Olympic kings and queens: Rio 2016 Games will see some athletes enter the history books
Some of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time will be looking to cement their reputations in Rio
Athletes of eleven sports could become medal record-holders at the Olympic Games (Getty Images)
With the calendar for the Olympic Games now out, Rio 2016 is certain to be full of unforgettable moments, which will make you fall in love with new sports, see new champions crowned and others build on their medal-winning reputations.
For a handful of the world’s best athletes, Rio 2016 will offer the chance to enter the record books as the greatest Olympic medallists in the history of their sport. Check out our list of those on the threshold of sporting immortality.
Athletics – Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica); Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)
Usain Bolt, with six Olympic gold medals already to his name, has little left to prove. For Rio 2016, however, the Jamaican sprinter is eyeing up what he calls the “triple-triple”: three consecutive golds in three different athletics events: 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. With a total of nine gold medals to his credit if he succeeds, Bolt would take his place alongside Finland’s Paavo Nurmi (who also won three silvers) and the USA’s Carl Lewis (who also won one silver) as one of the greatest Olympians in history.
Among the women sprinters, the competition is fierce. The United States’ Allyson Felix (four golds and two silvers) and Sanya Richards-Ross (four golds and one bronze) are already the greatest female Olympians in history, and they may win even more medals at the Rio 2016 Games. Another woman to watch is Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown: with three golds, two silvers and two bronzes, the 32-year old 100m and 200m specialist may yet steal the Americans’ thunder.
Usain Bolt hopes for plenty of reasons to celebrate at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Boxing – Zou Shiming (China)
Already considered China’s all-time greatest amateur boxer, Zou Shiming may go down in history as the king of Olympic boxing at the Rio 2016 Games. If he wins gold for the third consecutive time, Zou will draw level with two sporting legends – Hungary’s Laszlo Papp and Cuba’s Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon – as the sport’s only three-time Olympic champions. Zou’s bronze medal at Athens 2004, however, would make him boxing’s most prolific Olympic medallist.
China's Zpu Shiming could become the greatest fighter in Olympic history (Photo: Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Cycling – Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)
Great Britain has dominated Olympic cycling in recent years. The sport’s two greatest medallists, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy, have won seven medals each since their Olympic debut in the Sydney 2000 Games. Hoy (six golds and one silver) has two more Olympic titles than Wiggins (four golds, one silver and two bronzes), but while Hoy has now retired, Wiggins is hungry for more. Could he overtake his fellow Brit in the medal haul at the Rio 2016 Games?
Bradley Wiggins is looking to build on his triumphs as an Olympic Champion in Rio 2016 (Photo: Christophe Ena/Getty Images)
Fencing – Valentina Vezzali (Italy)
With six golds, one silver and two bronzes, Italy’s Valentina Vezzali is already the greatest female Olympic champion in the history of fencing. She is also one of only four athletes to have won five medals in the same individual event. “The Cobra”, as Vezzali is known on the track, will be looking to add to her medal collection in Rio.
Valentina Vezzali, on the right, is already the greatest fencer in the history of the Olympics (Photo: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images)
Football – Christie Rampone (United States)
Captain of one of the world’s most successful women’s football teams, Christie Rampone has won three golds and one silver at the Olympics, as well as one gold, one silver and two bronzes at world championships. At the age of 39, the defender has no plans to retire and the selectors show no signs of leaving her off the team sheet. That’s good news for fans in Rio, who will have every chance of seeing one of the greatest Olympic football medallists on the pitch in 2016.
Captain Christie Rampone has played in the last four Olympic Games (Photo: Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
Wrestling – Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida (Japan); Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
Three of the greatest Olympic medal-winners in the history of freestyle wrestling will be competing at the Rio 2016 Games. In the women’s competition, three-time Olympic champions Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida, both from Japan, have both won more golds than any other athlete in their sport. And they may yet win a fourth consecutive gold at the Rio 2016 Games.
In the men’s event, Artur Taymazov (three golds and one silver), from Uzbekistan, won his third Olympic title at London 2012 matching the medal tally of his idol, Russia’s Aleksandr Karelin (three golds and one silver). If he competes at the Rio 2016 Games and wins another gold, Taymazov will overtake Karelin, and draw level with Germany’s Wilfried Dietrich (one gold, two silvers and two bronzes).
Saori Yoshida, on the left, is among the three candidates battling for sporting glory in Rio 2016 (Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
Swimming – Michael Phelps (United States)
No list of Olympic greats would be complete without Michael Phelps. With 18 golds, two silvers and two bronzes, the American swimmer is an icon of the Games – no-one has won more Olympic medals in swimming or any other sport. From Athens 2004 to London 2012, he competed in 24 events and won medals in all but two of them. Sporting legends Larissa Latynina (Russia, gymnastics), Carl Lewis (USA, athletics), Mark Spitz (USA, swimming) and Paavo Nurmi (Finland, athletics) are the athletes with the highest number of Olympic medals after Phelps: all have eight – half of the swimmer’s total. After a brief retirement, Phelps has recently announced plans to compete at the Rio 2016 Games. Could he win yet more medals?
Insatiable: Michael Phelps already has 18 golds, two silvers and two bronzes, but he still wants more (Photo: Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Shooting – Kimberly Rhode (United States)
A natural shot since she first picked up a gun at the age of ten, Kimberly Rhode is the first American woman to win an individual medal in five consecutive Olympic Games. Starting on home ground, in Atlanta 1996, Rhode went on to win three golds (including two in different events, the double trap and skeet), one silver and a bronze, putting her at the top of the Olympics medal ranking of shooting at the age of just 35. Given her relative youth, plenty of further medal opportunities await.
Rio 2016 in her sights: Kimberly Rhode is the best Olympic athlete in the history of shooting (Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Tennis – Venus and Serena Williams (United States)
Even among the many highlights of their brilliant tennis careers, the Williams’ sisters record at the Olympics is extraordinary. Playing as a doubles pair, they have never lost a single match at the Olympic Games: 15 victories in 15 matches gave them the titles at Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In addition, Venus won Olympic gold in the singles events at Sydney 2000, as did Serena at 2012, so each sister has a total of four Olympic golds – more than anyone else in the sport’s history.
Playing as a doubles team, Venus and Serena Williams have never lost an Olympic Games (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Table tennis – Hao Wang (China)
Think of table tennis champions, and you think of China – so it is no surprise that greatest Olympic medallist in the sport’s history is Chinese. Hao Wang has already won two golds and three silvers since Athens 2004 and, if he competes at the Rio 2016 Games, the reining world teams champion (2014) will have the chance to increase both his medal count and his lead over the sport’s other stars.
Hao Wang,Olympic Games and table tennis: a combination that rarely fails (Photo: Feng Li/Getty Images)
Sailing – Robert Scheidt (Brazil)
Imagine retiring as Olympic champion in front of your home crowd, as the greatest Olympic medallist in the history of your sport? This is the plan of Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidt, who has won two golds, two silvers and one bronze in sailing over the course of eight Olympic Games. Scheidt has the same number of medals as Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie (four golds and one silver). Ainslie, however, retired from the Olympics at the London 2012 Games, leaving the lanes open for Scheidt to pass him.
