course World Championships.
Kanak Jha, table tennis
Jha has already been to the Olympics — he was the youngest American athlete to compete at the 2016 Games — but now as a 19-year-old, Jha is far and away the top American table tennis player. He ranks No. 37 in the world, according to the International Table Tennis Federation, and he won bronze at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and secured his fourth straight national title in 2019.
Rachel Garcia, softball
Garcia led UCLA to a national championship in 2019, finishing her college season with a 1.14 ERA in 202 innings, as well as a .343 batting average. Her success hasn’t been isolated to the Bruins, and she could factor in heavily to Team USA’s plans when softball returns to the Olympics in 2020. At the WBSC Women’s World Championship in 2018, Garcia held a 1.05 ERA with 13 strikeouts through 6 2/3 innings as the Americans went on to win gold.
CJ Cummings, weightlifting
If Cummings wasn’t known well known before, his performance at the 2019 Pan American Weightlifting Championships made him a star in the sport. The Beaufort, S.C. native set 15 American, Pan American and world records in Guatemala City as an 18-year-old. Cummings now seems poised to qualify for the 2020 Olympics and could add to an already impressive career, which includes a win in the 73 kg class at the World Junior Championships this year, too.
Delaney Schnell, diving
Schnell has made a strong case for a place among the U.S. divers headed to Japan if she can get through trials next year. After a 14-year medal drought in the women’s 10-meter platform event at the FINA World Championships, Team USA made it back on the podium as Schnell earned bronze. The 20-year-old is firmly in the conversation to make the team for Tokyo. Schnell, entering her junior year at Arizona, made the finals at the World Championships for the first time and went on to win her first world championship medal, and her country’s first in the event since 2005.
Margo Hayes, climbing
Climbing is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo, and because the competitors must compete in all three disciplines — bouldering, speed and lead — it’s beneficial for them to be well-rounded. Hayes can do it all. In 2016 at the IFSC World Youth Championships, Hayes placed first overall, winning the bouldering and lead events while finishing 15th in speed. The next year, she made history by becoming the first woman to climb a 5.15a-rated route.
Noah Lyles, track and field
Lyles opted to turn pro in 2016 instead of competing at the University of Florida, and he’s since become one of the top sprinters in the world. Four times in 2018, Lyles broke the 19.7-second mark in the 200 meters. The only other sprinter to achieve that feat was Usain Bolt. As Lyles prepares for the USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines this week, he announced he’s only running in the 200 rather than trying the 100-200 double. Instead, Lyles plans to run both events at the Olympic Trials next year.
Sydney McLaughlin, track and field
McLaughlin has already been to the Olympics, when the then-16-year-old high schooler qualified for the Rio Games and became the youngest U.S. Olympian to compete in track and field since 1972. In Rio, she finished 16th in the 400-meter hurdles. But four years later, McLaughlin looks poised to break out as a medal contender in Tokyo. The 19-year-old finished first in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2018 NCAA championships for Kentucky before turning pro later that year. Last month she won gold at the Diamond League meet in Oslo, Norway.
Tom Schaar, skateboarding
In 2012, Schaar spun — and landed — his way into the record books. As a 12-year-old, Schaar became the first skateboarder to land a 1080, which is three rotations, and he became the youngest skater to win gold at an X Games event. Now 19, Schaar is a member of the USA Skateboarding team for the park event, and he could find his way to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics if he qualifies.
Josh Sargent, soccer
After missing out on the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. men’s soccer team has gone through an overhaul. Young stars such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are getting chances center stage. But Sargent, the youngest-ever to score for the USA at a U-20 World Cup, hasn’t yet broken through into the senior team, having been left off the Gold Cup squad. That could change if the U.S. qualifies for the Olympics. At 19, the Werder Bremen striker would love a chance to show he can be a goal-scoring threat for the Americans.
Andi Sullivan, soccer
Her Washington Spirit teammates Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh made the World Cup squad and went on to win it all, with Lavelle scoring in the final. Sullivan, one of the last names left off the roster, had to watch her two roommates play in France from home. But the 23-year-old midfielder, who’s the team captain for the NWSL’s Spirit, could make the jump to Team USA when it has another go at a trophy at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Daton Fix, wrestling
Fix, a high-school wrestling standout in Oklahoma, continued that success in a big way when he jumped up a level in Stillwater. The 133-pounder for Oklahoma State went 34-2 in the regular season of his redshirt freshman year in 2018-19, finishing as a runner-up in the NCAA championships, and becoming the youngest wrestler to make the U.S. senior world team since 1987.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/07/24/olympics-2020-15-americans-who-could-become-stars-tokyo-games/1809705001/
2019-07-24 10:00:00Z
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