Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #69 - Zhang Yining

Zhang Yining

China

Table Tennis

Overall Ranks

#4 among Chinese Olympians

#4 among Table Tennis Players

#3 among Female Table Tennis Players

Olympic Results

2004

Singles - Gold

Doubles - Gold

2008

Singles - Gold

Team - Gold

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 4

Zhang Yining was born on October 5, 1981 in Beijing, China, and was trained in table tennis from the time she was a child. She first competed in the World Championships in 1999, when she was still 17 years old, and in early 2003, she reached #1 in the world rankings, which she would hold for more than 6.5 years straight.

Her first Olympic appearance came in 2004 in Athens. In the doubles event, she was paired with Wang Nan, who had won gold in 2000 in both the singles and doubles events. They were given a bye to the 4th round as the top seed, then swept their first opponent 4-0 in that round. The next two matches were a little closer, with 4-2 wins over Hong Kong and the other Chinese team, followed by a sweep of the South Koreans in the gold medal match.

In the singles event, Wang was the favorite, since she was defending Olympic champions and 3-time defending world champion. Wang, however, was upset in the quarterfinal round, while Zhang had no trouble with any other her opponents, losing only 2 games in the entire tournament. In the final, against Kim Hyang-Mi of North Korea, she won in a sweep, 44-19 in total points, and only 26 minutes actually spent on the court, making it the most dominant table tennis final in Olympic history.

She won the world championship for the first time in 2005, but came in third in 2007, heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That year, the doubles event was replaced with a team event, in which the Chinese were heavy favorites. They swept their way through the tournament, losing only 4 games out of 49 played, 2 of those coming in the final against Singapore, whose 3 players were all Chinese nationals who had moved to Singapore to play table tennis.

Zhang was the favorite in the singles event, as the defending champion, and she again made easy work of the tournament. She won her first match in a 4-0 sweep, then won each of her next four matches 4 games to 1, including a defeat of Wang Nan in the gold medal match, where Wang won the first game, then Zhang took 4 in a row to take a repeat gold.

Zhang again won the world championship in 2009, then retired to start a family. At her retirement, she was defending World and Olympic champion, and the top-ranked player in the world. She initially indicated that she intended to compete in London in 2012, but that never happened, and she has remained retired. Even with her short Olympic career, she absolutely dominated all 4 events in which she participated, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #70 - Yohan Blake

Yohan Blake

Jamaica

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#18 among Track & Field Athletes

#13 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#4 among Jamaican Olympians

#2 among Male Jamaican Olympians

Olympic Results

2012

100m - Silver

200m - Silver

4x100m Relay - Gold

2016

4x100m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 8

Gold - 2

Silver - 2

Yohan Blake was born on December 26, 1989 in Saint James, Jamaica, and grew up playing cricket, but after a coach saw how fast he could run, he was encouraged to become a sprinter. In 2009, he became the youngest sprinter ever to break 10 seconds in the 100m, though his record was broken 6 months later. In 2011, he became the youngest-ever World Champion in the 100m, a record he still holds.

He made the Jamaican Olympic team in 2012 by beating Usain Bolt in the Olympic trials, and in the 100m event, he won both of his heats to advance to the final, where he was joined by Bolt, along with Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin from the USA. Bolt was the defending Olympic champion and world record holder, while Blake was the defending world champion, but in the final, Bolt came from behind early to pass the field and finish in 9.63 seconds, while Blake finished just behind in 9.75 seconds, the fastest Olympic time ever not by Bolt, winning the silver medal.

In the 200m, Blake had also beaten Bolt in the Olympic trials, but Bolt was healthier now, and was the favorite after winning the 100m. Blake again won both of his heats to advance to the final, but Bolt ran a blistering curve and was 2 meters ahead of Blake entering the straightaway. He was not able to make up any distance, but he finished in 19.44 seconds, 0.12 behind Bolt, to win another silver medal, again in the fastest Olympic time ever not by Bolt.

The two medalists teamed up with Nesta Carter and Michael Frater in the 4x100m relay a couple of days later, and they were the favorites, with only the USA given any chance to beat them. Carter gave Jamaica a slight lead on the first leg, which Frater and Blake were able to maintain, and then Bolt took the baton and pulled away slightly to beat the Americans by 0.2 seconds to set a new world record and take home the gold.

He returned to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio, after recovering from multiple hamstring injuries since 2012, competing in the same 3 events. In the 100m, he won his prelim heat, but came in 2nd in his next heat, behind Justin Gatlin, who had won silver at the World Championships the year before, but he still reached the final. In the final, Bolt made his patented move during the middle of the race, while Blake was left chasing, and this time he finished just short of a medal, 0.02 second short of taking the bronze.

In the 200m, he had the third-fastest time in the prelim, but after finishing 6th in his semifinal race, he failed to reach the final. The Jamaicans were still heavy favorites in the 4x100m relay, and Blake was given the second leg in the final, which they won for the third straight Olympics, this time by 0.33 seconds, but not in world record time this time.

Blake returned to compete in Tokyo in 2021, but wasn't as successful this time. He advanced out of the first round of the 100m, but came in 6th in his semifinal, which kept him out of the final for the first time. He also ran in the 4x100m relay, but with Bolt retired, they were no longer favored. He ran the third leg, and they won their heat, but in the final they ended up in 4th place, falling short of a medal by 0.05 seconds.

Blake retired in 2022, and has started a new career as a track coach. Even though both of his Olympic gold medals came in relays, his two silver medals were the fastest losing times in history, and he was always in contention, which makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #71 - Zou Kai

Zou Kai

China

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#15 among Gymnasts

#9 among Male Gymnasts

#5 among Chinese Olympians

#1 among Chinese Gymnasts

Olympic Results

2008

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Gold

2012

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Bronze

Total

Events - 8

Gold - 5

Bronze - 1

Zou Kai was born on February 25, 1988 in Luzhou, China, and trained as a gymnast from a young age. He made his international debut at age 18 at the World Championships, where he won a gold medal in the team event. He specializes in the floor exercise and horizontal bar, rarely competing on any other apparatus.

He made the Chinese Olympic team in 2008, which took place in Beijing. The first event was the team competition, where China took first place in qualifying, having the highest score as a team on 3 of the six apparatuses. Zou was China's high scorer in his two best events. In the final, he only participated in those two parts, but he scored the highest score of anybody on both, and the Chinese team beat Japan by more than 7 points for the gold medal.

Because of those performances, he qualified for both event finals. Even with his high scores in the team event, he was not expected to medal in the floor exercise, but after falls from the two favorites, and a flawless performance with the most difficult routine, Zou won the gold medal by 0.275 points over his nearest competitor, which is a massive differential in gymnastics.

In the horizontal bar, the favorite was German Fabian Hambuchen, and Zou was not really considered a contender, but he again put on a perfect performance, scoring a 16.2, more than 0.3 ahead of Hambuchen, who finished third, with Jonathan Horton of the USA also surprising many by taking a medal. Zou became only the second Chinese Olympian ever to win 3 gold medals in a single Olympics.

In the next two World Championships, Zou showed that his performances in Beijing were not a fluke. He won silver in the floor exercise both times, and gold in the horizontal bar in each. He returned to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, once again focusing on his two specialties.

China and Japan were considered co-favorites in the team event, but in qualifying they ended up in 6th and 5th place, respectively, which was luckily for them still enough to qualify for the final. In the final, Zou again had the highest score of any gymnast in both the horizontal bar and the floor exercise, and China was able to successfully defend their title, beating Japan by 4 points to take the gold.

He again qualified for both of his specialty finals. In the floor exercise, he and Kohei Uchimura were co-favorites, as defending Olympic champion and World champion. Zou had the slightly higher score in the qualifying round, then improved upon it in the final round, scoring a 15.933 to beat Uchimura by .133 points to win another gold medal, the fifth of his career.

In the horizontal bar, Zou was the favorite, having won the last Olympics and the past 2 World Championships. He was only in 7th after qualifying, but that was just a formality for him. In the final, he was the 4th to perform, and his routine was tied for the toughest in the competition. His execution score was high enough to put him into the lead, but Hambuchen and Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands both eclipsed his score later, leaving Zou to take home his first-ever bronze medal.

He continued competing for a couple more years, winning some medals at the 2014 Asian Games before retiring as an athlete. He technically competed in two other Olympic events, the vault and pommel horse, once each, but just to fill a spot more than to actually compete. In the events in which he was invested, he was near-perfect, with his 5 gold medals ranking #2 in Chinese Olympic history, and making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #72 - Kim Su-Nyeong

Kim Su-Nyeong

South Korea

Archery

Overall Ranks

#1 among Korean Olympians

#1 among Archers

Olympic Results

1988

Individual - Gold

Team - Gold

1992

Individual - Silver

Team - Gold

2000

Individual - Bronze

Team - Gold

Kim Su-Nyeong was born on April 5, 1971 in Chungcheongbuk, South Korea, and took up archery at a very early age, and was a phenom. When she was only 17 years old, she made the Korean Olympic team, already a tough feat, but what she did in Seoul was even more impressive.

In the individual event, which consisted of 144 arrows, she set a new world record with a score of 1331, 33 points ahead of any other archer. The next 4 rounds each consisted of 36 arrows, and Kim improved her score in each round, starting with a 331 in the first round, and ending with a 344 in the final round, 12 points ahead of any other archer, giving her a dominant gold medal at age 17.

In the team event, each nation was represented by 3 archers, which made South Korea the huge favorite, since they won all 3 medals in the individual event. Each archer shot 36 arrows per round, for a total of 108 per nation, and after scoring 1000 in the first round, they won the gold in the final with a score of 982, 30 points ahead of the runners-up, Indonesia and the USA.

Kim won the next 2 World Championships, and was a heavy favorite to repeat as champion in Barcelona. In the individual ranking round, her teammate, Jo Yun-Jeong, broke the world record by scoring 1375, 11 points ahead of Kim. The rest of the event was held in single-elimination matches of 12 arrows. Kim won her first three matches by at least 10 points, which put her in the semifinal round.

In the semifinal, she faced Wang Xiaozhu of China, and it went right down to the wire, with Kim pulling out the victory by a single point on the last arrow. She advanced to the final, where she would face Jo, but this time she fell short, losing 112-105 to her teammate to end up with a silver medal.

They were again heavily favored in the team event, and they won their first match easily, but then were given a bit of a surprise by Sweden, who tied with them in the quarterfinal, before the Koreans won in a shootout. They didn't let that happen again, as they beat France by 25 in the semifinal, and China by 8 in the final to take the gold medal again.

Kim retired after the 1992 Olympics, at age 21, to marry and raise two children, but she unretired in 1999, hoping to return to the Olympics in 2000, which she achieved. In the individual event ranking round, which was now just 72 arrows, she had the best score, with 671. The first three tournament rounds consisted of 18 arrows each, and Kim had no trouble getting through those to the quarterfinals.

Starting in that round, each match was just 12 arrow. She won her quarterfinal match by 6 points, the largest margin in that round, which put her up against Yun Mi-Jin, also of South Korea, in the semifinal. The match was close, but Kim fell short by 2 points, while Yun went on to win gold. Kim faced Choe Ok-Sil of North Korea for the bronze, and came out victorious, 103-101.

With all 3 medalists in the individual event, the Koreans were again the favorites in the team event by a large margin, and they lived up to that, winning all 3 of their matches by at least 12 points, giving them an easy gold medal, the 4th that Kim had won in her Olympic career. 

Soon after that triumphant Olympic return, Kim retired for good. She is widely regarded as the greatest archer of all time, and I agree. She won medals in all 6 events in which she competed, won 4 gold medals, and held the world record at every single distance before her first retirement. Add that all together, and you have one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #73 - Fan Zhendong

Fan Zhendong

China

Table Tennis

Overall Ranks

#6 among Chinese Olympians

#5 among Table Tennis Players

#2 among Male Table Tennis Players

Olympic Results

2020

Singles - Silver

Team - Gold

2024

Singles - Gold

Team - Gold

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 3

Silver - 1

Fan Zhendong was born on January 22, 1997 in Guangzhou, China, and began training to play table tennis at the age of 5, and by the time he was 15, he had won the national youth table tennis championship. He won his first individual world championship medal at age 18, a bronze, followed by a silver in 2017.

In 2021, he was finally chosen to represent China in the Olympics, and making the Chinese Olympic table tennis team is tougher than winning an Olympic medal. Fan was given the #1 seed in the singles event, earning him a bye to the third round. Matches were played in a best of 7 games format, and Fan lost only one game in his first three rounds, putting him in the semifinal.

In the semifinal, he faced Lin Yun-Ju of Taiwan, and it was a close battle, going the full 7 games, with only 2 games not being decided by 2 points, the minimum for a win. It went back and forth, but in the end, Fan won the decisive 7th game 11-8 to advance to the final, where he would face the other Chinese player, Ma Long, who was the #3 seed. Ma won the first game 11-4, before Fan evened it up. Ma then won two in a row, then allowed Fan an 11-3 win in game 5 before finishing him off 11-7 in the sixth game. The upset loss left Fan with a silver medal.

In the team event, the pair was joined by Xu Xin, giving China the three top players in the world in the event. As expected, they never lost a game, winning all 4 of their matches 3 games to 0, sweeping their way to an easy gold medal.

In 2024, Fan was again chosen to be one of China's two representatives in the singles event, and this time, there were no byes for top seeds. He again won his first 3 matches with only 1 game lost, putting him in the quarterfinals. In that round, Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan jumped out to a lead of 2 games to none, forcing Fan to win 4 of the final 5 games in order to advance to the semifinal.

In the semifinal, he faced Felix Lebrun of France, a 17-year-old who had just burst onto the scene. He quickly put him away in 4 games, which put him in the final against Truls Moregardh of Sweden. Moregardh won the first game 11-7, but then Fan beat him in 4 straight games to take home the individual gold medal, with only 5 games lost in the entire tournament. 

In the team event, Fan and Ma were joined by Wang Chuqin, who was ranked #1 in the world at the time of the Olympics. As usual, the Chinese dominated, winning all four matches 3 games to zero, and giving the team another totally expected gold medal.

Immediately following the Olympics, Fan announced his retirement from international competition in protest of a new rule that fined top players for skipping major tournaments. He has not ruled out an attempt to compete in the 2028 Olympics, however, but he would have to face the Chinese Olympic trials without facing outside competition for 4 years. No matter what happens for him going forward, he has already proven in the past 2 Olympics that he is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

NCAA Football Predictions - 3 Sep thru 7 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

UMass at Rutgers - Scarlet Knights by 32.5

Bethune-Cookman at UCF - Knights by 20.5

Akron at Wake Forest - Demon Deacons by 21

Merrimack at Delaware - Blue Hens by 13

West Georgia at Kennesaw State - Owls by 19.5

UAlbany at Buffalo - Bulls by 11.5

Arkansas-Pine Bluff at (25) Missouri - Tigers by 30

Colorado at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 13.5

Eastern Illinois at Minnesota - Gophers by 23

Idaho at (21) Utah - Utes by 39.5

UAB at Illinois - Illini by 26.5

Friday

San Jose State at Eastern Michigan - Spartans by 12.5

Indiana State at Purdue - Boilermakers by 18.5

North Carolina A&T at Georgia State - Panthers by 7.5

UTEP at (10) Oklahoma - Sooners by 29.5

Long Island at Kansas - Jayhawks by 22

Toledo at Michigan State - Rockets by 2.5

(7) Miami at Stanford - Hurricanes by 19.5

Fresno State at (14) USC - Trojans by 4

Saturday

North Texas at (6) Indiana - Hoosiers by 19.5

East Carolina at (13) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 9.5

Oregon State at (23) Houston - Cougars by 19.5

Coastal Carolina at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 10

New Hampshire at Syracuse - Orange by 15

Ohio at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 7

Lafayette at UConn - Huskies by 20

Bryant at Army - Black Knights by 21.5

Tarleton State at Bowling Green - Falcons by 10.5

Liberty at James Madison - Dukes by 22.5

Ball State at (1) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 43

Miami (OH) at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 16.5

Kent State at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 19

Youngstown State at Kentucky - Wildcats by 23.5

SE Missouri State at Iowa State - Cyclones by 28.5

Duquesne at Air Force - Falcons by 17

Rhode Island at Temple - Owls by 17

Tennessee State at (3) Georgia - Bulldogs by 37.5

Boise State at (2) Oregon - Ducks by 20

Texas State at (5) Texas - Longhorns by 15

Marshall at (18) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 19

Furman at (20) Tennessee - Volunteers by 30.5

Baylor vs. Auburn - Tigers by 6

Boston College at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 12

Tulane at Duke - Blue Devils by 2.5

Citadel at Charlotte - 49ers by 3

Towson at Navy - Midshipmen by 16.5

UT Rio Grande Valley at UTSA - Roadrunners by 25

Fordham at North Dakota State - Bison by 15

Maine at App State - Mountaineers by 12

Oklahoma State at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 5.5

Northern Illinois at (22) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 31

North Alabama at Arkansas - Razorbacks by 25

Alcorn State at Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 16

Wyoming at Colorado State - Rams by 0.5

Norfolk State at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 29

Missouri State at (8) Texas A&M - Aggies by 26

Abilene Christian at (12) Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 42.5

Austin Peay at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 36.5

Nicholls at Kansas State - Wildcats by 26.5

Idaho State at Utah State - Aggies by 21

Arkansas State at Memphis - Tigers by 23

Houston Christian at Rice - Owls by 9.5

FIU at South Florida - Bulls by 22.5

Murray State at Middle Tennessee - Blue Raiders by 6

Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State - Gamecocks by 5.5

Charleston Southern at Georgia Southern - Eagles by 15.5

SE Louisiana at South Alabama - Jaguars by 13.5

Sam Houston at Troy - Trojans by 20

Clemson at (11) LSU - LSU Tigers by 4

Western Michigan at (16) Michigan - Wolverines by 13.5

UL Monroe at Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 19

VMI at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 17.5

Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech - Bulldogs by 20

FAU at Florida - Gators by 15

Utah Tech at (14) BYU - Cougars by 36.5

Hampton at Maryland - Terrapins by 20

South Dakota State at Northwestern - Wildcats by 26

Lamar at Louisiana - Ragin Cajuns by 14

Mercyhurst at New Mexico State - Aggies by 17

Northern Arizona at Arizona - Wildcats by 32

Portland State at San Diego State - Aztecs by 26.5

Morgan State at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 27

UNLV at Hawaii - Warriors by 11

Central Michigan at New Mexico - Lobos by 9.5

Mississippi Valley State at Sacramento State - Hornets by 8

UCLA at California - Bears by 4

Western Kentucky at Nevada - Hilltoppers by 5

Sunday

Washington State at (17) Washington - Huskies by 11.5

Wisconsin vs. (4) Notre Dame - Irish by 21.5

(24) Louisville vs. (9) Ole Miss - Rebels by 6

Monday

(19) SMU at Florida State - Mustangs by 9

Results

NCAA: 5-3 (.625)

Upsets: 0-1 (.000)

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #74 - Harrison Dillard

Harrison Dillard

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#23 among American Olympians

#19 among Track & Field Athletes

#16 among Male American Olympians

#14 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#11 among American Male Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

1948

100m - Gold

4x100m Relay - Gold

1952

110m Hurdles - Gold

4x100m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 4

William Harrison Dillard was born on July 8, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended the same high school that Jesse Owens had once attended, and dreamed of following him into Olympic stardom. In 1943, he was drafted into the Army, and fought in Italy during World War II. He returned to college after the war, and resumed running, still aiming for the Olympics.

By the time the 1948 Olympic trials came around, Dillard had won 82 hurdle races in a row, but in the final, he tripped over a hurdle and failed to qualify for the Olympic team. Rather than quit, he entered the 100m race, taking third place to qualify for a spot in the Olympics.

Entering the 100m race in the Olympics, the favorites were Mel Patton of the USA and Lloyd LaBeach of Panama, who had split wins in every recent race they had entered. Dillard won his prelim heat, then had the best time in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, giving him a spot in the 6-man final. He ended up leading the final from start to finish, with Barney Ewell, who had come in second in the US Olympic trials, closing the gap at the end but falling short, as Dillard tied the world record of 10.3 seconds while he won the gold. This race was the first in Olympic history to use a photo finish to determine the winner.

In the 4x100m relay, Dillard ran the third leg in both rounds, with the Americans winning easily both times. In the final they won by 0.7 seconds over Great Britain, but then it was announced that the first handoff had happened outside the legal zone, and the team was disqualified. After an appeal and review of the video, the USA's win was reinstated 3 days later.

Over the next 4 years, he maintained his status as the best hurdler in the world, and this time, he qualified for the Olympics in his signature event. He set a new Olympic record in the prelim round, then broke it again in the final, running the race in 13.7 seconds, finishing just ahead of teammate Jack Davis to win his third gold medal.

He was also chosen to run in the 4x100m relay again, this time in the second slot. He ran in all 3 rounds, and in the final, the Soviets took the lead early, then Dillard closed the gap slightly during his leg, before Lindy Remigio, the American 100m gold medalist, took the lead near the end of the final curve, and Andy Stanfield (#105 in this countdown) put it away on the anchor leg to win gold.

After failing to qualify for the 1956 Olympics, Dillard retired from racing. He later worked for the Cleveland Indians in scouting and public relations, and hosted a local radio show as well. He passed away in Cleveland on November 15, 2019, and at the time he was the oldest living American gold medalist. He is the only man to ever win both the 100m and the 110 hurdles in his Olympic career, which alone makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.