Coca-Cola announces Olympic stars for Rio 2016 cans
Nathan Adrian, Ashton Eaton, Nastia Liukin, Leo Manzano, Tatyana McFadden and Alex Morgan have been announced as the Olympian class that will star on Coca-Cola's six-pack of cans during the 2016 Sumer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next summer.
Adrian is coming off a silver medal performance at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in the 50-meter freestyle and gold medal swims in the mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay and the men's 4x100-meter medley relay.
Eaton is the reining Olympic and world champion in the decathlon. After setting the world record in 2012, Eaton looks to become the first repeat decathlon Olympic champion since Daley Thompson in 1980 and 1984.
Liukin retired from gymnastics after the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. The 2008 all-around gold medalist will assist with NBC's gymnastics coverage in Rio.
Manzano looks to improve upon his silver medal in the men's 1,500-meters from London. Coca-Cola took a risk on selecting Manzano with the men's 1,500-meter teams being among the toughest to make at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Manzano has made the last 10 U.S. national teams for Olympics and World Championships. in 2012, Coca-Cola featured hurdler David Oliver in commercials and he failed to make the U.S. national team at the Olympic trials.
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McFadden is arguably the most dominant wheelchair athlete with her 15 world championship titles, 14 marathon victories and 11 Paralympic medals. McFadden won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the one-kilometer sprint.
Morgan is the lone athlete to carry over from Coca-Cola's 2012 campaign with eight Olympic hopefuls. She is coming off a victory at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and looks to make her second Olympic team in 2016. The U.S. women's national team has never followed up a World Cup victory with a gold medal at the Olympics.
Coca-Cola will release other plans for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the coming months.
• Alex Morgan first female athlete featured on regional FIFA cover
- Christopher Chavez
