Dale Steyn is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous fast bowlers of his generation. At 32 years old, the right-armer affectionately known as ‘The Phalaborwa Express’ (so named after the small town where he was born and raised) is revered for his wicket-taking ability in all forms of the game – Tests, One Day Internationals and T20’s.

When not doing duty for his country playing for the Proteas, he plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras. Steyn has also played in the IPL for the Deccan Chargers, Gujarat Lions, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. In County cricket he has represented Warwickshire and Essex. Highlights among his many achievements include being named 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year by the ICC, one of the Wisden cricketers of the year in 2013 and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2013. Steyn owned the number one spot in the ICC test rankings for several years between 2008 and 2014.

Aside from his his extreme pace and ability to swing the ball both ways, he is a global fan favourite for his flamboyant character. Think tattoos, piercing eyes, throbbing veins and that trademark chainsaw celebration. So recognisable are his features, that Steyn played a cameo as himself in the 2014 Hollywood film ‘Blended’.

Zach Johnson is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour, arriving in 2004 after being the top money winner on the Nationwide Tour. He’s best known for his dramatic Masters win in 2007 over Tiger Woods, Reteif Goosen and Rory Saabbatini and his stunning Open Championship win in 2015. In total he has 12 victories on the PGA Tour.

Johnson took up golf at the age of 10 and continued playing through high school and college. Before his professional career, Johnson attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. As the number-two player on the Drake golf team, he led the Bulldogs to three NCAA regional meets and two Missouri Valley championships.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello is a professional golfer currently playing on the European Tour. Born and raised in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, Cabrera-Bello picked up the game of golf at a very young age. As an amateur, Cabrera-Bello dominated competition in his home country, winning the Spanish National Championship at every age group level from under-7 through under-18. Making a name for himself on the European Tour, Cabrera-Bello turned professional in 2005 at the age of 20. Since then, the Spaniard has wracked up an impressive five career professional wins, including the 2005 Canarias Professional Championship as an amateur, two wins on the Challenge Tour and two wins on the European Tour. In 2016, after a strong finish at the WGC-Dell Match Play, he moved up high enough in the rankings to qualify to compete in his first Masters.

Born in Germany, Jan Frodeno started out as a swimmer -- training and practicing in South Africa. After entering his first triathlon and discovering a passion for the sport, Frodeno traveled back to Germany where he qualified for the national team in 2002. As part of the national team, Frodeno worked to create a name for himself, placing sixth in the 2007 World Championships and winning the German Championship the same year. Frodeno then went on to win the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2010, Frodeno was on track to become World Champion, but due to an injury, struggled to take the title.

In 2012, Frodeno returned to the Olympics to compete in the men’s triathlon event where he would finish 6th. Frodeno then decided to retire from the shorter standard and sprint triathlons and focus on longer races -- winning a gold medal as part of the German team in the mixed relay triathlon world championships. By subsequently switching to longer distance endurance triathlons, Frodeno succeed in his full-length Ironman debut winning third at the Ironman European Championship. On October 2015, Frodeno made history by becoming the first triathlete, male or female, to win both the Olympic Triathlon Gold and the Ironman World Championship title.

Javier Gomez Noya began training and competing in triathlons at the age of 15 after previously focusing on swimming. Early in his career, Gomez suffered a setback when a routine medical test revealed an abnormal heart valve, leading to a six-year battle between Gomez and the Spanish sporting authorities regarding his right to compete internationally. In November of 2003, he finally won the right to compete, fully recovering his license in 2006.

From 2002 to 2010, Gomez took part in 57 ITU competitions and achieved 54 top ten positions, including 23 first place finishes. In both 2003 and 2008, Gomez was ITU Triathlon World Champion and won the Elite European Champion in 2007 and 2009. In 2010, Gomez was ranked number one in the World Championship Series and went on to win the 2010 ITU Triathlon World Championship overall.

At the London Summer Olympics, Gomez took silver in the men’s triathlon. Following the Olympic games, Gomez continued his success and went on to win the 2013 ITU World Triathlon Series, his third such title. In 2014, Gomez tied the record for all time championships by winning his fourth ITU World Championship and winning four out of the eight possible races as well as placing third at the Grand final. Gomez then went on to win the 2015 World Championship as well, being the only one in history to reach 5 titles.

Growing up in Queensland, Australia, Mirinda Carfrae’s passion for sport initially led her to sprint up and down the basketball court. But at only 5’3” the fleet-footed Carfrae seemed destined for something different. A high school triathlon coach recognized her running potential and, following his suggestion, she learned to cycle and swim. Shortly thereafter – at the age of 19 and a relative rookie in multisport – she scored a spot on the 2001 Australian Junior Elite Triathlon Team.

Carfrae, widely known as “Rinny”, represented Australia at the ITU Triathlon World Championships from 2001-2005, twice earning silver medals (2002 & 2003) before turning her attention to long distance racing. A victory at the Nice Long Course Triathlon (2004) and a silver medal at the ITU Long Course World Championship (2005) were early indicators that endurance was her forte; a third place podium finish (2006) and ultimately a world title at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (2007) confirmed Rinny as one of the top talents on the non-draft racing circuit.

Rinny’s 2007 World Championship victory was pivotal, not only as a precursor to her now 20 (and counting) half iron-distance wins, but also as a means to punch her first entry ticket to the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. In October 2009, Rinny raced to second place in her Kona debut. She returned the next year, driven to win the Ironman World Championship title. In the years that followed, Rinny never strayed from the podium steps in Kona, earning second (2011) and third (2012) before regaining her crown in 2013. In doing so she struck fear in the hearts of male and female competitors alike, posting the third fastest marathon overall (2:50:38), a new run record en route to posting the women’s Kona course record in 8:52:14. She repeated her wining ways in 2014, leaving no doubt of her legacy as one of the sport’s all-time finest and fiercest competitors.

Caroline Buchanan is one of those people that people want to be around. She’s just as relaxed on a mountain bike racing down a 50-percent gradient, swerving to dodge trees as she is on a BMX bike flying at 55 kph over a 13-meter jump, teaching two year olds still in “nappies” to ride a balance bike or being in front of a TV camera, talking to 200 business people at a formal dinner or glamming up for an awards night or photo shoot. She’s comfortable in her skin and is all about making those around her feel the same. Though she’s one of the most approachable athletes around, she’s also fiercely competitive with a long list of accomplishments to her name. Her achievements have earned her the title of “Queen of Dirt” in the cycling world. She also had the honor of becoming the first cyclist (and third female) in the 56-year history of the coveted Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy to win the award. And that’s just one among many victories she’s received off of her bike. You can learn more about Caroline at her website, carolinebuchanan.com.

Greg Minnaar is a South African World Champion downhill mountain bike racer who competes in Mountain Bike World Cup. Greg started his passion for 2 wheels at 5 years old, following the foot steps of his father into Motocross. Today, Minnaar is currently the most winning professional downhill mountain bike racer, with 18 (and counting…) world cup victories. Airbrake MX with PRIZM Trail is Greg’s choice for protection and precision line selection while scanning the trail as he chases down every fraction of a second he can put together a winning run.

In the world of professional bass fishing, Kevin VanDam is at the pinnacle and arguably the best in the world. He’s the complete package – fierce competitor with multiple championships, ambassador to the sport and a family man.

Beginning his career at the age of 23, Vandam became the youngest winner of the BASS Angler of the Year title at just 25. Vandam has won 20 BASS tournament series, which is the most career wins on the Bassmasters tournament trail, seven Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year titles and the FLW Angler of the Year in 2001.

Most notably, Vandam has successfully captured four Bassmaster Classic Titles -- the most coveted in bass fishing event, attracting the best anglers in the world who qualify for it through a regular season schedule.

Following in the footsteps of one of the most exciting and successful generations of Scandanavian snowboarders, Sven Thorgren is at the head of the next class. Flying the flag for Sweden, the 20-year-old Thorgren has already landed on the podium at some of the biggest events of the year, from Air+Style to X Games, and was just one spot away from an Olympic medal in Sochi. He's already demonstrated that he has a deep bag of tricks and style to boot. Expect to see him competing and thriving amongst the sports' elite for years to come.

Giancarlo Stanton plays in the outfield for the Miami Marlins. The American-born MLB standout was formally known as “Mike” Stanton, although he has made it known publicly that he prefers the name Giancarlo to honor his Puerto Rican heritage.

On June 6, 2010, Stanton was called up to the Major Leagues, making his debut two days later to become the the third youngest player in Marlins history at just 20 years old. Stanton went 3-for-5 with two infield singles and scored twice in his inaugural game with the Marlins.

Stanton’s best season to date came in 2012 when he finished the year with career highs in home runs (37; 2nd in the National League, behind only Ryan Braun), batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.361), and slugging percentage (.608) which led all of MLB. He was third in the National League in on base plus slugging percentage (.969; behind Braun and Joey Votto). During an injury shortened 2013 season, Stanton didn’t stop putting up milestone numbers. The Marlins outfielder topped the 100 career home run mark, putting him in the top ten in fastest players to his 100 career home runs.

Julien Absalon is a French mountain bike racer who is widely considered one of the best riders in the sport’s history. He is certainly one of the most decorated athletes in the sport, winning titles at every level and across the globe. Absalon picked up mountain biking at the age of 14 after his neighbor introduced him to the sport. After experiencing some success as a junior in France, Absalon realized this would eventually become his career. He became the French National Champion during his second year as a junior and he never looked back.

Since then, Absalon has dominated the elite UCI Mountain Bike Cross Country scene. Beyond the World Cup circuit, the Frenchman won Olympic gold in both 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing). He has been overall winner of the World Cup mountain bike cross-country series six times (2003, 2006-2009, 2014) and has won a record 30 World Cup cross-country races as of May 31, 2015. He won five cross-country Mountain Bike World Championships(2004-2007, 2014). He has also won all thirteen French cross-country championships between 2003 and 2015.Although Olympic glory has opened doors for Absalon and brought him plenty of attention, he claims that the best thing to come from Mountain Biking in the Olympics has been the attention it has brought to the sport, especially in his home country of France.

Joss Christensen made history on February 13, 2014 when he won the first-ever gold medal for men’s Olympic slopestyle skiing. What made the win even sweeter was that Christensen was an underdog heading into the Olympics, having been nominated to the team by coaches’ discretion. He certainly proved that the decision was a good one.

Having grown up in Park City, Utah, Joss grew up surrounded by "ski bums" and top pros (Tanner Hall and Pep Fujas) and aspiring young talents (friend and Oakley teammate Alex Schlopy). He was introduced to the sport at age 4 and never looked back.

“At first I just really enjoyed skiing,” Joss said. “When I realized it was a possibility to make a career out of it, it instantly became my goal.”

By 2010, Joss was among Powder Magazine’s top 20 most talented skiers in the world under the age of 18. Now he’s an Olympic gold medalist and a podium threat every time he competes – and living the high life that comes with winning on the sport’s grandest stage.

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is a French multi-discipline bicycle racer who competes in road, cyclo-cross and cross-country mountain biking. Ferrand-Prévot currently rides for UCI Women’s Team, Rabo–Liv Women Cycling Team. During the 2015 season, aged just 23, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot became the first person ever - in the history of cycling - to simultaneously hold the World road title, World cyclo-cross title and World mountain bike title.

Ferrand-Prévot is a five-time elite world champion and a nine-time elite national champion across the various disciplines in which she competes. She was the youngest competitor in the Women’s road race at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which she finished eighth.