The Summer Olympics are not far away!

The 2020 Olympics are going to be held in Tokyo, Japan this summer. The events will happen over a span of 16 days starting on Friday, July 24 and ending on Sunday, Aug. 9.

There are 48 events that athletes will be competing in this summer. Here are a few of the top events that will be held, and are must watches:

• Gymnastics: Women compete in the uneven bars, beam, vault and perform a floor routine. The men compete in the horizontal and parallel bars, pommel horse, rings, vault and complete a floor routine.
• Swimming: Men have chances to compete in the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley, freestyle relay, medley relay, and marathon 10km. The women have the options of the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley, freestyle relay, medley relay and marathon 10km. All styles of swimming vary in distances, including the 100m, 200m, 1500m, 4x100m, etc.
• Track and Field: Allows athletes to showcase their running, jumping and throwing skills. Athletes compete in basic running, jumping hurdles, relays, race walks, steeplechase, decathlons, heptathlon, discus throw, hammer throw, high jump, javelin throw, long jump, marathon, pole vault, shot put, and the triple jump. All events require athletes to compete in different distances.

Many USA athletes are returning this coming year, some are coming to the Olympics for the first time and some are unclear of their return. Here are two familiar names of athletes one is unsure of a comeback and one will be returning in 2020:

• Michael Phelps: A very successful swimmer who is unsure of his return to the 2020 Olympic games. His collection consists of twenty-three gold medals, three silver, and two bronze for a total of twenty-eight. Phelps is the olympian with the most medals earned. He seems to think that he no longer has the ability to compete with the other swimmers so his return is unknown for now. 
• Simone Biles: Four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles will be competing in the Artistic Gymnastics category. She set an American record in Rio for the most gold medals in women’s gymnastics at a single Olympic Games. She will be returning to the 2020 Olympics looking to earn some more medals. 

Student-athletes at Franklin High School are excited to watch the Olympics this summer. Avery Chalk, a freshman at Franklin High School, plays softball and loves watching athletes like her on the television screen. She knows how hard it is to train for such a big event, she has a lot of appreciation for athletes that compete in the Olympics. But the training pays off for these athletes.

The United States of America came home with a total of 121 medals from the 2016 Rio Olympics. 46 of those were gold, 37 were silver and 38 were bronze. In order to get these medals, athletes go through intense training. 

The Summer Olympics only happens every four years, so don’t miss out!