London 2012: Breaking Down Australia's Top 10 Athletes to Watch in the Olympics

Australia will enter the 2012 London Olympics as one of the nations to watch, with a plethora of strong athletes and a history of strong performances at the Olympic Games over the past few decades.

Beginning with the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Australia has finished in the top 15 nations at each Games in terms of total medal count. And the nation has placed in the top 10 in five of the past six Olympiads.

With several high-profile athletes across a myriad of fields set to represent the Aussies in London, let's take a look at Australia's top 10 athletes to watch in the 2012 Olympics.

10. Bronte Barratt

Women's swimming—200-meter freestyle, 400 freestyle, 4x200 freestyle relay

Bronte Barratt is an Australian swimming sensation to watch in London. The youngster won the 200-meter freestyle and finished second in the 400 freestyle at the Australian Olympic trials.

After bursting on to the world stage by breaking the Australian 400 freestyle record at just age 18, Barratt already has Olympic gold next to her name after winning the 4x200 freestyle relay in Beijing and will be looking to add to her total in London.

9. Stephanie Rice

Women's swimming—200-meter individual medley, 400 individual medley

Still recovering from a debilitating shoulder injury, Stephanie Rice is continuing to produce impressive times in both the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys and will no doubt be a threat in London.

Rice put her rivals on notice after clocking a 4:33.45 in the 400 IM at the Australian Olympic trials—confirming that the current world record holder and Olympic champion is well and truly back in competition.

8. Steve Hooker

Men's pole vault

Steve Hooker enters the London Olympics as the reigning Olympic champion, having clinched gold in the event four years ago in Beijing. Hooker jumped 5.96 meter to win gold, and whilst a severe injury has made the past few seasons tough, he will still be a force to be reckoned with in London.

As one of only two men ever to eclipse the 6-meter mark in pole vaulting history, Steve Hooker is certainly one of Australia's top medal hopes in the Olympics.

7. Bernard Tomic

Men's tennis

Tipped as one of the few men capable on the ATP Tour of breaking up the Novak Djokovic/Rafael Nadal/Roger Federer trifecta at the Olympics is Australian teenage sensation Bernard Tomic.

Tomic had a breakout tournament at the Australian Open earlier in the year—defeating the likes of Fernando Verdasco and Alexandr Dolgopolov before being eliminated by Federer. 

The teenager advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year, and with the London Olympics set to take place on the very same courts, Tomic could be a real contender throughout the tournament.

6. Anna Meares

Women's track cycling—500-meter time trial, team sprint, individual sprint

Anna Meares will enter the 2012 London Olympics as the one woman capable of stopping English sprinter Victoria Pendleton from claiming gold in front of her home crowd.

Meares recently lost by millimeters earlier this year and, with Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medals already next to her name, will be looking to churn out similar performances in London.

5. Sally Pearson

Women's 100-meter hurdles

Sally Pearson will enter the London Olympics as the favorite for the 100-meter hurdles after clocking the fastest time of the year to date at 12.49 seconds at the Australian Olympic trials.

Pearson is also the reigning world champion and will be looking to go one better in London from her silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

4. Patrick Mills

Men's basketball

Currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Patty Mills will lead the Australian men's basketball team at the 2012 Olympics, with Mills a good bet to shine throughout the tournament.

The Australian team doesn't boast the same personnel as Team USA or Spain, but with Mills bound to frequently get his hands on the ball, he will no doubt have a strong impact. 

When San Antonio rested its starters in the final game of the regular season, Mills found himself starting at point guard and getting a lot of ball. In that game, he went 14-from-25 with 34 points, 12 assists and five rebounds against the Golden State Warriors to lead the Spurs to victory.

Expect those type of numbers from Mills in London.

3. Jamie Dwyer

Men's field hockey

Jamie Dwyer will lead the Australian men's field hockey team at the 2012 Olympics—the only Australian team across any sport to have finished in the top three throughout the last five Olympics.

Dwyer has played over 250 matches for the Kookaburras and scored over 160 goals in that time. He has been voted World Hockey Player of the Year three times and will no doubt be tough to come up against in the London Olympics.

2. Matthew Mitcham

Men's diving—3-meter springboard, 5-meter platform, 10-meter platform

Another athlete who dominated at Australian Olympic trials was diver Matthew Mitcham, who scored a perfect dive during the selection trials.

Mitcham won the 10-meter platform diving at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and will no doubt be looking to do the same again in London.

1. James Magnussen

Swimming—50-meter freestyle, 100 freestyle, 4x100 freestyle relay

After smashing the Australian Olympic trials earlier in the year with a blistering 47.10 seconds in the 100 freestyle, James Magnussen established himself as not only the man to beat in the pool but also a threat to the world record mark.

Magnussen is just 19 hundredths of a second away from the 46.91 record held by Cesar Cielo, and the brash Australian enters London with the fastest 100 time of the year. He'll no doubt be a genuine threat across all three events in the 2012 Olympics.

Follow Dan on Twitter: @dantalintyre