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16 Olympic Athletes Playing Their Sports As Kids Vs. Now In Tokyo

BuzzFeed
3 min read

1.Gymnast Jordan Chiles as a child:

Chiles now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Jordan Chiles doing a jump split in the air
Amin Mohammad Jamali / Getty Images

She won a silver medal in the gymnastics team event.

Team USA on the podium after the team final event
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

2.Swimmer Caeleb Dressel swimming as a child:

Dressel now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Caeleb swimming during the 4 x 100m medley race
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images

He won five gold medals in six different swimming events.

Caeleb Dressel holding up his gold medal during the medal ceremony of the Men's 50m Freestyle Final
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images

3.Surfer Carissa Moore as a child:

Moore now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Moore surfing a big splashing wave with her arms spread open during her Olympics competition
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

She won the gold medal for women's shortboard surfing.

Moore sitting on the shoulders of coaches with a flag draper around her shoulders to celebrate winning the Gold Medal after her final match
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

4.Skateboarder Jagger Eaton as a child (right):

Eaton now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Eaton reacts at the Skateboarding Men's Street Finals on day two of the Olympics
Dan Mullan / Getty Images

He won the bronze medal for men's street skateboarding.

Eaton posing on the podium with his medal and flowers after the men's street prelims
Jeff Pachoud / AFP via Getty Images

5.Swimmer Simone Manuel as a child:

Manuel now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Manuel preparing to compete in the Women's 50m
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

She won a bronze medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay.

Erika Brown, Natalie Hinds, Abbey Weitzeil and Simone Manuel of Team United States celebrating their bronze medals near the pool
Xavier Laine / Getty Images

6.Swimmer Katie Ledecky as a child:

Ledecky now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Katie Ledecky celebrates winning the Women's 1500m freestyle
Adam Davy / PA Images via Getty Images

She won two gold and two silver medals in various swimming events.

Ledecky receiving her Gold Medal for the Women's 1500m Freestyle
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

7.Diver Andrew Capobianco as a child:

8.Capobianco now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Capobianco in the Men's 3m Springboard Final in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

He won a silver medal for synchronized springboard diving.

Andrew Capobianco and his diving partner pose biting their medals after winning second place
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

9.Boxer Troy Isley as a child:

Isley now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Isley punching Gleb Bakshi of the Russian Olympic Committee during the Men's Super Heavy
Luis Robayo - Pool / Getty Images

He beat his first opponent from Belarus, but lost in his next fight to Gleb Bakshi of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Isley wins the fight during the Men's Middleweight Boxing Preliminary match
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

10.Wrestler Adeline Gray as a child:

Gray now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Gray competing against Team Kyrgyzstan during the Women's Freestyle 76kg Semi Final
Tom Pennington / Getty Images

She won the silver medal in women's freestyle 76kg wrestling.

Gray posing on the podium with her silver medal and flowers
Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images

11.Team volleyball player Justine Wong-Orantes as a child (right):

Wong-Orantes now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Wong-Orantes watching the ball in a women's volleyball match between USA and Argentina
Yuri Cortez / AFP via Getty Images

Wong-Orantes and the rest of her team are heading to the team volleyball semifinals against Serbia.

The team celebrating and posing for a picture after getting through the quarterfinals
Toru Hanai / Getty Images

12.Rock climber Colin Duffy as a child:

Duffy now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Duffy climbing up a wall during the Sport Climbing Men's Combined, Bouldering Qualification
Maja Hitij / Getty Images

He was a finalist in sport climbing, but ultimately did not medal for the event.

Colin Duffy and Nathaniel Coleman of The United States of America converse after qualifying for the finals
Maja Hitij / Getty Images

13.Skateboarder Bryce Wettstein as a child:

Wettstein now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Wettstein grabbing her skateboard in the air during one of her tricks
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images

She qualified for and competed in the women's park finals, but did not end up medaling in that event.

Wettstein of USA during the Women's Park Skateboarding Final
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images

14.Basketball player Devin Booker as a child:

Booker now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Booker looking to pass during the quarter final Basketball match between the USA and Spain
Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

The men's USA basketball team is headed to the finals against France.

The team huddling together after winning the semifinal game against Australia
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

15.Karateka Sakura Kokumai as a child (right):

Kokumai now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Kokumai kicks in the air during the Women's Karate Kata Elimination Round
Harry How / Getty Images

She competed in the women's kata, but lost against Italy's Viviana Bottaro in the second bronze medal match.

Kokumai of the United States interacts with Viviana Bottaro of Italy after Bottaro won the match.
Annegret Hilse / Reuters

16.And lastly, tennis player Jennifer Brady as a child:

Brady now, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

Brady lifts up her racket to hit an incoming tennis ball
Patrick Smith / Getty Images

She ultimately lost against Italy in her women's singles match.

Brady shaking hands with her opponent after losing her match
Piroschka Van De Wouw / Reuters
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