28 Athletes to Know at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio
Stats, facts and more on the athletes to watch for this year.
— -- More than 11,000 athletes will be competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Here are stats, facts and more on 28 athletes you should know and watch out for at the games beginning this weekend:
1. Michael Phelps
Sport: Swimming
Events: Men’s 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley
Age: 31
Height: 6' 4''
Olympic Medals: 22, 18 of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time.
• This summer, he will become the first American male swimmer to have competed in five Olympics.
• The swimmer was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) at age 7 and was directed to the pool to relieve excess energy.
• Phelps ate 12,000 calories daily during his training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
• His son, who was born this past May, is named Boomer Robert Phelps after Phelps' swimming coach Robert Bowman.
2. Ryan Lochte
Sport: Swimming
Events: Men’s 200-meter individual medley
Age: 31
Height: 6' 2''
Olympic Medals: 11, five of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Lochte is the current world record holder for the fastest 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley in Men's Swimming.
• He said he lived on McDonald's during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
• Lochte is the proud owner of two dogs named Carter and Yeezy, named after Lil' Wayne and Kanye West's famous shoes, respectively.
• As a teenager, Lochte was a handful at swimming practices, where he would pull on other teammates' legs, blow bubbles underwater and hide at the other end of the pool, according to his father.
3. Missy Franklin
Sport: Swimming
Events: Women's 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter backstroke
Age: 21
Height: 6' 2''
Olympic Medals: Five, four of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Franklin currently holds the world record for the fastest Women's 200-meter backstroke.
• She told ABC News' "Good Morning America" that her favorite TV show is "Scandal" and she has a celebrity crush on Chris Pratt.
• Her one-word motto? "Relentless."
4. Yusra Mardini
Sport: Swimming
Events: Women's 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly
Age: 18
Height: 5' 6''
Olympic Experience: The upcoming games in Rio will be her first time competing in the Olympics
Fast Facts:
• Mardini is one of 10 athletes competing for the Olympics' first-ever team made up of refugees.
• She fled Syria in August of last year after her home was destroyed.
• After reaching Turkey, Mardini and 19 other refugees arranged to travel to Greece by boat. After the boat's motor stopped working, Mardini, her sister and two others got off the boat and into the water to give it more buoyancy. They helped push the boat for over three hours until they finally reached Lesbos.
5. Dipa Karmakar
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Women's uneven bars, beam, vault, floor exercise and individual all-around
Age: 22
Height: 4' 11''
Olympic Experience: The upcoming games in Rio will be her first time competing in the Olympics
Fast Facts:
• Karmakar is the first female Indian gymnast to ever qualify for the Olympics.
• She is also the first Indian gymnast, male or female, to qualify for the Olympics in 52 years.
• Karmakar is one of very few female gymnasts in the world who have successfully landed the Produnova vault, which requires two-and-a-half somersaults before landing.
6. Simone Biles
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Women's uneven bars, beam, vault, team all-around, floor exercise and individual all-around
Age: 19
Height: 4' 9''
Olympic Experience: The upcoming games in Rio will be her first time competing in the Olympics
Fast Facts:
• Biles is the first female gymnast to win three consecutive world all-around titles.
• She’s won 10 titles in just three world championships.
• Biles collects turtle figurines as souvenirs from her travels.
• Her favorite cuisine is Italian and her favorite hobby? Shopping!
7. Aly Raisman
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Women's uneven bars, beam, vault, team all-around, floor exercise and individual all-around
Age: 22
Height: 5' 2''
Olympic Medals: Three, two of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Raisman is the captain of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the Olympics this year.
• She was also captain during the 2012 Olympics, when she became the most decorated American gymnast at the games that year.
• Raisman finished fourth on the 16th season of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" in 2013.
• She plans to pursue a career in fashion and expand her signature line of leotards and socks in the near future.
8. Gabby Douglas
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Women's uneven bars, beam, vault, team all-around, floor exercise and individual all-around
Age: 22
Height: 5' 2''
Olympic Medals: Two, both of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• During the 2012 Olympics, Douglas became the first African American to win gold in the Women's Gymnastics individual all-around event.
• She has written two books.
• Her hobbies include reading and knitting
• A Vanity Fair writer calculated that between the ages of 6 and 16, Douglas spent approximately 18,000 hours training.
9.Chris Brooks
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Men's individual all-around, pommel horse, vault, horizontal bar, parallel bars, team all-around, floor exercise and rings
Age: 29
Height: 5' 8''
Olympic Experience: Named an alternate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London
Fast Facts:
• Brooks is captain of the U.S. Men's Gymnastics team at this year's Olympics.
• Brooks finished second in the all-around at both the Olympic Trials and P&G Championships this year
• He's a car and motorcycle hobbyist and loves rap and classic rock music.
10. Sam Mikulak
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Men's individual all-around, pommel horse, vault, horizontal bar, parallel bars, team all-around, floor exercise and rings
Age: 23
Height: 5' 6''
Olympic Experience: Got fifth place during the London 2012 Olympic Games in the Men's Gymnastics' team all-around and vault events
Fast Facts:
• Mikulak posted the highest all-around score at the Olympic Trials this year.
• He began gymnastics at only 2 years old.
• Mikulak co-founded an herbal tea company called MatéBros with two of his gymnastics friends from home
• He loves playing other sports for fun, including long boarding, beatboxing, skeet shooting and playing tennis, soccer, football and golf
11. Ibtihaj Muhammad
Sport: Fencing
Events: Women's individual sabre and team sabre
Age: 30
Height: 5' 7''
Olympic Experience: The upcoming games in Rio will be her first time competing in the Olympics
Fast Facts:
• Muhammad is the first American athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing a hijab.
• According to her father, fencing was a sport that was uniquely accommodating to her religion, which requires her body to be fully covered.
• Muhammad owns her own fashion company, Louella, which aims to bring modest fashionable clothing to the U.S. market.
• Growing up, she found inspiration from the Williams sisters and their confidence playing tennis.
12. Usain Bolt
Sport: Track and Field
Events: Men's 4x100-meter relay, 200-meter and 100-meter
Age: 29
Height: 6' 5''
Olympic Medals: Six, all of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Bolt is regarded as the "fastest person ever timed" and the "fastest man in the world."
• He is the first person to hold the world records for the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes ever since automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977.
• Bolt has never run a mile, his agent told the "The New Yorker."
• He was named the 40th highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes.
13. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Sport: Track and Field
Events: Women's 100-meter and 4x100-meter relay
Age: 29
Height: 5'
Olympic Medals: Four, two of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Fraser-Pryce became the first Jamaican woman to win the 100-meter Olympic gold medal in 2008.
• She has been nicknamed the “Pocket Rocket,” for her petite frame and explosive starts in races
• Fraser-Pryce has been selected to be Jamaica's flag bearer at the opening ceremony at the games this year.
• She is known for wearing bold hair colors during track season. In 2013, she launched her own hair salon named Chic Hair Ja.
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14. Serena Williams
Sport: Tennis
Events: Women's singles and doubles
Age: 34
Height: 5' 9''
Olympic Medals: Four, all of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Williams is currently ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis.
• She holds the most major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined among all active players, male or female.
• Williams began playing tennis at age of 5 at public courts in Compton, California.
• Her favorite animals are dogs, and she owns an adorable Yorkshire Terrier named Chip.
• Williams apparently once tried Chip's dog food and recorded it on Snapchat.
15. Venus Williams
Sport: Tennis
Events: Women's singles and doubles
Age: 36
Height: 6' 1''
Olympic Medals: Four, all of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Williams will be the second oldest Olympic singles player since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988 following a 64-year hiatus.
• She is currently ranked No. 6 in women's singles tennis.
• Williams founded V Starr Interiors, an interior design company in Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter, Florida, which specializes in residential design.
• She is also designer of the Venus Williams Collection, a line of women's leather apparel for Wilson's Leather.
• She has a faster serve than her sister Serena.
16. Hope Solo
Sport: Soccer
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 35
Height: 5' 9''
Olympic Medals: Two, both of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Solo has been goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team since 2000.
• She holds every major goalkeeping record in the U.S.
• Solo actually didn't enjoy being goalie as a child, though she learned to love the position during college.
• She told "GMA" she plays classical music to help psych her up before a game.
17. Carli Lloyd
Sport: Soccer
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 34
Height: 5' 7''
Olympic Medals: Two, both of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Lloyd scored the gold medal-winning goals in the women's tournament finals of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
• She is the first person ever to score three goals in a FIFA Women's World Cup Final.
• Lloyd accomplished that feat during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, when the U.S. won over Japan 5-2 and she was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
• She told "GMA" she goes for a 15-minute jog every game day.
18. Carmelo Anthony
Sport: Basketball
Event: Men's tournament
Age: 32
Height: 6' 8''
Olympic Medals: Three, two of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Anthony plays for the New York Knicks in the NBA.
• Since entering the NBA, he has been named an All-Star nine times and an All-NBA Team member six times.
• In 2014, Anthony set the Madison Square Garden and Knicks' single-game scoring record with a career high of 62 points.
• Anthony has a 9-year-old son named Kiyan Carmelo Anthony.
19. Kevin Durant
Sport: Basketball
Event: Men's tournament
Age: 27
Height: 6' 9''
Olympic Medals: One gold
Fast Facts:
• Durant plays for California's Golden State Warriors in the NBA.
• He has won an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
• Durant wears the number 35 on his jersey to honor his childhood coach, Charles Craig, who died at the age 35.
• His hobbies include playing video games and shopping.
20. Sue Bird
Sport: Basketball
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 35
Height: 5' 9''
Olympic Medals: Three, all of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Bird plays for Washington State's Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
• She is a seven-time WNBA All-Star and is one of nine female basketball players to have won an Olympic Gold Medal, a NCAA Championship and a WNBA Championship.
• Bird wears the number 10 on her jersey because she and her sister were both born in October, the 10th month of the year.
21. Maya Moore
Sport: Basketball
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 27
Height: 6'
Olympic Medals: One gold medal
Fast Facts:
• Moore plays for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.
• She has won three WNBA championships, a WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, a WNBA Finals MVP Award, a WNBA All-Star Game MVP award, a WNBA scoring title and a WNBA Rookie of the Year award.
• Moore is the first female basketball player to sign with Nike's Jordan Brand.
22. Kerri Walsh Jennings
Sport: Volleyball
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 37
Height: 6' 2''
Olympic Medals: Three, all of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Walsh Jennings and her former partner Misty May-Treanor have been called the "greatest beach volleyball team of all time" after consecutively becoming the women's volleyball tournament champions at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
• She and May-Treanor won 21 consecutive Olympic matches and only lost one set during their 11-year run together.
• Walsh Jennings competed while pregnant during the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
• She is now teammates with April Ross, whom she defeated along with May-Treanor during the finals in the 2012 Olympics
23. April Ross
Sport: Volleyball
Event: Women's tournament
Age: 34
Height: 6' 1''
Olympic Medals: One silver
Fast Facts:
• Ross teamed up with Walsh Jennings in 2013 after Walsh Jennings' long-time partner, Misty May-Treanor, retired.
• She and Walsh Jennings have won six medals in the Olympic qualification period this year.
• Ross played multiple sports during high school including track and field, basketball and volleyball.
24. Claressa Shields
Sport: Boxing
Event: Women's middleweight
Age: 21
Height: 5' 10''
Olympic Medals: One gold
Fast Facts:
• Shields became the first American woman to win a boxing gold medal during the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Earlier this year, she became the first boxer, male or female, to claim three global titles.
• Shields has only had one loss in her entire career.
• She said she was inspired to go into boxing at the age of 11 after hearing about Laila Ali from her father.
• Shields said she idolizes Serena Williams.
25. Ashton Eaton
Sport: Track and Field
Event: Decathlon
Age: 29
Height: 6' 1''
Olympic Medals: Two, both of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Eaton is the current world record holder in the heptathlon.
• He is married to Canadian Olympian Brianne Theisen-Eaton, whom he met while competing at the University of Oregon.
• Eaton wears a "cooling hood" between his events to reduce heat around his face and to maximize his recovery.
• He has a black belt in Taekwondo.
• Aside from sports, Eaton loves tech gadgets, video games and reading.
• Eaton hopes to earn his pilot’s license.
26. Kristin Armstrong
Sport: Cycling -- Road
Events: Women's time trial and road race
Age: 42
Height: 5' 8''
Olympic Medals: Two, both of which are gold
Fast Facts:
• Armstrong, who is not related to fellow cyclist Lance Armstrong, is the most decorated female cyclist in U.S. history.
• She started her Team USA journey at 17 as a Junior Olympian in swimming.
• Armstrong has also competed as a triathlete in the Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship.
• The bike she had won an Olympic gold medal with in 2012 was stolen while she was traveling from Germany to the U.S. Two sponsors presented her with a replica replacement the next year at a tour in California.
27. Kanak Jha
Sport: Table tennis
Events: Men's team and men's singles
Age: 16
Height: 5' 5''
Olympic Experience: The upcoming games in Rio will be his first time competing in the Olympics
Fast Facts:
• Jha is the youngest member of the U.S. Olympics team this year.
• He is the first American born after 2000 to qualify for the Olympics.
• Jha won both the U.S. Men's Singles and Youth tournaments this year.
• He moved to Halmstad, Sweden, just before his sophomore year for training and has been taking high school courses online.
28. Phillip Dutton
Sport: Equestrian
Events: Team eventing and individual eventing
Age: 52
Height: 5' 6''
Olympic Medals: Two, both golds
Fast Facts:
• Dutton is the oldest member of the U.S. Olympics team this year.
• He was born and raised in Australia but changed his citizenship to American in 2006 after moving to the U.S. to become more internationally competitive.
• Dutton and his wife, Evie, own, manage and train out of True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania, and at their Red Oak Farm in Aiken, South Carolina.
• Aside from horses, Dutton said he is interested in world affairs, reading, golf and tennis.
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