Amidst all the controversy and skepticism heading into Rio 2016, the athletics program proved to be one of the most exciting of games, with several World and Olympic records, as well as other notable achievements.
With the likes of Usain Bolt making their Olympic farewell, it’s time to look at those who will play a huge part in the future of the sport, and could well be looking at Olympic gold in four year’s time.
This piece looks at five young stars who have made a name for themselves this Olympic Games, and who will be interesting to follow over the coming four years.
Andre De Grasse
With the likes of Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin well into the twilight of their careers, it could be someone like Andre De Grasse who is at the forefront of sprinting.
The young Canadian first came to prominence at the World Championships last year, where he took bronze medals in both the 100-meters and the 4x100-meters relay, and he had a similarly impressive Rio 2016.
De Grasse matched his bronze medal from Beijing last year in the 100-meter final, finishing behind Bolt and Gatlin, and also took another bronze medal from the relay, behind Jamaica and Japan. In Rio, he also took a silver medal in the 200-meters, behind Bolt, which only increased the hype about him being a star of the future.
Soon, there will be a huge Bolt-shaped whole missing from Men’s sprinting, and it could well be De Grasse who fills that hole and becomes a dominant figure in the sport.
Margaret Wambui
With Caster Semenya, the huge favorite, storming to gold in the 800-meters it was unlikely that Margaret Wambui was going to take gold, but the 20-year-old Kenyan impressed to take the bronze medal.
Wambui was the World Junior champion in 2014, and though she failed to make it out the heats at the World Championships last year, she medaled at both the Olympic Games and the World Indoor Championships this year.
The young Kenyan set a new personal best in the final in Rio, and her performances impressed; she showed she can finish strongly, as well as position herself well throughout the race. She should mature over the next four years and her times and performances suggest she’ll be a regular feature on the podium over the next few years.
Yulimar Rojas
Many expected Yulimar Rojas to be one of the main challengers to Caterine Ibarguen in the Women’s Triple Jump and the fact that the young Venezuelan took the silver behind the dominant Ibarguen shows she can handle the pressure on the big occasions.
The 20-year-old can certainly improve technically, but the fact that she has already been over 15 meters (considered the benchmark for the Women’s Triple Jump), and was just outside that in the Olympic final, proves that she has the talent to become one of the all-time greats in this event.
Rojas already has a major title in the event (the World Indoor title from earlier this year) and with the likes of Ibarguen and Olga Rypakova heading towards the end of their careers, it will likely be Rojas who becomes the leading figure in the event heading towards Tokyo.
Clayton Murphy
One of the more surprising medalists of the Track and Field program was Clayton Murphy, though the young American showed great promise for the future as he finished third in the Men’s 800-meter final, setting a new personal best in doing so.
Murphy, who won the event at the Pan American Games last summer, ran a strong race in the final in Rio, sitting near the back before producing a strong finish to settle in behind David Rudisha and Taoufik Makhloufi and finish on the podium.
Though this a particularly competitive event, the 21-year-old showed in Rio that he has the pace and the tactical knowledge on the big stage, and it would not be a surprise if he consistently medals on the big stage over the next few years.
Ruth Jebet
Unlike the other names that have been featured in this piece, Ruth Jebet can already say she is an Olympic champion.
Aged just 19, the Bahraini stormed to gold in the 3000-meter Steeplechase, becoming the second-fastest women in history as she narrowly missed out on breaking Gulnara Galkina’s world record from the Beijing games eight years ago.
Though she made a slight mistake by not realizing that she was on world record pace (she visibly slowed down before the end), Jebet superbly dealt with the pressure of being the favorite for the gold, and to have secured arguably the biggest title in Athletics whilst still being a teenager is an impressive feat.
It is thought that Jebet could have another attempt at the world record at the Weltklasse Zurich next week, and with most of her career ahead of her, it would be no surprise if she consistently broke the world record and continued to win several major titles over the next few years.