US Olympic Swimming Trials Results 2012: 10 Biggest Surprises for Team USA

The U.S. Olympic swimming team is rapidly filling out. Fifteen male and female swimmers have cemented their spots in London. Swimming trials will conclude on July 2.

Some of these current qualifiers may come as a surprise, while some reputable names are absent from the list of American representatives. A handful of relatively unknown competitors have made the cut thus far, but some veterans (Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, Amanda Beard) are in dangerous positions.

Let's rank the biggest surprises from this year's U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

10. Rachel Bootsma

Rachel Bootsma may only be 18 years old, but she didn't race that way in her second-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke. 

Bootsma's 100 back performance bested legendary Natalie Coughlin and Bonnie Brandon. Upsetting Brandon is one thing, but Coughlin is the gold standard for women's Olympic swimming. Defeating, arguably, America's greatest female swimming competitor is no small feat for a teenager.

This will be Bootsma's first career Olympics. She holds the national high school record in the 100 back, and the Pan American Games' record as well, but this is the Olympic trials. The competition is completely different, and the moment can be too big for some. 

Bootsma's performance was surprising because of her age and relative inexperience. 

9. Claire Donahue

Claire Donahue qualified for the Olympic team with her second-place finish in the 100-meter butterfly. She finished behind Dana Vollmer, but she bested Christine Magnuson and Natalie Coughlin. 

That alone is an accomplishment. No one expected Donahue to finish higher than either of these established 100-fly competitors. 

In 2008, Donahue qualified for the Olympic trials, but she had a very poor showing. She finished second in the 2011 National Championships in the 100 fly, but this is a very different level of competition.

Donahue will try to continue her unlikely momentum in London. 

8. Christine Magnuson

Christine Magnuson isn't going to be a member of the U.S. Olympic team this year. She failed to qualify in every one of her freestyle and butterfly events.

Magnuson isn't a swimming legend, but she's been very good in her young career. The 26-year-old has five career medals in international competition and earned a silver medal in the 100 fly at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. 

Losing in her main event is one thing, but her failure to qualify in any event is amazing. Prior to the trials, she was expected to be one of the team's best fly swimmers. Instead, she will be watching the games from home. 

7. Scott Weltz

Scott Weltz finished first in the 200-meter breaststroke final from an underdog position. Brendan Hansen and Eric Shanteau (both didn't qualify) were the final's favorites.

Weltz has never qualified for an Olympic team. Shanteau and Hansen are both established performers, and this was their favorite race. Instead of backing down, Weltz delivered the best performance of his young professional career. 

He finished third in this year's 100 breast final, but this still comes as a shock. He's very unproven, and he defeated two decorated swimmers.

The 25-year-old will be one of the United States' most improbable team members in London.

6. Brendan Hansen

Brendan Hansen is a former world-record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke, but he didn't qualify for the event in this year's Olympic games. 

Scott Weltz and Clark Burckle claimed the top two spots, and Hansen was left on the outside looking in. That's completely uncharacteristic of this four-time Olympic medalist. 

Hansen will still have a chance to medal in London. He's already qualified for the 100 breast, and he's earned a spot on this year's team, but you expect an elite swimmer to dominate their strongest event. 

He's won 23 medals throughout the major international events of his professional career. He's the only swimmer to ever win four gold medals in the 100 breast in the World Aquatics Championships, and he's fared well on the longer distance as well. 

There just isn't anything that says "Hansen just can't cut it in this event." His failure to qualify is surprising.

5. Cammile Adams

Cammile Adams will be going to London to race in the 200-meter butterfly. She was the final's top seed, but she upset Kathleen Hersey (2008 Olympic team member) and Kim Vandenberg (former Olympic medalist). 

Adams has had success in this event in the past. She finished fourth in the 200 fly in the 2009 National Championships and won gold in the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, but that doesn't take away from the surprise.

The last time she attempted to qualify for the Olympics in the 200 fly, she finished 19th. Granted, that was four years ago. She's been a dominant collegiate swimmer, especially in this event, but she wasn't expected to earn a bid this year.

4. Eric Shanteau

Eric Sheanteau has already qualified for the Olympic team in the 100-meter breaststroke, but he failed in the 200 breast. Scott Weltz and Clark Burckle claimed the top two spots in the final heat. 

Shanteau finished nearly three seconds behind his personal best in the 200 final. His third-place finish wouldn't normally be disappointing but, for a swimmer of his caliber, it is. 

He finished second in 200 breast at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials. He missed the final heat in Beijing, but he performed admirably (.13 seconds off).

Shanteau set an American record for the 200 breast in the 2009 U.S. National Championships. That time also qualified him for the World Championships in Rome later that year. 

He finished second in the 200 breast in Rome. 

Qualifying for the team is the important part, but Shanteau's third-place finish was surprising. He's one of the world's fastest swimmers in that event. 

3. Jessica Hardy

Jessica Hardy is the world-record holder for the 100-meter breaststroke, but she didn't qualify for the event in this year's Summer Olympics. She will have one more chance to qualify for the U.S. team in the 100-meter freestyle event. 

Hardy's loss to Rebecca Soni and Breeja Larson was shocking to say the least. Granted, Soni is the reigning world champion in the event, but that still isn't a world record. Larson was an outstanding swimmer for Texas A&M for three years (forewent senior year to turn professional), but she's still not a proven Olympic competitor.

She's won 19 medals in her international swimming career. This is one of the titan's of the female swimming world. It would be bigger if Michael Phelps didn't qualify on the men's side, but this is comparable. 

If she doesn't qualify in the 100 free, the "shock value" here will increase exponentially.

2. Breeja Larson

Breeja Larson's victory over Rebecca Soni and Jessica Hardy in the 100-meter breaststroke was unthinkable. It's still hard to believe that it actually happened. 

Larson is accomplished at the college level, but knocking off a world-record holder (Hardy) and last year's champion (Soni) is unfathomable.

This isn't the same as when Larson took gold in the 100-yard breast in the 2011 Big 12 championships. The athletes she defeated in Omaha are among the world's best at what they do. This is arguably the biggest surprise of the Olympic trials thus far, and it may not be matched.

The look on Larson's face (pictured) says it all. We didn't expect this outcome, and I'm not sure she did either. Against the likes of Soni and Hardy, how could you?

1. Natalie Coughlin

Natalie Coughlin, one of the greatest female swimmers of all-time, is on the verge of missing the Olympic cut entirely. She failed to qualify in the 100-meter backstroke and the 100 butterfly.

She will have one more chance in the 100 free. If she doesn't come through, she will miss on a chance to become the most established female swimmer in American history.

She has 11 career Olympic medals and needs one to more to tie the all-time mark. Six of those came in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Coughlin has been named World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year. Her list of accolades goes on and on. 

Her current failures are the most shocking storyline from the trials thus far. If she fails to qualify completely, it's arguably one of the biggest disappointments in American swimming history.