Olympics 2012: Power Ranking the Best American Athletes

With the 2012 Olympics from London just days away, the United States will look to once again reclaim their place at the top of the medal count leaderboard.

In the 2008 games, America won the overall medal count with 110, but lost the gold-medal race to China.

This time around, USA is loaded with athletes who are at the top of their game and ready to go bring home the gold for their country.

Here is a look at 25 of the best athletes America has to offer at this year's Summer Games. 

25. Venus Williams: Tennis

Although Venus Williams hasn't won a Grand Slam singles event since 2008, she is still one of the top players in the world and a force to be reckoned with in the Olympic Games.

Venus is the defending doubles' gold medalist from 2008 that she won with her sister Serena. The siblings also won Wimbledon this year, so they have to be considered the favorites going into the event. 

Venus won the singles' gold medal in the 2000 Games in Sydney. 

24. Jordan Burroughs: Wrestling

Coming off of two gold medals in the 2011 World Championships and Pan American Games, Jordan Burroughs will be the class of USA Wrestling in the 2012 Games.

After spending four years at Nebraska winning an NCAA championship, Burroughs has already made a splash on the international scene and will be a fixture in this year's Olympics, as well as 2016.

23. LaShawn Merritt: Athletics

Track star LaShawn Merritt is the defending gold medalist in the 400 meters and also won gold with the 400 meters relay squad for the US in 2008.

Coming off a two-year ban after failing a drug test, Merritt won the silver medal in the 2011 World Championships and was the top qualifier at the Olympic Trials.

Although he recently tweaked his hamstring in a race, Merritt believes he will be ready to go for London and has to be considered a serious threat once he gets there. 

22. Steven Lopez: Taekwondo

Steven Lopez won back-to-back gold medals for taekwondo in 2000 and 2004 and picked up a bronze in 2008.

In 2012, Lopez will look to get back on top and win gold for the third time.

Lopez is the only fighter to ever win five career world championships in taekwondo. 

21. Angelo Taylor: Athletics

Angelo Taylor is a three-time Olympic gold medalist winning the men's 400-meter hurdles in 2000 and 2008 and the men's 4x400 relay in 2008 as well.

At age 33, Taylor is back and better than ever coming off a World Championship gold-medal performance in 2011 in Daegu. 

20. Kristin Armstrong: Cycling

At age 38, Kristin Armstrong is one of the oldest U.S. competitors in this year's Games, but she is also one of the best.

Armstrong won the gold medal in the 2008 Games in the women's road time trial, besting the silver medalist by over 25 seconds.

Armstrong took some time off over the last four years to start a family, but she is back now and the biggest name in the U.S. cycling realm going into the Games. 

19. Tamika Catchings: Basketball

The USA women's basketball team will be heavy favorites to win its third straight gold medal in the 2012 Games, and that is thanks in large part to Tamika Catchings.

The 33-year-old Catchings is the reigning WNBA MVP, a seven-time All Star and has won gold in 2004 and 2008.

18. Jessica Hardy: Swimming

While much of the attention in swimming is going to the men's side, the women's team of USA swimmers also has several medal contenders, including 25-year-old Jessica Hardy.

Hardy is the current world-record holder in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke. 

Hardy was unable to compete at the 2008 Games after failing a drug test, but now she will get her shot in 2012 and will be one of the favorites in her events. 

17. Brady Ellison: Archery

Brady Ellison may be going under the radar because of his sport of archery, but he is a name you should get to know before the Games start.

Ellison is the current top-ranked archer in the world and picked up gold in the 2011 Pan American Games, as well as bronze in the World Championships.

Ellison was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Games but this year he looks to be a favorite in the archery competition. 

16. Sanya Richards-Ross: Athletics

Sanya Richards-Ross is an American sprinter who walked out of Beijing in 2008 with two medals, including a gold in the 4x400-meter relay.

Richards-Ross won the gold for the 400 meters in the 2009 world outdoor championships and in the 2012 world indoor championships, and has set four world-leading times already this year. 

15. Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor: Beach Volleyball

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings are not only the most famous beach volleyball team of all time, but they are also the most successful.

May-Treanor and Walsh-Jennings have won back-to-back gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics for beach volleyball. They had their 112-match winning streak snapped in 2008 and will have tough competition going into this year's event, not being the No. 1 seeds.

Still, it would be foolish to doubt May-Treanor and Walsh-Jennings, who have proven themselves to be among the best Olympic athletes in history. 

14. Kobe Bryant: Basketball

Despite being 33 years of age, Kobe Bryant is still among the greatest basketball players in the world, and he will look to bring the USA its second consecutive gold medal in the 2012 Games. 

Kobe can still bring it, scoring at 28 points per game last year, and now he will be the veteran leader of a USA team that will face stiff competition from Spain and Argentina in the Olympic Games. 

13. Danell Leyva: Gymnastics

Danell Leyva is one of the best overall gymnasts in the world, and at the 2012 Olympic Games he will look to rack up the medals for the USA.

Leyva won gold in the parallel bars in the 2011 world championships, as well as gold in parallel bar, horizontal bars and the all-around in the 2012 U.S. Visa National Championships. 

12. Allyson Felix: Athletics

Coming off two straight silver medals in the '04 and '08 Games in the 200 meters, Allyson Felix managed to qualify for this year's games and now has her sights set to the gold.

Felix has won dozens of medals in her career in the 200, 400 and relay races, and has qualified for the 100- and 200-meter races in London.

In the 200 qualifying, Felix ran a personal best of 21.69 seconds and is the favorite going into that event. 

11. Diana Taurasi: Basketball

Diana Taurasi is simply put one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time, and she will once again lead the USA women's basketball team into the Olympics as heavy favorites to take home the gold.

Taurasi is a five-time WNBA All-Star and scoring champion and two-time gold-medal winner in 2004 and 2008. She will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with in London in 2012 as well. 

10. Alex Morgan: Soccer

Despite being the youngest player on her squad in the 2011 World Cup, Alex Morgan shined, scoring goals in the USA's semifinal and final matches.

Morgan made her mark on the World Cup despite the USA failing to win the title, so now Morgan will once again look to prove herself on the Olympic stage.

Morgan and the USA squad will want to get a sour taste out of their mouth from losing to Japan in the World Cup final, and she, along with co-stars Hope Solo and Abby Wambach, will lead the way in trying to win gold. 

9. Jordyn Wieber: Gymnastics

With Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson not competing, the new face of American gymnastics has now become Jordyn Wieber.

Wieber has won seven all-around gold medals since 2010 and is a heavy favorite to win gold in London, as well as leading the American team to gold.

Wieber, at age 17, will be competing in her first Olympics, but is already made a name for herself going into the event with her success in the gymnastics scene. 

8. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers: Beach Volleyball

Widely regarded as one of the greatest beach volleyball players of all time, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers will look to repeat their 2008 gold-medal performance in London in 2012.

Dalhausser and Rogers are the reigning FIVB world champions and are considered favorites once again to walk away with the gold.

7. Kevin Durant: Basketball

Coming off of his first NBA Finals appearance, 23 year-old Kevin Durant may very well be the future of USA basketball.

Durant won the 2010 World Championship MVP while leading the USA to victory. Now playing alongside Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Durant looks to win his first Olympic gold medal. 

Durant not only led the league in scoring last season for the third year in a row, he also led his Oklahoma City Thunder squad to a Western Conference championship.

At 6'10'', Durant will be hard, if not impossible, to stop in international play. 

6. Logan Tom: Volleyball

Despite being only 31, 2012 will be Logan Tom's fourth Olympic appearance for Team USA women's volleyball.

Tom led the USA squad to a silver medal in 2008 and fourth place in 2004.

Tom has won dozens of awards during her international career, including MVP of the World Grand Prix in 2004 and most recently best server at the 2011 NORCECA championships. 

5. Missy Franklin: Swimming

In a short amount of time, Missy Franklin is establishing herself as the female face of the Olympics, at least for the USA.

Franklin, at age 17, is already a world-record holder in the 200-meter backstroke and the American-record holder in the 100 backstroke.

Franklin, who won the FINA Swimmer of the Year award for 2011, will compete in four events in London. 

4. Ryan Lochte: Swimming

The top challenger to Michael Phelps in this year's Summer Olympics will be none other than fellow American Ryan Lochte.

Lochte vs. Phelps will be one of the more intriguing storylines going into London, and Lochte looks though he has a legitimate shot at knocking off Phelps in many of the events.

Lochte is a world-record holder in both the 200-meter individual medley and the 400 individual medley.  

In the 2011 world championships, Lochte won five gold medals that included beating Phelps in two events. 

3. Serena Williams: Tennis

Despite winning two women's doubles gold medals, there is only one thing missing from Serena Williams' trophy case: a singles' gold medal at the Olympics.

It seems like no better time than the present for Williams to achieve this goal, fresh off of her win at Wimbledon for her 14th Grand Slam title.

Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and should be the favorite to win gold in the Olympics but she will be challenged by her sister, as well as Maria Sharapova and the world's top player, Victoria Azarenka. 

2. LeBron James: Basketball

Now that his NBA career has been validated with his first career NBA championship, LeBron James will turn his focus to the next potential accomplishment of his storied career: winning back-to-back gold medals with Team USA.

LeBron will be the best player on the best team in the Olympics, and he should dominate London.

James is coming off his third NBA MVP award last season to go along with his NBA championship, and with LeBron playing at his best, it will be tough for any team to match up with America's skill level. 

1. Michael Phelps: Swimming

The greatest swimmer of all time and perhaps the greatest Olympian of all time is back for one more go at it in 2012.

Phelps did the unthinkable in 2008, winning eight gold medals and passing Mark Spitz's record set in 1972.

Phelps, at age 27, is falling back to the pack slightly, with challengers like Ryan Lochte hot on his heels, but still he is easily the best swimmer in the world. 

In 2012, Phelps will compete in seven more events, where he will hope to add on to his record 14 gold-medal victories.