Star Athletes who could miss the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Roger Federer
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who will be 40 in August 2021. He won Olympic gold when he partnered Stan Wawrinka to the men’s doubles title at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Roger Federer was a quarter-finalist in singles in Beijing in 2008, silver medallist in 2012 in London before injury forced him skip the 2016 Games in Rio.
Serena Williams
The US tennis ace will turn 40 in September next year although her desire to play in Tokyo might not be as pressing as that of Federer.
Williams already has four Olympic gold medals -- singles at London in 2012 and women’s doubles with sister Venus in 2000, 2008 in Beijing and London four years later.
The sisters lost their opening round match in Rio in 2016 while Serena’s gold medal defence in the singles was ended by Elina Svitolina in the third round.
She has failed to win even a single grand slam post pregnancy.
Tiger Woods
Woods, who will be 46 in December next year, would have struggled to make the US team for the Games if they had remained in their 2020 slot. He is currently only the sixth-ranked American with just the top four guaranteed to make the squad.
Lin Dan
Chinese badminton superstar will be 37 by the time the next Games commence.
Lin already has gold from Beijing in 2008 and London four years later, adding to his five world titles.
Allyson Felix
The only female track and field athlete in history to win six Olympic gold medals, Felix had spent the last two years preparing for a golden farewell at the Tokyo Olympics.
Felix, who turns 35 at the end of this year, will be racing against Father Time as she attempts to improve her medal tally in what will be her fifth consecutive Olympics appearance.
The American star can take comfort from the fact she is by no means the oldest woman to chase Olympic glory in sprint events. Merlene Ottey was 40 when she anchored Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team to a bronze medal in 2000.
Justin Gatlin
Gatlin had planned to retire in 2020 after competing in his fourth Olympics at the age of 38. However the controversial American star now plans to extend his career in order to compete in the rescheduled Tokyo Games.
“I think a lot of people think that time is against me or against older athletes in this situation, and it’s far from the truth,” said Gatlin, who has twice served suspensions for drug offences during his career.
Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion, though could face a battle to even qualify given the depth of the US men’s sprinting squad, with Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles the favourites in the 100m and 200m.
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