News One year from today, on 5 August 2016, the curtain will go up on the first Olympic Games in South America And the good news for lovers of sport across the planet is that Usain Bolt  and a host of global superstars have told rio2016 com, in a series of exclusive interviews, that they plan to make history and inspire the world at the Rio 2016 Games For Jamaican sprint star Bolt, already a six-time Olympic champion, Rio will be his Olympic farewell He told us: “One year from now I plan to come to Rio and make history I won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and in the 2012 Olympic Games in London I am working hard every day to make it a ‘triple triple’ in Rio next year Rio is a beautiful city and I look forward to seeing you there in August 2016 ”In the swimming pool, South Africa’s Chad le Clos is set to be one of the biggest names of the Games He famously beat his idol Michael Phelps at the London 2012 Games, and plans to go even further in Rio, a city he already knows and loves “The Olympics in Rio will be the most important eight days of my life,” he said “I will be in the best shape of my life and gold is on my mind I know Rio will be a brilliant host city ”The USA have dominated women’s Olympic football, winning the last three gold medals and four of the five Olympic tournaments staged so far Striker Carli Lloyd has been crucial to their success, scoring the winning goals in the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 finals, as well as a stunning hat-trick in their World Cup final win over Japan last month She told rio2016 com: “The Olympics captivate the whole world and I think Rio will put on fantastic Games I heard really good things from the men’s World Cup, and I’m looking forward to hopefully qualifying and being a part of it It would be a tremendous accomplishment to win a third gold medal, it would be a dream come true ”Jessica Ennis-Hill was the face of London 2012 Olympic Games, where she won heptathlon gold for the host nation After taking time out to have a son, she is now back in competition and focused on defending her title in Rio: “My preparations are going really well, I am getting faster and stronger by the day,” she said “When it is one year to go and the countdown begins, the interest grows I think Rio will host a really fun, colourful and lively Games ”When it comes to India and the Olympic Games, one sport stands out above all: hockey Sardar Singh, captain of the Indian men’s team, told us they are determined to win the nation a first medal in 36 years “We have a year left and we’re working hard because now is the time to get everything right,” he said “We are training very well and looking forward to a good performance in Rio Hockey is our national game so everyone in India wants us to win the Olympic Games ”China’s  Lin Dan is regarded by many as the greatest badminton player of all time and in Rio he will go for a third consecutive men’s singles title “Rio is our main focus now and I am in group training for the Games at the moment,” he said “Rio is an amazing city, I believe the passion of the people and the beautiful locations will make the Games very special ”One of Australia’s biggest stars in Rio is likely to be Anna Meares, who is already the most successful female track cyclist of all time “My preparations are going well, I’m now into my final year of a three-year plan for Rio,” she told us “The Olympics are a very rare opportunity to perform on the grandest stage of them all I think Rio will make the Games special because of Brazilians’ ability to embrace and welcome as well as their love of sport and their passion ”Anna Meares celebrates winning the London 2012 sprint title ahead of Victoria Pendelton (Photo: Getty Images/Phil Walter) Across the water in rugby-mad New Zealand, excitement is building about the Olympic debut of rugby sevens in Rio Scott Curry is one of the All Blacks' most important players and he and his team-mates will be among the favourites for gold in Deodoro “There is already plenty of talk in New Zealand about the Olympics in Rio, everyone is excited,” he said “Now is the time for me to get my body in the best shape possible to start the new series and lead into the Rio Games The next year will be about finding the best combination of players to do the job come Rio ”Scott Curry (centre) will be a key player for the All Blacks at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Photo: Rugby New Zealand)  Any Olympic Games needs successful hosts and volleyball is one of the sports in which Brazil expect to compete for gold In the video below, Serginho, their veteran libero who has won one gold and two silver Olympic medals, called for Brazilians to get behind their teams at what could be “the Games of the century”