London 2012: America's 25 Best Shots for Gold at the Olympics

The United States always ranks near the top of the medal lists at the Olympics. This summer will be no exception.

 

LeBron James and this year's Dream Team will almost certainly win gold. But what about Michael Phelps? Will Allyson Felix finally win an individual gold medal? Can the American women's gymnastics team take the top spot on the podium?

 

Here's a roundup of America's top medal hopefuls at the London Olympics.

25. Brady Ellison—Archery

Brady Ellison
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As a 19-year-old at the Beijing Olympics, Brady Ellison got a taste of the world's biggest stage for archery, going out in the second round of the men's recurve competition.

 

Since then, Ellison has moved to the top of the world rankings, holding the No. 1 spot in 2010 and 2011.

 

Now, he's a favorite to win at the Olympics.

24. Jason Parker—Shooting

Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO/Jason Parker celebrates with his family after earning a spot in his fourth Olympics.

Jason Parker will compete in his fourth Olympics this summer in London.

 

In his first two Games, Parker finished in the top 10 in the 10-meter air rifle. In Beijing, he doubled up, competing in both the 10-meter air rifle and the 50-meter three-position rifle.

 

Now, he's the favorite in the latter event (per Oddschecker.com).

23. LaShawn Merritt—Track and Field

LaShawn Merritt
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The defending Olympic champion in the men's 400 meters will be one of the favorites again.

 

In 2008, he out-dueled Jeremy Wariner to take the Olympic title.

 

Following a two-year ban for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Merritt showed he was back when he won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships and ran a leg on the gold-medal-winning 4x400-meter relay team.

22. Women's Gymnastics Team

Gabrielle Douglas
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The United States is seeking its first team gold medal in women's gymnastics since 1996, when Kerri Strug pulled off her memorable vault to help clinch the victory.

 

This year, the Americans have a strong team, with Jordyn Wieber and Gabrielle Douglas leading the way.

 

McKayla Maroney (a favorite in the vault), Kyla Ross and Aly Raisman round out the squad, which is favored to edge Russia for the gold (via Oddschecker.com).

21. Allyson Felix—Track and Field

Allyson Felix
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Allyson Felix is still hunting that elusive first individual Olympic gold medal. She'll have two opportunities in London, with the women's 200 meters being her most likely shot.

 

After all, Felix is a three-time gold medalist in the event at the World Championships, one of eight gold medals she has earned in four World Championships.

 

At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Felix set a personal best of 21.69 seconds.

20. Jordan Burroughs—Wrestling

Jordan Burroughs
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

At 24, Camden, N.J., native Jordan Burroughs is one of the favorites to win the gold medal in the 74-kilogram freestyle division.

 

He hasn't lost a match in three years, and in 2011, he won the 165-pound division at the NCAA Championships for Nebraska.

 

It was his second national title and his second undefeated season, which helped earn him the Hodge Trophy, wrestling's version of the Heisman.

19. Lashinda Demus—Track and Field

Lashinda Demus
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Lashinda Demus is 29 years old, but it feels like she has been around forever.

 

She was a two-time national girls High School Athlete of the Year, as named by Track and Field News, then earned a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2005 World Championships when she was competing for the University of South Carolina.

 

She earned her first individual gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in an American-record 52.47 seconds and won the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 53.98 seconds.

18. Aries Merritt—Track and Field

Aries Merritt
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Aries Merritt turns 27 years old three days before the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.

 

For many years, Merritt has been expected to one day ascend to the top of the world in the men's 110-meter hurdles. It appears that this year he is fulfilling that promise.

 

At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Merritt ran a world-leading and personal best of 12.93 seconds, a time he matched at the Diamond League meet in London.

17. Women's Soccer Team

Alex Morgan (in stripes)
George Frey/Getty Images

The U.S. women's soccer team will be looking for its fourth gold medal at the London Olympics.

 

The Americans have lost just one match this year, a 1-0 decision to Japan in March. The Japanese also fought the U.S. to a 1-1 draw in April.

 

In June, the Americans let Japan know that they remembered those earlier matches with a 4-1 domination.

 

Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Shannon Boxx, Heather Mitts and several other players are all back from last year's World Cup team.

16. Christian Taylor—Track and Field

Christian Taylor
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Christian Taylor is still young—he's just 22 years old, which means if his body holds up, he has quite a future in the men's triple jump.

 

But the future may be now.

 

In 2011, Taylor won the gold medal at the World Championships with a personal best of 58 feet, 11 1/4 inches.

 

While at the University of Florida, Taylor won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2010-11.

15. Kim Rhode—Shooting

Kim Rhode
Nick Laham/Getty Images

Kim Rhode is one of the most accomplished female athletes in U.S. Olympic history. She will compete in skeet shooting in London and will be a favorite to win gold.

 

She won the first of her two Olympic golds in double trap shooting at the Atlanta Games when she was just 17. That event was eliminated after Rhode won her second gold in 2004.

 

She has now earned a medal in four consecutive Olympics, and she would be the first American to medal in five consecutive Games if she earns a medal this summer.

14. Danell Leyva—Gymnastics

Danell Leyva
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Danell Leyva is a savant on the parallel bars. At the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, Leyva messed up on his routine's first move, which prevented him from executing according to the game plan.

 

No problem. Leyva promptly made up the rest of it as he went along.

 

The performance earned Leyva the all-around championship at the trials. He should contend for an all-around medal in London, but he's a huge favorite to win the parallel bars.

13. Missy Franklin—Swimming

Missy Franklin
Al Bello/Getty Images

Missy Franklin is just 17 years old, but this summer she will set a U.S. Olympic record when she swims in seven events in London.

 

Unlike Michael Phelps in 2008, Franklin will not be favored in all of them. However, she is expected to win gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke, and she will swim legs on two favored U.S. relay teams.

12. Brittney Reese—Track and Field

Brittney Reese
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Brittney Reese has won the women's long jump at the past two World Championships. Now, she is looking to add an Olympic gold medal to her collection.

 

Reese, 25, was a two-time NCAA champion in the long jump. She also has won two World Indoor Championships in the event.

 

She set a personal-best outdoor jump at 23 feet, 5.5 inches at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

11. Women's Water Polo Team

Melissa Seidemann
Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

The United States women's water polo team is favored to win its first gold medal at the London Olympics.

 

In the three Olympiads in which women's water polo has been contested, the Americans have come away with two silver medals and a bronze.

 

Melissa Seidemann, Brenda Villa and sisters Jessica and Maggie Steffens are among the stars on the roster. It's fair to say there is only one goal for the team: gold.

10. Serena Williams—Tennis

Serena Williams
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Really, when you get down to it, Serena Williams doesn't need to play in the Olympics.

 

The winner of 14 Grand Slam events as well as two Olympic gold medals in doubles (won with her sister Venus, naturally), Williams doesn't have a whole lot to prove in London.

 

However, she's also playing the best tennis in the world right now, having just won Wimbledon and following that up with a victory in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

9. Rebecca Soni—Swimming

Rebecca Soni
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Rebecca Soni currently owns the short-course world records in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and used to own the long-course world records in both events.

 

She enters the London Olympics as the defending gold medalist in the 200 breaststroke and is the two-time reigning world champion in the 100 breaststroke.

 

Of all of the standout female swimmers on this year's U.S. team, Soni is considered the most likely to win (h/t metro.us).

8. Jordyn Wieber—Gymnastics

Jordyn Wieber
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

You've no doubt heard of Jordyn Wieber, the sensational 17-year-old gymnast from DeWitt, Mich., who is expected to be the darling of the London Olympics. How she dreams of meeting Justin Bieber.

 

Can she possibly live up to the hype?

 

All she did at last year's World Championships is win the all-around gold medal, help lead the Americans to a team gold medal and take third place on the balance beam.

 

Although Wieber finished behind Gabrielle Douglas at the U.S. Olympic Trials, most observers believe it is Wieber that is the favorite for the all-around gold.

7. Women's Eights—Rowing

Mary Whipple
Harry How/Getty Images

The United States won its first women's eights gold medal since 1984 at the Beijing Olympics.

 

Now, the Americans are overwhelming favorites to make it two in a row this summer. Five of the eight rowers return from the gold medal-winning team: Caryn Davies, Elle Logan, Caroline Lind, Susan Francia and Erin Cafaro.

 

Also back is coxswain Mary Whipple.

6. Michael Phelps—Swimming

Michael Phelps
Al Bello/Getty Images

The fact of the matter is that whatever Michael Phelps accomplishes in London will feel like a letdown.

 

How can you possibly top winning eight gold medals? You can't.

 

Phelps, who already owns 14 Olympic gold medals, will likely win four more this summer—individuals in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly and legs on two relay teams.

 

Phelps needs three medals of any color to pass Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina for the all-time individual medal lead in Olympic history.

 

Ho hum? Whatever.

5. McKayla Maroney—Gymnastics

McKayla Maroney
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

McKayla Maroney is no doubt tired of being asked about her crash at the 2012 Visa Championships in St. Louis. She was warming up for the floor exercise when she took a spill and ended up suffering a concussion as well as a broken nose.

 

The injuries probably affected her performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she finished seventh. However, because of her talent—especially in the vault—Maroney was named to the Olympic team.

 

According to London bookmakers Oddschecker.com, she's a 4-6 favorite to win the vault.

4. Ryan Lochte—Swimming

Ryan Lochte
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

It's hard to call somebody with six Olympic medals, including three gold medals, underrated. But that term would seem to apply to Ryan Lochte.

 

For years, he has been swimming in the figurative shadow of Michael Phelps. Oh, you won five gold medals at the 2011 World Championships? Is five more than eight?

 

This summer, expect Lochte to surpass Phelps as the top American swimmer. He will be favored in the 400-meter individual medley, the 200-meter freestyle and the 200-meter backstroke.

3. Ashton Eaton—Track and Field

Ashton Eaton (green and black)
Michael Heiman/Getty Images

Back in the day, the Olympic decathlon champion was considered the “World's Greatest Athlete.”

 

Americans including Jim Thorpe, Rafer Johnson, Bruce Jenner, Dan O'Brien and Bryan Clay have won the gold medal and gone on to fame and glory.

 

Ashton Eaton is the next in this great line of American decathletes. In June, he set a world record of 9,039 points at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

2. Women's Basketball Team

The U.S. team poses with President Obama.
Pool/Getty Images

The U.S. women's basketball team has won the gold medal at the past four Olympic Games. And it would be a monumental upset if the Americans didn't win it again in London.

 

Players such as Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Lindsay Whalen, Tamika Catchings, Seimone Augustus and Sue Bird can simply out-class almost any opponent.

 

The men's team gets most of the attention, but the women's team is probably even more dominant.

1. Men's Basketball Team

Carmelo Anthony
David Becker/Getty Images

At this point, it would be a lot more interesting if this year's so-called Dream Team failed to win a gold medal, like it did in 2004.

 

Because if you go over the roster, there's really no way that the United States could come up short of the gold medal.

 

LeBron James? Check. Carmelo Anthony? Check. Kobe Bryant? Check.

 

Yes, there were a couple of key injuries near the end of the NBA season, but the team is looking sharp in its tuneups for London.