Road to the Olympics | TIME

[time-interactive id=include-css params="css_url=https://img.timeinc.net/time/wp/interactives/apps/2015/rio/rio9.css"]   Pictured Above: Jordan Burroughs, the reigning Olympic wrestling champion at 74 kg   [caption id="attachment_4150328" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Burroughs says he was…

 

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Pictured Above: Jordan Burroughs, the reigning Olympic wrestling champion at 74 kg

 

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Burroughs says he was originally drawn to the sport by stars of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)

 

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Nearly undefeated since winning his Olympic title in 2012, he considers himself worthy of the “Mount Rushmore of wrestling.”

 

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Allyson Felix, 30, owns the 200m distance as the reigning world and Olympic champion. U.S. officials petitioned the International Association of Athletics Federations to change the Olympic schedule in Rio to allow Felix to race both the 200m and 400m events

 

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Mariel Zagunis, 30, is the U.S.’s most decorated fencer and is hoping to make her fourth Olympic team

 

 

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She finished fourth in her event at the 2012 London Games, and faltered at the most recent world championships, but she’s being pushed by talented teammates to return to peak form by August

 

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Kayla Harrison, 25, is the only U.S. athlete, male or female, to win an Olympic gold in judo. Off the mat, she’s become an advocate for victims of sexual abuse after revealing her own abuse by a former coach.

 

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Donnell Whittenburg, 21, is a fresh face on the U.S. men’s gymnastics team. A talented vaulter, he’s hoping to make his first Olympic team in 2016

 

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Sam Mikulak, 23, trains with Whittenburg, left, and is helping to build a U.S. men’s gymnastics team that hopes to contend for a medal in Rio

 

Mikulak, part of the men’s team that finished fifth at the 2012 Games, is recovering from an ankle injury but plans to heal in time to compete for a spot on the Rio team

 

Produced by Alexander Ho and Myles Little

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