USA Olympics 2012: American Hopefuls and Medal Predictions

Emil Milev is one of seven five-time Olympians who are participating with the U.S. Olympic Team in London, and yet he's not quite a household name.

Some of the others, like track and field's Amy Acuff and women's volleyball Danielle Scott-Arruda, are a little more well-known.

Milev is one of the world's greatest rapid fire pistol shooters and is joined by shooting teammate Kim Rhode as a five-time Olympian.

The others are Phillip Dutton (equestrian), Khatuna Lorig (archery) and Karen O’Connor (equestrian), who also happens to be the oldest U.S. Olympian at age 54.

In all, 529 Americans are on the team, 268 of them female, the first time in history there are more females than males representing the United States. It is, however, far more representative of the U.S. population as a whole.

Swimmer Katie Ledecky is the youngest Olympian at age 15. The average age is 27.

So we take a look at some of the possibilities from the obscure to the prime time. These are all Americans, all with differing political views, world views and opinions. And yet they come together as one to show us once again that we are these United States.

Adrienne Lyle Is Not Just Horsing Around

• Adrienne Lyle, equestrian
• Events: dressage
• Age: 27
• Hometown: Hailey, Idaho
• College: Washington State
• Quick prediction: Silver

Lyle, one of the youngest athletes to have competed in Olympic dressage, began riding on her parents' cattle ranch at a young age. Now she is a top dressage competitor.

She is headed to the 2012 London Olympics with a dependable 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding named Wizard.

Her coach is Debbie McDonald, a U.S. Olympic dressage icon.

The Lady is a Champion

Marlen Esparza, boxing

Events: flyweight

Age: 23

Hometown: Houston, Texas

School: Pasadena High School

Quick prediction: Gold

Esparza is the six-time reigning national champion in her class and considers her stamina her strength. That's exactly what a boxer needs to get through the grueling Olympic tournament.

She won the bronze medal in the 2006 World Championships and the gold medal in the 2008 Pan American Games.

In addition to being a championship boxer, Esparza was also the student body president at her high school.

Mind Over Matter Leads to Olympics for Harrison

• Kayla Harrison, judo
• Events: 78 kg
• Age: 22
• Hometown: Wakefield, MA
• School: West Middletown High School
• Quick prediction: Gold

Kayla Harrison is the defending world champion and ranks fourth in the world. If she wins the gold medal she would become the first American athlete to do so. Ronda Rousey won the bronze medal in 2008.

She nearly quit the sport after a childhood coach, 16 years her senior, was jailed for sexually assaulting her over an extended period of time. He was put away in 2007.

That didn't stop Harrison from feeling guilty. She began healing after moving from Ohio to Pedro's Judo Center in Massachusetts, from where Rousey emerged.

Timing is Everything in Synchronized Diving

• Troy Dumais, diving
• Events: 3-meter synchro, 3-meter
• Age: 32
• Hometown: Austin, Texas
• College: Texas
• Quick prediction: Silver (synchro), Finals (3-meter)
• Kristian Ipsen, diving
• Event: 3-meter synchro
• Age: 19
• Hometown: Walnut Creek, Calif.
• Quick prediction: Silver

Troy Dumais doesn't know how much time is left for him. He's entered in his fourth Olympic Games and this could be his last chance at an Olympic medal. At age 32, he took on teenage sensation Kristian Ipsen as a partner and the two have clicked.

Dumais has devoted nearly 25 years of his life to diving, working out eight hours a day. Being an NCAA champion is one thing. Achieving a spot on the Olympics awards platform is another.

Ipsen, a freshman at Stanford, won an NCAA diving title in his first championship meet. He knows how much it means to Dumais and has put a lot of effort into making it happen.

A Long Shot at Best, Where There's a Will There's a Way

• Ariel Hsing, table tennis
• Event: Singles
• Age: 17
• Hometown: San Jose, Calif.
• School: Valley Christian High School
• Quick Prediction: Bronze

Ariel Hsing has played table tennis with Warren Buffett and helped celebrate his 75th birthday.

She practices twice a day, sometimes at two different facilities.

She's currently ranked 137th in the world, so even making the medal round would be an unlikely accomplishment. She's ranked fourth among the under-18 age group.

Maybe this is the time she grows into an international star.

She May Be Rowing but it's Far from Gently

• Genevra “Gevvie” Stone, rowing
• Event: Single Sculls Hometown:  Newton, MA
  
• Age: 27
  
• College: Princeton
  
• Quick Prediction: Bronze

Genevra Stone has a goal in mind of winning an Olympic medal and then finishing her medical degree. She's done pretty well in both areas so far.

Her parents, Gregg and Lisa Stone, were both elite rowers on the U.S. national and Olympic teams and have served as an inspiration to her.

Double Their Pleasure and Double Their Fun with Double Gold Medals

• Bob, Michael Bryan, tennis
• Event: doubles
• Hometown: Camarillo, Calif.
• Age: 34
• College: Stanford
• Quick prediction: Gold

They have won more ATP titles and Grand Slam titles than any other doubles team. They became the first doubles team to reach the final at every Grand Slam event in one year.

The Bryan brothers, for all their good fortune, have never won an Olympic gold medal. They earned the bronze medal in Beijing and will look for that elusive gold this time around.

Michael Phelps Is Worth His Weight in Gold Medals

• Michael Phelps, swimming
• Events: 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 800 Free Relay
• Age: 27
• Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
• School: Michigan
• Quick Prediction: Silver (200 IM), Silver (400 IM), Gold (100 fly), Silver (200 fly), Gold (800 free relay)

If there's any doubt left at all, these Olympic Games will serve as proof positive that Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer in Olympic history.

Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals, including 14 gold, in two Olympics. This year he will surpass the 18 medals Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold. Phelps also holds the all-time record for most gold Olympic medals, at 14.

Ricky Berens: World Record Holder and Olympic Gold Medalist

• Ricky Berens, swimming
• Events: 800 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay
• Age: 24
• Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
• College: Texas
• Quick prediction: Gold (800 relay), Gold (400 relay)

Berens won the gold medal in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Peter Vanderkaay, setting a world record of 6:58.56.

Berens swam the third leg in a relay split time of 1:46.29. Berens was the only member of the finals team to swim in the preliminary heats, posting a time of 1:45.47, just faster than Klete Keller's 1:45.51, to be selected to swim in the final.

He may be a little overshadowed by his more glamorous teammates, but Berens has always been a solid performer.

California Dreamer Adrian Nathan Sets Sights on London Gold

• Adrian Nathan, swimming
• Events: 100 Free, 400 Free Relay
• Age: 23
• Hometown: Bremington, WA
• College: California
• Quick Prediction: Gold (100 free), Gold (400 relay)

In the preliminaries of the 400-meter freestyle relay in the 2008 Olympics, Adrian swam the first leg, with a split time of 48.82. Cullen Jones, Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers completed the relay in 3:12.23, a world record.

The record was broken one day later when Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak swam 3:08.24, beating France and Australia in the final. By swimming in the heats, Adrian earned a gold medal even though he didn't swim in the final.

In the 100 free he's about to show he can win on his own.

Bootsma Has US Olympic Swimming's Back

• Rachel Bootsma, swimming
• Event: 100 back
• Age: 18
• Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota
• School: Eden Prairie High (California commit)
• Quick prediction: Silver

Rachel Bootsma is the best backstroker no one is talking about. Of course, when Natalie Coughlin and Missy "the Missile" Franklin are also in the conversation it's tough to get recognized.

That will change in London when she surprises a lot of people with her near upset in the 100 back over a crowded field of both Americans and international stars.

She finished second to Franklin throughout the Olympic Trials in her specialty, but also consistently raced under a minute and set a personal best of 59.10.

Not Such a Bitter Rivalry After All

• Kathleen Hersey, swimming
• Event: 200 Fly
• Age: 20
• Hometown: Athens, Georgia
• College: Texas
• Quick prediction: Silver
• Cammile Adams, swimming
• Event: 200 fly
• Age: 20
• Hometown: Houston, Texas
• College: Texas A&M
• Quick prediction: Gold

It took Cammile Adams a few moments to realize she had just won the Olympic Trials and earned a spot on the Olympic team. Then she burst into tears.

Adams overtook the favored Kathleen Hersey in the final 50 meters to gain the victory and out herself in the running for an Olympic medal.

Hersey also qualified with her second-place finish. She could just as easily be the winner in London. The two swimmers, from different colleges in Texas, will end up on the Olympic podium.

Carmelita Jeter: A Sprinter with a Purpose

• Carmelita Jeter, track and field
• Events: 100, 200, 400 relay
• Age: 32
• Hometown: Los Angeles
• College: California State University at Dominguez Hills
• Quick prediction: Gold (100), Silver (200), Gold (relay)

Carmelita Jeter has fully recovered from some injury problems and developed into a world-class sprinter. She'll get the attention she deserves after standing on the podium receiving her medal. Allyson Felix is still the one to beat in the 200.

Ashton Eaton Lays Claim to Being Greatest Athlete in the World

• Ashton Eaton, track and field
• Event: Decathlon
• Age: 24
• Hometown: Bend, Oregon
• College: Oregon
• Quick Prediction: Gold

Six years ago, Ashton Eaton, a high school state track and field champion, had never heard of the decathlon. After high school he was thinking about playing football for a Division III school nearby.

His high school coach suggested the decathlon to him, steered him to the University of Oregon, and then he worked with two coaches to develop into a world record holder.

Meb Keflezighi: Running Fast in the Slow Lane

• Meb Keflezighi, track and field
• Event: Marathon
• Age: 37
• Hometown: Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
• College: UCLA
• Quick prediction: Gold

Meb Keflezighi has been up and down and he's on the upswing again.

The silver medalist in the marathon eight years ago, he missed the 2008 Games with a broken hip, and quite possibly, a broken heart. His best friend and training partner died during the Olympic Trials.

This year he set a personal best at the trials and became the oldest to win the event. He'll be leaving the younger guys in his dust in London.

The Longer She Goes the Faster She Runs

• Shalane Flanagan, track and field
• Event: Marathon
• Age: 31
• Hometown: Portland, Oregon
• College: North Carolina
• Quick Prediction: Silver

Shalane Flanagan gets better the longer the distance. She holds the American record for the 5,000 and 10,000. She became the second American female to ever medal in the 10,000 when she finished third in the 2008 Olympics.

Flanagan was a cross country champion at North Carolina, the first the school had ever produced. These days she's just out there running ahead of the pack no matter what the distance.

LaShawn Merritt Is Running with a Purpose

• LaShawn Merritt, track and field
• Event: 400, 800 relay
• Age: 26
• Hometown: Suffolk, Virgina
• College: Old Dominion
• Quick prediction: Gold (400), Bronze (800 relay)

LaShawn Merritt may be the defending gold medalist in the 400 meters, but he's got plenty to prove in London.

After failing a series of drug tests, he served a 21-month ban from the sport. He's looking to add a little shine to his tarnished reputation.

Winning a gold medal is just the ticket.

Barnard Lagat Is Not Finished Running

• Bernard Lagat, track and field
• Event: 5,000
• Age: 37
• Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
• College: Washington State
• Quick prediction: Bronze

Barnard Lagat has a tale of two countries. Competing for Kenya he earned Olympic silver and bronze in the 1,500.

He's going to be running the 5,000 this time around, an event in which he has held the American record. He became an American citizen in 2005.

He finished second to Galen Rupp in the Olympic Trials but the seasoned veteran will do one place better in the Olympics.

She's About to Jump into History

• Brittney Reese, track and field
• Event: Long jump
• Age: 25
• Hometown: Gulfport, Mississippi
• College: Mississippi
• Quick prediction: Silver

The four-time world champion will be trying to jump past the American mark set by Jackie Joyner-Kersee 18 years ago. Brittney Reese came close to Joyner-Kersee's meet record at the Olympic Trials.

She's ready to lift off when she explodes off the boards in London.

Jordan Burroughs Wrestles with the Best

• Jordan Burroughs, wrestling
• Event: 163 pounds (74 kg)
• Age: 24
• Hometown: Camden, New Jersey
• College: Nebraska
• Quick prediction: Gold

Jordan Burroughs became the fourth wrestler in American history to win both an NCAA title and world championship title.

He has won every tournament he entered since the beginning of the 2009 season, including the Olympic Trials this year.

Burroughs expects to win. He has won all 34 of his freestyle matches on the Senior level after winning the 2011 NCAA title for Nebraska.

Burroughs is early the favorite heading into London, but he is in a very strong weight class.