Jul 24 (Nikkei) - Who will follow them as the next sporting legends? Here is the lowdown on the new wave of top athletes.
Ashleigh Barty, Australian female tennis player
Although, at 166cm tall, she is small for a tennis player, Ashleigh Barty, a 25-year-old Australian, is ranked No. 1 in the world. What is remarkable is her ability to change her backhand slice with each shot and her handling of the ball. In the singles final at the recent Wimbledon Championships, she defeated a powerful player 20cm taller than herself.
Eliud Kipchoge, Kenyan male marathon runner
He may be the best runner in history. Eliud Kipchoge, a 36-year-old Kenyan marathon runner, aims to become the third person in history to win a second consecutive Olympic victory at the Tokyo Games. The world record holder, with a marathon time of 2:01:39, will come to Sapporo in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido to take part in the competition he has long awaited.
Teddy Riner, French male judoka
Big Dutch judoka Anton Geesink held down Japan's Akio Kaminaga to win the final of the judo open-weight division at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The moment is remembered as one of the Games' highlights, shocking people all over Japan. Now, 57 years after the event, Geesink's role could be reprised by Teddy Riner, a French judoka who will compete in the men's over 100-kg division. This century's strongest judoka, who has won golds in two consecutive Olympics, could face Japanese judoka Hisayoshi Harasawa.
Simone Biles, U.S. female artistic gymnast
If we were asked to choose one "queen" of the gymnastics world, it would definitely be Simone Biles, an American artistic gymnast who won four gold medals in the team competition, individual all-round, vault and floor exercises in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics five years ago. The 24-year-old athlete boasts such overwhelming strength that she can maintain a wide lead even if she makes some errors in performance. Shining more brightly than ever, she has returned to the Olympics.
Caeleb Dressel, U.S. male swimmer
Michael Phelps, a former American competitive swimmer, won 23 Olympic gold medals, the most in Olympic men's swimming history, and was called a "monster in water." A man who may catch up with the great swimmer is Caeleb Dressel, a 24-year-old American swimmer who won six golds at the World Aquatics Championships in 2019. He plans to compete in up to six events at the Tokyo Olympics, including 50-meter and 100-m freestyle, 100-m butterfly and relay.
Zhu Ting, Chinese female volleyball player
China's Zhu Ting is one of the most famous athletes in one of the world's strongest sporting nations. She is captain of the China women's volleyball team, which is likely to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She aims for the same results as at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where the team won the gold and she got the most valuable player award.
