5 first-time Olympians who could win gold

As the Rio Games approach, the world awaits to see if Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt can complete their incredible careers with more Olympic dominance.

While those two will certainly steal most of the fanfare, they were once first-time Olympians looking to make their mark on the world's greatest sporting spectacle.

Here's five first-time Olympians who could walk away from Rio with gold medals around their neck.

Simone Biles - United States, gymnastics

The 4-foot-9 Texan is the anchor of the United States women's gymnastics team, and one of the favorites to bring home multiple gold medals in Rio. Biles is the first woman to win three back-to-back World Championships and has captured every world and national all-around crown since London 2012. Her domination of the sport the past few years has led former Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton to remark "she may be the most talented gymnast I've ever seen in my life, honestly." After conquering the Rio Games, perhaps Biles will be inclined to go to baseball when it returns to the Olympics in 2020. She threw out perhaps the most athletic first pitch of all time earlier this year at a Houston Astros contest.

Henrik Stenson - Sweden, golf

Golf is an event in Rio for the first time since 1904, and despite the withdrawal of top players Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Dustin Johnson, there is still plenty of star power for the tournament. Sweden's Henrik Stenson enters play just a couple weeks removed from one of the greatest displays in golf history. The pure-swinging Stenson set the all-time scoring record in the 145-year history of the Open Championship. A balky putter has limited the 40-year-old in the past, but a brilliant performance in Scotland showed that when his short game is on point, he's borderline unbeatable. If he maintains his current form in Rio, Stenson could capture just the second Summer Olympics gold medal since 2004 for Sweden.

Wayde Van Niekerk - South Africa, 400-meter sprint

To put it simply, Wayde Van Niekerk is an absolute freak. The 24-year-old South African recently became the first person in sprint history to run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds, 200 meters in less than 20 seconds, and 400 meters in less than 44 seconds. The longest event is certainly his best and he heads to Rio poised to repeat his gold-medal performance from the World Championships. At the international event in Beijing, Van Niekerk ran the sixth-fastest time in history, clocking a blazing 43.48. Should he repeat that time in Rio, he would top Michael Johnson's Olympic record set in 1996.

Vashti Cunningham, United States, high jump

Randall Cunningham is arguably the most athletic quarterback in NFL history, so it comes as no surprise that his daughter Vashti showed similar athleticism in qualifying for Rio. At the time of the 18-year-old's Olympic qualification, she was poised to become the youngest track-and-field participant for the United States since 1980, but has since been knocked off that position by 16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin. Cunningham cleared 1.97m at the Olympic trials in early July, which is just four centimeters lower than Chaunte Lowe's top height of the season.

Sarah Pavan & Heather Bansley - Canada, beach volleyball

Sarah Pavan always held Olympic dreams throughout her volleyball career, but after another failed attempt by the Canadian indoor team to qualify in 2012, she decided to take her talents to the beach. "I knew it would be a challenge to switch sports, but for me the risk was worth it because I didn't want to go through my whole athletic career without going to an Olympic Games," she told Yahoo Sports. Pavan and partner Heather Bansley connected in 2013 and have been steadily climbing the rankings ever since. At 6-foot-5, Pavan is certainly an intimidating presence on the beach, and with the speedy Bansley manning the backcourt, the two will be a formidable team on the sand.