Olympic.org picks out some of the most eye-catching performances from former Youth Olympic Games (YOG) athletes in recent weeks, as the YOG continue to provide a springboard to the international stage.

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG), olympic.org highlights some of the young athletes who have gone on to make their name on the global stage since shining in Buenos Aires.

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!

Fierce racing and a serene setting helped contribute to a successful canoe sprint test event at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo. The Ready Steady Tokyo Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe event, organised by Tokyo 2020, saw many of the sport’s top competitors participate.  

Michael Johnson’s 200m Olympic and world record was one of the standout performances of Atlanta 1996. But it took years of work and planning to get it right…

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) continue to provide a springboard to the international stage, with a succession of former YOG athletes clinching world and continental titles throughout August.

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.

Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho is the only woman to have won four consecutive individual Olympic gold medals in the same discipline. A superstar in Japan, she remains undefeated at the Games since women’s freestyle wrestling was included on the programme at Athens 2004, and she intends to continue this run by doing everything she can to rise to challenge number five: victory on home soil at the Tokyo Games!

Eighteen-year-old Australian Ariarne Titmus left her mark on the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju by dethroning the queen of the pool, Katie Ledecky, in the 400m event. The American had remained undefeated in this distance since the Olympic Games London 2012. Rematch will be the name of the game at Tokyo 2020.