Schwartz: Phelps Headlines US Athletes Past And Present In 2016 Topps Olympic Card Set
By Peter Schwartz
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For a multitude of reasons, not every sports fan, serious or casual, can attend the Olympics. For those who can't, there are other ways, other than watching on television, to show their support and collect keepsakes. Many American fans show their passion by wearing the red, white and blue, with some fans heading to stores or going to the internet to buy Olympic merchandise.
As far as the Rio Games are concerned, there's another option for memorabilia collectors of all ages with the 2016 Topps Olympic cards set.
"We are extremely excited and honored to be able to release this set that includes a great mix of male, female and paralympians," said Leigh Anne Minutoli, senior marketing manager for The Topps Co.
The base set has 75 cards, including Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 career medals -- 23 gold. In his final Olympics, Phelps won six medals in Rio, including five golds, and draws the No. 1 card in the Topps set.
Phelps appeared in the 2012 London Games set, but this year's card will certainly draw plenty of interest from collectors for historical reasons.
"His cards perform quite well on the secondary market as a rule," said Munutoli. "His cards definitely go for a similar rate to some of Major League Baseball's current popular players."
Phelps is one of 17 current or former American swimmers in the set, including Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, Tyler Clary and Jenny Thompson. Phelps also appears in a number of other sets, including U.S. Olympic Champion Autograph, U.S. Olympic Team Relic and U.S. Olympic Team Patch.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of current Olympic stars that will not be in this year's set.
One is American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who became a household name after a spectacular performance in Rio with four gold medals and one silver. But Ledecky is not in the set because she is an amateur and is guarding her eligibility. The other is beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings, who declined to be featured. Walsh Jennings combined with April Ross to win the bronze medal in Rio.
Despite the absence of those two stars, there is no shortage of outstanding athletes in the set, including basketball players Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne, Megan Rapinoe from the U.S. women's soccer team and gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Raisman.
There are also a number of former Olympic athletes in the set, including retired soccer star Abby Wambach and former wrestler Rulon Gardner.
"We expect these cards to be very popular," said Minutoli. "I believe the Rulon Gardner Relic card, where we embedded a piece of his singlet into the card, to be very sought after."
Topps is in the midst of a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee that runs through the 2020 Games. By that time, Ledecky could be professional and be in the set for the first time. Michael Phelps says he's retired, and even if he's true to his word, he could very well be in the set again.
Card collecting isn't only about the four major sports or even soccer. Topps has taken one of the greatest hobbies in the world and brought it into the Olympic world.
For more on the Topps Olympic set, visit http://www.topps.com/blog/tag/topps-olympic-cards.
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