US Olympic Gymnastics Team 2012: Top Americans Gunning for Gold

While the U.S. women's gymnastics team is largely considered to be the favorite to win the all-around gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, the men are drawing comparisons to the 1984 gold medal team.

So, you can imagine the level of talent on both squads heading into the Olympics this summer.

Both the men and the women boast two youngsters with the potential to bring home the all-around gold. 

Here's a look at the top American gymnasts in the 2012 London Olympics. 

Men

Danell Leyva

Danell Leyva, at 20 years old, is already a world champion on the parallel bars and he has a shot at winning the all-around gold medal in the Olympics this summer.

Leyva has racked up 11 gold medals since the 2009 Visa National Championships, including the gold at the 2011 Tokyo World Championships.

While his specialty is the parallel bars and horizontal bar, Leyva has a solid all-around game, which should put him in position to capture a few medals this year. 

John Orozco

John Orozco, a 19-year-old native of the Bronx and the child of Puerto Rican parents, has a remarkable story.

He was ostracized throughout his early gymnastics career in the Bronx for being Puerto Rican and criticized by the Puerto Rican community for not taking up a more traditional sport for the culture, but he pushed on for his dreams.

Now, here he is, in his first Olympics. Not only that, he just beat out Leyva in the Olympic trials for the all-around title.

Orozco has already won 15 gold medals dating back to the 2007 U.S. Junior National Championships. That includes the all-around gold medal in the U.S. National Championships this year.

This kid certainly isn't lacking in character, and he has plenty of talent, too. He has a legitimate shot of capturing the gold medal in the all-around individual this summer. 

Women

Jordyn Wieber

Jordyn Wieber, the reigning all-around world champion, is just 17 years old, but she's one of the favorites to take home the all-around gold medal this summer.

Wieber won the American Cup event in 2009 as a 13-year-old and won the national all-around title in 2011 by a large margin.

Wieber doesn't make many mistakes, she's gradually improved her game, and she's one of the most explosive young gymnasts in the world. Look out for her in London.  

Gabby Douglas

Wieber's main competition may actually be 16-year-old Gabby Douglas. 

Douglas exploded onto the scene this year. She not only captured a gold medal in the uneven bars at the Pacific Rim Championships, she beat out Wieber for the all-around title in the Olympic trials. Much like Orozco, Wieber has a shot at surpassing her older, more established teammate in London.

It doesn't hurt that Douglas has an energetic personality that has already made her one of the most popular U.S. gymnasts leading up to the Olympics.

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