Collocations for athlete - noun

elite, fine, good, great, Olympic, outstanding, talented, top, world-class
one of the greatest athletes of all time

natural
She has the build and strength of a natural athlete.

all-around (AmE), all-round (BrE), track, track-and-field
endurance
amateur, professional
college, high-school, student (all esp. AmE)

train
The athletes are training hard for the Olympics.

compete, perform
Our field athletes have performed well.

play (AmE)
athletes playing pro football