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Ollie Williams

Our international 10 to watch


On Monday we brought you our final 10 British athletes to watch in Beijing. Now it's the turn of international athletes.

You had your say last month on this blog, and there are a few more changes here than in the British line-up.

Here are the final international 10 we have profiled, plus a bonus fact for each:

Yelena Isinbayeva - Russian pole vault star. Loves dolphins.
Natalie Du Toit - South African swimmer and one of the most successful disabled athletes of all time, having lost her leg in a motorcycle accident.
Kenenisa Bekele - from Ethiopia, the greatest distance runner of his generation. Enjoyed David Beckham's autobiography.
Roman Sebrle - Czech "Mr Decathlon" and current holder of the country's Real Man Award.
Usain Bolt - Jamaican 100m world record holder with some Beenie Man on his MP3 player.
Gro Hammerseng - Norwegian handball captain and big fan of "The L Word".
Blanka Vlasic - Croatian high jumping legend named after the Moroccan city of Casablanca.
Liu Xiang - China's 110m hurdler, hero of a nation and brought up on braised pork.
Michael Phelps - American swimming phenomenon with a pet bulldog called Hermann.
Allyson Felix - US sprinting sensation nicknamed "chicken legs".

So from the original line-up we suggested, that means no Tyson Gay (in favour of Bolt - a close decision), no Dayron Robles, no Kobe Bryant, no Yao Ming and no Gete Wame.

Do you agree with the above? Have a good read through the profiles and give me your thoughts.

Ollie Williams is a BBC Sport journalist. Our FAQs should answer any questions you have.


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  • 1. At 2:07pm on 05 Aug 2008, neeskensreturns wrote:

    I know the British are all very excited about their cyclists but can I be biased and suggest Marianne Vos of the Netherlands. At the age of 21 she already is the world champion in three different cycling disciplines - track, road, and cyclo-cross. She will be competing in three disciplines at the olympics and it wouldn't surprise anyone in the Netherlands if she came home with three gold medals, just like before her the great dutch cycling legend Leontien van Moorsel did.

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  • 2. At 2:31pm on 05 Aug 2008, Will wrote:

    How about Wariner, sub 44 in July, looking to demote Butch Reynolds and his mentor in the all time rankings. LaShawn Merritt migh have something to say about that but I am hoping the rivalry will produce a performance to threaten the world record.

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  • 3. At 3:09pm on 05 Aug 2008, trevorjharris wrote:

    Sorry if this is the wrong place for this but I couldn't find anywhere else.

    The BBC detailed schedual has finally gone live on bbc.co.uk but BBC coverage on HD is NOT included. This is an important event for HD and the BBC seems very reluctant to promote it. Also you have competition from Eurosport HD which looks as it may be on air 24 hours a day. I see that the womens football is in HD on Eurosport but only interactive on the BBC. So please can you add the HD schedule to the web site or are you too ashamed of it!!!.

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  • 4. At 1:21pm on 06 Aug 2008, drogbano1fan wrote:

    Natalie Du Toit is an inspiration not just because of her disability and her ability to swim so well despite it , but also due to her whole attitude towards life. I know people who swam races in which she was competing and despite her ''celebrity'' status they say that she always has time to talk to anyone that approaches her . I would love to see her get a medal in the 10km. As an aside I swam under her coach for many years and you have the spelling of his name wrong. It is Karoly Von Toros

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