Who Are Some Of The Athletes To Watch At The Rio Olympics?

06:46

August 05, 2016

South Africa's Caster Semenya wins the 800m final for women during day five of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Championships held in Durban on June 26, 2016. (Anesh Debiky/AFP/Getty Images)

The 2016 Summer Olympics open tonight in Rio.

The run-up to the games has seen its share of challenges — including a doping scandal, mosquitoes that carry Zika and garbage floating in the spot where sailors and wind-surfers will compete.

But today we want to look at some of the other Olympic news. Namely, the athletes who are going to compete. NPR's Tom Goldman is in Rio, and tells Here & Now's Eric Westervelt about some of the Olympians he'll be paying close attention to.

Guest

Tom Goldman, sports correspondent at NPR. He tweets @TomGoldmanNPR.

This segment aired on August 5, 2016.

2016 Rio Olympics