There’s more than meets the eye to some of athletes competing for gold in this year’s games, here’s who you should keep your Twitter eyes locked on to.
The return of the Games signals more than dramatic finishes and fantastic races, it’s also a time to get to know some of the roughly 10,500 athletes who will go for gold in the Olympics and Paralympics. Everyone loves a winner, but in the digital age, the public shows equal love and interest for athletes who have interesting backgrounds. Here are a few who fit the bill:
Nate Ebner
Twitter: @Nateebner34
Sport: Rugby
Country: U.S.
Ebner’s day job is as a defensive back for the New England Patriot of the National Football League, but he took temporary leave from the team in May to pursue his Olympic dream.
Jenny Simpson
Twitter: @trackjenny
Sport: Track and Field
Country: U.S.
This will be Simpson’s third Olympics, but she’s yet to bring home any medals. Is this her year?
Melissa Stockwell
Twitter: @MStockwell01
Sport: Paralympic Triathlon
Country: U.S.
The first female soldier to lose a limb during the Iraq War.
Jahvid Best
Twitter: @J4hvidbest
Sport: Track and Field
Country: St. Lucia
At just 25 years old, Best retired from the National Football League after suffering multiple concussions.
Oksana Chusovitina
Twitter: N/A
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Uzbekistan
Chusovitina will be 41 years old at the Games, making her the oldest Olympic female gymnast in history.
Genzebe Dibaba
Twitter: @GenzebeDibaba
Sport: Track and Field
Country: Ethiopia
Forced to pull out of the 2012 Olympics with an injury during qualifiers, she and her sister Tirunesh (a three-time Olympic champion) are expected to compete for gold at a variety of distances.
Kanak Jha
Twitter: N/A
Sport: Table Tennis
Country: United States
This 16-year-old table tennis prodigy is the first American born in the 2000s to qualify for the Olympics.
