NIKHAT ZAREEN, INDIA
BOXING
More than a decade of representing India in boxing has taught Nikhat Zareen, 28, to parry blows from both inside and outside the ring. Between being dismissed early on for wanting to pursue a traditionally male-dominated sport and her near career-ending shoulder dislocation in 2017, Zareen’s path to sporting success has had its fair share of knocks. But during a match, all of that fades into the background. “Whenever I enter the ring, my only thought is: Nikhat, you need to win this bout at any cost,” says the two-time world champion.—SADAF SHAIKH
SHINO MATSUDA, JAPAN
SURFING
“I started surfing when I was around six years old,” Shino Matsuda says. “I stood up on my first try.” The rest, as they say, is history: fourteen years later, Matsuda—who comes from Chigasaki, a coastal city some 30 miles south of Tokyo—qualified for the Paris Games after finishing the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador with the best score of Asia’s female competitors. What’s she most looking forward to at her maiden Olympics, which will send Matsuda and her peers out to distant (and beautiful) Teahupo’o, Tahiti? That’s an easy one. “Riding the best waves,” she says with a smile.—MARLEY MARIUS
SARA BALZER, FRANCE
FENCING
Strasbourg-born Sara Balzer, a member of France’s silver-medal-winning women’s sabre team in Tokyo, heads to her home Olympic Games littered with honours—among them gold medals from the 2024 World Cups in Greece and Belgium, and silver medals from the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Milan and 2023 European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. “We worked so much all these years to be the best for this event,” Balzer, 29, says of her team as they gear up for Paris 2024. And during that time, a certain pre-match ritual has proven personally useful: “I listen to music, I repeat what I’m going to do and I enter fight mode.” —MARLEY MARIUS
SOFIA RAFFAELI AND MILENA BALDASSARRI, ITALY
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Italy’s Olympic rhythmic gymnasts Milena Baldassarri and Sofia Raffaeli already boast a slew of historic records between them: Baldassarri, 22, became the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win an individual silver medal at a world championship event in 2018, while Raffaeli, 20, holds 38 gold medals across world and European championships and is the originator of ‘the Raffaeli’, a turn she performed during her world championship debut in 2021. Together, despite the intense pressure and fierce discipline their sport demands, the pair are known for their mutual support of each other—a necessity when family can feel far away.—MARCO GRIECO
KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON, GREAT BRITAIN
HEPTATHLON
It was at the 2012 London Olympics that British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, then just 19, cemented her one-to-watch status when she made her debut in the slipstream. In the 12 years since, the Liverpudlian protégé has become the master, overcoming career-threatening injuries and naysayers to take two world titles. Through it all, KJT, as fans call her, has worn her heart on her sleeve while leading a new generation of athletes for whom honesty and vulnerability are bringing new kinds of strength. An Olympic medal is all that eludes her—as she puts it, she has “unfinished business” in Paris. —ELLIE PITHERS
ARTISTIC SWIMMING, TEAM MEXICO
“Many of us have lived together for more than 10 years—we see more of [one another] than our own blood family.” So says Samanta Rodríguez, 29, a member of Mexico’s artistic swimming team, which, this summer, will compete at the Olympics en masse for the first time since 1996. (In the interim, Mexico has only qualified in the solo or duet events.) That focus has yielded some tremendous results: last year, after winning silver at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Mexico secured its spot in Paris with two gold medals at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. “To qualify for the Olympic Games means fulfilling a dream that a three-year-old Regina saw as very far away,” adds fellow swimmer Regina Alférez, 26. And to represent their country on the world stage? “Carrying the Mexican flag is what inspires me every day,” says Nuria Diosdado, 33.—MARLEY MARIUS
LO CHIA-LING, CHINA
CHINESE TAIPEI TAEKWONDO
Lo Chia-ling was only 19 when she made her Olympics debut, winning a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg class at the Tokyo Games. Now 22, she is going for the gold this summer—although she has a few other plans for her time in the French capital too. “I like the streets of Paris—the scenery is beautiful but the most important thing is probably shopping,” Lo says, laughing. Also on her mind? The world-famous gastronomie: “At the end of the competition, I want to experience some local French food.”—MARLEY MARIUS
SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON, USA
TRACK AND FIELD
Sha’Carri Richardson’s reputation precedes her. Though the Paris Games will mark her first Olympics appearance, the Texas native, 24, has already, on multiple occasions, established herself as one of the fastest women in the world. Just take her performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where her 10.65-second finish in the 100m—the fifth fastest of all time—set a new event record. Results like those are a function of her talent and her training, yes, but also a “24/7 lifestyle,” as Richardson puts it. “Track is my life on a day-to-day basis. Everything I do—what I eat, what I drink, if I stay up too late—it’s all reflected on the track. Every choice. That’s what the world doesn’t see.”—MARLEY MARIUS
GE MANQI, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
TRACK AND FIELD
Ge Manqi is used to blazing past boundaries. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, she became the first Chinese sprinter to qualify for the women’s 100m semifinal in nearly 40 years. Now, as she readies her appearance in Paris, Ge, 26, has a strong message for those watching at home in China and around the globe. “I aspire to pass on my positivity and insights to the next generation of athletes, so that they can build upon my achievements. I’m on a mission to help Chinese female sprinters reach new heights,” she says. “It’s a myth that Asians can’t excel in sprinting. Don’t confine yourself with preconceived notions.”—MARLEY MARIUS
MISA RODRÍGUEZ, ALEXIA PUTELLAS, IRENE PAREDES AND OLGA CARMONA, SPAIN
SOCCER
La Roja’s Misa Rodríguez, Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Olga Carmona all have deep roots in their sport, but when asked about the athletes who inspire them most, their responses are wonderfully varied. Besides soccer legends Vero Boquete, Iker Casillas and Hope Solo, names like LeBron James and Serena Williams also surface. Why? Because this is a group that privileges excellence—they’re part of Spain’s first women’s soccer team to ever qualify for the Olympics. That means they’ll be leaving it all on the field this summer—though Olympic gold is, of course, only one measure of success. The bigger goal, for 30-year-old midfielder Putellas? “To continue enjoying this sport for many years, and for the fans to enjoy the matches with me.” —MARLEY MARIUS.
Also read:
Boxing star Nikhat Zareen is ready for the Olympics 2024—and your questions
Bilquis Mir is the first Indian woman on the Olympics 2024 jury. Her journey started in the deep end
This breakdancer from Afghanistan fled the Taliban at 18. Now, she’s flying to the Olympics
