NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Olympics are less than two weeks away, and America’s most decorated gymnast is heading to Tokyo more focused, motivated, and better than ever. Before what is likely her final Olympics, Simone Biles sat down with senior writer Stephanie Apstein to reflect on why she competes, who she’s competing for and what life after gymnastics looks like. The Sports Illustrated Olympic Preview issue, online today and on newsstands now, also includes Pat Forde’s profile of Michael Phelps heir Caeleb Dressel, Michael Rosenberg’s look at top sprinter Noah Lyles and how 2020 changed him and the country he represents, and more.
On the Cover
A pandemic year and the delayed Tokyo Games gave reigning world champion Simone Biles plenty of time to think, and she’s more sure than ever about what matters. Biles recounts finding her voice in social movements, straddling youth and adulthood, life under pandemic lockdown, and more with senior writer Stephanie Apstein.
August Issue Features
- The Swimming Machine: He runs like a wide receiver, jumps like an NBA forward, and moves through the water with power and grace. Caeleb Dressel is a swimming machine – and Pat Forde explains why he could be looking at a Phelps-like medal haul in Japan.
- Let These Games Begin: An Olympic welcome is due for five new sports (and stars) making debuts this year over land and sea: skateboarding (Nyjah Huston), 3-on-3 basketball (Kelsey Plum), sport climbing (Kyra Condie), karate (Sakura Kokumai) and surfing (Caroline Marks).
- Catching Flight: How do you prepare for an Olympics during a pandemic? It’s hard enough, but sprinter Noah Lyles was also battling depression and struggling with the racial tension he saw in America in 2020. But, according to Michael Rosenberg, the reigning world champion in the 200-meters fought through it, and in his first Olympics he’s eyeing gold.
- Meet Team USA: Some are fresh faces and some are familiar, but, at last, the wait is over for all of them. More on the 500+ American athletes from around the country who have endured delays, health scares, and training disruptions to pursue gold in Tokyo.
Welcome to Tokyo: Sports Illustrated’s 5-Minute Guide
- Greg Bishop on the uncertain Olympics that are finally here.
- The Tokyo venue map: what’s happening where.
- Robot Olympic guides and driverless cars: the tech of Tokyo.
- The Tokyo Games by the numbers.
- The talk of the 1920 Games: a duel between a fencer and a sportswriter, by Mark Bechtel.
- The Watchlist: highlight events in NBC’s 7,000+ hours of coverage.
- The Olympic age range, from 12-year-old Syrian table tennis player to a 58-year-old table tennis player from Luxembourg (with many other sports and ages in between).
- Q&A with 17-year-old skateboarding medal hopeful Bryce Wettstein.
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