ENTERTAINMENT
Rio 2016 Olympics: 10 Hot Male Athletes From Team USA: Cam Awesome, Trayvon Bromell And More
- D&T; Staff , Design & Trend
- Aug, 04, 2016, 08:43 AM
The 2016 Rio Olympics are just a day away. Ahead of the Games, here are 10 male athletes from Team USA, a mix of fresh and familiar faces that you need to be following.
Cam Awesome
Age: 27
Sport: Boxing
Event: Super Heavyweight
The boxer formerly known as Lenroy Thompson changed his name to Cam Awesome after missing the 2012 Olympics because he failed to report his whereabouts to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He took the bronze medal in the 2015 Pan-Am Games.
Awesome might be among the most quotable athletes in the U.S. delegation, having called himself “the Taylor Swift of boxing,” according to Rolling Stone.
Matt Baranoski
Age: 23
Sport: Track Cycling
Event: Keirin
Matt Baranoski became the youngest U.S. Cycling Elite national champion when he earned the title at 17. Last August, he won a national title. Now 23, he is ranked 16th in the world in the keirin, per April’s Union Cycliste Internationale rankings. Baranoski has halted his electrical engineering studies at Penn State to train with his dad, Michael, but he plans to graduate, according toTeamUSA.org.
Trayvon Bromell
Age: 21
Sport: Track & Field Events: 100m /4x100m relay
A U.S. track and field prodigy, Trayvon Bromell was the first high school sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter dash, having run it in a wind-assisted 9.99 seconds at age 17. As a freshman at Baylor, he won the 100-meter title at the NCAA outdoor championships, and he holds the record for the 10 fastest 100-meter times in the school’s history. A February profile in the Boston Globe says Bromell, 20, has a chance to be a medalist and one of the U.S. team’s “breakout stars.”
Jordan Burroughs
Age: 27
Sport: Wrestling
Event: Freestyle 74kg
Jordan Burroughs won a gold medal in the 74-kilogram division at the London Games. At 27, he is attempting to become only the third U.S. male to win consecutive gold medals in wrestling. He has three world championships in the weight class, most recently in 2015. He's already one of only three U.S. wrestlers to win at least four combined Olympic and world titles.
Ashton Eaton
Also, #ashtoneaton for @people #olympics2016 // thanks to @photoeditorjoe for a dream assignment // grooming by @jam_rich A photo posted by Molly Cranna (@mollycranna) on
Age: 28
Sport: Track & Field
Event: Decathlon
If the winner of the decathlon earns the title, “World’s Greatest Athlete,” it bears watching what other monikers Ashton Eaton receives if he wins the event twice.
Eaton is attempting to become the greatest of the greatest by being the first to win back-to-back gold medals in the hallmark Olympic event since Brit Daley Thompson did it in 1980 and 1984.
Not only is Eaton the world record holder with a 9,045-point total at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, but he also owns the record for the decathlon 400 meters. Eaton ran the 100 meters in 10.23 seconds—a world championship best.
Justin Gatlin
Age: 34
Sport: Track & Field
Events: 100 m, 200 m, 4x100 m.
When Justin Gatlin was given an eight-year track and field suspension for doping in 2006—later reduced to four years—the thought was it would torpedo the career of one of America’s most promising sprinters. That amount of time away from competition would stunt the development of nearly any athlete. Gatlin pursued an NFL career, but his speed failed to translate to the gridiron. So instead he continued to train, and when he returned to competition in 2010, he began one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the career of any track and field athlete. At the 2012 Olympics he won a bronze medal in the 100 metre dash and silver in the 4x100 metre relay, though the U.S. was later stripped of that medal. In 2015 he won silver medals in the World Outdoor Championships in the 100 and 200 meters. Heading into Rio, Gatlin is a serious threat to Usain Bolt’s bid for a third straight gold medal in the 100 and 200 meters.
Paul George
One goal! __ A photo posted by Paul George (@ygtrece) on
Age: 25
Event: Basketball Position: Guard
Indiana Pacers guard Paul George, 25, will compete in his first Olympics after overcoming a horrific leg injury, which caused him to miss most of the 2015 season. George's right tibia and fibula snapped on the court during the 2014 USA Basketball Showcase, stunning teammates and spectators alike. The NBA All-Star has made a full recovery and is expected to serve as a key member of the team in Rio.
Rickie Fowler
It's here...Masters week @themasters A photo posted by Rickie Fowler (@rickiefowler) on
Age: 27
Sport: Golf
This is a historic moment for golf: after 112 years, it is again an Olympic sport. Rick Yutaka Fowler is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 37 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking following his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. In June 2016, Fowler announced that he wouldn't be defending his Scottish Open title at Castle Stuart, citing the crowded schedule due to golf's return to the Olympic Games as the main reason.
Devon Allen
110's... A photo posted by Devon Allen (@devonallen13) on
Age: 21
Sport: Track & Field Event: 110 m hurdles
In addition to running track, Devon Allen plays football at the University of Oregon. At wide receiver, he has played two seasons there and was a member of the team that reached the 2015 College Football Playoff final.
Garrett Bender
Age: 24
Sport: Rugby
Position: Prop
Recruited out of high school to play linebacker, but shifted his focus to rugby in college. Won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
