The US Tokyo Olympics 2020 team has never looked better than now. The US Olympic Swimming Trials 2021 is over and the likes of Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky are ready to make a statement in Tokyo next month. On that note, let us look at some of the US athletes who are likely to win gold medal for US at the Tokyo Olympics.
Katie Ledecky: The five-time Olympic champion may have had a harrowing 2019 World Championships due to illness, but if the US Olympic Trials were an indicator, she is back to her best now.
The 24-year-old will participate in four individual freestyle events at the Tokyo Olympics — 400m, 200m, 800m and 1500m. In Omaha, she won the 200m dash. An hour later, she returned to win 1500m - registering the fastest time of the year. She is also part of the 4x200m relay for Team USA.
Caeleb Dressel: The Florida-native had a lot of pressure on his shoulder before the US Olympic Trials. But that didn’t bother the 24-year-old. He went about his work without any worries. Dressel won the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him go after world records in Tokyo next month.
Sydney McLaughlin: The 21-year-old broke the world record when she won the 400m hurdle in a race which also included Olympic medallist Dalilah Muhammad. She clocked 51.90, breaking Muhammad’s two-year-old world record. When she participates in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, she will surely remember her Rio Games semi-final loss. But by outrunning Muhammad, she has proved that she is ready this time around.
World records broken at US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: Other medal hopefuls for the US team
Erriyon Knighton: The ‘Wonder Kid’ broke Usain Bolt’s under-18 world record recently and will be flying to the Tokyo Olympics with a lot of expectations. The 17-year-old from Florida became the youngest track and field athlete to compete at the Olympics since Jim Ryan, who competed in 1964.
Tokyo Olympics 2020: 5 athletics events with clear-cut gold medal favorites
Ryan Crouser: The Oregon-born athlete won the gold medal at Rio Olympics but could only manage a silver medal at World Championships 2019 in Doha. Crouser broke a 31-year-old record in his fourth attempt at the US Trials. The 28-year-old achieved a distance of 23.37m and broke the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games’ gold medalist Randy Barnes’ record of 23.12m.
After his performance, Ryan Crouser said: "This one definitely meant a lot more, it’s one that I’ve been after for a long, long time."
These are just a few of the many champion athletes in Team USA. They are also just as likely to win gold with the likes of Simone Biles in gymnastics, David Boutia in diving and Allyson Felix in track and field events. The men's and women's basketball teams and the US women's soccer team are expected to get a finishing spot on the podium as well.