The long-awaited 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics are set to take place starting Friday, July 23, 2021. The formerly scheduled 2020 Olympics were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but athletes are anticipating the events this July.
With the Olympics right around the corner, only 151 athletes have qualified for Team USA – the rest, awaiting The Olympic Trials. Here are the Top five women gymnasts, track athletes, and swimmers we are hoping to see represent Team USA.
Gymnastics
Trials Dates: June 24-27
Location: St. Louis
Simone Biles
24- year-old, Simone Biles may be petite but she is on fire when she hits the floor. Biles is the most decorated American gymnast and the world’s third most decorated gymnast with a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals. A fan favorite at the 2016 Olympics, taking home 4 gold and 1 bronze medal, fans are expecting to see her as part of the US gymnastics team. Let’s not forget Biles just became the first woman to attempt a Yurchenko double pike in a competition…. And she nailed it!
Track & Field
Trials Dates: June 18-27
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Allyson Felix (Sprints)
Allyson Felix, a legend to the US Olympic track team, is hoping for a bid for her fifth and final Olympic games. The Track Sprinter has participated in 4 Olympic games since 2004, gathering 6 golds and 3 silver medals.
Felix is the most decorated American woman in track and field, but she is racing to break her tie with Merlene Ottey of Jamaica. as the most decorated track and field Olympian in history.
And she’ll be doing all this as a mother. Felix spoke about her high-risk birth to her daughter Camryn In 2018. Going through a near-death birth was traumatizing for Felix but she is ready to challenge herself again on the track. “It’s been really challenging trying to figure out how to do both at the same time. But I’ll be able to look back and tell her about this journey, this journey that she’s been on as well. And it hasn’t been an easy one,” says the runner in a statement.
We’re hoping to see Camryn cheer on her mother at the 2021 Olympics in the 200 and 400 meters!
Sydney McLaughlin (hurdles)
21-year-old, Sydney McLaughlin is a fan favorite and personal favorite of mine. Back in the day when I competed in Track & Field in New Jersey, I remembered watching a young Sydney McLaughlin dominate in hurdles. Today, the one-time Olympian is ready for her victory lap in Tokyo. McLaughlin experienced ups and downs in the 2016 games, but her sights are set on some medals this summer.
Swimming
Trials Dates: June 13-20.
Location: Omaha
Regan Smith
Regan Smith is a promising prospect for the 2021 US Swimming Team. At 19-years-old, she is the current world record holder of both the women’s 100- and 200-meter backstroke. This Minnesota – raised powerhouse will likely be competing against swimmers far beyond her years if she makes it through the trials. But with her conviction and agility, we’re sure she’ll be a beast in the water.
Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky not only has a cool last name but she also has a list of accomplishments to back it up. Let’s see, she is the world record holder in the women’s 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle; she’s won 15 world championship gold medals; and she’s won five Olympic gold medals, one of which she earned when she was only 15. Ledecky has been training intensely for the trials. If (I say when) she makes it to Tokyo she will be going for 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 freestyle for her individual races and the 4×200 relay.
Who do you want on Team USA? Comment below or tweet us @CelebSecrets
