: 48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics #WorldNEWS The Tokyo Olympics won’t be anything like the Games you’ve watched in the past. Athletes will be competing with no spectators, without

48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics #WorldNEWS
The Tokyo Olympics won’t be anything like the Games you’ve watched in the past. Athletes will be competing with no spectators, without even their families to cheer them on, among other restrictions. These strict on-the-ground rules, will be in effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic that just triggered a new state of emergency for Tokyo. But the global event is moving forward, and roughly 11,000 participants are headed to Tokyo for the Games. Such a massive group of elite athletes are sure to bring thrilling competition, gripping rivalries and moments for the record books.
Here are 48 to watch when the Games formally kick off on July 23.
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(Click each plus sign to read more. )
Simone Biles

Gymnastics, U. S.

Emilee Chinn—Getty ImagesSimone Biles competes on the beam during the 2021 GK U. S. Classic gymnastics competition on May 22, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
When the greatest gymnast of all time got the notice in March that every aspiring Olympian was dreading—that the Games were postponed by a year—it hit hard.
“I was angry, I was annoyed, I was sad,” says Simone Biles, the reigning Olympic all-around gymnastics champion. “I had to let myself feel all the emotions. I 100% felt like I didn’t plan this—now we have to go back to the drawing board and deal with a lot of variables. But at the end of the day, this is bigger than me. We have to make sure that everybody in the world is safe. ” Still, she adds, “it did suck. ”

Ariarne Titmus
Swimming, Australia
When Ariarne Titmus swam the second fastest women’s 400-m freestyle in history at the Australian swimming trials in June, observers called it a “warning shot” to U. S. powerhouse Katie Ledecky, who set the world record at the Rio Olympics.

Alex Morgan
Soccer, U. S.

Adam Davy—PA Images/Getty ImagesTottenham Hotspurs Alex Morgan warming up before the Continental Cup match at Meadow Park, London.
If the U. S. Women’s National Soccer Team has one last goal to accomplish, it’s this: becoming the first women’s team to ever win a World Cup and an Olympics, backtoback. Alex Morgan, the fifthleading goal scorer in the team’s history, will be key to preventing another letdown: past U. S. World Cup victories, in 1999 and 2015, were followed by Olympic disappointment.

Caeleb Dressel
Swimming, U. S.
There’s no missing Caeleb Dressel on the pool deck. Blanketing his left arm is a sleeve of ink that captures the qualities that make the 24-year-old Floridian the swimmer to watch in multiple events in Tokyo.

Allyson Felix
Track and Field, U.