News 1 Will Usain Bolt cement his place among the sporting greats?Already widely considered the greatest sprinter of all time, Usain Bolt will arrive at his final Olympic Games this year aiming to etch his name alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali and Pelé as athletes who transcended their sports to become genuine legends If he can complete an unprecedented ‘triple-triple’ – by winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles at three consecutive Olympic Games – he will surely have arrived there The 11-time world champion, who will be 30 on the day of the closing ceremony, proved his doubters wrong at last year’s world championships by beating the USA’s Justin Gatlin – who had been faster than the Jamaican all year – in the 100m and 200m Bolt has already stated his desire to go under 19 seconds in his bid to break the 200m world record in Rio, and few would bet against the ultimate showman Bolt (second left) will hope to celebrate the 'triple-triple' after the 4x100m relay final on 19 August (Photo Getty Image/Andy Lyons) VERDICT: “Maybe the relay will be the easiest for Bolt as the Jamaicans always have excellent sprinters, although the USA will push them hard In the 100m and 200m Bolt will be in direct competition with Justin Gatlin, which will be tough battles, but I would back Bolt because he always delivers when the big moments arrive ” (Martinho Nobre, Rio 2016 athletics manager) 2 Can Michael Phelps return to rule the pool in Rio?He is the most successful Olympian of all time, with 22 medals (18 gold), but Michael Phelps has, by his own admission, been through “dark times” since he retired after the London 2012 Games A drunk driving conviction in 2014, a battle against depression and a spell in an rehabilitation facility have made Phelps – the seemingly superhuman Olympian – seems all the more human And sports fans around the world cheered last April when he finally confirmed that he wants to compete in Rio Phelps will be 30 when he enters his fifth Olympic Games, but he was in imperious form at last year’s US championships where he won the 100m butterfly in a faster time than his arch-rival Chad le Clos had won the world title just days before A glorious final chapter could await…Phelps was a portrait of focus during the Team USA Rio photo shoot last November (Photo Getty Image/Harry How) VERDICT: “I believe he can do it I would bet on him for the 100m butterfly and 200m medley, and I also believe he will be part of the US 4x100m relay team, which is almost a certainty for a medal ” (Ricardo Prado, Rio 2016 aquatic sports manager) 3 Can a non-Chinese table tennis player win an Olympic gold medal?They delivered clean sweeps at the last two Olympic Games, winning all four gold medals up for grabs in London and Beijing They have won 24 of the 28 Olympic gold medals contested since their sport entered the Games in 1988 China’s table tennis players seem untouchable When rio2016 com asked players and coaches at last year’s test event if the Chinese could be beaten, some expressed hope… but not much Zhang Jike, who was named after Brazilian footballer Zico, will defend two titles in Rio (Photo Getty Image/Robertus Pudyanto) VERDICT: “It will be very difficult for other nations, but Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov has a chance in the men’s singles, as does Japan’s Ai Fukuhara in the women’s singles (both are ranked no 4 in the world, behind Chinese players) In the team events, however, beating the Chinese is virtually an impossible mission at the moment ” (Carlos León and Edimilson Pinheiro, Rio 2016 table tennis managers) 4 Will Brazil finally become Olympic football champions?It is the only international title that the Brazilian men’s football team has yet to win The five-times World Cup winners have claimed three Olympic silver medals (1984, 1988 and 2012) and two bronzes (1996 and 2008), and the pursuit of gold has become something of a national obsession Neymar is expected to lead a strong team this year and the Barcelona star has expressed his desire to end the jinx, while Brazilian football legend Romário believes they will finally taste success on home soil However, two major opponents loom large on the horizon… fierce regional rivals Argentina, who won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008 (beating Brazil 3-0 in the semi-final in Beijing), and Germany, the nation that delivered that chastening 7-1 defeat at the 2014 World Cup Will it be more tears, or relieved cheers, for Brazil this year?Neymar is likely to be biggest star on show in the Olympic football tournament (Photo Getty Image/Buda Mendes) VERDICT: “Brazil have a very good chance to become champions in both the men’s and women’s events, and I would back them for gold in both ” (Mauricio Waknin, Rio 2016 football manager)   5 Who will become the first Olympic golf champions in 112 years?  Golf’s return to the Olympic Games after an 112-year absence is sure to be one of the major talking points of Rio 2016, with most of the planet’s top players set to compete for what world no 1 Jordan Spieth has dubbed “the fifth major” on the new Olympic course The USA’s Spieth, who won the Masters and US Open last year, has said it will be one of the highlights of his year, while world no 3 Rory McIlroy – who has decided to represent Ireland rather than Great Britain – will also be a major attraction Michelle Wie has expressed her excitement about playing in the women’s event, but the American star is currently outside the qualifying places, with 18-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko leading the world rankings Inbee Park (left) and Jordan Spieth have been tipped for Olympic glory (Photo Getty Image/Sam Greenwood/Scott Halleran) VERDICT: “I would back the Jordan Spieth for the men’s title, and Inbee Park (the world no 2 from the Republic of Korea) for the women’s gold medal ” (Claudia Guedes, Rio 2016 golf manager)     6 Can Roger Federer win that elusive men’s singles Olympic gold medal?    Considered by many to be the finest tennis player ever to have graced the courts, Roger Federer has won 17 Grand Slam titles, three more than Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras who are tied in second place However, although he has won the men’s doubles gold at Beijing 2008, the men’s singles Olympic title has eluded him (he was defeated by Andy Murray in the London 2012 final) He has already expressed his desire to rectify this in Rio, where he will also compete in the mixed doubles alongside Martina Hingis and could also play with Stan Wawrinka in the men’s doubles at the new Olympic Tennis Centre Now aged 34 and without a Grand Slam title since 2012, it seems his star is waning But as they say, class is permanent Roger Federer will be among the big names competing at their last Olympic Games in Rio (Photo Getty Image/Ian Walton) VERDICT: “Federer will do everything possible to win the singles title and I believe he can do it Players go after those missing titles at this stage of their careers Winning three golds is very improbable, but then again with Federer anything is possible ” (Eduardo Frick, Rio 2016 tennis manager)     7 Who will be the first ever Paralympic Games champions in triathlon and canoe sprint?    Two new sports will make their Paralympic Games debuts in Rio, in two of the city’s most beautiful locations – canoe sprint will be contested on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, while triathlon will be staged in Copacabana The test events for canoe and triathlon illustrated that both sports will provide bucket loads of drama and excitement – and the battle for medals promises to be tense The triathlon test event in Copacabana/Markus Swoboda (Photos: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro/ICF) VERDICT: “Two athletes who stand out are Jeanette Chippington of Great Britain and Markus Swoboda of Austria Other strong nations are Germany, Brazil, Poland, Canada, Australia, France, Russia,  Italy and Hungary The level of competition will be very high ” (Sebastián Cuattrin, Rio 2016 canoe sprint manager)VERDICT: “There are a few nations that are particularly strong in para-triathlon For example Australia, Great Britain and Brazil all have good teams and are likely to be among the medals ” (Rychard Hryniewicz, Rio 2016 triathlon manager)