US Olympic Swimming Team: Best Medal Hopefuls Not Named Phelps or Lochte

The U.S. Swimming Team is not just Phelps vs. Lochte.

This might seem hard to believe, considering the dominating coverage given to just these two, but there are in fact swimmers on team USA that will be competing for medals whose names aren't Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte.

The depth of the U.S. Swimming Team goes well beyond the stardom of Phelps and Lochte. In fact, the squad they have assembled this year could win more medals than an Olympic swimming team has ever won.

Beyond Phelps and Lochte, there are talented, eager, determined, confident and most importantly prepared swimmers. Many of whom will be right there on the medal podium, when all is said and done.

Some of them are returning Olympians, some are them are defending gold medalists and some of them are making anticipated debuts. Regardless of who they are, their names are not Michael or Ryan but they are still contenders to win Olympic medals.

Missy Franklin

Other than the two mega stars who have dominated the swimming universe and national coverage, Missy Franklin has to be the next most anticipated and talented athlete at the games.

At just 13 years old, Franklin competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials. Although she didn't qualify to swim in any events, she told herself that she would come back and make the team for London.

In 2010, she had her breakout year. She won her first international medals at the FINA Short Course World Championships in the 200m backstroke and 4x100m relay.

Coming off of this year, Franklin just continued to get better and to make a name for herself on the U.S. team.

She won five golds at the 2011 World Championships, including one in the 200m back, which has become her signature event. She also became a national champion for the first time in 2011 when she won the 100m back and freestyle event at the U.S. Nationals.

Named the 2011 FINA Swimmer of the Year, the just 17-year-old Franklin is poised to make her Olympic debut.

She currently holds the world record in the 200m back, which is just one of the seven events she has qualified to swim in London, the most ever by a female swimmer. She is expected to medal in a handful of these, and is definitely one of the best female swimmers to watch.

Rebecca Soni

Putting Rebecca Soni on this list is a complete no-brainer.

Sure with Franklin's emergence, much coverage hasn't been given to the other top female swimmers in the world. Still, Soni is not just a medal hopeful but a medal favorite.

The three time medalist is the defending gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke, and is easily considered the best breast stroker in the world.

Ever since winning the gold in in the 200m and silver in the 100m, she has been the best in the world. During this four year span, Soni has never lost the 100m breaststroke in a major international or national competition, and has only missed the podium in the 200m once.

Coming into the Olympics, it is not a matter of if Soni, the three time American Swimmer of the Year, will defend her title, but rather who will wind up behind her on the medal podium.

In London she will be swimming in three events, and has a very realistic shot to leave with three golds.

Dana Vollmer

Heading into London, Dana Vollmer is the world's fastest swimmer in the 100m butterfly.

Over the course of her career, Vollmer has been a solid swimmer. She has won 27 medals in international competitions, including a team gold from the 4x200m free relay at the 2004 Athens Games. She is still looking for her first individual Olympic medal.

There is a very good chance that this is Vollmer's year. She has been dominant in the 100m fly the past few years, including winning the event at the Olympic Trials and winning the gold at the 2011 World Championships. She is also the holder of the American record in this event and has the best time in the world for the 2011-12 season.

She qualified to swim in two events at the London Games, and is the strong favorite to win gold in the 100m fly.

Matt Grevers

Matt Grevers has been one of the U.S.'s most prized assets when it comes to the relay events. Despite only being used in the preliminary and semifinal events, his contributions have helped the U.S. to several relay medals, including two golds in Beijing.

Grevers is one of the best swimmers at the 100m backstroke, an event he won silver at in Beijing. Although he has yet to defend that title at world championships, he came up big at the U.S. Trials, posting a 52.08 in the event. Not only was this time the fastest in the pre-Olympic year, but it is also the second fastest in history, 14 tenths of a second behind the world record.

Grevers could in fact break this record at the 2012 London Games.

Even if he doesn't, he at least looks like a pretty good shot to take home his first individual gold. In addition to this event, he has qualified to swim in three other events, including two shots at another gold in the relays.

Allison Schmitt

Allison Schmitt will definitely be in the mix for medals the London Games. If she swims the way she has been in the last year or so, those medals could even be gold.

At just 18 years old, Schmitt won an Olympic bronze medal for her role on the 4x200m free relay team. This was just one of six medals the now 22-year-old Schmitt has won over the course of her international career. While four of these medals are in relays, Schmitt has also had success winning the 200m at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships and finishing with the silver at the 2009 World Championships.

At the Olympic Trials, Schmitt earned her spot on the team by breaking her own American record in the 200m free.

Schmitt will be swimming in five events at the London Games having qualified for two relays and the 100, 200 and 400m freestyle. She is expected to contend for a medal in four events, and could even leave the game with a few golds.

Anthony Ervin

Anthony Ervin is one of the elder statesmen on this Olympic team. Still, he brings with him a history of success, including a gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Games.

Ervin, who had originally retired from swimming in 2003, is just one of handful of U.S. swimmers that mounted comebacks in hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Some were successful, and Ervin, who only came back into the pool in 2011, was certainly one of the surprises.

At the 2012 Olympic Trials, the first major competition he participated in over 10 years, Ervin finished second in the 50m free.

What was impressive was that he was only a mere tenth of a second behind the fastest American swimmer in this event, and one of the fastest in the world, in Cullen Jones.

In doing so, he qualified for his second Olympic team and at 31, set a new personal best as well.

Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky does not have her driver's license, is not old enough to vote and can't enroll into colleges for quite some time. That said, what Ledecky does know how to do is swim.

At 15, Katie is the youngest athlete on the entire team USA.

She is also the fastest American in the 800m, winning the U.S. Trials by over two seconds in front of Kate Ziegler. With her time at the U.S. Trials, the surprise qualifier who didn't expect to make an Olympic team until 2016 actually recorded the second fastest time in the world this year. I think that makes her a medal contender.

If Ledecky does win a medal of any color, she will become the youngest non-gymnast to medal in the Olympics, a spectacular feat on its own.

Regardless of how she does, it will be fun to watch. She is going to be a name we will be hearing for quite some time in the future.

Elizabeth Beisel

At just 15 years old, Elizabeth Beisel swam in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She wasn't expected to contend for a medal and she didn't, but what she did do was swim better than anyone could have expected. In her two events she finished close to the medal podium with a fifth place in the 200m backstroke and a fourth place finish in her signature event the 400m IM.

In London and still at just 19 years old, Beisel will be a two-time Olympian. She will once again be participating in these same two events but this time, she is a favorite to contend for a medal in the 400m IM, the event she is currently the world champion in.

In qualifying for the Olympics, Beisel set a personal best in the 400m IM, besting second place finisher Caitlin Leverenz by over two seconds. This time was also one of the fastest in the world this season, and coming right before the Olympics, it appears Beisel is peaking at just the right time.