After being delayed for a year due to the pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start on July 23rd.  There is intense debate surrounding whether the games will happen, whether there will be spectators, and the moral implications of hosting a mass event given the current health climate in Japan.  My best guess is that the games will be played, but with limited or no spectators.  This is good news for sports card flippers.  A television audience, particularly a massive United States television audience, presents opportunities to buy cards now and sell them at a profit during the Olympics.

Here are six athletes to consider for a “Tokyo Flip”.  To be clear, I don’t see these individuals as long-term holds.  Only Serena Williams and possibly Megan Rapinoe have any transcendence outside their sport.  The idea here is to buy in the next couple of weeks and cash out before the games conclude in early August.

Simone Biles

2014 Sports Illustrated for Kids #292

In her gymnastics career, Biles has earned 30 medals in World and Olympic competitions, making her the most decorated American athlete in her sport.  At age 24, Tokyo is likely her last Olympics, and she could go out with a bang.  Biles has not lost in an all-around competition since 2013 and is looking to become the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic all-arounds since Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia pulled off the feat in 1968.  Overall, Biles has a good chance to win 5 medals in Tokyo.  Even if she walks away with only one, she has a genuine claim to be the greatest female gymnast of all time.

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