Yuliya Efimova took up swimming a the age of six. However, unlike most of us, who at this age are usually just busy splashing around in the water, she was going to be a professional. In fact, she was coached by her father, Andrey Yefimov.
In 2011, she moved to California, where she was coached by Dave Salo, the head coach at the University of Southern California. Efimova is a swimmer on the Russian National Team, though she’s faced controversy due to steroids being banned in professional sports. She is a six-time World Champion and a former world record holder in the 50 meters breaststroke.
Ivet Lalova-Collio
With piercing eyes, Ivet Lalova-Collio is a Bulgarian athlete specializing in 100 and 200 meters sprint events. The beautiful athlete is the 13th-fastest woman in the history of the 100 meters. In the 2004 Olympics, she finished fourth in the 100 meters and fifth in the 200 meters.
Though her career was put on hold due to a leg injury, she hopped (no pun intended) back into the sport, winning gold at the 2012 European Athletics Championships. She has participated in the Olympics four times. Her numerous Instagram followers can catch a glimpse of her training routine and her fancy vacations.
Skylar Diggins-Smith
Diggins-Smith is an American pro basketball player for the Pheonix Mercury in the WNBA. Diggins-Smith played for Notre Dame, who she led to three consecutive Final Fours. She finished her career at Notre Dame ranked first in points and steals and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award.
In 2013 she signed with Roc National Sports, becoming the first female athlete to sign with the company. Later in 2013, she signed an endorsement deal with Nike. Oh, and get this — other than her athletic achievements, and the family she has built with her husband, this woman also has a business degree!
Snežana Rodić
If you don't have a favorite triple jumper, it's high time you found one, and we know just who. Let us present to you Snežana Rodić, the blonde beauty who has developed quite the following. It isn't hard to see why, is it?
The twinkly blue eyes, the platinum blonde hair, and that pure FIRE she has on her face as she is about to leap into a sandbox like no one's business. What more can sports fans ask for? The Slovenian triple jumper keeps her private life private, though we do know she is married to a Slovenian soccer player, Aleksandar Rodić.
Jinh Yu Frey
Jinh Hie Yu Frey is a Korean-American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the strawweight division of the UFC. Frey first gained a reputation when she defeated Darla Harris in an MMA fight that went viral.
She has had a long list of accomplishments in her life, some of which had nothing to do with mixed martial arts. She graduated high school in three years in the top 2 percent of her class. Then she went on to earn her A.A.S. in Nuclear Medicine. Next, she went to Midwestern State University, getting a B.S. in Radiologic Sciences. What a star!