London 2012: American Sprinters with the Best Chance to Take Gold

The US Olympic team has a great shot at dominating the sprints at the 2012 London games. Of course, there is a certain Jamaican sprinter named Usain Bolt that will have a say in this. 

He is the current world record holder in both the 100m and 200m sprints. If he runs his best race, he is unbeatable. However, there are couple of Americans that can be right on his heels and steal the gold if he has just the slightest misstep. 

Here is a look at the two men and one woman with the best chance to come home with Olympic gold in the sprints. 

Tyson Gay, 100m

Usain Bolt is the only man to ever run the 100m faster than Gay's best time of 9.69. Gay has been an elite sprinter for years, but injuries have always been a problem for him. 

Obviously, he is going to have to stay healthy if he wants to win his first gold medal, and if he is fortunate enough to accomplish that, he has an excellent chance. 

Gay has recently been on the sidelines while nursing a labral tear and hip impingement, but these injuries should be well behind him for the Olympics. 

A fully healthy Gay, 29, is completely capable of dominating. In fact, he beat Usain Bolt in 2010 in this race. 

If Gay makes it to the starting line of the finals of the Olympics, his showdown with Usain Bolt promises to be one of the highlights of the games. 

Walter Dix, 100m, 200m

Dix took the bronze in the 100m in the 2008 games, and he has a personal best in the event of 9.88 seconds. Still, he is stronger in the 200m. His 19.53 personal best in the 200 makes him the fourth fastest human in the history of the event. 

Dix, 26, should be reaching his peak for the Olympics, and this is a scary thought for the rest of the competitors. 

In the 2011 World Championships, he was second in both the 100m and 200m events, and he took first in the 200m at the IAAF Diamond League event at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix.

Allyson Felix, 100m, 200m

Felix, 26, is already an accomplished 200m sprinter. She is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event. 

The 200m is definitely her best chance to take home the gold, but she can't be counted out in the 100m. That is, if she chooses to run it. 

The likelihood of her competing in the 100m undoubtedly received a big boost when she recently won two 100m races.

The first was in Kawasaki, Japan. The second was just a week later in Doha, Qatar. In the second, she took down a top-flight field that included defending 100m Olympic champ, Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She ran a career-best time of 10.92 seconds in that event.