London 2012: Unheralded Events Worth Keeping an Eye on

We all know about the events that get a lot of air time on television, but there are plenty of events worth watching in the 2012 London Games.

Some have been overshadowed by the more popular events, while some have largely gone unnoticed, but that doesn't mean they don't boast impressive competition and storylines.

Here's a look at some events you should check out in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Water Polo

The intrigue in water polo this time around is that Hungary is going for its fourth gold medal in a row.

In fact, Hungary has won nine times since the 1900 Paris Games, more than any other country. That includes three silver medals in that span.

The US men and women both have a shot at a medal in 2012. The men won the silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Games after a long drought, while the women have won two silver medals and one bronze medal since the women's competition began in 2000. The men only have one gold medal in the Summer Olympics, and that was in 1904 when only Americans competed.

Modern Pentathlon

We all know about the triathlon, but what about the pentathlon?

Well, if you don't know, the pentathlon is shooting, swimming, running, horse jumping and fencing...combined. I get the sense that if more people knew what the pentathlon actually was, they would pay more attention.

Hungary and Sweden are tied for the most gold medals (nine), while the United States has never won a gold medal in the event. In fact, the United State's last medalist was Robert Beck in 1960 (bronze).

Russia's Andrey Moiseev has won the gold medal in the event the past two Olympic Games and is vying for a record third straight gold medal. 

Taekwondo

For fighting fans, or even fans of the artistic components of fighting, Taekwondo may be of interest. 

The big names are American siblings Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez. Since the event was made a full medal event in the 2000 Olympic Games, Steven has won two gold medals, while Mark won a silver medal and Diana won a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games.

Heavyweight Alexandros Nikolaidis has won the silver medal in the past two Olympic Games and is gunning for the gold this year on the men's side, with reigning champion Cha Dong-Min going for his second straight gold.

On the women's side, Diana Lopez goes for gold, but must compete with Pei-Hua Tseng of Chinese Taipei and China's Hou Yuzhuo.

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