US Olympic Team 2012: Ranking the Most Powerful States
Team USA is 530 athletes strong heading into the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. They come from all over this great country of ours, as 45 states are being represented this summer.
With that in mind, I'll hand out medals to the states with the highest volume of athletes and the most star power. Just like the Olympic trials, some states didn't quite make the cut and failed to qualify.
So, let's take a look at which states provided the most value to Team USA in 2012.
Watching from Back Home
1 of 6There are five states without representation this summer in London. Surprisingly, Alaska isn't one of them.
Here are the states whose residents will have to just root for the entire country, as they don't have any hometown heroes to cheer for in 2012.
* New Hampshire
* New Mexico
* North Dakota
* South Carolina
* West Virginia
Maybe they'll provide Team USA with some talent next time around. We'll just have to wait and see.
Non-Qualifiers
2 of 6These states all provided Team USA with one or more members, but unless you are a fan of the specific discipline these athletes compete in or you are family, you probably don't know who they are.
| State | Number of Athletes |
| Alabama | 2 |
| Alaska | 1 |
| Arkansas | 3 |
| Delaware | 1 |
| Idaho | 3 |
| Kansas | 3 |
| Maine | 1 |
| Mississippi | 3 |
| Montana | 2 |
| Rhode Island | 1 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Tennessee | 2 |
| Vermont | 2 |
| Wyoming | 2 |
Among the athletes represented by these fine states, we have archers, runners, rowers, shooters, cyclists, swimmers and martial arts experts. They are all worthy of praise for their accomplishments, but they aren't the ones most of us will tune in to watch.
Finalists
3 of 6These next states provided Team USA with four or more participants, but they still don't give us any big-name athletes. They almost made it to the medal rounds, but they'll have to let other states take the glory this time around.
| State | Number of Athletes |
| Arizona | 7 |
| Connecticut | 8 |
| Indiana | 4 |
| Louisiana | 5 |
| Minnesota | 8 |
| Missouri | 8 |
| Nebraska | 5 |
| Nevada | 4 |
| Utah | 4 |
| Wisconsin | 4 |
Among the athletes represented here, we have runners, rowers, shooters, wrestlers, volleyball players, cyclists, hammer throwers, gymnasts, boxers and weight lifters.
All of them are phenomenal athletes, but you aren't likely to see them on TV unless you happen to accidentally stumble across them in the wee hours of the night here in the states.
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Bronze Medalists
4 of 6These next states either give Team USA 10 or more athletes or at least one big-name athlete. Here's where we start to see some of the higher-profile sports being represented.
| State | Number of Athletes | Notable Athletes |
| Colorado | 11 | |
| Georgia | 18 | Maya Moore (women's basketball) |
| Hawaii | 4 | Lindsey Berg and Tamari Miyashiro (women's volleyball) |
| Illinois | 18 | Andre Iguodala (men's basketball), Candace Parker (women's basketball) |
| Iowa | 4 | Lolo Jones (women's 100-meter hurdles) |
| Kentucky | 4 | Tyson Gay (men's sprinter) |
| Massachusetts | 13 | |
| Michigan | 10 | |
| New Jersey | 19 | Jordan Burroughs (wrestling) |
| North Carolina | 11 | Megan Hodge (women's volleyball), Chris Paul (men's basketball) |
| Ohio | 17 | LeBron James (men's basketball), Holley Mangold (weight lifting and sister of New York Jets center Nick Mangold) |
| Oklahoma | 2 | Blake Griffin (men's basketball) |
| Oregon | 11 | Ashton Eaton (decathlon), Kevin Love (men's basketball) |
| Virginia | 15 | |
| Washington | 16 | Hope Solo (women's soccer) |
As you can see, there are some high-profile names here, and this is only for the bronze medal. I wonder what we're going to find next?
Silver Medalists
5 of 6Here we go.
These states fall just short of the ultimate prize of gold by providing solid, if not spectacular, athletes to Team USA and/or a high volume of athletes.
| State | Number of Athletes | Notable Athletes |
| Florida | 31 | John Isner (men's tennis), Ryan Lochte (men's swimming), Serena Williams and Venus Williams (women's tennis) |
| Maryland | 12 | Carmelo Anthony (men's basketball), Kevin Durant (men's basketball), Michael Phelps (men's swimming) |
| New York | 35 | Sue Bird (women's basketball) |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | Kobe Bryant (men's basketball) |
| Texas | 32 | Andy Roddick (men's tennis), Deron Williams (men's basketball) |
These states all give Team USA a fantastic chance to medal in their respective sports, and their athletes will be among the highest profile in London.
There is only one state left. Can you guess who wins gold?
Gold Medal
6 of 6This wasn't really even close. California—with 128 athletes—is far and away the gold medalist in this competition. In addition to the sheer size of the output, California has produced some of America's top athletes in some high-profile disciplines.
Here are a few of them, though I'm sure I missed someone:
* Bob and Mike Bryan (men's tennis, and yes, they're twins)
* Tyson Chandler (men's basketball)
* James Harden (men's basketball)
* Russell Westbrook (men's basketball)
* Natalie Coughlin (women's swimming)
* Carmelita Jeter (women's sprinter)
* McKayla Maroney (women's gymnastics)
Team USA has plenty to be excited about heading into the 2012 Summer Olympics. There are a ton of elite athletes from all around the country who will compete to the utmost of their abilities to bring home the gold.
I hope you enjoyed this slideshow. Please stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all your 2012 Summer Olympics news, analysis and reaction as we draw closer to opening night.
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