A fun part of watching the Olympics is cheering on our favorites, researching their backstories, and finding new athletes to follow. As we watch alongside our sons and daughters on the tails of the most monumental U.S. election in history, we can find additional inspiration from female athletes and share with our kids their highs and lows as they go for the gold. These are the women athletes to watch at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
A brief history of women in the Olympics
Tokyo Olympics athletes: List of more women to watch
Suzanne P. is the mom of two young gymnast daughters. “I’m so excited to sit down with the girls this year and watch The Olympics,” she told Mom.com. “They have been following Simone Biles’ career and are obsessed with her.” Biles — a household name these days — is set to make history yet again later this month as she and the U.S. Women’s Olympics Gymnastics Team gear up for the Games.
Female athletes to watch at the Tokyo Olympics
- Professional surfing makes its Olympic debut this year and Surfer Hall of Famer, Carissa Moore, is ready to show the world what she can do.
- Gymnast Jordan Chiles will try for her very first Olympic medal in Tokyo. Chiles was the all-around winner at this years’ Winter Cup and she placed second at the Indianapolis 2021 U.S. Classic.
- American swimmer Katie Ledecky holds five Olympic medals and heads to Tokyo as Team Leader.
- Chinese-American swimmer Torri Huske broke a 9-year record coming in at 55.78 for the 100m Butterfly.
- Gymnast Simone Biles will be contending for five gold medals in Tokyo. If she does get all five, she will have achieved the title of one of the Greatest Olympians Ever.
- Great Britain’s 13-year-old Sky Brown, pictured above, qualified for her nation’s skateboarding team and will represent her country in Tokyo. She is Britain’s youngest Summer Olympian.
- Naomi Osaka, who has dual American and Japanese citizenship, relinquished her U.S. citizenship in 2019 in order to play for the Japanese tennis team at the Olympics this year. Osaka has made headlines in recent months with a commitment to her mental health and well-being over giving press interviews post-match.
- Sport climbing is another new addition to the Olympic lineup and 20-year-old Brooke Raboutou from Boulder, Colorado made history as the first U.S. climber to qualify for Tokyo.
- Brazil’s Leticia Bufoni will represent her country on the Olympic skateboarding team. Bufoni broke barriers as the first woman signed to the Nike Skateboarding team.
- Sakura Kokumai — a 4th Degree Black Belt — is the first American to qualify for the Olympic Games in karate.
