From the beginning, Dolson was made for the Olympics. This New York native played volleyball and basketball in high school and led her team to four straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section 9 championship games. Overall, she has tons of awards and honors, including being the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and the WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year.
It wasn't until 2016 that she came out to the LGBT community, but since then, she's been very open about herself. She was interviewed by ESPN Magazine and stated, "Not everyone in the WNBA needs to be out, but I feel called to lead an authentic life in the open. I know who I am and I don't care if people judge me. I am 6-5, and I dye my hair purple and experiment a lot with fashion. My motto is: If they're going to stare, they might as well stare at something fun."
Marjorie Carpreaux should be on your radar if she isn't already. They say explosive things can come in small packages, and this little 5'5" basketball player from Belgium really proves that anecdote to be true. She hasn't been in the public eye too long, but everyone had to see what she was up to since she popped up.
Her team participated in the Women's EuroBasket tournament in 2017 and landed in sixth place. Since then, she's been working hard to qualify for the Olympics. She was ecstatic to hear she'd made it, but she was impatient to see what her competition would bring. Not much is known about her as she likes to keep her private life quiet.
Tom Daley is out here looking like a snack. This British diver started swimming at the young age of seven, and it was around this time that his talent came to light. He was competing internationally at nine and even represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics when he was 14. That made him the youngest-ever male British Olympian.
Daley also became the youngest ever male medalist in a world diving event. It was no big deal for him, ya know? On his off time, he was a YouTube vlogger, where he has over 800,000 subscribers. When he came out in 2013, he was met with overwhelming support. Daley married his spouse in 2017, and the pair have a son.
Rut Castillo isn't a stranger to competition. She's represented Mexico at several world championships starting in 2009 when she was just 19 years old. It's clear she's very familiar with taking home the gold, as she's won gold at eight Central American and Caribbean Games and one Pan American Championship.
Castillo started practicing gymnastics when she was just six years old. The funny part is that she didn't like rhythmic gymnastics when she first started. It wasn't until she started doing the complex artistic stuff that she gave it a chance. Who knew she would become an Olympian in the sport she didn't like? She's been dedicated to her girlfriend Paulina, who has kept her going when times were tough.
Who knew that softball was an Olympic sport? But we're thankful because it showed us what Amanda Chidester could do! This Michigan-native is the reigning NPF Player of the Year for the Chicago Bandits, but that doesn't even begin explaining how good she is. Chidester was also twice selected at the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American.
The 2020 Summer Olympics isn't the first time she's been to an international game, either. She participated in the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, where she won silver. Her team also won the 2012 World Cup of Softball. As far as the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Chidester, and her team already walked away with the silver.
How could we do this listicle without mentioning Sue Bird? This New York-born basketball player has been representing America for decades. Currently, she's the oldest player in the Women's National Basketball Association, but she doesn't show any signs of slowing down. As far as the Olympics? The Games aren't exactly a stranger to her.
Bird has been to the Olympics four times, not including this year. Since 2004, she hasn't missed a single Olympic year! An even better stat is that she won gold every single time. Another thing that put Bird in the spotlight--the fact she's been in a long-term relationship with another Olympic star, Megan Rapinoe. The two have been happily together since 2017.
Megan Rapinoe was born for the spotlight. A California native, this soccer star has been playing since she was three years old. After she began playing competitions, the wins started racking up. Rapinoe has played the 2012 and the 2020 Olympics, but that isn't all! She's also rocked the house at the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Rapinoe is internationally known for her activism. She's very outspoken and more than happy with her partner, Sue Bird. The two are even engaged! Because of her stardom, she's been sponsored by Bike, Procter &Gamble, BodyArmor, Hulu, LUNA Bar, Samsung, and many more. Time also put her in the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
This is the first year that Grace O'Hanlon will be in the Olympics, and we're all excited to see what she can do. Previously, she's shown talent after winning gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Her field hockey position is goalkeeper, and the reason is pretty apparent. She's super good at it.
All other goalkeepers can step aside. Grace O'Hanlon has this fantastic ability to scramble and make multiple saves for her team. On top of that, she's also incredibly athletic, making it hard for anyone to get a ball past her. It's clear that this field hockey player is going to go places.
Swimming has always been a massive thing for Markus Thormeyer. He started swimming at 10 and began competitions soon after. He made a name for himself very early on. At 15, he competed in the 2013 Canada Summer Games, where he earned bronze in the men's 100-meter backstroke. By 2015, the world would know his name.
Thormeyer made his first senior international appearance at the 2015 Pan American Games. He walked away with silver following the 4x100-meter freestyle. This isn't the first time Thormeyer has been at the Olympics, however. He also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, but he only made seventh. Whether or not he wins gold, he's certainly gold in many people's hearts!
Rowing may not be what most people watch the Olympics for, but that doesn't mean there aren't some great stars in the sport. Gia Doonan, in particular, shows a lot of promise. This Massachusetts-born rower has helped her team countless times, including earning gold at the USA Women's 8+ and 4- 2016 Rowing Under-23 Championships.
During her high school years, it was clear that she was a star. She really stood out at Tabor Academy when she was the first boat to finish fifth place at the All-New England Championship. She was just a sophomore at the time. Doonan has also tried her hand at basketball and did really well, which begs the question – is there a sport she can't succeed at?
This Southern beauty certainly has a lot to be proud about. Not only is she the NCAA indoor champion of 2013, but she also represented USA in the 2013 World Championships. For the Olympics, she participates in the heptathlon, a track and field competition comprised of seven events. It sounds pretty exhausting, but Bougard just sees a challenge to be completed.
Bougard first took up track and field at Byhalia High School, where she quickly won the 2011 Mississippi High School Activities Association state outdoor track and field long jump title. With her skill, she naturally earned a scholarship, which allowed her to go to Mississippi State University. This will be her first time representing the United States at the Olympics.
If you love golf, Melissa Reid should be on your radar. This English golfer has consistently made strides that are well above expectations. Reid has won six Ladies' European Tours and one LPGA tour, making seven professional wins total. You could say that golfing was what she was born to do.
When Reid was a young girl, she won several amateur events, including the 2004 and 2005 English Girls' Championship. Then, in 2006 and 2007, she earned the Helen Holm Trophy. The wins kept on rolling through 2007 when she racked up the St Rule Trophy and won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Plan Championship.
An Olympian will steal the spotlight every now and then, and everyone will want to know who she (or he) is. That person is currently Erica Sullivan. She took home the silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games for the 1500-meter freestyle and held a record for 16 minutes (before Katie Ledecky came in and showed everyone what's what).
For Erica Sullivan, the Olympics is a little more personal than many other Americans. When she was 16, her father died of cancer, but her mother (Maco) calls Japan home. As a result, Sullivan has been able to experience her culture like never before, thanks to the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully, she can take a little time to herself to enjoy everything Japan has to offer.
Amini Fonua may be swimming for Tonga, but he was born and grew up in New Zealand! His swimming career began in Auckland, and it was clear he would be a star in the sport. While under Sandra Burros's tenure, he broke numerous Auckland and New Zealand Age Group records.
Fonua's records began racking up awards around the time he won the 50-meter backstroke at the 2010 Oceania Swimming Championships. After that, he participated in the 2012 London Olympics and was even a flag-bearer for the Parade of Nations! But, unfortunately, he failed to reach the semifinals. This year, he's sure to do better.
Soccer may not be America's pastime, but we certainly have a ton of stars that have shown impervious skills lately. Tierna Davidson is just one of them. She is currently a player for the Chicago Red Stars, but she took a bit of a pause so she could go to the 2020 Summer Olympics. Davidson has many records under her belt, including being the youngest player on the roster for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The funny thing is that Tierna Davidson didn't want to be a soccer player when she grew up. Instead, her eyes were set on space. She wanted to train and become an astronaut, but she couldn't turn away from the ball once she started playing soccer and winning awards. Space isn't going anywhere, Tierna!
It was clear Kelley O'Hara was going to be a star early on. She played soccer through high school and helped lead her team to the 5A state title in 2006. That same year, she was named the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Player of the Year and the Gatorade Georgia State Play of the Year.
Come 2009, she was the recipient of the Herman Trophy while playing for the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team. O'Hara currently plays for the Washington Spirit, but she's also been a part of the FC Gold Pride, Baston Breakers, Sky Blue FC, and Utah Royals FC. This two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion has certainly made her mark on the world, but she isn't quite done yet.
Few people can catch waves like Silvana Lima. She was born in Brazil and started catching waves when she was seven years old using a makeshift surfboard she made herself using a piece of wood. Now that's what we call a desire to learn! It wasn't until she was 14 that she got her own surfboard.
Lima has consistently proven herself to be a great surfer and competed at the top tier of women's surfing for eight years. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to secure a sponsorship. Surfwear companies only wanted surfers that looked like models rather than those who had real talent. Well, she showed them! Now, she's competing for the 2020 Summer Olympics and can pick and choose who she wants to sponsor her.
Alev Kelter has lived all over the world. While she was born in Tampa, her father was a US Air Force fighter pilot, which means she's been pretty much everywhere. She attended school in Alaska, graduated college in Wisconsin, and played for them several times – although she seems right at home with the Wisconsin Badgers.
During her career, she's won the silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, and she also made the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. They landed fifth place, and they trained hard to make sure it doesn't happen again during the 2020 Olympics. While Rugby owns her heart, she also loves soccer and ice hockey, so we might see her name pop up on several teams in the future!
Dutee Chand has been showing what India can bring for years, even though she's just 25 years old. Chand has worked hard her whole life to qualify for worldwide competitions. When she was 16, she became the national champion in the under-18 category when she clocked 11.85 seconds in the 100-meter event.
In 2016, she attempted to qualify for the Summer Olympics, but she didn't quite make it. That's when she went back to the drawing board and trained her butt off to qualify for the 2020 Olympics. Chand is also India's first openly lesbian athlete. She stated she faced severe backlash from her home village, including her older sister, who threatened to expel her from the family.
Dominic Clarke was excited to begin competing in international championships as soon as he was able. In 2015, he placed fourth at the synchronized and double mini-trampoline events at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships. He continued training and earned bronze at the 2017 and 2018 championships for the same event.
The interesting part is that Dominic Clarke wasn't originally included in the list of openly LGBTQ Olympians. It was then that he started messaging everyone, stressing the visibility of "unapologetically queer" competitors. He's quoted during an interview with Outsports saying, "If I can inspire just one other queer athlete to feel more comfortable and safe in their chosen sport, then I've done my job as a Pride ambassador."
Maarten Hurkmans has made a point to travel all over the world, showing everyone what he can do. He had a brief stint with the California Bears, and he rowed for California at Henley, where he won the U23 World Championships. However, he knew he had to represent his home nation.
In 2018, he went to the 2018 European Rowing Championships and earned silver. He also won a pair of bronze medals during Austria's 2018 World Rowing Cup II and the 2018 World Rowing Cup III in Switzerland. Now, this openly bisexual first-time Olympian hopes to bring home more medals in Tokyo.
This New Zealander has a lot to be proud of. Anton Down-Jenkins has made history by becoming the first diver in New Zealand to qualify for the Olympics since 1984. Down-Jenkins secured his Olympic spot at the Diving World Cup Olympic Qualification Event. While he placed 10th, it was the best finish a New Zealander had ever had at a Diving World Cup.
Anton Down-Jenkins started swimming at 10, and the rest is history! Literally, it’s in the history books at this point. Down-Jenkins is also openly a member of the LGBTQ community. He said he "never felt the need to explicitly tell people 'I'm gay.' I'm very fortunate because I know that's not the reality for a lot of people," he told New Zealand website Stuff.
No doubt one of the best Olympic sports to watch is the BMX games. Perris Benegas grew up in Reno, making her one of the only two athletes from Nevada at the Games in Tokyo. She got her start in freestyle BMX by tagging along with her older brother. She was the only girl in the group, but that clearly didn’t keep her down. All she wanted to do was learn new tricks.
In 2018, Benegas has won gold in the BMX category at the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in China, top honors at the Vans 2019 BMX Pro Cup in Germany and California, and so much more. Benegas is also very talented in Muay Thai fighting, but BMX has always been her love.
Nathalie Hagman is no stranger to winning – in fact, she thrives on it. In her first season on the Romanian team CMS Bucuresti, the team won three titles: the national champions, cup winners, and the Super Cup. It's no wonder that in 2016, she was named player of the year in both Sweden and Denmark.
Her debut was when she was just 17, making her one of the youngest players ever. Winning is important to her, but her website quotes that, “I always do my utmost to make the team successful.” That’s something we can respect. Hagman also participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she was the All-Star Right Wing.
Kendall Chase, aka Kenny, is an extremely proud rower from San Francisco. She's competed as several international level events, and it seems like she almost always walks away with the gold! From 2014 to 2016, she won gold at the World U23 Championship, and in 2012, she won Silver at the 2012 World Junior Championship.
Kendall graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, but she called Colorado home before that. She won the Sportswoman of Colorado award for her achievements, so we're honestly not surprised she qualified for the Olympics with flying colors. She's proudly LGBTQ and hopes to inspire younger rowers to come out and be proud of who they are.
Natalie Powell is a Welsh-born judoka. She competed in Wales in the women's 78 kg event in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and walked away with a gold medal. In 2017, she became the first female British judoka to be ranked number one in the world. How'd she do that? Oh, no big deal, but she won the gold medal at the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam.
Other than that, she's won silver or bronze at every competition she's been at, which is really remarkable considering her competition is very stiff. In 2017, she even competed in the Budapest World Championship and won the bronze. Every year, she gets even better, so there’s no telling where she’ll end up. The cutest thing? She's currently dating fellow competitor Sanne Van Dijke.
Sanne van Dijke is a Dutch judoka who has been competing for several years now (and earning plenty of gold medals along the way). Van Dijke has been competing since 2014 when she earned a gold at the 2014 Bucharest European Junior Championship. From there, it was just medals galore! So far, her best years were 2017 and 2018.
She went to the European Championships in Warsaw and earned gold. Van Dijke also went to the IJF Grand Prix in Hohhot, Hague (twice), and Budapest, earning three silvers and a gold. We can’t forget That being said, 2021 has been a great year so far. She earned gold at the 2021 Lisbon European Championship and qualified for the Olympics. During the Olympics, she won a bronze.
After looking at Georgia Simmerlings track record, it's no surprise that she's such a great athlete. Simmerling is best known for being a road and track cyclist. Currently, she competes for UCI Women's Team Twenty20 Pro Cycling. During her cycling career, she’s made it to four Olympic games, including the 2020 Olympics.
During the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she earned a bronze medal. That same year, she went to the 2016 London World Championships and got silver. Simmerling also competed in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, participating in the alpine skiing and skicross events. Because of her participation in all these events, she became the first Canadian to compete in the Olympics during three separate sports.
Cecilia Carranza Saroli aka Ceci is a super accomplished sailor. Before making it to the 2020 Olympics, she participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's Laser Radial class, where she finished 21st place. Ceci also made it to the 2008 Summer Olympics and did a lot better, finishing eighth in the same event.
This Argentinian sailor also went to the 2011 Pan American Games and walked away with a gold medal. Because she's so skilled, she and her fellow sailor, Santiago Lange, were flag bearers for Argentina for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Lange is a cancer survivor and was the oldest medalist at the Rio Games.
This Canadian middle-distance runner has been on the track since she was very young, and she's been breaking records for about as long. In 2016, she competed in the 1500 meters at the World Indoor Championships. A year before, she won silver at the 2015 Summer Universiade. It was natural she'd be so great.
Her father, James Stafford, was also a runner who competed for Canada at four World Cross Country Championships. By far, her best year was 2019. That was the year she broke numerous national records. The next year, she'd broken another, but she wasn't quite done yet. By 2021, she would break the 1:59 barrier at the Portland Track Festival – something only two other women had done in the past.
