Aleksander Lesun

Sport: Pentathlon

Nation: Russian Federation

DOB: July 1, 1988

Career Highlights: After finishing second at the world championships the previous two years, Lesun claimed his first title in May by running past fellow Russian Andrei Moiseev in the final 500 meters. Lesun, who will make his Olympic debut, will next try to prevent Moiseev from winning his third straight gold medal at the London Games. Although his countryman has prevailed at the past two Olympiads, Lesun is an up-and-coming star in the sport, having collected a combined 11 medals in his last 19 international competitions. He won six of those in World Cup events dating back to April 2010, including a second-place finish in last year’s finals in London. He’s also a two-time World Cup gold medalist, earning one of them in March in Rio de Janeiro. Lesun will try to add another class of gold medal to his resume in London and extend Russia’s streak to four consecutive first-place finishes at the Olympics.

Olympic History: None