Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #77 - Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi

USA

Basketball

Overall Ranks

#25 among American Olympians

#8 among Female American Olympians

#1 among Basketball Players

Olympic Results

2004

Women - Gold

2008

Women - Gold

2012

Women - Gold

2016

Women - Gold

2020

Women - Gold

2024

Women - Gold

Total

Events - 6

Gold - 6

Diana Lorena Taurasi was born on June 11, 1982 in Glendale, California, to parents who had emigrated from Argentina. She was named the National Player of the Year in high school, then attended UConn, where she won 3 consecutive national championships, and won 2 straight NCAA Player of the Year awards as well as 2 awards for Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. 

She was the #1 overall draft pick by the Phoenix Mercury in 2004, and was also named to the USA Olympic team. She was a starter on that team, which won its 8 games by an average of 25 points each, with only Russia getting close, losing by 4 in the semifinal. They cruised to the gold medal, and then she made her WNBA debut, and won Rookie of the Year.

She led the WNBA in scoring in 2006, then won a championship in 2007. She was again a starter on the 2008 Olympic team, where she started every game and was 3rd on the team in scoring, and the team was even more dominant than before, winning by an average of 38 points per game, with their closest win again coming against Russia, this time by 15 points in the semifinal.

Taurasi led the WNBA in scoring in each of the next 4 seasons, and in 2009 was the regular season and Finals MVP as she won her second championship. In 2012, she was the leading scorer for the American Olympic team, which won its 8 games by an average of 35 points per game, with a 13-point win over Australia in the semifinal the closest they came to a loss.

In 2014 Taurasi won her third WNBA championship, leading the league in assists that year, and winning her second Finals MVP award. In 2016, she again led the American Olympic team in scoring, with 15.6 per game, the highest of her Olympic career, and the team again dominated everybody, winning by 37 points per game, with France coming within 19 in the semifinal as the closest result.

She competed in the Olympics again in 2021, though she took on a lesser role, but it didn't really matter. The Americans won their games by an average of 16 points, with only one opponent coming within single digits, and she and Sue Bird together became the first to win 5 gold medals in the same team event.

She played in one final Olympics in 2024, though she hardly saw the court, and only scored 5 total points throughout the tournament, but they didn't really need her on the court as much as they needed her veteran presence. They again won their games by an average of 16 points, though they nearly lost in the final, beating France by a single point. With that victory, Taurasi became the first Olympian ever to win 6 gold medals in a single team event.

She retired after the 2024 season, and is the WNBA's all-time scoring leader, a three-time champion in both the pros and in college, a two-time Championship MVP in both the pros and college, two-time college player of the year, one-time WNBA MVP, and the only 6-time Olympic basketball champion. There is no doubt that she is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

NCAA Football Predictions - 29 Aug

Upset picks are in italics.

North Carolina vs. TCU - Horned Frogs by 13

San Jose State at (14) USC - Trojans by 30

NC State at Virginia - Cavaliers by 6

Jacksonville State at North Dakota State - Gamecocks by 8.5

Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan - Eagles by 9.5

Hawaii at Stanford - Cardinal by 1

New Mexico State at Florida State - Seminoles by 23

Memphis at UNLV - Rebels by 0.5

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #78 - Valentina Vezzali

Valentina Vezzali

Italy

Fencing

Overall Ranks

#5 among Fencers

#5 among Italian Olympians

#2 among Italian Fencers

#1 among Female Fencers

#1 among Female Italian Olympians

Olympic Results

1996

Individual Foil - Silver

Team Foil - Gold

2000

Individual Foil - Gold

Team Foil - Gold

2004

Individual Foil - Gold

2008

Individual Foil - Gold

Team Foil - Bronze

2012

Individual Foil - Bronze

Team Foil - Gold

Total

Events - 9

Gold - 6

Silver - 1

Bronze - 2

Maria Valentina Vezzali was born on February 14, 1974 in Jesi, Italy, and began her fencing training with her father when she was a young girl, and quickly proved to be talented at it. She competed in her first world championship at age 19, finishing 6th, which would be the worst finish in any event in her entire career.

She finished 2nd in the World Championships in 1994, and 3rd in 1995, so she was one of the main medal contenders heading to Atlanta in 1996 for her first Olympics. The individual foil event was contested as a single-elimination tournament, with each bout going to 15 touches. As the #1 seed, Vezzali had a bye in the first round, then had a couple of close early matches before winning 15-10 in the quarterfinal and 15-7 in the semifinal. In the final, she faced Laura Badea of Romania, the defending world champion, and she ended up falling 15-10, leaving her with a silver medal.

The team event was also single-elimination, and Italy was the #1 seed, as they had two of the top 3 in the individual event. They destroyed China 45-24 in the quarterfinal, then had a close call against Hungary before beating Romania in the final 45-33, avenging their losses to Badea in the individual event and taking home the gold.

In 1999, she finally won her first World Championship gold in individual foil, after getting other medals in the previous three, and she was the favorite in Sydney in 2000, again starting as the #1 seed. This time, she made easy work of the entire competition, never allowing an opponent to score more than 8 touches, and winning the final 15-5 to take home a dominant gold medal, her first individual Olympic gold.

In the team event, Italy was again the top seed, thanks to again having two medalists on the team. They won all three of their matches without much trouble, scoring at least 6 points more than each opponent, and they successfully defended their gold medal from Atlanta.

She won the next two World Championships, running her total to 3 in a row, and was again the favorite in Athens. The team events are held on a rotating basis, so there was no team event that year, so she made the most of her time in the individual. She made it back to the final again without allowing an opponent to score more than 8, but her final match was closer, facing teammate and 2-time bronze medalist Giovanna Trillini. The score went back and forth, but Vezzali pulled away at the end to win 15-11 for a repeat gold.

She won 2 more World Championships before the Olympics headed to Beijing in 2008, and she was the #1 seed for the 4th straight time in the individual foil. She once again dominated all the way to the final, where she faced Nam Hyeon-Hui of South Korea. The bout was a defensive struggle, and was tied at 5 with just a few seconds left when Vezzali scored the winning touch to take her third straight gold medal, becoming the first athlete ever to win the event three times in a row.

The Italians were again heavy favorites in the team event, with 3 of the top 4 individuals, and they beat the Chinese hosts easily to reach the semifinal, but they were surprised by the Russians in the semifinal, losing a low-scoring battle 22-21, with Vezzali scoring 13 of her team's points. They rebounded to beat Hungary 32-23 in the bronze medal match, but it was still a disappointment for the favorites.

In the 2009 World Championships, she failed to medal for the first time since 1993, when she was a rookie. She bounced back to win again in 2011, but she was starting to show a little weakness. In London in 2012, she was the #2 seed, behind Nam, but it didn't matter much in the early rounds, as she easily reached the semifinals again. In the semifinal, however, she was upset by Arianna Errigo, also from Italy, losing 15-12, and was forced to face Nam again, this time for bronze rather than gold. She would take care of business, winning another close match 13-12, giving her a fifth straight medal in the individual foil event.

Italy won all 3 medals in the individual event, so they were heavy favorites in the team foil. They destroyed the host Brits 42-14, then did the same to the French, 45-22, to advance to the final. They faced Russia in the final, and they got their revenge, beating them 45-31, giving Vezzali a third gold medal in the team event, and a 6th overall. 

She was elected to the Italian Parliament in 2013, but continued to compete, winning several medals in the World Championships, but after she failed to make the Olympic team in 2016, she retired from competition. She competed in 9 Olympic events over 5 Games, and won medals in every single one, six of them gold, and she is one of only 5 athletes in history to win a medal in the same individual event at 5 straight Olympics, making her easily one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

 

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #79 - Kenny Harrison

Kenny Harrison

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#26 among American Olympians

#21 among Track & Field Athletes

#18 among Male American Olympians

#16 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#13 among American Male Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

1996

Triple Jump - Gold

Total

Events - 1

Gold - 1

Kerry Lorenzo Harrison, who goes by Kenny, was born on February 13, 1965 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was a track star in high school, before going south to Kansas State University, where he won 3 NCAA titles, one in long jump and two in triple jump.

He won the 1991 World Championship in the triple jump, and was preparing to participate in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona when he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. After rehabbing from surgery, he began competing in preparation for the 1996 Olympics, and he spent the three years leading up to the games ranked #2 in the world.

He was healthy when the 1996 Olympics came around, and was expected to compete with Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain, the world record holder who was ranked #1 in the world. In the preliminary round, he 17.58 meters on his first jump, which was 0.38 meters better than the second-best, by defending champion Mike Conley (father of the basketball player). 

In the final round, where there were 12 jumpers, Harrison jumped 17.99 on his first jump, which would have been enough to win on its own, but on his third jump, he set a new Olympic record of 18.09 meters, while Edwards only managed a best jump of 17.88, giving Harrison the upset gold. At the time, it was the second-longest jump in history, and today, it still ranks #5. It was also the longest jump ever into a headwind until 2024, when Jordan Diaz of Spain jumped 18.18.

He competed for a couple more years, but decided to retire in 1998. His gold medal jump in 1996 is still the Olympic record 30 years later, and it's bigger because he beat the world record holder head to head to accomplish it, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time, with only one event to his name.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #80 - Derrick Brew

Derrick Brew

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#27 among American Olympians

#22 among Track & Field Athletes

#19 among Male American Olympians

#17 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#14 among American Male Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2004

400m - Bronze

4x400m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 2

Gold - 1

Bronze - 1

Derrick Keith Brew was born on December 28, 1977 in Houston, Texas, and was raised and attended high school in the area, before going to college at LSU. He ran on the American 4x400m relay team in the 2001 and 2003 World Championships, both of which won gold, but had their medals taken away when some of his teammates were caught using steroids.

In the 2004 Olympics, his first event was the 400m. He won his heat in both the preliminary round and the semifinals, making him one of 3 Americans to advance to the final. In the final, the three Americans were in the lead and close together at the halfway point, but Brew dropped behind around the final turn, and came in behind his two teammates to take the bronze medal in an American podium sweep.

His other event was the 4x400m relay, where the Americans were overwhelming favorites due to having the top three 400m runners in the Olympics. Brew was picked to run the second leg in the prelim, and the Americans won by more than 2 seconds to advance to the final. In the final, he again ran the second leg, and he was given the baton with a lead of 0.93 seconds, which he expanded to 2.55 seconds by the midway point. The final 2 runners extended the lead even more, and they eventually won by 4.69 seconds, falling just short of the world record in the most dominant race in the history of the event.

He was again on the gold-winning relay team in the 2005 World Championships, but after failing to make the 2008 Olympic team, he retired from racing. Even though he only competed in 2 Olympic events, his part in the most dominant relay race of all time, along with his bronze medal a few days earlier, makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #81 - Franjo von Allmen

Franjo von Allmen

Switzerland

Alpine Skiing

Overall Ranks

#2 among Swiss Olympians

#1 among Alpine Skiers

Olympic Results

2026

Downhill - Gold

Super G - Gold

Team Combined - Gold

Total

Events - 3

Gold - 3

Franjo von Allmen was born on July 24, 2001 in Boltigen, Switzerland, and began skiing at age 2. He was a carpenter's apprentice as a young man, but after his father died in 2019, he was afraid that he would have to put skiing aside to take care of his family. A crowdfunding campaign was put together that made enough money for him to continue skiing, and he made the 2026 Olympic team as a result.

His first Olympic event was the downhill, where he was ranked #2 in the world prior to the event. He was one of the first to run, and had the best time after his run, then he had to sit and watch as 30 other skiers took aim at his time, failing each time. Giovanni Franzoni of Italy came closest, finishing 0.2 seconds behind, but von Allmen had won his first gold medal.

The next event was the team combined, which was being held for the first time ever. It involves a pair of skiers, one running the downhill course, and the other running the slalom course, and the winner is determined by combined time of the two racers. Von Allmen ran the downhill first, and was in 4th place after his run, with Franzoni sitting in first, but his teammate, Tanguy Nef, had the fastest run on the slalom, and the other leaders' teammates all faltered, giving the Swiss the win by almost exactly a full second.

His final event was the Super G, and he was the seventh skier to race. He was able to edge out the leader, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, by 0.13 seconds, and while a few other skiers got within a second of his time, no one was able to match his time, and von Allmen walked away with his third gold medal of the games. He was the third man in history to win 3 alpine skiing golds in one Olympics, and was the first to ever win the downhill and Super G in the same games.

Von Allmen's career is just getting started, but what a great start it has been. He won gold in every Olympic event he has entered, even though he was never the favorite, which has helped make him one of the greatest Olympians of all time already.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #82 - Mondo Duplantis

Mondo Duplantis

Sweden

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#23 Among Track & Field Athletes

#18 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#2 among Swedish Olympians

#1 among Swedish Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2020

Pole Vault - Gold

2024

Pole Vault - Gold

Armand Gustav Duplantis was born on November 10, 1999 in Lafayette, Louisiana, to an American father who was a pole vaulter, and a Swedish mother who was a heptathlete. He was raised in Louisiana, but spent his summers in Sweden with his grandparents, and holds dual citizenship. He first tried pole vaulting at age 4, and it was quickly apparent that he was special. He set his first age group world record at age 7, and still holds the records for all ages 7 through 12.

He began competing for Sweden in 2015, when the Swedish team agreed to bring his father on as a coach. He won the World Youth Championship that year, and the World Junior Championship in 2018, and began competing as an adult in 2019. In his first World Championship appearance that year, he came in second, something he hasn't done since in a major outdoor competition.

He set his first world record in February 2020, when he cleared 6.17m, (20'3"), which he broke again the next week by another centimeter. He was the favorite entering his first Olympics in Tokyo, and in the final, the field quickly dropped from seven at 5.8 meters, down to just three at 5.87 meters, then to two that cleared 5.92 and 5.97. He cleared 6.02 on his first try, while his opponent failed in three attempts, giving him the gold medal. He then raised the bar to 6.19m to try to break his world record, but failed to complete it, once knocking down the bar on his way down.

He won the next 2 World Championships, and broke his world record by a centimeter 6 more times, with 6.24m the new height to beat. In the 2024 Olympics, the only question was how high he would go. Only 7 vaulters were still alive after 5.9 meters, then 3 after 5.95. Neither of the others was able to clear 6 meters, which Mondo did easily, after which he cleared 6.1 meters on his first try as well, setting a new Olympic record. He then raised the bar to 6.25 meters, and finally cleared it on his third attempt to set a new world record again. He also became only the second pole vaulter ever to repeat as Olympic champion.

Since the Olympics, he has won another World Championship, and has broken his world record 6 more times by a centimeter each, and it currently sits at 6.31 meters. He believes that he can push the record to 6.4 meters eventually, and in 2028 he has the chance to have the first-ever three-peat in the event, but even if he doesn't, he has already established himself as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.