The summer is nearly finished and so are the EURO 2020 and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. There were plenty of talented players in EURO 2020 and standout performers at the Olympic Games but who were the Most Popular Athletes of the summer? Last Word on Sports considers the key performers.
Post-EURO’s and Olympic Games: The Most Popular Athletes in 2021
Sporting Stars of 2021![]()
UEFA celebrated 60 years of competition with the event taking place across Europe, so fans across multiple countries and cities were able to view athlete superstars closely. The expanded format featured a number of top talents and national teams, as Europe has an abundance of talent.
Nobody was completely sure how the Tokyo Games would turn out under strict COVID-19 protocol. A total of 339 competitions in 33 sports, involving over 11,000 athletes, concluded the 32nd Summer Olympics.
Now that both are over, let’s take a look at the top athletes that market this season.
Sunisa Lee
With her victory on July 29, Sunisa Lee became the fifth American gymnast in a row to win the all-around gold. Gymnast Sunisa Lee has been training for years, and not just for herself. The patience and effort paid off for this Hmong American from Minnesota, who exercised every day. Her father who introduced her to the world of sport when she was six, ended up in a wheelchair, and the motivated athlete kept working even harder to honor her dad. Unlike many peers who tried to earn a buck by working online, she pushed her body beyond all the limits and achieved something really big.
In a recent interview, Lee discussed her goal of winning silver at the Olympics because Biles was expected to win gold. As a result of Biles’ withdrawal due to mental stress, Lee took advantage of the opportunity and went for it. She captured the world’s top all-around title in 2021and became the fifth in a row American woman to achieve that honor.
Katie Ledecky
With six world records in the 1500 meter, Katie Ledecky is a world record-breaker. For the first time in Olympic history, gender equality was the main focus, and Katie Ledecky managed to bring a gold medal for the nation. As far as workload and competition go, this is her most difficult Olympics. Despite losing four times to Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus of Australia continued to establish herself as a worthy opponent. During the race for gold, Titmus won the 200 meters and 400 meters freestyle, while Ledecky won the 800, while the Australian relay team lost gold to the Chinese team. Additionally, Ledecky also competed in a 1,500-meter freestyle, finishing with a total distance of 6,200 meters.
Leonardo Spinazzola
Moving on to EURO 2020 biggest stars, this season had so many of them. Spinazzola making the Team of the Tournament was something completely expected. Any gambling enthusiast who loves wagering on football at online sportsbooks and 20 pound deposit slots casinos knows the odds for the player. The player was one of only a handful to win multiple Star of the Match award. It is a fact that Leo had more impact on the Azzurri than on Roma during this past season. Luke Shaw was expected to take Spinazzola’s place since he sustained an Achilles tear before the match against Belgium. However, that did not happen.
Due to his injury, he will have to pause his playing career a bit. According to José Mourinho, upon his return in 2022, Leo will basically be a new signing. Spinazzola’s progress in recent seasons has been greatly appreciated and we are eager to see him play again with the Giallorossi. Still, he is one of the top athletes of the season, and no one can deny that.
Leonardo Bonucci
Leonardo Bonucci leveled Italy’s score with an assist from Marco Verratti. Although Bonucci has only scored nine international goals, none is as meaningful as his latest achievements.
While Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was voted Official Player of the Tournament, it was unanimously agreed that Bonucci should have won. Chiellini was perhaps the best player on the Italy team, but Bonucci was also excellent. The one thing Bonucci lacks credit for is his sensational distribution of the ball. Bonucci’s passing range is unbelievable, and Chiellini’s is definitely not so good. Choosing the best player from Italy is difficult since Spinazzola did not play in the semi-finals or final, but it should have gone to Bonucci. His defensive abilities were just as good as his old pal Chiellini since he played in all the games, scored in the final, and was pretty good on the pitch.
Raheem Sterling
The England national team has named Raheem Sterling its Euro 2020 player of the tournament, now Sterling will become a national hero. Raheem Sterling is the star player of England’s Euro 2020 campaign and a tremendous asset to the team. One more game for The Boy from Brent and he will be in the history books as a soccer legend. Punters who are regulars at $20 deposit casinos are very well familiar with the career of Sterling. But the casino and sportsbook fans couldn’t have guessed that Raheem will score the winning goal for England in its win against Croatia, giving him 13 goals in his 17 international appearances. In only four weeks, he is achieving success in ways few could have imagined in this country. And we can freely call him the player of the tournament. Leader of men who delivers his best at the most crucial times.
Conclusion – The Most Popular Athletes of 2021
There are probably so many other athletes that should be celebrated in the post-EURO 2020 and post-Olympics 2020 period. After all, there were thousands and thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen participating in both of these competitions. Still, the above-mentioned athletes deserved to be mentioned in this shortlist, and they made the world of sport a little bit better this season.
Author’s Bio
The Content Lead for the Gamblizard website, Leslie Alexander, highlights her dedication to writing and her ability to manage SEO details. She always wanted to become a resourceful writer of the gambling and sports betting industry because of her fascination with the iGaming industry.
