Every Olympics has a handful of star athletes that members of the media latch onto, catapulting them from relative obscurity to megastars almost overnight. Even though any Olympian is a champion in his or her own right, expect to see the most coverage on the champions amongst champions—the athletes poised to dominate the field, sometimes in multiple events.
We all remember the hype surrounding athletes like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Bode Miller in the past. Phelps took six gold medals and two bronze in the Athens 2004 Games as a 19-year-old, then won a record eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008. That year, we also saw Bolt sprint his way to gold medals in all three events he participated in. Bode, on the other hand, was hyped to an extreme degree in the 2006 Winter Olympics, then finished without any medals in five downhill skiing events, leaving Turin amid a huge amount of media scrutiny.
Here’s a list of potential new stars that are likely to command a high level of coverage when they take the stage in London this summer. You may not know them now, but you will once the events heat up.
Missy Franklin
Age: 17
Event: Swimming (Women’s)
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Missy Franklin might be the Michael Phelps of 2012. Missy has a great chance to mirror the upstart success Phelps enjoyed eight years ago as she builds off her amazing five-medal (three gold) performance at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships. It’s anticipated that she will compete in up to six Olympic events this summer, so she could come away from London with a handful of them.
She has already had her share of media attention, being interviewed on the Today Show and having profiles written on her by various major outlets, but expect to see a lot more about her as the summer approaches. And presumptuous as it may be, there is a strong potential for this to be the first of three or more Olympics in which Missy Franklin dominates the pool.
Ryan Lochte
Age: 27
Event: Swimming (Men’s)
Hometown: Port Orange, Florida
At first glance, Ryan Lochte doesn’t seem to belong on this list. He’s already a highly accomplished swimmer with six Olympic medals under his belt, and he’s old enough to have a strong level of name recognition and even some endorsement deals. However, through hard work, Lochte has aged like a fine wine, challenging Michael Phelps’ throne more and more as the two have grown older. Ironically, Lochte is nearly a year older than Phelps, proving that the prime age for swimmers depends on a number of factors.
Lochte heads into these Olympics looking to maintain the dominance he displayed at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, in which he won five gold medals and a bronze, defeating Phelps directly in two events. Still, swimming is generally one of those sports that only comes to the forefront during the Olympics, so most people out there still think of Phelps as the king. It will be extremely interesting to see how the rivalry plays out.
Yohan Blake
Age: 22
Event: Running (Men’s, Sprinting)
Hometown: Spanish Town, Jamaica
Yohan Blake, training partner and fellow countryman of Usain Bolt, has a ton to gain at the London Olympics. Blake has worked alongside Bolt so well that an upset seems possible come this summer. Blake took the gold medal in the 100m sprint at the 2011 World Championships, although it is certainly worth noting that Bolt had been disqualified during the event—Blake has yet to defeat Bolt out of the blocks and across the finish line in a major race. Bolt also has better personal best times for the 100 and 200m, the two races they are training for (along with the 4x100m relay that they’ll run together in). Blake might have youth on his side though, setting personal best times last September, while Bolt hasn’t exceeded his superhuman performance in Germany back in 2009. Bolt will have all the name recognition, but be ready for Blake to make a strong attempt at breaking up the party.
Bernard Tomic
Age: 19
Event: Tennis (Men’s)
Hometown: Gold Coast, Australia
Tennis gets plenty of attention every year during the Grand Slam events, so the Olympics don't take quite as much precedence. However, it’s still a great place to showcase the game’s best talent to non-tennis viewers around the world. For the casual tennis fan or non-fan, Bernard Tomic may not be a household name, but it seems like he will be soon. Only 19 years old, he’s already highlighted his professional career with an appearance in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last summer. The young man will return to Wimbledon for the Olympics to represent Australia (not to mention the Grand Slam tournament at the venue that will also occur just a few weeks earlier). Tomic has the full ability to turn in a strong performance at the Olympics and prove to the world that he’s tennis’ rising star that could challenge the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Jordan Burroughs
Age: 23
Event: Freestyle Wrestling (Men’s)
Hometown: Sicklerville, New Jersey
Jordan Burroughs has been an utterly dominant force in the world of freestyle wrestling ever since his years as an upperclassman at the University of Nebraska. After taking his second NCAA title during his last semester in spring 2011, he stepped it up even further by winning it all at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, becoming just the fourth wrestler to win both titles in one year. Burroughs has not lost a tournament since early 2009 (although he was sidelined with ligament tears for a while in 2010) and is a heavy favorite at the London Games. The Olympics are sure to bring his sport to the attention of millions more people, and Burroughs will be expected to snag his first gold medal in front of all those new witnesses. Burroughs himself has expressed desire to take the gold in 2016 as well before making a move to MMA.
Jordyn Wieber
Age: 16
Event: Artistic Gymnastics (Women’s)
Hometown: DeWitt, Michigan
Jordyn Wieber is the all-around world gymnastics champion from 2011. She’s also a high school student who will have just celebrated her 17th birthday when the Olympics kick off in late July. She participates in a brutally competitive sport, one in which a minor flinch here or a slight misstep there could be the difference between getting the gold or not. It’s also a sport that completely favors youth—you won’t see any women in their 20s gaining coverage as contenders for the all-around title. There’s so much subjectivity when it comes to gymnastics though, so all we can say is that Wieber has at least as good a chance as anyone else at taking home the gold, and she’ll definitely be fun to watch as the “It Girl” on the U.S. gymnastics team.
Carmelita Jeter
Age: 32
Event: Running (Women’s Sprinting)
Hometown: Gardena, California
Carmelita Jeter is an anomaly in that she is literally just hitting her stride as a world-class sprinter after turning 30. Not only that, but it’s the fact that she’s participating in her first Olympics this summer. Jeter fought hamstring injuries through her mid-20s then failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 after getting back on the track. She has continually improved throughout recent years, taking gold medals in the 100m and 4x100m relay at last year’s World Championships, adding a silver in the 200m. Her breakthrough success at such an age has brought plenty of suspicion of performance-enhancing drug use, but they have been entirely unproven thus far. This summer, Jeter has the chance to prove that peaking as an athlete has much more to do with hard work and dedication than youth.
Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca
Age: 28 and 30 (respectively)
Event: Beach Volleyball (Women’s)
Home Country: Brazil
Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca have been lighting up the international competition in women’s beach volleyball for the past couple of years. The two aren’t new to the professional circuit, and they are actually one of the most successful duos in the young sport’s history. However, it is also still a sport that only tends to get a huge number of TV viewers during the Olympics where everyone got used to the idea of Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh being the world’s best, as they took gold medals in both Athens and Beijing. But Franca and Felisberta are coming off a win at last year’s World Championships and they’re currently at the top of the women’s beach volleyball standings. The two definitely have what it takes to prove their ranking in the London.
Oscar Pistorius
Age: 25
Event: Running (Men’s Sprinting)
Hometown: Pretoria, South Africa
Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee known as the Blade Runner, has been sprinting his way to victories in Paralympic events ever since he began participating in 2004. Pistorius has pushed the envelope so much that he’s qualified to represent South Africa in the Olympics in the 400m event and the 4x400m relay. It’s sure to be an inspiring and historic event when he steps up to the starting line.
Every Olympics has a handful of new star athletes that members of the media latch onto, putting extra emphasis on those few personal storylines.