Every day of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Fusion is highlighting a handful of the games’ thousands of diverse athletes. They won’t always be Americans, but they will always be worthy of your cheers.
Kohei Uchimura
Japan, Gymnastics
When he’s on TV: Sat., Aug. 6th at 9:30 a.m.
Kohei Uchimura won the all-around gold medal in London in 2012, and was the runner-up in the 2008 gymnastics all-around championship. Japan is expecting the six-time World Champion to take home three gold medals: horizontal bars, individual all-around and team. But Uchimura’s true passion might just be Pokémon Go. Already, he racked up 500,000 yen (almost $5,000!) in roaming charges playing the game in Brazil, where it is not yet available. “He looked dead at the team meal that day,” teammate Kenzo Shirai said.
Carmelo Anthony
USA, men’s basketball
When he’s on TV: Sat., Aug. 6 at 6 p.m.; Mon. Aug. 8 at 6 p.m.; Wed. Aug. 10 at 6 p.m.; Fri. Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.; Sun. Aug. 12 at 1:15 p.m.
This is Anthony’s fourth trip to the Olympics. In 2004, Team USA disappointed with a bronze medal. “Everything changed after that experience,” he said on Thursday. Anthony was part of Team USA’s gold medal wins in 2008 and 2012. He also has an excellent social media presence that’s totally worth following.
Greece men’s water polo
When they’re on TV: Sat., Aug. 6 at 12 p.m.; Mon. Aug. 8 at 8 a.m.; Wed., Aug. 10 at 9:20 a.m.; Fri. Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m.; Sun. Aug. 14 at 1:10 p.m.;
The Greek men’s water polo team took third place at the FINA World League in June, looking bright for the Olympics. But the team has yet to win an Olympic medal and has fallen just short of winning medals at the 2004 Olympics, 2016 European Championship and the 1999 European Championship. We would tell you why to watch them, but —well— just look at this photo:
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