Olympic kings and queens: Rio 2016 Games will see some athletes enter the history books

Some of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time will be looking to cement their reputations in Rio

With the calendar for the Olympic Games now out, Rio 2016 is certain to be full of unforgettable moments, which will make you fall in love with new sports, see new champions crowned and others build on their medal-winning reputations.

For a handful of the world’s best athletes, Rio 2016 will offer the chance to enter the record books as the greatest Olympic medallists in the history of their sport. Check out our list of those on the threshold of sporting immortality.

Athletics – Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica); Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)

Usain Bolt, with six Olympic gold medals already to his name, has little left to prove.  For Rio 2016, however, the Jamaican sprinter is eyeing up what he calls the “triple-triple”: three consecutive golds in three different athletics events:  100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

With a total of nine gold medals to his credit if he succeeds, Bolt would take his place alongside Finland’s Paavo Nurmi (who also won three silvers) and the USA’s Carl Lewis (who also won one silver) as one of the greatest Olympians in history.

Among the women sprinters, the competition is fierce.

The United States’ Allyson Felix (four golds and two silvers) and Sanya Richards-Ross (four golds and one bronze) are already the greatest female Olympians in history, and they may win even more medals at the Rio 2016 Games.

Another woman to watch is Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown: with three golds, two silvers and two bronzes, the 32-year old 100m and 200m specialist may yet steal the Americans’ thunder.

Source: Rio 2016