London 2012 Olympics: Ranking Each Country's Best Athlete

The London 2012 Olympic Games are upon us and we will be fortunate to witness the greatest athletes from all over the world compete.

There are three primary types of athletes in the Olympic Games. There are the names we are very familiar with like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer and Kobe Bryant to name a few. There will also be a group of athletes like Yohan Blake from Jamaica that are looking to become household names.

Then, there are the athletes whose names most of us will never know and competitions we will never see, but they will savor the experience of representing their country in the Olympic Games.

Here are the top athletes from every country in this year's Olympic Games, even the ones you don't know now and won't remember tomorrow.

Afghanistan-Aruba

Afghanistan - Rohullah Nikpai (Taekwondo)

The 24-year-old Nikpai is pushing for a gold medal in taekwondo for Afghanistan. In 2008, he became the first athlete in Afghan history to win a medal in the Olympic Games when he won the bronze medal.

Albania - Romela Begaj (Weightlifting)

Begaj is competing for Albania in the 58kg women's weightlifting. She is looking to improve upon the sixth place finish she had in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Algeria - Soraya Haddad (Judo)

Haddad is competing for Algeria in judo fighting. She won the bronze medal in the 48-52kg class at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

American Samoa - Elama Fa'Atonu (Track & Field)

Fa'Atonu will be running in the 100-meter for American Samoa. Earlier in July 2012 he set his personal best with 11.90 seconds at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona.

Andorra - Hocine Haciane Constantin (Swimming)

Angola - Fortunato Luis Pacavira (Canoeing)

Antigua and Barbuda - Afia Charles (Track & Field)

Argentina - Manu Ginobili (Basketball)

Ginobili will try to help the Argentina basketball team improve from their bronze medal in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. He is most commonly known as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

Armenia - Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan (Weightlifting)

Martirosyan will be competing in weightlifting for Armenia. He won the bronze medal in 2008 in men's lightweight weightlifting.  

Aruba - Jemal Le Grand (Swimming)

Australia-Belize

Australia - James Magnussen (Swimming)

Magnussen wants to leave behind a legacy for Australian swimming. He explained his goals for the 2012 Olympic Games to Georgia Cassimatis from The Sunday Telegraph.

"

It's important to remember what I'm here for, and that's swimming. My coach [Brant Best] and I are focused on breaking the 100m freestyle world record [of 46.91 seconds, set in 2009 by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in the now banned polyurethane super-suit]. People say it can never be broken. It would be a huge landmark achievement for me if I did.

"

Austria - Markus Rogan (Swimming)

Rogan will be competing in his fourth Olympic Games as a swimmer for Austria. He previously won two silver medals in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Azerbaijan - Sharif Sharifov (Wrestling)

Sharifov will be competing in wrestling for Azerbaijan. He most recently won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Istanbul. 

Bahamas – Anthonique Strachan (Track & Field)

Strachan is a sprinter that will run the 100-meters, 400-meters and the 4x100-meters relay for the Bahamas. She won gold in both the 100-meters and 200-meters at the IAAF World Championships earlier in July.

Bahrain - Yusuf Saad Kamel (Track & Field)

Bangladesh - Quazi Syque Caesar (Gymnastics)

Barbados - Ryan Brathwaite (Track & Field)

Brathwaite is a sprinter for Barbados that will compete in the 110-meter hurdles. According to TrackLedger.com, he has his eyes set on the podium in London.

"

This year is going to be pretty good for me, I just need to stay patient. I am injury-free and I am in very good shape. I am 100% prepared for London. My goal is to make the finals and to finish in the top 3. That is all I am thinking about.

"

Belarus - Andrei Mikhnevich (Track & Field)

Mikhnevich will compete in the shot put for Belarus. He won the bronze medal in Beijing in 2008.

Belgium – Tia Hellebaut (Track & Field)

Hellebaut will compete in the high jump for Belgium, she won the gold medal in the event at Beijing in 2008.

Belize - Eddermys Sanchez (Judo)

Benin-Bulgaria

Benin - Jacob Gnahoui (Judo)

Bermuda – Roy Burch (Swimming)

Bhutan – Sherab Zam (Archery)

Bolivia - Artur Bruno Rojas (Track & Field)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Amel Mekic (Judo)

Mekic won the 2011 European Championships in Istanbul.

Botswana - Amantle Montsho (Track & Field)

Brazil - Cesar Cielo (Swimming)

Cielo won a gold and bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. He will have to put his medals where his mouth is since he told Reuters that Brazil will increase their medal total in London from Beijing.

British Virgin Islands - Tahesai Harrigan-Scott (Track & Field)

Brunei - Anderson Chee Wei Lim (Swimming)

Bulgaria - Stanka Zlateva Hristova (Wrestling)

Burkina Faso-Chile

Burkina Faso - Severine Nebie (Judo)

Burundi - Severine Nebie (Track & Field)

Cambodia – Davin Sorn (Taekwondo)

Cameroon – Idrissa Adam (Track & Field)

Canada - Ryan Cochrane (Swimming)

Cochrane won bronze in the 1,500-meter freestyle in Beijing in 2008.

Cape Verde – Ruben Sanca (Track & Field)

Cayman Islands - Cydonie Mothersille (Track & Field)

Central African Republic – Berenger Bosse (Track & Field)

Chad - Carine Ngarlemdana(Judo)

Chile - Denisse Van Lamoen – (Archery)

China-Cuba

China – Sun Yang (Swimming)

Yang is part of a Chinese swimming team that is trying to begin a new era in Chinese athletics according to Ollie Williams from the BBC.

"

Sun, 20, is the world champion over the men's 1500m freestyle distance and world silver medallist over 400m. He is one of only two male swimmers to break a world record in an Olympic-sized pool since 2010, when world governing body Fina outlawed so-called 'ultra-fast' 100% polyurethane swimsuits. The other is Ryan Lochte.

"

Colombia - Rigoberto Uran (Cycling)

Comoros – Feta Ahamada (Track and Field)

Congo - Lorene Bozolo (Track and Field)

Democratic Republic of the Congo – Cedric Mandembo Kebika (Judo)

Cook Islands – Patrick Tuara (Track and Field)

Costa Rica – Marie Meza (Swimming)

Côte d'Ivoire – Murielle Ahouré (Track and Field)

Croatia - Sandra Perković (Track and Field)

Cuba – Dayron Robles (Track and Field)

Robles is one of the favorites in the 110-meter hurdles. He told BBC Sport via a translator that he isn’t worried about the other top competitors.

"

My physical condition is probably my number one asset. The second thing is my mind, because I constantly will myself to win. I am my own main rival. When I'm in good form there are chances that rivals will worry more about you me than I worry about them.

I'm looking to get in the best possible shape for London and not worrying about my rivals.

"

Cyprus-Equatorial Guinea

Cyprus - Kyriakos Ioannou (Track and Field)

Czech Republic - Roman Šebrle (Track and Field)

Šebrle was the first athlete to ever score more than 9,000 points in the decathlon event when he scored 9,026. His record was broken this year by American Ashton Eaton at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Denmark - Michael Hestbæk (Sailing)

Djibouti – Mumin Gala (Track and Field)

Dominica – Erison Hurtault (Track and Field)

Dominican Republic – Yulis Mercedes Reyes (Taekwondo)

Reyes won silver in Beijing in 2008.

Ecuador – Alexandra Escobar (Weightlifiting)

Egypt - Hesham Mesbah (Judo)

El Salvador - Evelyn García (Cycling)

Equatorial Guinea – Bibiana Martina (Track and Field)

Eritrea-Germany

Eritrea - Zersenay Tadese (Track and Field)

Estonia – Gerd Kanter (Track and Field)

Estonia’s athlete of the year, Kanter will look to become only the second Estonian athlete to win two Olympic gold medals if he can defend his discus title.

Ethiopia - Tirunesh Dibaba (Track and Field)

Fiji - Glenn Kable (Shooting)

Finland - Satu Mäkelä-Nummela (Shooting)

France - Julien Absalon (Cycling)

Abalson will be going for his third-consecutive Olympic gold medal in cross country mountain bike racing.

Gabon - Ruddy Zang Milama (Track and Field)

Gambia – Suwaibou Sanneh (Track and Field)

Georgia - Manuchar Tskhadaia (Wrestling)

Germany - Alexander Grimm (Canoeing)

Grimm will be looking to defend his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Ghana-Haiti

Ghana - Duke Micah (Boxing)

Great Britain – Rebecca Adlington (Swimming)

Adlington is poised to defend her gold medals from Beijing in the 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle. She is well aware that the competition is going to be coming for her and expressed her thoughts to Sachin Nakrani from The Guardian.

"

I don't [feel the pressure of that] because I want to beat everyone else and I've never been to a meet where the people who go in as the top three finish as the top three in every single race. It happens, it's life, and that's what is so exciting about sport in general.

I am not under the illusion that I am going to win any race comfortably. It is going to be a fight, there are going to be other girls coming through who shock everyone. I know that because nobody expected me to do what I did in Beijing. It always happens; people always bring it out of the bag in Olympic year – that's what makes Olympic year so brilliant. I'm looking forward to seeing who that person is myself.

"

Greece - Alexandros Nikolaidis (Taekwondo)

Grenada - Kirani James (Track and Field)

James is competing in the 400-meters and will be trying to win the first Olympic medal in Grenada history.

Guam – Ricardo Blas Jr. (Judo)

Guatemala - José Amado García (Track and Field)

Guinea - Facinet Keita (Judo) 

Guinea-Bissau – Augusto Midana (Wrestling)

Guyana - Aliann Pompey (Track and Field) 

Haiti - Samyr Laine (Track and Field) 

Honduras-Ireland

Honduras – Maynor Figueroa (Football)

Hong Kong – Hannah Wilson (Swimming)

Hungary - László Cseh (Swimming)

Iceland - Jakob Jóhann Sveinsson (Swimming)

India - Abhinav Bindra (Shooting)

Indonesia - Mohammad Ahsan (Badminton)

Iran - Yousef Karami (Taekwondo)

Iraq - Rand Al-Mashhadani (Archery)

Ireland - Derval O'Rourke (Track and Field)

O’Rourke has a good chance of making it to the finals in the hurdles.

Israel-Korea

Israel - Shahar Zubari (Sailing)

Italy - Federica Pellegrini (Swimming)

Pellegrini will once again be swimming in both the 200- and 400-meter events in London. She will be looking to match or beat her gold medal performance in Beijing. If she wins another gold medal, Italian fans may be excited for her to make her rounds on the covers of magazines.

Jamaica - Usain Bolt (Track and Field)

Usain Bolt is one of the most exciting athletes in this year’s Olympic Games in London. Bolt is track and field’s most popular athlete and is looking to defend his gold medals in the 100- and 200-meters. He set the world record for both events in Beijing in 2008. The 100-meter finals has the potential to be the fastest in history.

Japan - Kosuke Kitajima (Swimming)

Kitajima is looking to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three consecutive Olympics.

Jordan - Mohammad Abulibdeh (Taekwondo)

Kazakhstan - Zulfiya Chinshanlo (Weightlifting)

Kenya - David Rudisha (Track and Field)

Vanity Fair called Rudisha the best Olympic track star you’ve never heard of. It’s true. The Kenyan runner is to the 800-meter what Usain Bolt is to the 100- and 200-meter races.

Kiribati – David Katoatau (Weightlifting)

North Korea - Kwon Un-Sil (Table Tennis)

South Korea - Park Tae-Hwan (Swimming)

Kuwait-Lithuania

 Kuwait - Fehaid Aldeehani (Shooting)

 Kyrgyzstan - Aisuluu Tynybekova (Wrestling)

 Laos - Pathana Inthavong (Swimming)

 Latvia - Maris Strombergs (Cycling)

 Lebanon - Tvin Moumjoghlian (Table Tennis)

 Lesotho - Mamorallo Tjoka (Track and Field)

 Liberia - Phobay Kutu-Akoi (Track and Field)

 Libya - Sofyan El Gidi (Swimming)

 Liechtenstein - Julia Hassler (Swimming)

 Lithuania - Ruta Meilutyte (Swimming)

Luxembourg-Mauritania

Luxembourg - Andy Schleck (Cycling)

Macedonia - Marko Blazhevski (Swimming)

Madagascar - Kame Ali (Track and Field)

Malawi - Charlton Nyirenda (Swimming)

Malaysia - Chong Wei Lee (Badminton)

Lee won the silver medal in Beijing and should be a strong contender to medal again.

Maldives - Ahmed Husam (Swimming)

Mali - Modibo Keita (Taekwondo)

Malta - William Chetcuti (Shooting)

Marshall Islands - Haley Nemra (Track and Field)

Mauritania - Aicha Fall (Track and Field)

Mauritius-Myanmar

Mauritius - Richarno Colin (Boxing)

Mexico - Maria Espinoza (Taekwondo)

Espinoza will be looking to defend the gold medal she won in 2008 in Beijing.

Micronesia - Manuel Minginfel (Weightlifting)

Moldova - Cristina Iovu (Weightlifting)

Monaco - Angelique Trinquier (Swimming)

Mongolia - Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar (Judo)

Tuvshinbayar will be attempting to defend the gold medal won in Beijing in 2008.

Montenegro - Srdjan Mrvaljevic (Judo)

Morocco - Abdalaati Iguider (Track and Field)

Mozambique - Kurt Couto (Track and Field)

Myanmar - Nay Myo Aung (Archery)

Namibia-Oman

Namibia - Helalia Johannes (Track and Field)

Nauru - Itte Detenamo (Weightlifting)

Nepal - Prasiddha Jung Shah (Swimming)

Netherlands - Marianne Vos (Cycling)

New Zealand - Andrew Nicholson (Equestrian)

Nicaragua - Omar Nunez (Swimming)

Niger - Moustapha Hima (Boxing)

Nigeria - Tosin Oke (Track and Field)

Norway - Andreas Thorkildsen (Track and Field)

Thorkildsen won gold in javelin in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games for Norway. He is hoping to be on the medal stand for a third-consecutive time, but will have to watch out for Germany’s Matthias de Zordo.

Oman - Barakat Al-Hartji (Track and Field)

Pakistan-Portugal

Pakistan - Waseem Ahmad (Hockey)

Palau - Stevick Patris (Weightlifting)

Palestine - Gebrel Ahmed (Swimming)

Panama - Irving Saladino (Track and Field)

Saladino will be defending his golf medal in the long jump from the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Papua New Guinea - Ryan John Pini (Swimming)

Pini reached the finals in 2008 and is trying to win the first medal in the Olympic Games for Papua New Guinea.

Paraguay - Ben Hockin (Swimming)

Peru - Peter Lopez (Taekwondo)

Philippines - Hidilyn Diaz (Weightlifting)

Poland - Tomasz Majewski (Track and Field)

Majewski will be looking to defend his gold medal he won in shot put in 2008 in Beijing.

Portugal - Telma Monteiro (Judo)

Puerto Rico-San Marino

Puerto Rico - Javier Culson (Track and Field)

Culson is a man to watch in the 400-meters hurdles. He comes into the London Olympic Games with the fastest time in the world this year. Puerto Rico has never won a gold medal in the Olympic Games and their only silver came in boxing. Culson says he is very excited about the opportunity to change that streak.

"

I am very motivated, really really fit and very excited. I can't wait to get to the first stage of the competition.

I feel pressure, not so much from other athletes but a huge amount of pressure from my countrymen. People are really behind me so there's a lot of pressure back home.

"

Qatar - Femi Ogunode (Track and Field)

Ogunode is a Nigerian-born runner that will be competing for Qatar in the 200-meters.

Romania - Viorica Susanu and Georgeta Andrunache (Rowing)

The pair will be attempting to win their fourth Olympic gold in coxless pairs.

Russia - Anastasia Davydova (Synchronized Swimming)

Daydova will be competing for her fifth gold medal in the Olympic Games. She won a pair of gold medals in both 2004 and 2008.

Rwanda - Adrien Niyonshuti (Cycling)

Saint Kitts and Nevis - Kim Collins (Track and Field)

Saint Lucia - Darvin Edwards (Track and Field)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kineke Alexander (Track and Field)

Samoa - Ele Opeloge (Weightlifting)

San Marino - Alessandra Perilli (Shooting)

São Tomé and Príncipe-Solomon Islands

São Tomé and Príncipe - Lecabela Quaresma (Track and Field)

Saudi Arabia - Sarah Attar (Track and Field)

Senegal - Malick Fall (Swimming)

Serbia - Novak Djokovic (Tennis)

Currently ranked number two in the world, Djokovic is trying to improve upon his bronze medal in 2008.

Seychelles - Andrique Allisop (Boxing)

Sierra Leone - Isata Sesay (Track and Field)

Singapore - Tianwei Feng, Jiawei Li and Yuegu Wang (Table Tennis)

The Singapore table tennis team will be looking for another strong performance after their silver medal in Beijing.

Slovakia - Michal Martikán (Canoeing)

Martikan has four previous medals at the Olympic Games including gold in 1996 and 2008.

Slovenia - Primož Kozmus (Track and Field)

Kozmus won the gold medal in the hammer in Beijing, but will be a longshot to medal in London.

Solomon Islands - Jenly Tegu Wini (Weightlifting)

Somalia-Tanzania

Somalia - Zamzam Mohamed Farah (Track and Field)

South Africa - Caster Semenya (Track and Field)

Semenya should be a strong contender for a medal in this year’s Olympic Games. She is so dominant she was subjected to a gender test in 2010 to ensure there was not a competitive advantage.

Spain - Pau Gasol (Basketball)

Gasol and the Spanish basketball team appear to be the only legitimate threat to the American team's quest for another gold medal.

Sri Lanka - Anuradha Cooray (Track and Field)

Sudan - Ismail Ahmed Ismail (Track and Field)

Ismail’s 800-meters silver medal in 2008 was the first and only medal the Sudan has won in the Olympic Games. He will try to add to that total in London.

Suriname - Chinyere Pigot (Swimming)

Swaziland - Phumlile Ndzinisa (Track and Field)

Sweden - Sarah Sjostrom (Swimming)

Switzerland - Roger Federer (Tennis)

Federer is the number one ranked tennis player in the world. He won gold in doubles in Beijing in 2008.

Syria - Ahed Jouhili (Weightlifting)

Chinese Taipei - Chu Mu-Yen (Taekwondo)

Tajikistan - Yusup Abdusalomov (Weightlifting)

Abdusalomov is looking to follow his silver medal performance at Beijing in 2008.

Tanzania - Samson Ramadhani (Track and Field)

Thailand-United Arab Emirates

Thailand - Panida Khamsri (Weightlifting)

Timor-Leste - Augusto Ramos Soares (Track and Field)

Soares is the more experienced of the two marathon runners representing Timor-Leste. Although he will still be the epitome of a longshot, he is running for national pride.

Togo - Benjamin Boukpeti (Canoeing)

Boukpeti will be competing in his third consecutive Olympic Games in canoeing for Togo. In 2008, he earned the country’s first gold medal in Beijing.

Tonga - Amini Fonua (Swimming)

Trinidad and Tobago – Richard Thompson (Track and Field)

Thompson is a sprinter that will run the 100-meters for Trinidad and Tobago. He won two silver medals in Beijing and is looking to bring home the second gold medal in his country’s history in London.

Tunisia - Oussama Mellouli (Swimming)

Mellouli is a swimmer that is competing in three events for Tunisia. In 2008 he became the first African swimmer to win gold at the Olympic Games in swimming when he won the 1,500-meter freestyle.

Turkey - Ramazan Sahin (Wrestling)

Sahin is representing Turkey in wrestling. In Beijing in 2008, he brought home the country’s only gold medal. Turkey has athletes competing in 16 events to try to raise their profile and their chances of winning their bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Turkmenistan - Umurbek Bazarbayev (Weightlifting)

Tuvalu - Asenate Manoa (Track and Field)

Uganda - Moses Ndiema Kipsiro (Track and Field)

Ukraine - Roman Gontyuk (Fencing)

Gontyuk represents the Ukraine in fencing. His resume includes two medals from previous Olympic Games, a silver medal from Athens and a bronze from Beijing.

United Arab Emirates - Ahmed Al Maktoum (Shooting)

Al Maktoum is competing in his fourth-consecutive Olympic Games in shooting. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

United States-Zimbabwe

United States - Ryan Lochte (Swimming)

Out of all the athletes from the United States to choose from, Lochte is the greatest Olympian. He is looking to make the 2012 London Olympic Games the passing of the torch from Michael Phelps to him as the greatest swimmer in the world. He will compete in five events and has added a very unique strongman training to his regimen to prepare for the rigors of competition.

Uruguay - Luis Suarez (Football)

Uruguay’s best opportunity at a medal in London will come in football. The player to watch on that team is Suarez. The Liverpool forward has already led the team to their third Olympic football gold medal.

Uzbekistan - Artur Taymazov (Wrestling)

Taymazov is the most decorated Olympic athlete in Uzbekistan history with three medals in wrestling including two gold medals.

Vanuatu - Arnold Sorina (Track and Field)

Venezuela - Silvio Fernandez (Fencing)

Fernandez is representing Venezuela in fencing. He is competing in his third-consecutive Olympic Games and is looking to win his first medal in 2012.

Vietnam - Le Huynh Chau (Taekwondo)

Chau will represent Vietnam in taekwondo. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Virgin Islands - Tabarie Henry (Track and Field)

Yemen - Tameem Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kubati (Track and Field)

Zambia - Prince Mumba (Track and Field)

Mumba is a United States-based runner that will be representing Zambia in the 800-meters race.

Zimbabwe - Kirsty Coventry (Swimming)

Coventry will represent Zimbabwe in swimming for the third time in the Olympic Games. She has won seven Olympic medals and will be looking to add to her career total in London. According to Kevin Mapasure from Zimbabwe Independent you should especially keep an eye on her in the 200-meter backstroke.

Her favourite event is the 200m backstroke. If she is to make the podium it would probably be courtesy of this discipline in which she has so far collected two gold medals at the Olympics and, what’s more, is defending champion.

Jamal Wilburg is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Information from The Telegraph, BBC and Official Olympics website was used in this report.

Follow his thoughts, rants and adventures on Facebook or Twitter @JWilburg or visit his website www.jamalwilburg.com.