Top 5 Questions for 500 Days Between Now and Rio 2016 Olympic games

With 500 days to go until the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, there are plenty of unanswered questions. So much has happened since 2012, but as the 2016 Games approach, slowly we are beginning to see a fuller picture as to what might happen. 

The picture is still not complete, so we counted down the top five questions for 500 days between now and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

1. Can Michael Phelps make a four-peat? Will he have a Kazan tuneup? Will Chad Le Clos beat him regardless?

Michael Phelps has solidified his place as the best swimmer in the history of our sport, taking down barrier after barrier and claiming new firsts throughout his career. In his last Olympic run, Phelps surpassed Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated Olympian in the history of sport.

Winning an unprecedented 22 Olympic medals was another one of those firsts that became synonymous with Phelps’ career, but his performances themselves gave way to firsts. With his gold medal in the 200m IM Phelps became the first swimmer to ever three-peat at the Olympic Games in the same event. Not only was he able to reach this feat, but he did it twice, earning his third straight gold in the 100m fly the following day.

Following the London Olympics Phelps retired, but now he’s back in full force and the question remains what other firsts can Phelps get in his career. The possibility of a four-peat at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio hangs in the air. With less than a year of training under his belt, Phelps managed to take the top spot in the world in the 100m fly. He also won gold at the Pan Pacific Championships in that event.

He’ll have his hands full with South African Chad Le Clos. Le Clos is all to familiar with Phelps, having beaten him at the 2012 Olympics in the 200m fly spoiling his potential three-beat in his signature event. With Phelps gone, Le Clos has claimed the fly events. When they face off again in the 100m fly, Phelps will be looking to regain his position as the butterfly guru.

In the 200m IM, Phelps was also fast. With a little more training under his belt there’s no denying he could regain his title as the number one swimmer in the world in that event.

There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Phelps return due to his removal from the 2015 World Championships roster. There’s been talk of Phelps possibly being reinstated to the team, and if he is, he’ll be able to swim multiple events in Kazan as well as play a crucial part on the American relays.

Mystery shrouds Phelps return, but when it’s said and done, there are more firsts that sit in Phelps’ reach.

2. Who else will be caught doping? 

Since London, there has been what seems like an onslaught of doping in our sport. World-class swimmers such as Sun Yang, Park Tae Hawn, and other potential Olympic medallists have been caught and will be back for Rio.

There have been many cases of doping coming from Brazil and Russia. Swimmers such as Yuliya Efimova, who just finished her suspension and rocked to a number one world ranking in the 100m breaststroke, will all be back in full force to compete in Rio.

With 500 days to go until the big event, the question remains, who else will be caught doping? There have been plenty of top swimmers who have been caught in recent years and allowed back in competition. It’s becoming a huge issue, seeing as swimmers like Park will be returning to the competition scene just shortly before Rio.

With doping scandals out and about, it will be curious to see who else will be caught juicing prior to the start of the Rio games.

3. Who are we missing? 

There are some fast times coming from age-group swimmers all across the world, and in swimming, an Olympic year is something special. It pushes results to be faster whether they be age-group or elite, and sets a new bar of top-level performances that is seen usually once every four years.

With so much young talent, the possibility of someone emerging onto the Olympic scene and throwing down stellar performances is entirely plausible. The Olympic picture is never perfect a year out, and there will definitely be an assortment of out-of-body performances as well as swimmers who step up and show mass improvement.

When thinking of athletes who have done this, the name Katie Ledecky comes to mind. Ledecky began to emerge as a talent back in 2011, but Ledecky wasn’t truly on the swimming scene until 2012 where at 15, she stormed the field and claimed gold in the 800m freestyle. Since then, Ledecky has not lost an international race and has set new heights to distance swimming.

It seems as though every Olympic year, somebody steps up out of nowhere and leads the pack. When Rio rolls around, who will it be this time?

4. Can Katinka Do It on the Biggest Stage?

Katinka Hosszu has been incredible on almost every stage of swimming. She has medals from all different kinds of competitions, except for the Olympic Games. She’s been one of the most incredible stories from swimming being one of the very few who has been able to make pro athlete wages based off her performances.

In recent years, Hosszu has truly emerged as arguably the best all-around female swimmer on the planet. She’s dominated short course meets for years now and has transferred her skills to the long course pool at both the World Championships and European Championships.

The wonderment surrounding Hosszu raises the question as to whether or not she’ll be able to have as much success on swimming’s biggest stage. She is yet to claim an Olympic medal, but is definitely one of the best swimmers in the world with potential to do so.

Spain’s Miriea Belmonte is in a similar position to Hosszu. She’s been dominant at almost ever stage of the game, but an Olympic gold has eluded her thus far. Belomonte earned two individual silvers in London 2012, and has improved leaps and bounds since then emerging as one of the top swimmers in the world.

When Rio rolls around, will Hosszu and Belmonte be able to claim what they’ve worked so hard for?

5. What can Missy Franklin do as a full-time pro?

As an amateur athlete Missy Franklin has been absolutely incredible and one of the best swimmers in the world. She was dominant at the London 2012 Olympic Games even though she hadn’t even started her senior year of high school.

Since then, Franklin started school at California and swam two years with Teri McKeever becoming one of the best collegiate athletes in the history of swimming. Most recently, she took down the American record in the 200 freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships bringing it under 1:40 for the first time with a 1:39.10.

Since the end of that meet, Franklin gave up her amateur status and went pro, signing with an agent. She’s meeting with McKeever shortly to discuss her training options leading up to Rio.

Franklin showed that she was an incredible athlete while being an amateur, but could being a pro possibly take her swimming to new heights?

She had a somewhat off 2014, but will be swimming the 100 and 200 freestyle and backstrokes at the 2015 World Championships. She’ll most likely be a member of at least two relays with high possibilities of swimming the backstroke on the medley relay.

2015 will be her first major international meet heading into Rio as a pro, and will set the tone as to how she’ll perform in her professional career.