US Olympic Gymnastics Trials 2012: Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson Supplanted

In 2008, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson led the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team to unprecedented individual success in Beijing, taking gold and silver in the all-around competition, respectively. The run of glory for the two is long over, but even so the U.S. team that will head to London in July may be even better than the one from four years ago.

The future is very bright for U.S. gymnastics. Liukin and Johnson were the two best gymnasts in the world, but with them gone a new crop comes forth.

Jordyn Wieber won the all-around at the 2011 World Championships and is the two-time defending U.S. champion. Several other young and capable Americans will be joining Wieber in taking over for Liukin and Johnson.

Johnson was forced to retire on June 3 due to her left knee problems, and Liukin took some time off from gymnastics. She ended up stepping away for more than two years before mounting a comeback that seems destined to fall short of an Olympic berth.

Now, the new crop of gymnasts is surpassing them.

Wieber is perhaps the best gymnast in the world, and she has a teammate that can rival her as well.

There is no step down from Wieber to Gabby Douglas. In the national championship in early June, Douglas lost to Wieber by a mere two-tenths of a point.

Wieber and Douglas will form a duo that will replace Liukin and Johnson. This new tandem may be just as good as the old, and could enjoy very similar success in London.

The best part about the current crop of gymnasts is that the rest of the team is much stronger than it was in Beijing.

The U.S. team, which will only feature five members this year, as opposed to six in 2008, and seven in previous Games, is likely to include Aly Raisman. Raisman recently won the all-around at the 2012 Secret U.S. Classic, beating out a field which included Wieber and Douglas. And Kyla Ross was the one who finished second by just 0.550 points, making her another great gymnast expected to make the team.

Throw McKayla Maroney into the mix as well, and the U.S. team is guaranteed to be stacked. Maroney is an elite gymnast who specializes in the Amanar vault, which is sure to help the team.

Those are my five picks for the U.S. team, but they are far from set in stone.

Elizabeth Price, Alicia Sacramone, Bridget Sloan, Sabrina Vega, Kennedy Baker, Rebecca Bross, Brenna Dowell, Sarah Finnegan and Anna Li are also in the mix, all fighting to compete in London.

Liukin is still attempting to make the U.S. team, but with so much competition around her it would be nothing short of shocking to see her do so.

With such great talent on the team, the U.S. is bound to be a serious threat to win the team gold this summer.

Liukin and Johnson were a great pair in the past, but the 2012 team replaces them, and goes five members deep.

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