All the Olympic Athletes You’ve Never Heard of Before
Get to know the new crop of awe-inspiring heroes coming to a Wheaties box near you
Katie Bam: USA
Eyes have quickly turned to the United States women’s field hockey team as it heads toward an Olympic medal. So far the USA has beaten Australia, Argentina and Japan and is atop the standings in Pool B.
While we believe there truly is no “I” in team, we can’t help but notice 27-year-old Katie, who wowed Rio’s field hockey scene with her hat trick to help lead the USA to a victory against highly talented Japan.
We also love Katie’s comeback story. After first appearing on the field hockey scene as the youngest player in 2005, she didn’t make it to the 2008 Games. She pushed harder and made it onto the 2012 team in London, but not before earning the 2010 USA National Team Athlete of the Year award.
You could say that 2010 was a good year for the Montgomery, Pa., native as she also received the Sportswoman of the Year award from the Women’s Sports Foundation—the same award given to women like Mia Hamm and Serena Williams.
Katie’s maiden name was O’Donnell, but she took on the surname Bam when she married South African field hockey player and Olympian Marvin Bam. And we think it’s fitting. Bam.
“This is going to sound really weird, but I love the locker room stuff. The talks, the camaraderie, that doesn’t have much to do with the on-field action. It’s everything that a teammate can give you a smile, a compliment and your entire day and mind-set have changed.” — Katie Bam
Nada Meawad & Doaa El-Ghobashy: Egypt
New to the Olympics scene are Egyptian volleyball players, Nada (18) and Doaa (19), who wore uniforms that you don’t see every day on a beach volleyball court: full-length gear and a hijab.
Not only do we love watching these talented athletes own the volleyball court, but we also respect that they’re representing Egypt’s first-ever women’s Olympic volleyball team. They play again today.
“I’m proud to be seen raising the Egyptian flag in a carnival with so many nations.” —Doaa El-Ghobashy
Yusra Mardini: Refugee Team
This Syrian swimming survivor and total badass with a heart (and hopefully soon, medal) of gold, grew up in a suburb of Damascus, where one of the worst Syrian massacres occurred, taking the lives of her friends, destroying her home as well as the swimming center she trained in.
Yursa (18) fled Syria with her sister, making the brutal choice to leave their parents behind. On their way to Greece, the small boat they were traveling in with 18 other refugees began flooding. She spent three hours pushing the tiny, sinking boat in the water with her sister and two other swimmers to get everyone to safety.
Yursa and her sister currently reside in an apartment in Berlin, which she was able to secure with a training scholarship. After catching the eye of a trainer at the facility she was swimming in, she ditched her junk food diet, worked through her technical foundation and in a strange twist of fate, was invited to join the first Olympics Refugee Team for the 2016 Olympic Games.
She finished the Games ranking 41st in the 100m butterfly and 45th in the 100m freestyle. We hope you enjoyed your first Olympics as much as we’ve loved hearing your story, Yursa!
“I remember everything…I never forget. But it’s the thing that’s pushing me actually to do more and more. Crying in the corner, that’s just not me.” — Yusra Mardini
Pita Taufatofua: Tonga
Trust us, Pita (32) is more than just Twitter’s favorite hunk. He’s also an Olympic Taekwondo athlete (he competes Aug. 20) and the first Tongan to compete for the sport in the Olympics.
An entrepreneurial spirit, he self-funded his trip to Rio. And oh wait, it gets better… he’s spent his life working in underprivileged communities, including a significant amount of time in homeless shelters, teaching the value of believing in yourself to accomplish your goals and dreams. (Swoon.)
Pita was born in Brisbane, Australia, grew up in Tonga and currently resides in Brisbane. (Where our Aussie-accent-loving friends at?) If you’re thinking “sign this guy up for a modeling career STAT”—too late. He already models on the side. (Are you actually surprised?)
He has many other interests, including puppies and running and other things that mostly require no shirts… according to Instagram. #Followed…
“When asked what inspires me, I always give the same answer, ‘Accomplishment and struggle through adversity.’ Awesome sh*t inspires me! This is why I love martial arts!” — Pita Taufatofua
Katie Ledecky: USA
Katie is already a 2016 Olympic medalist—silver in the 4x100m relay and gold in both the 400m freestyle as well as 200m freestyle (her final race is today’s 800m freestyle)—and by the way, MULTIPLE WORLD RECORD HOLDER who beats her own world records. This 19-year-old swimming phenom is making us wish we weren’t freestylin’ our way through beer pong back in college and instead hitting the pool.
Katie is not new to the Olympic scene, though. She first competed in the 2012 London Games, where she took home a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and simultaneously secured the second fastest time ever. Need we remind you, she was only 15 at the time.
In Rio, we knew she would collect more medals to add to the 16 she already has sitting at home in Bethesda, Md. And when all swimming and medal winning is done in Rio, Katie will make her way to the backyard of The Relish HQ, where she’ll join the Stanford swim team.
“What I’ve done over the past couple years has been pretty great, but even that doesn’t define my swimming. Working hard and doing everything I can to be successful should be my identity.” — Katie Ledecky
Ginny Thrasher: USA
We know the topic of guns is instant controversy these days, but when it comes in the form of safe, competitive Olympic shooting—we’re in and we’re impressed.
Ginny, formally known as Virginia, won the very first gold medal at Rio, in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event. She became interested in the art of shooting after a hunting trip with her grandfather, but rifle shooting wasn’t her first Olympic dream. Her original plan was to become a figure skater, but after deciding that she “wasn’t very good,” Ginny set her sights on becoming a sports shooter just five short years ago. She is also an NCAA champion out of West Virginia University.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams. I knew it was a realistic expectation for me to get into the finals and once you get into the finals, anything can happen. For me, this year has been incredible.”— Ginny Thrasher
