Time - USA (2021-07-19)

73

Teddy Riner

JUDO, FRANCE

“Give Teddy Riner—One
of Sport’s Most Dominant
Athletes—the Global
Olympic Stardom He
Deserves,” screams
a recent headline in
Eurosport. Indeed, Riner
has ruled judo in a way few
athletes have in any sport.
Before losing a match in
February 2020, right before
the pandemic shutdown,
Riner hadn’t lost in nearly
a decade—winning 154
straight bouts—while
picking up two Olympic
gold medals and six world
championships along
the way. The 6-ft. 8-in.,
300-plus-lb. judoka known
as Big Ted returned to
the top of the podium
at the World Masters in
Doha, Qatar, in January.
An Olympic gold in
Tokyo would be his third
straight. —S.G.

Nikita Nagornyy

GYMNASTICS, RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

While the Japanese and Chinese men have

dominated gymnastics in recent Olympic cycles,

Nikita Nagornyy is at the fore of a resurgent

Russia eager to reclaim bragging rights. At the

2021 European Artistic Gymnastics Champion-

ships in April, Nagornyy became the fi rst gym-

nast to perform a triple back pike somersault,

in his fl oor exercise routine, setting a bar for the

men’s all-around competition that few are likely

to reach. Popular on social media, where he

chronicles his training and daily exploits, in Tokyo

the 24-year-old is not just eyeing the individual

all-around title, but hoping that he and his neu-

tral Russian Olympic Committee teammates will

be able to clinch the fi rst team gold for Russian

athletes since 1996. —A.P.

Laurel

Hubbard

WEIGHT LIFTING, NEW ZEALAND

Laurel Hubbard is set to make history in Tokyo.

The 43-year-old weight lifter, who will compete for

New Zealand in the women’s over-87-kg category,

will be the fi rst openly transgender athlete in the

modern Olympics—a milestone that has thrust

the private athlete into a spotlight she did not

seek. Hubbard meets all the criteria the IOC

has put in place for trans athletes since 2015,

including testosterone limits for trans women.

Although she suffered a potentially career- ending

injury in 2018, she returned to competition and

currently ranks 15th in the world in her division.

“I was advised that my sporting career had likely

reached its end,” Hubbard said in a statement

when she was named to the team. “But your sup-

port, your encouragement, and your aroha carried

me through the darkness.” —Madeleine Carlisle

Helen

Glover

ROWING, BRITAIN

Had the Olympics happened in 2020 as

planned, Helen Glover would not have

been there. Her twins were born in Janu-

ary of that year, and the idea of adding

a third gold medal to the ones she won

in London 2012 and Rio 2016 seemed

impossible. One of the most decorated

athletes in the history of women’s rowing

assumed she’d be watching the Tokyo

Games on TV. But during lockdown,

Glover began working out on a rowing

machine and watched her numbers

improve, even as she parented three chil-

dren under the age of 3. She resumed

training in earnest and in April won the

European women’s pair title alongside

her racing partner Polly Swann. (Glover’s

two previous gold medals were won with

the since retired Heather Stanning.) Now

Glover, 35, will be the fi rst British rower

to compete at the Games after having

children. And a third gold is well within

reach. —Dan Stewart

Hend

Zaza

TABLE TENNIS, SYRIA

Just 12 years old, Hend Zaza is set to

be the youngest athlete to compete

in Tokyo —and one of the youngest

to ever qualify for the Games—a feat

that’s possible because table tennis,

unlike some Olympic sports, has no age

restrictions. The young Syrian bested

a 42-year-old opponent in last year’s

Western Asia Olympic Qualifi cation

tournament to make it to the the

Games from a 155th-place ranking.

Her appearance in Tokyo will also mark

a milestone for her country: Syria has

never entered a table-tennis player

in the Games through qualifi cation.

Zaza is little-known at the sport’s elite

level, which is dominated by players

from China, South Korea, Japan and

Germany. Her coach has said that

because of the civil war that has

ravaged the country for more than a

decade, Zaza has been unable to enter

many tournaments. While her odds of

advancing in Tokyo are slim, her presence

alone is a triumph.—Raisa Bruner