American gymnast Simone Biles is the defending Olympic champion in the individual all-around, and if the high-flying 24-year-old wins in Tokyo she will be the first woman to repeat since Vera Caslavska in 1968. Many consider Biles to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Over the past few years, she has astounded us with never-before-seen moves; there are now four original skills that are named after her. And earlier this year she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault in competition.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Updated 1:22 PM ET, Wed July 14, 2021
American gymnast Simone Biles is the defending Olympic champion in the individual all-around, and if the high-flying 24-year-old wins in Tokyo she will be the first woman to repeat since Vera Caslavska in 1968. Many consider Biles to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Over the past few years, she has astounded us with never-before-seen moves; there are now four original skills that are named after her. And earlier this year she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault in competition.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries will be competing in this year’s Summer Olympics.
Here are 25 who we will be watching closely as the Games progress. Some, like Simone Biles above, are already global superstars. Some you might be hearing about for the first time.
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