US Olympic Gymnastics Team 2012: USA's Best Bets for Gold in Individual Events

The U.S. Olympic gymnastics team is loaded with talent in 2012, and they have an opportunity to bring home numerous individual gold medals.

Led by Gabrielle Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Danell Leyva and John Orozco, they will challenge the top gymnasts from around the world in every discipline.

So let's take a look at which athletes have the best chance to bring home the gold in each individual event, as well as who can win the all-around.

Women's Vault

McKayla Maroney

Maroney is the prohibitive favorite to win this event, according to ESPN.com's Amy Van Deusen.

She is the 2011 World Champion, and she is fully aware of the high expectations she faces in London. In an interview with NBCOlympics.com, she said, "If I do my job I know I can get the gold medal. That’s what they picked me to be on the team for, so I need to be confident about that."

That said, Maroney is fortunate to be heading to London with her teammates this summer, as a bad fall on the second day of the Visa Championship forced her to bow out of the competition with a concussion, according to UniversalSports.com.

Thankfully for her and Team USA, Maroney recovered quickly and was selected to be a part of the team. 

In addition to being the reigning world champ, Maroney finished in first place at the Secret U.S. Classic and at the Olympic Trials.

Women's Uneven Bars

Kyla Ross and Gabrielle Douglas

Ross and Douglas tied for first place in this event earlier this year at the Olympic qualifiers, both scoring 31.150. Ross was more consistent, posting scores of 15.500 and 15.650, while Douglas posted scores of 15.250 and 15.900. 

Ross isn't flashy, but she gets the job done. Douglas (aka "Flying Squirrel" for the insane height she gets during her routines, according to the Los Angeles Times) shows more potential for a breakout performance this summer, but her inconsistency could derail her in this event. 

That said, Douglas won this event at the Pacific Rim Championship and the Secret U.S. Classic earlier this year, and if I had to pick her or Ross, I'd lean towards Douglas.

Both women will have a tough task ahead of them, though, as world champion Viktoria Komova will be competing in London as well.

Women's Balance Beam

Aly Raisman

Team USA will have a tough time beating the Chinese women in this discipline, but Raisman gives them the best chance after narrowly defeating training partner Alicia Sacramone at the U.S. Olympic Trials, posting a score of 30.350 to Sacramone's 30.150.

Out of her two routines, Raisman's best score was 15.400, which would have earned her a silver medal in the 2011 World Championships. In that tournament, China's Sui Lu scored an incredible 15.866 to take the gold.

Over her career, Raisman has had success on the beam, winning the gold medal at the 2012 Visa Championships, the silver medal at the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships and the bronze at the 2010 Visa Championships, according to USAGym.org.

Women's Floor Exercise

Aly Raisman

In addition to excelling on the balance beam, Raisman is America's best chance to win a gold medal in the floor exercise. 

She is the reigning U.S. champ, winning the gold medal at the 2012 Visa Championships. She also won gold at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer with a score of 31.100, squeaking past Jordyn Wieber, who scored a 31.000.

Raisman has had some success internationally in this event, as well, finishing with a bronze medal in the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo and silver medal in the 2010 Pacific Rim Championship in Melbourne. 

Women's All-Around

Jordyn Wieber and Gabrielle Douglas

America is lucky to have not one, but two women who could win the all-around gold medal. Douglas stunned Wieber at the U.S. Olympic Trials when she edged out Wieber for the all-around gold with a score of 123.450 to Wieber's 123.350.

Both women are strong in every discipline, and once the team competition is through, they'll be competing against one another for the chance to be called the best overall gymnast in the world.

Douglas is a relative newcomer to the big stage, and though she has the chops to win gold, I'm putting my money on Wieber to follow up her 2011 World Championships gold medal in the all-around with another gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games. 

Both women will have some heavy competition for the prize, though, as NBC's UniversalSports.com writes that Russia's Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina will be favorites, along with Wieber, to win gold this year.

Men's Floor Exercise

Jake Dalton

Dalton replaces Steven Legendre as the Americans' best chance for gold in this event after beating him by four-tenths of a point in the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this summer. He'll have his work cut out for him, though, as Japan, China and Brazil all have stellar contestants heading to London.

Dalton in up to the task, though. 

He won the gold medal at the U.S. National Championships in each of the last two years, and he was the NCAA champion in 2011.

That said, I'll be shocked if Dalton, or any other American, wins this event.

Men's Pommel Horse

Danell Leyva and John Orozco

Let me just say this right off the bat: America doesn't have a chance to win a gold medal in this event. 

However, the two best U.S. gymnasts on the pommel horse are Leyva and Orozco.

As an example of the disparity between their best efforts recently and the most recent big-time international competition, I'll be comparing their Olympic Trials to the 2011 World Championship scores.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Leyva's best score was a 14.90 and Orozco's best score was a 15.00. Neither of those scores would have gotten them a bronze medal (Britain's Louis Smith scored a 15.066 to win the bronze) in the 2011 World Championships, let alone the gold. 

Men's Rings

Jonathan Horton

Unfortunately for the Americans, this is another event that they aren't likely to win any medal, let alone the gold. That said, if anyone from Team USA has the chops to pull it off, it's Horton. 

Horton performed admirably at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer, winning the gold in this event with an aggregate score of 61.800. He was consistent throughout his four attempts, posting scores ranging from 15.40 to 15.50. 

That's not going to be enough to garner him a medal in London, though, as the top scores were all above 16.000. 

Men's Vault

Jake Dalton

With a little bit of luck and a flawless routine, Dalton could actually medal in this event, though I'd be shocked if he came away with the gold. 

Dalton has won the U.S. Championships in this event three of the last four years—2009, 2011 and 2012. He put together four excellent vaults at the U.S. Olympic Trials, posting scores over 16.10 every time. His best vault—his final one—earned him a score of 16.35. 

Going back into history, that score would have earned Dalton fourth place in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. 

Men's Parallel Bars

Danell Leyva

Leyva has an excellent chance to medal in this event, and he could come away with the gold medal with an inspired performance in London this summer.

Leyva is the reigning world champ, having won the gold medal in the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. He's also the reigning U.S. champ, having won the Visa Championship three years in a row.

Leyva is America's best hope for a gold medal on the men's side, but he'll have to perform to his highest levels in London. His gold-medal score at the 2011 World Championships of 15.633 would have earned him an eighth-place finish at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

Men's Horizontal Bar

Danell Leyva

Leyva is excellent on the parallel bars, but his specialty is on the horizontal bar. As a result, he has a chance to win not one, but two (or more) gold medals for Team USA this summer.

One of the reasons Leyva has a chance to win the gold on the horizontal bar is that he performs an extremely difficult routine, according to the Miami Herald:

"

Leyva, 20, wowed the HP Pavilion crowd with his spectacular high bar routine, which launches him toward the rafters and is peppered with intricate releases that provoke gasps. It’s a showstopper. The 7.2 degree of difficulty is the highest among U.S. men. Leyva opened with a score of 16.30 that held up as the highest for the afternoon.

"

Leyva went on to score a 16.35 the next day, and that score would have earned him a bronze medal in the 2011 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Games.

In addition to his stellar showing at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Leyva is a three-time U.S. champion, having won gold in the 2009, 2011 and 2012 U.S. National Championships.

Men's All-Around

Danell Leyva

Leyva has an excellent chance to stun the world by winning the all-around gold medal. 

In addition to his prowess in both the parallel and horizontal bars, Leyva is a terrific all-around gymnast, winning the gold at the 2011 U.S. National Championships and the silver in 2010 and 2012. 

He also won the U.S. Olympic Trials as the best all-around gymnast, and his high score of 92.95 would have earned him silver medals at both the 2011 World Championships and the 2008 Summer Games. 

It's a long shot for Leyva to win gold this summer in London, but I won't put it past him to step his game up to another level for the victory.

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