Danell Leyva: U.S. Gymnast's Individual Medal Chances Hinge on Saturday Session

Danell Leyva is Team USA's top male gymnast and one of the sport's top all-around talents being featured in London. As a competitor, Leyva won't just compete for team-based glory. He will also attempt to qualify for individual accolades.

All of that begins on Saturday in the first round of qualifications. Leyva will have his first opportunity to prove himself worthy of Team USA's leadership role along with John Orozco, and he must make the most of it if he wants to earn his stripes in his two best events: high bar and parallel bars.

No athlete, or team, likes to get off on the wrong foot. Starting strong is imperative to success in any sport, but Saturday is Leyva's only chance to reach the plateau he's hoping for as an individual athlete. 

If Leyva doesn't perform well in Saturday's qualifying action, he won't move on to compete in individual events. Check out London2012.com's full explanation for how gymnastic qualification works. 

"

All gymnasts compete in the qualifications. The best eight teams then go through to the Team final, where three team members compete on each apparatus. Teams are ranked on their total score.

The best 24 individual gymnasts (maximum two from each country) go through to the Individual All-Around final, where gymnasts compete on all apparatus. The best eight gymnasts on each apparatus (maximum two from each country) go through to the individual apparatus finals.

"

Now you see why Saturday is so important. Leyva mush finish in the top eight of any event he wishes to compete for a medal in. That includes parallel bars, and the high bar (his self-proclaimed strongest event, according to BBC).

If he fails to do that, Leyva won't be out of the Olympics, but he will let his team down in a way. He can still compete with Team USA (assuming they qualify for the team final), but he's expected to stand on the medal podium as an individual in London. Anything else will be considered a major disappointment to him and his fellow countrymen.

Leyva doesn't have time to mess around. Chinese gymnasts Feng Zhe and Zou Kai are going to present stiff challenges in the parallel and high bar events. Any misstep from Leyva could cost him the precious chance to take home Olympic hardware. 

We already know that Japan and China are going to give Team USA everything they can handle in men's gymnastics. That means Team USA's best players, like Leyva, must perform to their maximum potential.

For Leyva, and the others, that begins Saturday. If he wants to realize his Olympic dreams, there's no room for error once the London games begin.