Sport: Figure skating
Country: Russian Olympic Committee
Kamila Valieva made her international debut in 2019 and has been unstoppable ever since. No, really — she only debuted on the senior circuit in October 2021 and immediately started setting world records with her huge program scores. Case in point: she capped off her pre-Olympic run by breaking her own short-program world record at the 2022 European Championships. Though any of the three Russian skaters could take home gold in Beijing (Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova won silver and bronze, respectively, at the European Championships), 15-year-old Valieva has to be seen as the favorite with her combination of soaring quad jumps and beautiful artistry.
