Tokyo: The year’s most anticipated Tokyo Olympics is set to begin in less than a month. Each athlete would participate wholeheartedly, not only for themselves but also for their respective countries. While several names aim to make history, the target remains for an Olympic medal.
Let’s take a look at the 10 athletes who would give their best shot to make history at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (Marathon) | Israel
The Kenyan-Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter is reportedly one of the best distance runners in the world. She had bagged several records in her name. She raced to her Half Marathon personal best in the Czech Republic (1:06:09s) in 2019 and 2:17:45s at the Tokyo Full Marathon in 2020. In 2018, she won the European 10,000m title.
Previously, she had competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016. However, she could not make it to the finishing line. Even at the 2019 World Championships, she failed miserably due to her illness.
Neeraj Chopra (Javelin) | India
Neeraj Chopra is undoubtedly one of the best medal contenders at the Tokyo Olympics for India. The youngster has been setting an example since his junior level. In 2016, he bagged the U-20 world title, throwing a record distance of 86.48m. He won the Asian Championships title in 2017 and Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medals in 2018.
His personal best is 88.07m which he achieved at the Indian Grand Prix III in Patiala in March. Neeraj qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m, which bettered the qualifying mark of 85m, at an event at Potchefstroom, South Africa, in 2020.
Joseph Fahnbulleh (Men’s 200m) | Liberia
Fans have been eagerly waiting for his performance at the Tokyo Olympics ever since videos of Joseph Fahnbulleh winning the men’s 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a big personal best of 19.91s in 2021. His victory was made all the more impressive by the fact that he is still only 19 years old.
Despite having lived in the United States for the majority of his life, Fahnbulleh has Liberian citizenship and has recently announced that he will represent them in Tokyo. Jangy Addy’s 19th-place finish in the decathlon in 2008 was the country’s best result to date. Thus, through Fahnbulleh’s participation, Liberia is expecting a big win this time.
Kimberly Garcia (20km Race Walk) | Peru
Kimberly Garcia made her name in the Peruvian sporting history when she had competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Her 14th-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics is the highest-ever achieved by a Peruvian woman.
Currently, Peru is anticipating another record in their name through her as she had made her country proud several times taking bronze at the 2018 South American Championships and earning silver at the 2019 Pan-American Games.
Garcia had bettered her personal best of 1:28:56s in 2018 at the Taicang IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships. At the 2017 World Championships, Garcia finished at 7th place.
Thea LaFond (Triple Jump) | Dominica
Dominica’s 27-year-old athlete Thea LaFond had her national records — 14.38m outdoors (2019 Florida Relays) and 14.54m indoors (2021 East Coast Invitational meet) following her bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She had been also competitive on the biggest stage, finishing fourth at the Doha Diamond League qualifiers in 2021.
Lafond yet to win a medal of any color in any Olympic Games. Since in 2016 Rio Olympics, she could not perform that well due to a hamstring injury.
Kyron McMaster (400m hurdles) | British Virgin Islands
Kyron McMaster had never competed at the Olympics though he would be a tough competition in the 400m hurdles in Tokyo, one of the most major tournaments in athletics right now.
The 24-year-old athlete also bettered his personal best at the Paris Diamond League in 2018 clocking 47.54s. In 2017, he won at the Doha Diamond League clocking 48.07s. Previously, he took bronze at the 2016 World U-20 Championships.
Alex Rose (Discus) | Samoa
Alex Rose will compete in his sixth global championships at the Tokyo Olympics. The 29-year-old Samoan athlete has been in good nick as he threw 67.17m ( 2021 Discus Flinging II, Grand Rapids) and 67.48m ( 2021 USATF Throws Fest). Even he did well at the 2021 European Meets finishing third in Sollentuna and second in Kladno.
His performance was commendable at Rio Olympics and it’s highly anticipated that his show at the Tokyo Olympics would be even greater.
Amel Tuka (800m) | Bosnia & Herzegovina
In 2015 the Bosnian and Herzegovina 800m runner Amel Tuka set a world record clocking 1:42.51s at the Monaco Herculis meet before winning bronze at the World Championships in Beijing the same year. Unfortunately, Tuka missed out on Rio Olympics in 2016 but did not stop there and continued striving for success.
In 2019, he won silver at the World Championships in Doha. Tuka, a strong tactician who knows how to perform at his best when it counts, could find himself in medal contention in Tokyo in July.
Andrea Vargas (100m hurdles) | Costa Rica
The Costa Rican sprint hurdler Andrea Vargas rose to prominence in 2018, setting a national record of 12.90s on a cement track near her home with homemade hurdles. In 2019, she won Pan American gold, becoming her country’s first woman to win a medal in the competition.
Vargas even set national records in the qualifying rounds of the 2019 World Championships in Doha before settling with a fifth-place finish clocking 12.64s. Undoubtedly, she would be one of the deserving contenders at the Tokyo Olympics. Her younger sister Noelia, who had qualified for the 20km race walk, will accompany her to the Games.
Hugues Fabrice Zango (Triple jump) | Burkina Faso
Hugues Fabrice Zango, a triple jumper, had already set several sporting records for Burkina Faso. In addition to all of the national and African records he had set both indoors and outdoors, the 27-year-old became the first athlete from his country to win a World Championships medal when he finished third in Doha in 2019.
The triple jumper had also set another world record by bounding out to a world indoor triple jump record of 18.07m in Aubiere in 2021. So far, he has been consistent in his performance as Zango had won 16 of his past 17 competitions.
