With the second week on the Rio 2016 Olympics underway, people have begun to pick out their favorite athletes and have found events they want to see. Obviously we've heard of the "Final Five", self proclaimed in honor of the USA's female gymnastics team's ranking as well as the final Olympics of the legendary coach Marta Karolyi, and swimmers like Katie Ledecky or Micheal Phelps. However, their are a few of Team USA's athletes that haven't reached the spotlight yet, that you should keep an eye out for.
1.) Ibtihaj Muhammed (Fencer)
You may have seen Ibtihaj on the Ellen show or seen her during the opening ceremonies as the first American Muslim to wear a hijab in the Olympics but what do you know about her? She's a Duke grad and crazy good fencer that has ranked number two in the United States and has secured both the title of All American champion and Junior Olympic Champion. She owns her own clothing business called Louella that focus on more conservative yet fashion forward style. While she is one of the oldest fencers at 30, she's not to be overlooked!
2.) Ashton Eaton (Decathlete)
So before I go on about Ashton, I think its important to clear up what a decathlon actually is. A decathlon consists of a two day event holding every event on the track and field other then the relays. So in other words, a decathlete has to be great at pretty much everything, cue Ashton. Being deemed on of the greatest athletes ever, Ashton already has some brow raises for even doing a decathlon but to then be spectacular at it is a whole different level. He won the gold in London in 2012 but in recent news he has shocked the track and field community by beating his previous point record with an impressive 9046pts, only the second decathlete in history to achieve such a feat of surpassing 9000pts. Theres no doubt with this impressive record, this 28 year old phenom is something you cant bear to miss!
3.) Vashti Cunningham (High Jumper)
Vashti is an 18 year old high jumper arguably well known not only for her jumping but through her retired NFL quarterback father, Ronald Cunningham. She placed first in the World Championships this year for high jumping and is a real up and coming competitor. As high jump is one of the more difficult events, its impressive to watch Vashti keep such a calm level head through the stressful trials of each jump. While this is her first Olympics and she does have a famous father, this jumper is someone you will definitely want to watch out for, she could easily grab gold and make quite a name for herself.
4.) Trayvon Bromell (Sprinter)
Meet that man that has the potential to dethrone the worlds fastest man, Mr. Usain Bolt himself. Trayvon Bromell, a 21 year old from St. Pete has caused a bevy of rumors to stir in the track community with his shocking speed, that of which is said to rival Bolts. He has never actually beat Bolt but recently in Beijing this year, Bromell held his own against vets like Bolt and Justin Gatlin actually leading them for the majority of the race. He will be competing in both the 100x and 4x1 relay. By Sunday we should know if our very own Bromell holds the coveted title Bolt so deeply cherishes.