The biggest stars of the Paris Olympics: The Dream Team, Djokovic & swimming titans
LeBron James (basketball, USA)
Historically, James is the NBA's top regular-season scorer and one of the greatest players in basketball history. All four of his triumphs in the league have been accompanied by the title of playoff MVP. He dominated the 2010 World Championships with the national team, and at 39, he is making his last competitive trip to Europe with the USA's so-called 'Dream Team' for his third Olympic title.
Novak Djokovic (tennis, Serbia)
The record holder for the most Grand Slams (24, tied with Australia's Margaret Court), whose only missing trophy in his collection is a gold from the Games (he has so far won only a singles bronze medal at Beijing 2008). Thursday's tournament draw certainly put a wrinkle on his forehead, however. In the second round, he could meet the King of Clay, his old foe Rafael Nadal, with whom he holds a miserable record of two wins from eight in Paris.
Rafael Nadal (tennis, Spain)
No tennis Grand Slam has historically had a more dominant figure than Nadal at the French Open. And it is on the clay courts of Roland Garros that the Olympic tournament will be played. It represents a chance for the slowly retiring veteran to bid farewell with one last great triumph. He has dominated the tournament on a record 14 occasions, including a record 112 match wins.
Armand Duplantis (athletics, Sweden)
Duplantis is the biggest star in contemporary athletics, the world record holder in the pole vault, which he has set eight times, all in the last four years. The last of which was in his first outdoor start this season (624 cm). Since then, he has come close to another best in several events. He hasn't lost at a major event since 2019, guaranteeing an extraordinary spectacle every time.
Katie Ledecky (swimming, USA)
Ledecky can become the most successful woman in Olympic history but she must win three of the four events she is entered in. She has seven gold medals so far, Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina has nine. The American has collected 21 world championship titles in her career, no other swimmer has won more.
Emma McKeon (swimming, Australia)
That McKeon is considered the 'Queen of the Pool' is no surprise, as both her parents were top swimmers. She has set a total of eight world records, three of which are still standing. With four golds and three bronze medals (two golds and two bronzes in relays), she was the most successful athlete at the last Olympics.
Iga Swiatek (tennis, Poland)
Swiatek has lost only one match on clay at Roland Garros in the last five years (to Greece's Maria Sakkari in the 2021 quarterfinals). She has now dominated the Paris Grand Slam three times in a row, and no other major tournament suits her better. The current world number one has spent 113 weeks at the top of the rankings, which puts her in the top ten in the historical rankings.
Eliud Kipchoge (Athletics, Kenya)
It was in Paris 21 years ago that Kipchoge captured his first major gold - the World 5000m title. He then moved on to the marathon, in which he is considered one of the greatest runners in its history. He owns four of the 10 fastest times and now, at 39, he can become the first to conquer the marquee event at the Olympics three times in a row.
Jon Rahm (golf, Spain)
Rahm was the world's number one player until recently and, according to the May ranking by Forbes magazine, the world's second-highest-earning athlete in the previous 12 months ($218 million, after Cristiano Ronaldo). He set a record of 60 weeks at the top of the world amateur rankings. Winner of two majors, Rahm also became the first Spaniard to win the US Open three years ago.
Diana Taurasi (basketball, USA)
Until now, no one has been lucky enough to collect six gold medals in team sports but 42-year-old Taurasi has five, as does her former teammate Sue Bird. She has been going to the Olympics since 2004 and has never experienced the bitterness of defeat. The winning streak of the most dominant team in the history of Olympic team sports stretches back to 1992.
Nikola Karabatic (handball, France)
Handball legend Karabatic could become a four-time Olympic champion at 40 (the same goes for American basketball player Kevin Durant), which would make him the record holder in terms of men's team sports. He has announced in advance that he will close his career after the Games in front of his home crowd. The last time the French missed the final of an Olympic tournament was in 2004.
Simone Biles (gymnastics, USA)
Arguably the best gymnast in history, Biles, is going to Paris with the aim of winning the all-around event for the second time at the Games. Last time in Tokyo, she was undone by issues with orientation in space, which caused her to withdraw in the middle of the competition. Her 37 medals from the World Championships and the Olympics are a record in gymnastics.
Isabell Werth (equestrian, Germany)
Werth has hung gold around her neck at all six Games she has competed in since 1992. That's long-term, constant, textbook form. However, she also holds the record for the length of time between her first and last Olympic medals (29 years). The German dressage rider has a total of 12 medals in her collection, any more will catapult her into the top ten in history (summer & winter combined).
