A lot has changed since taking home four golds and a bronze in 2016: She’s moved into her own house, made two French bulldogs (Lilo and Rambo) part of her family and found her voice advocating for survivors of sexual abuse and children in foster care. After being placed in the foster care system herself, she and her younger sister were adopted by her grandparents, whom she refers to as “Mom and Dad.” “Without them,” she says, “I wouldn’t be who I am. I wouldn’t have done gymnastics.” And while she’s projected to do big things in Tokyo, like whip out her arguably most impressive and daredevil move to date, the Yurchenko double pike—she became the first woman to land the vault maneuver back in May—she’s keeping what she calls her “high goals” close to the chest, training six and a half hours a day, sometimes seven, with Sundays off. And yes, the Olympic postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic was tough. “I felt all the emotions,” she says. “It was strange. It was weird. It was annoying. It was scary. It was sad. It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I kept up with it.” And rightfully so. The Olympics, says Biles, is “everything. It’s one of the most rewarding, exciting moments, being able to stand on top of the podium and hear your national anthem. It’s a feeling you can’t really describe.” As for the question we’ve all been asking: Is Tokyo her last? “I definitely feel like with age I’ve gotten better, which most of the time you don’t see in our sport,” she says. (In 1980, the average age of an Olympic gymnast was 16 1/2). So while her current focus is Tokyo, she may not be hanging up the leotard just yet, noting that her coaches are from France, and it might be fun to go to the 2024 Paris games. In the meantime, get ready for the 32nd Summer Olympics, July 23–August 8 on NBC, with our packed preview of all the fun and games.
New Sports at Tokyo Olympics
3x3 Basketball
There’s a new basketball event in Tokyo: the 3x3, a half-court game played by two teams of three players. While the U.S. men’s team didn’t qualify, the female team—StefanieDolson, 29, KelseyPlum, 26, AllishaGray, 26, and KatieLouSamuelson, 34—did. Watch: July 24–28
Karate
Two karate events—kumite (sparring) and kata (a solo practice)—will debut in Tokyo. “Karate is not just about competition,” says kata athlete Ariel Torres, 23. “It’s about character building and becoming a better contributing member to society.” Watch: August 5–7
Climbing
Fifty feet—three stories tall!—is about the height of the 95-degree climbing wall competitors will race up in the Olympics’ new speed climbing event. The other events in the sport climbing debut are lead climbing, featuring a differently angled 15- to 20-meter wall, and bouldering, a competition that uses a lower wall covered with tricky climbing challenges. The U.S., Japan and France are the only countries sending a full team—two women and two men. Watch: qualifiers, August 3–4; finals, August 5–6
Surfing
Surfers will take to the water for the first time in Olympic history at Tsurigasaki Beach. Located on Japan’s Pacific coastline, conditions here should be great for “a lot of aerial maneuvers, which should score high and be fun to watch,” says U.S. surfer KoloheAndino, 27. Watch: July 25–August 1 (timing depends on waves and wind)
Skateboarding
Competitors will be judged on the difficulty, height and speed of their mid-air tricks, jumps and body rotations in the debut of skateboarding in Tokyo. They’ll compete on “street” courses (urban stair sets, handrails, ledges and banks) or “park” courses (smooth bowls). Famous U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston, 26, is the favorite in men’s street. Watch: street, July 25–26; park, August 4–5
Softball and Baseball Return to the Olympics
After a 13-year hiatus, softball and baseball are returning to the mound. “I’m so excited to showcase the incredible amount of growth this sport has made over the last decade,” says pitcher Monica Abbott, 35, who joins CatOsterman, 38, as the only two former Olympians on the softball team.
Who will win 5 gold medals at one Olympics?
Who will be the first American female to win five golds at one Olympics? Simone Biles and swimmer KatieLedecky and are in the running.
Team USA Olympic Athletes to Watch
April Ross and Alix Klineman (Volleyball)
Volleyballer April Ross, 39 (the former teammate of KerriWalshJennings), made some adjustments to her Olympic training regimen during the pandemic—she hung a net from her roof and leaned plywood against palm trees to mimic an opposing team. She and teammate AlixKlineman, 31, are No. 2 in the world.
Noah Lyles, Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin (Track)
At 22, U.S. track star Noah Lyles, now 23, was already running faster than UsainBolt did at that age. U.S. sprinter Dalilah Muhammad, 31, is the reigning 400-meter hurdles champion in the Olympics—and the world. But watch out. She’s projected to take on her own teammate, Sydney McLaughlin, 21, who has the second-fastest 400-meter time in history.
Nevin Harrison (Canoe Sprint)
Nineteen-year-old canoe sprinter Nevin Harrison took up the sport at 13 when her hip dysplasia forced her to quit track and field. Four years later, she won the 2019 world championship (making her the first American to do so). This is her first Olympics.
Lilly King, Ryan Murphy and Caeleb Dressel (Swimming)
Defending their gold medals from Rio are American favorites Lilly King, 24 (100-meter breaststroke), and Ryan Murphy, 26 (100- and 200-meter backstroke—two events that have been won by Americans since 1996). And look for 2016 gold medalist CaelebDressel, 24 (deemed “the next MichaelPhelps”), in the 50- and 10-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly events.
Alexander Massialas (Fencing)
Alexander Massialas, 27, heads to his third Olympic games to try to win the gold in fencing (Italy, France and Hungary usually dominate the sport). No American has ever won.
Brady Ellison (Archery)
Archery superstar Brady Ellison, 32, had a brush with a potentially career-ending injury to his right arm—the same one he uses to pull back the tension of his bow. You won’t want to miss Ellison, fresh off his recovery, as he aims to land his first gold.
Olympics 202o By the Numbers
Four: That’s the number of Olympic gold medal wins (out of the past six Olympics) for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. After winning their second consecutive World Cup title in 2019, Megan Rapinoe, 35, AlexMorgan, 32, RoseLavelle, 26, and company will bring both the fun and soccer dominance to Tokyo. Eleven: That’s the number of Olympic medals Allyson Felix, 35, needs to become the most decorated U.S. Olympic track and field athlete of all time. She already has nine going into these games. 80,000+ That’s how many eBay listings there are for Olympic pins. Avid pin collectors—folks who love to collect the games’ commemorative pin souvenirs in person—are as sad as the host country (which made 600 different officially licensed pins for the occasion) about the games’ COVID restrictions limiting travel to the event. 42: That’s the number of game venues in Japan, including the Olympic Stadium, which was built with wood from each of Japan’s 47 districts (called prefectures), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and Yoyogi National Stadium, both of which were used for the 1964 Tokyo games. 33: That’s how many sports will be played this summer, 24 more than the first Olympics in 1896. There are 339 total events. 493 Km/hour: That’s how fast a badminton birdie (shuttlecock) travels, making it the fastest moving object in sports. Badminton became an official Olympic sport in 1992. Nine: That’s the number of new mixed events in archery, judo, shooting, swimming, table tennis, track and field and triathlon where men and women will team up. This is the most gender-balanced Olympics in history, with every sport offering both men’s and women’s events. 69 Games: That was the winning streak for the U.S. national women’s water polo team (the longest ever). Ranked first in the world, they’ll head to Tokyo defending their 2012 and 2016 gold medals. 57: That’s how many years ago Japan hosted its first Summer Olympics. 165,000: That’s the number of towels required in the Olympic Village during the 2012 summer games in London.
Team USA Olympic Uniforms
Team USA will sport preppy Ralph Lauren uniforms at the closing ceremony, including this “tie” belt. The internet had unkind things to say about Team Canada’s Tokyo-bound “graffiti” jean jacket designed by Hudson’s Bay. Japanese athletes who make it to the podium will wear Asics’ “sunrise red” uniforms, including these snazzy sneakers.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Mascots
The first official Olympic mascot was Waldi, a dachshund, at the 1972 Munich games. This year, meet Miraitowa and Someity, the smiling, futuristic Olympic and Paralympic creatures decorated with the traditional Japanese ichimatsu (checkered) patterns. Together, they represent the theme “old meets new.” For the first time in Olympic history, the mascots were chosen exclusively by children, specifically in 16,769 Japanese elementary schools.
Olympic Ring Logo Tattoos
Ryan Murphy, Simone Biles and Caeleb Dressel are just a few of the athletes who sport a tattoo of the distinctive five-ring logo (one ring for each continent).
Out of This World
Did you know the unlit Olympic torch has been taken to space three times?
Swab Story
COVID means this will be an Olympics like no other. Athletes will be given daily COVID-19 tests during their time in Tokyo. With 11,091 athletes expected to partake, that’s a whole lot of swabs.
Show Me the Money!
Doled out by each home country, prize money for medaling ranged dramatically in Rio in 2016: The U.S. gave out $25,000 for each gold won, while Italy shelled out the equivalent of more than $185,000. Japan paid about $49,900. As for the United Kingdom? A whopping zero bucks.
Strange Sports of Olympics Past
Dueling pistols, tug-of-war, tandem cycling, architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. (Really! 1912–48)
Alternating Games
While the Winter and Summer Olympics are currently on separate cycles, alternating every two years, for almost 70 years until 1992, they were held in the same year. Next, Photos: See Parade’s Olympics Covers Through the Years
