Olympics 2020 officially begin competition

After a unique delay of one year because of the global pandemic, the Olympic opening ceremonies will kick off this Friday, July 23, in Tokyo. While there will plenty of names, you should already recognize, ill give you several more athletes to keep an eye out for in these Olympic games.

Let us start with one of the most significant names in all the games. Simone Biles, Biles is now 24 years old. She is a five-time gymnastic world champion and the defending Olympic champion. Biles was the most dominant gymnast at the 2016 games in Rio, and guess what? She has gotten even more dominant since that time. They generally considered Biles the gymnastics GOAT, and she could win five gold medals in Tokyo. If she can pull off the remarkable feat, she would go down in the history books. It would tie an Olympic record for most medals earned by a female gymnast. Soviet legend Larisa Latynina currently holds the record. The one big thing to watch for Biles in this Olympics will be if she completes the much-talked-about Yurchenko double pike vault. You may also see her try a double-twisting double-back dismount on the beam. We expect her to attempt a double layout with a half twist and triple twisting double back on the floor. We can watch what could go down as the greatest female gymnast of all time at her best this should be something unique to witness.

Sunisa Lee may be one of the best gymnasts not named Simone Biles. Lee, who is only 18 years old, fished second to Biles at the American Olympic trials and had a higher four-event total on day two of the trials. That was the first time any gymnast has topped Biles on any day in the last eight years. Lee is the first Hmong American to qualify for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. Her parents John and Yeev emigrated from Laos to the U.S. As children. Lee has one of the most arduous bar routines in the world, and she could be in contention for a gold medal in that event.

We keep the gymnastic train going with one of the top men for the U.S. Team. Brody Malone. A two-time NCAA all-around champion, the 21-yearold beat six-time national champion Sam Mikulak in June to win his first senior all-around title. He also backed up that performance with a great showing at the trials to lock in an automatic spot on the team. Malone grew up in Georgia, and as a child, he loved hunting, fishing. He was even involved in rodeo, where he excelled in roping events. In addition, we know Malone for one of the most exciting high-flying bar routines in the entire world. He earned the top score at the trials with his bar routine and should be in the running for a medal.

I'll switch it up to track and field, where the veteran Allyson Felix will make her last Olympic appearance. She will compete in the 400-meter race and possibly the 4x400 relay, along with the new event 4x400 mixed-gender relay. Tokyo will be Felix's fifth Olympics and her first as a mother. Felix, 35, gave birth to her daughter, Camryn, in 2018. If she can medal in Tokyo, she will tie Carl Lewis's record for the most Olympic medals by an American track and field athlete.

Noah Lyles, 23, will make his Olympic debut in Tokyo. He is the reigning world champion in the 200 meters and won the U.S. Olympic trials in June. Lyles is the top-ranked sprinter in the world in the 200 meters and has the fastest time in the world this year at 19.74 seconds. He tried to qualify for the shorter 100 meters as well, but failed to qualify for that event. Lyles will be the favorite to take home the gold medal in his lone race.

Let's move on to Sydney McLaughlin. The women's 400-meter hurdles will be one of the most anticipated events of the whole Olympics. McLaughlin, who is only 21 years old, will go head to head with reigning Rio gold medalist and U.S. Teammate Dalilah Muhammad. McLaughlin was just a mere 16 years old at the last Olympics and was the youngest American to compete in an Olympic track and field event since 1972. At the U.S. Track and field Olympic trials in June, she set a world record. She became the first woman to ever break the 52-second barrier with a fantastic time of 51.90. If you ‘re wondering whose record she broke, well, it was Muhammad's who beat McLaughlin at the 2019 world championships. This will be a must-watch T.V. event if these two meet up in the Olympic final. One thing is for sure, after that performance at the trials, McLaughlin has her sights set on a gold medal.

Carli Lloyd will make her third Olympic appearance. The United States women's soccer star will look to add her third gold medal of a magnificent career. Lloyd is a two-time world champion and is only the third player in international soccer history to reach 300 appearances for her National team. At 39, Lloyd will be the oldest player ever to represent the USWNT at an Olympic game. She and the women's team will look to bounce back from an opening game upset to Sweden, a game they lost 3-0.

Megan Rapinoe is another USWNT star. She has an iconic look with her pink hair and pose. Rapinoe will also make her third Olympic appearance Rapinoe was named the FIFA Women's Player of the Year in 2019. She has helped lead the U.S. Team to two World Cup titles.

Kevin Durant makes his third U.S. Men's basketball team. He helped lead the team to gold in both the 2012 and 2106 games. Durant, who is now 32, won back-to-back NBA championships as a member of the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. He made his first-team USA appearance more than a decade ago when he led the U.S. To the 2010 FIBA world championship title. At the 2012 Olympic games, Durant set a U.S. record for total points scored in an Olympic basketball tournament with 156. He nearly matched that mark in the 2016 games with 155 points. Durant enters the Olympics ranked second in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history with 311 career points, only 25 points behind Carmelo Anthony's record of 336.

Sue Bird will try to help the U.S. Women's basketball team to its seventh straight gold medal in the Olympics. Bird is the oldest current player in the WNBA at 40. She is the only WNBA player to win a championship in three different decades. Her combined nine Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals are the most of any basketball player, male or female worldwide. This will be Bird's fourth Olympic team dating back to the 2004 games. She is engaged to World Cup champion soccer player Megan Rapinoe, making them a genuine Olympic power couple.

Katie Ledecky is a five-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming and is the defending champion in the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle races. She will also be the hands-down favorite to win the 1500 meter freestyle, making its Olympic event debut in Tokyo. The 24-year-old will seek to three-peat in the 800-meter freestyle on July 30. If she wins, it will be her third consecutive gold medal in the event. She will join Dawn Fraser(100-meter free) and Krisztina Egerszegi (200-meter backstroke) as the only women to win the same event at three straight Olympic games. Ledecky will also try to pull off an accomplishment that no women and very few men have ever done. She will try to win the 200- and the 1500 meter freestyle races on the same day, July 27. Why do I even mention this? Well, in the history of the modern games, only five men have won the 200- and the 1500 meter freestyle, and never in the same session; it would indeed be a remarkable accomplishment if she can pull it off.

They widely considered Caeleb Dressel to be the “next Michael Phelps” the sprint superstar is a sixtime world champion and the world record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter individual medley, and 50-meter freestyle. However, at the Rio games, Dressel went under the radar. He won two gold medals, but they were all in relay events, and he won no individual medals. Since that time, he has blown away the competition by winning a record eight medals, including six golds, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. He also won every single event he competed in at the trials last month. Dressel will compete in three individual events, the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly; he will also be in four different relay events. He will be the favorite to win gold in all of his individual events, so the young man could walk away with seven gold medals. This could be history in the making for the American swimmer.

Cat Osterman is a softball legend; the former Texas Longhorn was a star of the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams that brought home gold and silver, respectively.Softball has not been in the Olympics since 2008, and the U.S. Team is a medal favorite once again in the sport's return to the Olympic stage. Osterman, 38, has stated she will retire for good after the Tokyo games. Osterman is as dominant as they come in the circle; she has a fantastic curveball, changeup, and rise ball. With her leadership, I'll be excited to see the U.S. Team go for gold.

Todd Frazier is a two-time All-Star who hit 218 home runs in the major leagues and won the 2015 Home Run Derby. Frazier will try to help lead the USA baseball team in Tokyo. The father of three lives in his hometown of Toms River, New Jersey, where he is a local legend for leading his team to the 1998 Little League World Series when he is 12 years old. Now Frazier is 35 years old. He started this season off with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but after a slow start, the Pirates released him, and no other team signed him. He could join Team USA during the qualifying tournament and has played a few games for Sussex County Miners of the Independent Frontier League to get in some reps. The team comprises players, not in the major league 40 man roster. So the roster comprises a mix of young prospects like the Midland Rockhounds own Nick Allen of the Oakland A's. Shane Baz, a pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, will play alongside MLB experienced veterans like Frazer, Scott Kazmir, David Robertson, and Edwin Jackson. Baseball makes it returns to the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Olympics when South Korea won gold. The U.S. last won gold in the 2000 Olympics. As many of you know, I love baseball, so I'm super excited to get to watch team USA battle for the gold.

Last and certainly not least will be the polarizing golfer Bryson DeChambeau. The 27-year-old is an eight-time PGA tour winner. DeChambeau won the 2020 U.S. Open. Though he is the sixth-ranked player in the world, he almost did not make this team. Only four of the top 15 American players can make the team. He had three other American players finish above him. For over a year now, DeChambeau has been one of, if not golf's biggest stars. He has a running feud with fellow American Brooks Koepka. He split with his caddie on the eve of a tournament and had a massive meltdown on the back nine of this year's U.S. Open. We know DeChambeau for his long drives as he leads the PGA in driving distance; his not scared to play the driver role is fun to watch, as his strategy is mostly just to hit the ball as far as he can. They will hold the Olympic tournament at Kasumigaseki Country Club East Course. The rough is not expected to be overly deep, but they lined the course with trees which could lead to DeChambeau thinking twice about hitting the driver all the time. Either way, he is always entertaining to watch. He will be part of a four-person U.S. team that will also include Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Xander Schauffele.

While this is just the tip of the iceberg for athletes to watch, this will give you a few names to look out for. The Olympics are always a fun two weeks of competition as the best athletes from each country battle to see who the best is. I will tune in without a doubt, trying to catch as much action as I can.