AW promotion: With Mo Farah winding down from the peak of his career and eyeing retirement after the upcoming Olympic Games, we take a look at the young guns set to replace him

Mo Farah has had an extraordinary career. As the most successful track athlete to emerge from Britain in modern Olympic Games history, he is the second person to win both the 5000m and 10,000m titles at successive games. He also achieved ten uninterrupted global wins and is only the second ever athlete to achieve the elusive quadruple-double by winning long-distance doubles at the Olympic Games and the World Championships and subsequently defending those titles at later competitions. But with his career prospects waning and retirement on the horizon, the podium is being freed up for another up-and-coming British athlete to take his spot. We take a look at some of the frontrunners.

Ben Dijkstra

Ben Dijkstra is already making waves in the running community. Now 22, he has been running since the age of 4 and decided pretty early on that he wanted to make a career out of it. He started getting involved in cross-country races at school and soon became interested in triathlon. His first breakthrough was when he broke the national mile record at age ten with a time of 5:27. He has been racing internationally ever since.

The young athlete also managed to secure triathlon gold at the 2014 Youth Olympics against New Zealand’s Daniel Hoy with a time of 54 minutes and 43 seconds. He has recently signed with a leading plant-based energy drinks brand and is set to become one to watch at this year’s upcoming tournaments and future Olympic Games.

Tom Bosworth

Tom Bosworth is a British Olympic record-breaking race walker. At only 31 years old, he has carved out a pretty impressive career so far. He holds three world bests and a further six British records. He has also won a total of 12 British Championship gold medals and managed to take home a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. He currently holds the number one spot for 20km in the UK.

The 2016 Olympic finalist is set to make the UK proud and become a double Olympian at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. If his past success is anything to go by, the odds are most definitely in his favour this year. Fans are already placing their bets on who they think will take home gold when the starter’s pistol is fired later this summer, with Tom Bosworth one of the names on everyone’s lips of sports betting fans. With some online betting sites offering 38 new offers in May alone, now may be the perfect time to brush up on your sports trivia to ensure you win big on this year’s Games.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is a British heptathlete. She took home the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships and broke the British record at the same time with a final score of 6,981 points. This particular win had a massive impact on the Liverpool-born athlete’s rankings and her name climbed to number six on all-time heptathlon lists. The odds of her winning at least a bronze in her specialisation are quite short, as you might expect.

After a disappointing result at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and a string of injuries, she almost quit the sport for good. However, with unfinished business and more titles to compete for, she is back and better than ever and ready to take on her rivals at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo and the Paris Games in 2024.

As the commencement of the Games gets closer and more contestants are announced, it may be worth checking out the odds on a regular basis. They can be an indication of how an athlete will perform at the Games but also during future tournaments as their career progresses. With postponements and injuries rife during this past year’s sporting season, a lot can change in a small amount of time.

Kadeena Cox

Kadeena Cox is a British parasport athlete. She has made tremendous strides in the para sports industry after suffering from a stroke and developing multiple sclerosis at age 23. As part of the Team GB squad at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, she took home a bronze medal in the Women’s 100m sprint and become the first British athlete in 32 years to win two gold medals in multiple different sports during the same Games with the women’s C4-5 500m cycling time trial and T38 400m sprint.

She is currently focusing on training for the upcoming Games and recovering from past injuries that have held her back in the past. She is also an ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Society UK. With such a glittering sports career behind and ahead of her as both an able-bodied and Paralympic competitor, we are set to see much more of Kadeena Cox.

Ben Connor

With his sights set on gold at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, Tom Connor could be one of Team GB’s greatest chances of success. The British-born runner won the Night of 10,000m PBs event at the 2019 British Championships and secured first place at the 2017 English National Cross Country Championships. He has trained with a wide range of industry-leading coaches in both the UK and the US but continues to self-coach as of 2019.

He was one of the first athletes to be announced for the upcoming Games and will be making his marathon debut in front of millions of viewers all over the world. With a preference for long-distance runs, he is set to excel on the pitch.

As Farah nears retirement and the Olympic Games edge closer, Britain is ready for a new wave of athletes to carry us to winning success. After a quiet few years, the sporting world is set to take off. Britain is long overdue a brand-new sporting superstar to dominate the global sporting arena. Whether they have already bagged themselves an Olympic medal or are set to take the Games by storm in 2021, these athletes have already carved an impressive career path and are only set to improve.