Over the course of the Olympics, we’ll be bringing you a series of specially commissioned illustrations by our Colombian guest illustrator, Edgar Rozo. Whether it’s Usain Bolt or Simone Biles – an Olympic champion or an Olympic debutant – each day CNN Sport celebrates a new Olympic star.
Since entering the NBA, the 32-year-old New York Knicks player has been named an All-Star on nine occasions. For Team USA he will be hoping?to go?where no male basketballer has gone before, with?a record-breaking?third Olympic gold in his sights.
Yego, 27, holds the African and Commonwealth record for the longest ever javelin throw, exceeding 92 meters in the 2015 World Championships to become the first Kenyan to win a Championships gold in a field event.
Commonly known simply as Marta, the Brazilian forward holds the all-time record for the most goals scored at FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments. Regarded by most as the best female player of all time, she was named FIFA player of the year five times in a row between 2006 and 2010, and even branded ‘Pele with Skirts’ by the man himself.
The Japanese freestyle wrestler has enjoyed more or less unbroken world dominance from 2002 to the present day, having won ten world titles and three Olympic golds. Will Icho add a fourth in Rio?
6ft 4 inch Claudino stands head and shoulders above the rest - in every sense - and captained Brazil’s famed?beach volleyball team to gold at London 2012. After carrying the Olympic torch from the presidential palace earlier this summer, she will undoubtedly?have medals in her sights once again?as her team take to the Copacabana sands. ?
Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,” Zonderland started gymnastics aged just four. With a number of other international gymnasts in his family, the 30-year-old’s skills on the high bar are so impressive that he?was hired by a Dutch zoo to?teach rehabilitated orangutans how to swing through the trees!?
Lijia became an overnight sensation in China after winning gold at London 2012 in the laser sailing class, carrying the Chinese?flag at the closing ceremony over far more?established names.?Despite only having 50% of her hearing, little vision out of her left eye, and a tumor removed from her knee just as her sailing promise was first being discovered, she’ll be vying for gold in Rio.
A man that needs no introduction, Bolt was the first in the modern Olympics era to achieve the “double double,” winning both the 100m and 200m titles?in consecutive Games. His personal best in the 100m – 9.68s at Berlin in 2009 – remains the fastest time ever recorded. In early 2015, Bolt announced that he intends to retire from competitive athletics after the 2017 London World Championships. Catch him while you can!
Raised in Compton, Serena Williams’ meteoric tennis success has elevated her to?a position of global prominence. Having recently equalled Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles - the most in the Open era - Williams will be bidding to add to her record of four Olympic gold medals, having won the singles at London 2012 and a total of?three doubles titles with her sister, Venus.
Fighting?her way into the history books, Nicola Adams became the?first woman to win an Olympic boxing title, winning gold at London 2012.?That’s not to say her?path to the top has been easy; she won her first bout aged 13 but it was four years before she found a second opponent.?Don’t bet against the?33-year-old making history again in Rio. ???
Standing at just 4ft 8in tall,?the three-time world all-around gold medalist?looks set to rise above the field once again in Rio.?Remarkably, her introduction to gymnastics was accidental - the 19-year-old only discovered her talent when a field trip to a ranch was canceled. ??
Widely considered as?one of the greatest male gymnasts of all time, Uchimura?is a five-time Olympic medalist and the first ever to win?every all round world title in an Olympic cycle. The 27-year-old has been crowned world champion every year since 2009!
Phelps is the most decorated?Olympian of all time with 19 gold medals to his name.?Beginning his inexorable rise at Sydney 2000 - where he was the youngest American?swimmer?selected for a Games in over half a century -?Phelps?has the honor of being?the official U.S. flagbearer in Rio.
Though she grew up playing hockey, Williams will instead fulfil her Olympic dreams playing rugby sevens as the sport makes its debut in Rio. The 28-year-old is not just the team’s captain, but - off the field - she’s?also a qualified mechanic!
Having claimed gold at London 2012, Bo-Bae is bidding to become the first archer to win back to back Olympic titles. South Korea has dominated the field?since?archery’s reintroduction in 1972, winning 19 golds, but Bo-Bae could be the?face of the sport in Rio! ?
A three-time winner of the Tour de France, Froome is one of the most successful stage-racing riders of modern times. Born in Kenya and later schooled in South Africa, the Team Sky cyclist only started competing for GB in 2008.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mabika was forced to leave her parents behind at a young age. Finding solace in in her sport growing up, she began to excel, competing in numerous major tournaments. “Judo never gave me money, but it gave me a strong heart,” she says.