LeBron James to Ledecky, be ready for a star shower in Paris Olympics

Come next Friday, 26 July it will be time for the famous words: ‘Let the Games begin’ in Paris. As more than 10,000 athletes descend on the French capital for what would be the third edition of the Games there (after 1900 & 1924), it will also be time for some serious stargazing.

From LeBron James to Novak Djokovic or Simone Biles, it’s like a Who’s Who of the sporting glitterati. We try to cherry pick top 10 of them, though it’s never a full proof selection by any means:

LeBron James (United States)

Look who is back. LeBron James, the US National Basketball Association’s (NBA) all-time leading scorer may be just few months short of 40, but still has enough fire left in the belly for one last hurrah in the Team USA shirt. It will be his fourth Olympic appearance – but his first since London 2012.  

“I still love the game of basketball. And Team USA has done well by me, so I felt like it was important for this summer to be able to go out there and play with the rest of the guys,” he said as he is set to be the first US men’s basketball player to compete at the Olympics in three different decades.

 A three-time Olympic gold medalist, James said that he is “still playing at a high level” – and that’s a warning for the rivals that a fourth one may be round the corner.

Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

The man with the highest number of men’s Grand Slam titles, 24, will want to correct an anomaly in Paris this time – that of not having an Olympic gold medal. The Serb, a former world No.1 for record number of weeks, has made it to the men’s singles semi-finals on three occasions but is yet to feature in a final.

Set for his fifth appearance in the Games, Djokovic will need to be at his best if he encounters 14-time French Open winner Rafa Nadal or 2024 French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz on his way to the final at Roland Garros.

With three French Open titles in the bag, Djoko has the wherewithal to be a title contender on clay again.

Rafael Nadal (Spain)

The 22-time major champion and king of clay will pair up with Carlos Alcaraz to play doubles on the Parisian clay – a sight that the tennis fraternity must be rubbing their hands in glee to get a glimpse of. The 38-year-old skipped the grasscourt major at Wimbledon earlier this month to prepare for the Olympics and is believed to be in the running for singles play as well.

A singles gold medalist in 2008 and doubles gold medalist in 2016, the Spaniard missed almost all of 2023 with a hip problem and his comeback earlier this year was stalled by a muscle tear before small niggles affected his preparation for the French Open. The legion of Nadal fans feel he can shine brightest on the courts where he had a phenomenal tally of 14 slams.

Simone Biles (United States)

Three years back in Tokyo, the four-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast was more in the headlines for being the chief whistleblower about the exploits of Dr Larry Nassar, the sexual predator, who was the US gymnasts’ doctor for years. She pulled out of multiple events in Tokyo in 2021 due to the ‘twisties, a temporary loss of spatial awareness in mid-air – an indication that she was not in the right frame of mind.

However, hailed as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time for a reason, Simone looks to be back with a vengeance with her all-around victory at the US Olympic team trials in June and is now set for her third straight Games.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)

The Jamaican sprint queen will compete at her fifth and final Games in the women’s 100m. The 37-year-old, who has defied the normal career graph of a woman sprinter, has eight Olympic medals including three gold, has announced her retirement plans after Paris 2024 - bowing out as one of the greatest sprinters of all time and an inspiration for the next generation.

“You have to think about the next generation that’s coming after you, and give them the opportunity to also dream – and dream big,” she told Eurosport earlier this year.

Marta (Brazil)

Marta Vieira da Silva, simply known as Marta, is arguably the greatest female footballer in history with six Fifa Player of the Year awards to her name. The 38-year-old is yet to win a major global trophy, having won silver at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics while also finishing on the losing side in the 2007 World Cup to Germany.

It is an oddity that Brazil, who has won eight of the nine Copa Americas since its inauguration in 1991, has failed to transfer their continental dominance onto the world stage.

Marta, who holds the record for the most goals (17) scored at either men or women’s World Cups, has announced this will be her last shot at the Olympics.

Caeleb Dressel (United States)

The swimming pool is always the marquee venue in the first week of the Games – with gymnastics a close second - and a lot of the spotlight will be trained on this American, arguably one of the sport’s most intriguing high profile athletes.

Sprint star Dressel established himself as a potential heir apparent to the legendary Michael Phelps when he won five gold medals in Tokyo but then shocked the swimming world in 2022 by abruptly stepping away from the sport to attend to his mental health.

In his comeback, the 27-year-old didn’t qualify to defend his 100m freestyle gold, but he won the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly, meaning he will get a chance to defend two of his three individual gold medals at the 2024 Games.

Katie Ledecky (United States)

The versatile US swimmer will aim to maintain their supremacy in the Olympic pool, where a formidable Australian team awaits. Ledecky has qualified in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle – although she expects to drop the individual 200m to focus not only on winning a fourth straight 800m freestyle gold and another 1500m crown, but on regaining her 400m free crown as well.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who stunned Ledecky in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo, owns the world record and clocked the second fastest time last month.

With seven Olympic gold medals and 21 World Championship titles, Ledecky is already one of swimming’s modern greats and is widely expected to add to her medal tally in Paris.

Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, The Marathon Man, is upbeat about making history with his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris.

The 39-year-old, slightly built Kipchoge said in an interview that he is not fazed about his chances in Paris despite a disappointing 10th place result in the 2024 Tokyo Marathon or his relatively advanced age.

Back in 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to cover the 42.2km (26-mile) marathon distance in under two hours, though the record was unofficial as he was accompanied by multiple teams of pacers and the time was not set in an open competition.

Naomi Osaka (Japan)

Japanese icon Naomi Osaka may not have had a good build-up to the Olympics, but she will be a huge crowd favourite as the former world No.1 returns to competition this year after taking a 15-month break from the sport due to the birth of her first child.

It will be the second Olympics for the 26-year-old, a four-time Grand Slam winner, who finished a disappointing ninth in the singles at her home Tokyo Games in 2021. It’s certainly time for redemption now!