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Simone BilesGYMNASTICS, U.S.
When the greatest gymnast of all time
got the notice in March that every
aspiring Olympian was dreading—
that the Games were postponed by
a year—it hit hard.
“I was angry, I was annoyed, I was
sad,” says Simone Biles, the reigning
Olympic all-around gymnastics
champion. “I had to let myself feel all
the emotions. I 100% felt like I didn’t
plan this—now we have to go back t
o the drawing board and deal with a
lot of variables. But at the end of the
day, this is bigger than me. We have
to make sure that everybody in the
world is safe.”
Still, she adds, “it did suck.”
Zoom workouts with her coaches
and teammates, walks with her dogs,
and alternating fi ts of housecleaning
with Netfl ix binges got her through
the two months her gym was under
lockdown. When she was allowed
back in for modifi ed workouts, her
new coaches, Cecile and Laurent
Landi, focused on the fundamentals
to make the already unrivaled Biles
even better.
Undefeated in the all-around com-
petition in women’s gymnastics since
2013, Biles will essentially be compet-
ing against herself in Tokyo. Her sig-
nature skills, which test the limits ofhuman ability—and gravity—collect
enough diffi culty points that she’s
often far ahead of her closest competi-
tor. Indeed, for all but a handful of
rivals, the competition is essentially
over before it begins.
Biles is planning to make history
in Tokyo as the fi rst female gymnast
to perform a dangerously diffi cult
vault that only men have pulled off at
the Games so far. That’s on top of the
beam dismount named after her that’s
so risky, the International Gymnastics
Federation didn’t reward it with a high
diffi culty value to discourage other
gymnasts from trying it and potentially
injuring themselves, along with two
gravity- defying tumbling skills that
have become hallmarks of her fl oor rou-
tine. The Landis say Biles is not chasing
medals, only testing herself to see how
far she—and gymnastics—can go.
While Biles’ close-knit family
won’t be in Tokyo to cheer her on be-
cause of COVID-19 restrictions, they
and the dozens of young gymnasts
who train with her at the gym her par-
ents own in Spring, Texas, are plan-
ning a sleepover and watch party like
none other on her competition days.
Several hundred people will gather
at the gym for food, festivities and
a livestream of the action in Tokyo.
“We’ll have a huge screen and have
a live feed; it’s going to be awesome,”
says her mom Nellie. The show
should be amazing to watch—even
without much suspense. —Alice ParkHannah RobertsBMX, U.S.
BMX racing has been a part of the
Summer Olympics since 2008, but
the sport’s freestyle competition will
debut in Tokyo. The current reigning
women’s champion in the event,
Hannah Roberts is the fi rst woman
to land a 360 tailwhip in competition,
and won all three World Cup events
in 2019 and 2020. She began biking
as a 9-year-old in Michigan—and
early into her training, she fractured
a vertebra. After recovering, she
entered her fi rst competition. Now
19, Roberts is just as confi dent as an
advocate for pay equity in the sport,
calling out disparities in prize money
and sponsorship opportunities. It’s an
issue she’s hopeful the Olympics—
where Roberts is the favorite for
gold—will help remedy. —R.B.Caeleb
DresselSWIMMING, U.S.
There’s no missing Caeleb Dressel
on the pool deck. Blanketing his
left arm is a sleeve of ink that
captures the qualities that make the
24-year-old Floridian the swimmer
to watch in multiple events in Tokyo.
Beginning on his shoulder, an eagle
with outstretched wings fl oats atop
a growling bear, which sits above a
tooth-baring gator (an homage to
his alma mater, the University of
Florida). Dressel calls them his “spirit
animals,” from which he channels the
power, ferocity and speed that drove
him to a history- making eight medals
at the 2019 world championships
(that’s one more than Phelps’ record
at the event). The world-record holder
in the 100-m butterfl y has a shot at
BERRY: GETTY IMAGES; GARNBRET: EXPA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; BILES: JAMIE SQUIRE—GETTY IMAGES; ROBERTS: ZOLTAN BALOGH—SHUTTERSTOCK/EPA; HEADSHOTS: GETTY IMAGES (2) seven medals in Tokyo. ÑA.P.