Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Jamaica
At UCLA, Francis was a NCAA cochampion on the balance beam and a six-time All-American. After training for and then missing out on two Olympic berths, first in 2012 and again in 2016, Francis has officially qualified for an individual spot and will be the second gymnast to represent Jamaica at the Olympics. Francis has faced setbacks throughout her career — of which the pandemic is the latest — but she's committed to putting in another year of work to compete in Tokyo. With an inspirational story and graceful, perfect-10 worthy routines (she earned two 10s at UCLA), Francis will be one to keep your eye on.
Image Source: Getty / Laurence Griffiths / Staff