Up to 10,500 athletes will compete at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.
Al Jazeera picks 10 superstars to watch at the Games:
Simone Biles (USA)
Considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Biles earned her third consecutive Games appearance with her victory in the all-around competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist withdrew from several events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the “twisties” – a temporary loss of spatial awareness in the air. But the 27-year-old will return to the Olympic stage in Paris looking stronger than ever.
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
The 22-time Grand Slam tennis champion and “king of clay” will join youngster Carlos Alcaraz for doubles on the Parisian clay, and is also thought to be gunning for gold in the singles competition.
The 38-year-old skipped the Wimbledon grass-court tournament earlier this month to prepare for the Olympic tennis event, which will be held on the clay courts of Roland Garros, where Nadal is a record 14 French Open winner.
The Spaniard missed most of 2023 with a hip problem and his return earlier this year was hampered by a muscle tear before minor niggles hampered his preparation for the French Open.
Nadal won an Olympic gold medal in singles in 2008 and a gold medal in doubles in 2016.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
Jamaican sprint queen Fraser-Pryce will compete in her fifth and final Games in the women's 100m.
The 37-year-old, who has eight Olympic medals including three gold, will retire after Paris 2024, signing off as one of the greatest sprinters of all time and an inspiration to the next generation.
“You have to think about the next generation that comes after you and give them the opportunity to dream too, and dream big,” he told Eurosport in February.
Victor Wembanyama (France)
France's hometown hero Wembanyama, the NBA's rookie of the year, stole the show with spectacular one-handed dunks as his nation began preparations for its bid for the men's basketball gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
France lost to the United States in the gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics, but there are high hopes that coach Vincent Collet's team can win at home this time with this lethal weapon on their side.
Standing at an imposing 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 metres) even by basketball standards, Wembanyama is the tallest competitor at the Paris 2024 Olympics and boasts the dynamic skill set of a much smaller player.
Thanks to Wembanyama, France is now considered one of the strongest teams alongside the United States, Canada, Serbia and world champion Germany.
The 20-year-old is excited at the prospect of another final between France and the United States, where he would face American basketball superstars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
“I’m looking forward to playing against them. It will be a very interesting match,” Wembanyama said. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against the US team and even against all those players, all those legends.”
Caeleb Dressel (United States)
Dressel is the sport's most intriguing high-profile athlete heading into the Paris Olympics.
Sprint star Dressel won five gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Games and then shocked the swimming world in 2022 by abruptly stepping away from the sport to care for his mental health.
In his return, the 27-year-old failed to qualify to defend his 100m freestyle gold but did win the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly, meaning he will have the chance to defend two of his three individual gold medals at the 2024 Games.
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge is confidently hoping to make history with his third consecutive marathon gold medal at this year's Games in Paris.
The 39-year-old told Reuters in an interview in April that his disappointing 10th place finish at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, and his relatively advanced age, had not made him doubt his chances in Paris.
In 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to cover the 42.2 km (26 mi) marathon distance in under two hours, although the record was unofficial as he was accompanied by several pacemaking teams and the time was not set in open competition.
LeBron James (United States)
Just months away from turning 40, James, the National Basketball Association's all-time leading scorer, is returning for his fourth appearance at the Olympics, but his first since 2012.
In Paris, the four-time NBA champion will become the first American men's basketball player to compete in the Olympics in three different decades.
James, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said earlier this month that he is “still playing at a high level.”
“I still love basketball and Team USA has helped me a lot, so I felt it was important for me to be able to go out and play with the rest of the guys this summer,” he said.
Katie Ledecky (USA)
The ever-impressive Ledecky will look to maintain American supremacy in the Paris Olympic pool, where a formidable Australian team awaits her.
Ledecky qualified in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle, though she hopes to drop the 200m individual to focus not only on winning her fourth consecutive 800m freestyle gold and another 1500m crown, but also on regaining her 400m freestyle crown.
Australian Ariarne Titmus, who stunned Ledecky in the 400 freestyle in Tokyo, holds the world record and set the second-fastest time last month.
With seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship titles, Ledecky is already one of the greatest swimmers of all time and is expected to add to her medal tally in Paris.
Naomi Osaka (Japan)
After being eliminated in the second round of Wimbledon, Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka turned her attention to the Paris Olympics. Osaka returned to competition this year after taking a 15-month break due to the birth of her first child.
It will be the second Olympic Games for the 26-year-old, a four-time Grand Slam winner, who finished ninth in the singles at the Tokyo 2021 Games, where she was also the final torchbearer at the opening ceremony.
Sky Brown (Great Britain)
Sky Brown became Britain's youngest Olympic medallist at the age of 13 when she won a bronze medal with a sensational performance in the women's skate park event in Tokyo.
Since Tokyo, Brown has built on her outstanding performance as an Olympic medallist, becoming Britain's first female world skate champion with her victory in the United Arab Emirates last year.
The 16-year-old, who has earned celebrity status with 1.3 million followers on Instagram, has set herself the unprecedented goal of competing in two disciplines at Paris 2024: skateboarding and surfing.
Although she did not gain automatic entry into the surfing competition, Brown is the first alternate for the Great Britain women's team and is hoping to claim two golds in Paris.
