From world record holders to MVPs to Grand Slam champions, the Paris Olympics is jam-packed with star power from around the globe. As things are set to get underway in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, get to know these international athletes that are sure to find themselves in the spotlight this summer.
Carlos Alcaraz
Tennis | Spain | Age: 21 | Olympic experience: Debut
The Paris tennis tournament will feature the Olympic debut of prodigious former world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. At only 21 years old, the Spaniard already has won four Grand Slam singles championships and risen to the top of the rankings since turning pro in 2018. Alcaraz looks to add a gold medal in Paris in singles, as well as in doubles alongside countryman and tennis great Rafael Nadal. — Erin Maher
Julian Alvarez
Soccer | Argentina | Age: 24 | Olympic experience: Debut
Julian Alvarez will be licking his lips with anticipation of plenty of goals, as he’ll lead the line for Argentina in the men’s tournament. Alvarez has been sensational whenever Manchester City has needed him and is coming off a fine Copa America tournament, as he helped the Argentina senior national team win back-to-back continental titles. La Arana is a predator in the box and Argentina has been handed a very decent path in the tournament. — Leo Santos
Rebeca Andrade
Gymnastics | Brazil | Age: 25 | Olympic experience: 2016, 2020 (1g, 1s)
Expect to hear Rebeca Andrade’s name a lot in Paris. The Brazilian star made her Olympic debut in front of a home crowd in Rio, but really rose to stardom in Tokyo when she won two historic medals for her country with a silver in the all-around and a gold on vault. At the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships, Andrade proved to be Simone Biles' closest rival, standing next to the American on four individual medal podiums – including vault, where Andrade edged out Biles for the gold medal. — Ashlee Buhler
Viktor Axelsen
Badminton | Denmark | Age: 30 | Olympic experience: 2016 (1b), 2020 (1g)
Danish badminton disruptor and current world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen is looking to defend his title in Paris this summer. After defeating China's Chen Long at Rio 2016 and taking home bronze, Axelsen returned to the Games in Tokyo and topped the defending champion. The 6-foot-4 30-year-old also holds two world championship titles. — Maher
Dominika Banevic
Breaking | Lithuania | Age: 17 | Events: Breaking | Olympic experience: Debut
"B-girl Nicka", AKA Dominika Banevic, will be just 17 in Paris, but shocked the field to win the 2023 world title, becoming the youngest b-girl ever to win a world championship. The Lithuanian may just steal the show during the inaugural breaking event at the Olympic Games. — Sam Brief
Aitana Bonmati
Soccer | Spain | Age: 26 | Olympic experience: Debut
Aitana Bonmati was a key part of the Spanish team that won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was also awarded the Ballon d’Or that year, which is given to the best soccer player annually in each gender. Spain is ranked No. 1 in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings, and should they go on to win gold, Bonmati almost certainly would play a huge factor in that run. — Santos
Sky Brown
Skateboarding | Great Britain | Age: 16 | Olympic experience: 2020 (1b)
Women's skateboarding has seen a massive influx of teenage talent in recent years, and Sky Brown — who earned a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games when she was 13 — has been one of the young shredders at the forefront of it all. The two-time X Games champion won her first world title in February 2023 and remains a gold-medal threat in women's park, as well as one of the most popular skateboarders in the world. — Shawn Smith
Daiki Hashimoto
Gymnastics | Japan | Age: 22 | Olympic experience: 2020 (2g, 1s)
Time and time again, Daiki Hashimoto proves he is the best of the best. He not only enters Paris as the defending Olympic all-around and high bar champion, but also as a four-time world champion – three of those titles coming from 2023. Hashimoto will be the one everyone is chasing in Paris. — Buhler
Novak Djokovic
Tennis | Serbia | Age: 37 | Olympic experience: 2008 (1b), 2012, 2016, 2020
Serbia's King of Swing, Novak Djokovic, already is regarded by many as the greatest men's tennis player ever. With a record 24 Grand Slam titles, seven ATP finals and as the only player in history to complete a career Golden Masters, it would seem as if Djokovic has it all—all except an Olympic gold medal. Djokovic earned a bronze medal in his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008. In his three Olympic appearances since then, Djokovic has failed to return to the podium. Can the tennis GOAT finally capture the gold in Paris? — Maher
Mondo Duplantis
Track and Field | Sweden | Age: 24 | Olympic experience: 2020 (1g)
Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, born in Lafayette, Louisiana to an American father and Swedish mother, represents Sweden and will look to defend his Tokyo Olympic gold in the men’s pole vault. Duplantis is a walking highlight reel. At just 24, he’s won two world titles to go with his Olympic gold. He also holds the current world outdoor and indoor pole vault records. No athlete in history has cleared the 6-meter mark more than Duplantis, who has done it more than 60 times. — Brief
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Track and Field | Jamaica | Age: 37 | Olympic experience: 2008 (1g), 2012 (1g, 2s), 2016 (1s, 1b), 2020 (1g, 1s)
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announced she’ll retire after the Paris Olympics, so the track world must enjoy her while it still has her. The veteran has earned eight medals across four Olympic Games and is one of the greatest sprinters of all-time. Fraser-Pryce has won more individual global sprint titles than any female sprinter — ever. She might be 37, but make no mistake, she’s still fast. The “Pocket Rocket” earned a bronze at the most recent Worlds in the 100m. — Brief
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Basketball | Canada | Age: 25 | Olympic experience: Debut
One of the NBA's most improved players in recent years, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also is the face of a Canadian team that's stronger than ever. Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada to a win over the United States and a bronze medal at last year's World Cup, and with a roster filled with NBA players, Canada very well could contend for an Olympic medal this summer. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of just three players to average over 30 points per game during the 2023-24 NBA season — Smith
Quan Hongchan
Nationality: China | Age: 17 | Events: Platform (individual/synchro) | Olympic experience: 2020 (1g)
The latest phenom in the renowned tradition of Chinese diving, Quan Hongchan electrified the diving well in Tokyo, winning individual 10m platform gold and doing it in style. Of her five final-round dives, three earned perfect scores. Not to mention, she was just 14 years old at the time. Now, with world championship experience (and five world titles) under her belt, Quan is on track to add to her growing teenage legacy in Paris. — Eric Goodman
Jakob Ingebrigtsen
Track and Field | Norway | Age: 23 | Olympic experience: 2020 (1g)
At just 23, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has catapulted to elite status in the track and field world. He’s the current world indoor record holder for the 1500m. He owns two world titles, four European titles and an Olympic gold in the 1500m from the Tokyo Games. The men’s 1500m will feature a loaded field in Paris — including Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, U.S. stars Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler — but Ingebrigtsen enters as the favorite to win gold and set a possible world record in the process. — Brief
Nikola Jokic
Basketball | Serbia | Age: 29 | Olympic experience: 2016 (1s)
The best all-around men's basketball player in the world today, Nikola Jokic is coming off his third career NBA MVP season. After nearly averaging a triple double for the Denver Nuggets, Jokic will lead Serbia's Olympic team this summer. Jokic previously won a silver medal in 2016, the only other time that Serbia qualified for the men's Olympic tournament. For the Paris Games, Serbia is drawn into the same group as the United States, and the two teams will play each other to begin the group stage. — Smith
Ma Long
Table Tennis | China | Age: 35 | Olympic experience: 2012 (1g), 2016 (2g), 2020 (2g)
Hailed as the greatest table tennis player in history, China's Ma Long already is the sport's most decorated Olympian with a record five gold medals. In Tokyo, he became the first player in history to win consecutive gold medals in the men's singles event. Paris is anticipated to be his last Olympics and is a chance to break his own record, potentially taking home a sixth gold medal. — Maher
Mijain Lopez
Wrestling | Cuba | Age: 41 | Olympic experience: 2004, 2008 (1g), 2012 (1g), 2016 (1g), 2020 (1g)
No athlete ever has won gold medals in the same individual event at five consecutive Olympic Games, but Cuban legend Mijain Lopez has a chance to rewrite the history books this summer. Lopez, the four-time reigning Olympic champion of Greco-Roman's super heavyweight division, returned to competition last year with the goal of reaching the Paris Games and winning that historic fifth gold. — Smith
Leon Marchand
Swimming | France | Age: 22 | Events: butterfly, individual medley | Olympic experience: 2020
Leon Marchand not only is France’s best chance at gold in the pool, he’s primed to be one of the faces of the Games for the host nation across all sports. The Toulouse native currently competes under the tutelage of coach Bob Bowman, who famously helped mold Michael Phelps into the greatest swimmer of all time. Marchand specializes in some of the same events that Phelps did, including the 400m IM, in which Marchand bested Phelps’ last remaining world record in 2023. — Goodman
Rory McIlroy
Golf | Ireland | Age: 35 | Olympic experience: 2020
Though he hails from the U.K. region of Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy represents the Emerald Isle when it comes to Olympic competition. The four-time major champion skipped golf’s Olympic re-debut (after a 94-year absence) at Rio 2016, and narrowly missed out on the podium in Tokyo as part of a wild seven-man playoff for the bronze medal, won by C. T. Pan. Much has been made about McIlroy’s decade-long drought in major championships, though the 35-year-old remains among the very best golfers in the world, and is a threat to win any time he tees it up. — Goodman
Summer McIntosh
Swimming | Canada | Age: 17 | Events: butterfly, freestyle, individual medley | Olympic experience: 2020
At age 14, Summer McIntosh was one of the youngest swimmers competing at the Tokyo Olympics, and still finished just one spot off the podium in the 400m IM. Now a full-fledged teen sensation, McIntosh is on course to contend for multiple gold medals in Paris. She currently holds the world record in the 400m IM, briefly held the 400m freestyle world record in 2023, and is also a two-time defending world champion in the 200m butterfly. Not many can match that kind of versatility. — Goodman
Teddy Riner
Nationality: France | Age: 36 | Event: Men's 100+kg | Olympic experience: 2008 (1b), 2012 (1g), 2016 (1g), 2020 (1g, 1b)
With Paris hosting the Olympic Games, no judoka will have a bigger spotlight on them than France's own Teddy Riner. The judo legend, who recently won his record-extending 11th world title, is tied for the all-time lead with five Olympic judo medals (three gold, two bronze). Between the men's heavyweight tournament and the mixed team event, Riner should have two opportunities to add to his total and break the record. — Smith
Iga Swiatek
Tennis | Poland | Age: 23 | Olympic experience: 2020
Iga Swiatek, the world's top-ranked female tennis player, quickly is becoming the queen of Roland Garros. Swiatek has won four of the last five editions of the French Open on the famous red clay, including each of the last three. Her first Olympic appearance in Tokyo ended in the second round, premature by her standards. But with the Paris Olympic tennis tournament taking place at Roland Garros, Swiatek becomes the odds-on favorite for gold. — Goodman
Lasha Talakhadze
Weightlifting | Georgia | Age: 30 | Olympic experience: 2016 (1g), 2020 (1g)
The strongest Olympian to ever live returns to the platform for his third appearance at the Games, as Lasha Talakhadze looks to become just the sixth person ever to win weightlifting gold at three consecutive Olympics. The Georgian heavyweight already holds the all-time world records regardless of weight category in the snatch (225 kg, 496 lbs), the clean and jerk (267 kg, 589 lbs), and the total (492 kg, 1,085 lbs) which he set just months after winning gold in Tokyo in 2021. Paris offers an opportunity to add to Talakhadze's growing case as the greatest lifter of all time. — Goodman
Victor Wembanyama
Basketball | France | Age: 20 | Event: Men's basketball | Olympic experience: None
After being drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs last summer, Victor Wembanyama has made an immediate impact in the NBA. The 7-foot-4 center is averaging a double-double (21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds per game) while leading the NBA in blocked shots (3.6 per game) by a wide margin. Now he has the opportunity to be one of the faces of the Olympics for the host nation, as he joins Rudy Gobert on France's Olympic team in what is expected to be an elite defensive frontcourt pairing. France upset the United States in group play and finished with silver at the last Olympics, so with Wembanyama now onboard, this team is a potential spoiler to watch. — Smith