Volunteers play an integral role in the success of any Games. Meet some of the people you will see in Japan's capital next year.

The three-day Tokyo 2020 Olympic boxing test event was held in the iconic Ryōgoku Kokugikan venue, receiving praise from athletes and organisers, as preparations accelerate towards the five Olympic qualification events.  

The lighting of the Olympic cauldron, the victory lap in front of a jubilant crowd, the green and white full bodysuit… Cathy Freeman left an unforgettable mark on the Sydney 2000 Games. Twenty years on, who will claim victory in the 400m in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo? Naturally the chances are higher for athletes also taking part in the women’s 4x400m event and the new mixed 4x400m relay!

After winning a second consecutive Olympic gold medal among the heavyweight judokas, on 22 September 2000 in Sydney, David Douillet hung up his kimono, with a list of achievements that made him the biggest star in his sport in the 1990s. His successor in France is none other than Teddy Riner, who intends to go one better by winning a third title in Tokyo in 2020!

From being unbeatable when three months pregnant, to highlighting her background as a ballerina and embracing the moment she was overtaken as the world’s most decorated Olympian, octogenarian gymnast Larisa Latynina is loving life and delighted to share her story with a whole new generation of Olympic fans.

Tokyo 2020’s array of fantastic, modern venues should generate some extraordinary atmosphere next summer – but few will rival the Saitama Super Arena. Already one of Japan’s most famous venues for major sporting events and concerts, at the Games it will host the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments (together with the Aomi Urban Sports Park).

Eleven years ago, on 20 August 2008, Usain Bolt became a two-time Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m, setting two world records in the process. He achieved this feat twice, with victories for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay, bringing his total to eight gold medals, an all-time record in sprinting. Today, hopefuls are preparing themselves and queuing up to follow in his footsteps in the 100m and 200m races at Tokyo 2020.

The favourite going into the Moscow Games, the British decathlete delivered a series of top-level performances 39 years ago, on 26 and 27 July 1980, to win his first Olympic title. In the years that followed, he took gold at the European and World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, before retaining his Olympic title at Los Angeles 1984, setting a world record that would last for eight years. He is one of the greatest champions in the combined event’s history, which stretches back over a century.

The first-ever women’s Olympic swimming event was the 100m freestyle, a competition that began on 8 July 1912, at the Olympic Games in Stockholm. Competing for Australasia, 22-year-old swimming sensation Fanny Durack, who had taken to the “Australian crawl” better than anyone, was in scintillating form, setting a world record in the heats and securing a comfortable victory in the final. In doing so, she claimed the first-ever women’s Olympic swimming gold medal and became Australia’s first female Olympic medallist.

June saw a host of impressive performances by former Youth Olympic Games athletes on the world stage. Here, Olympic.org takes a look at some of the highlights…