Olympic Medal Count 2012: Track and Field Will Allow USA to Gain Overall Lead

Team USA currently trails China in the overall medal count standings, but that will change soon enough. The United States will use London's track and field events to open a lead over their Olympic nemesis.

American sprinters, distance runners and hurdlers all figure to be in the mix for several events in the coming days. There are 28 gold medals (84 medals overall) up for grabs in track and field's remaining action.

Team USA will not win all of those medals, obviously, but they will make a run at many of them. Like swimming, track and field is often littered with American contenders. That won't be any different this year, and neither will China's shortcomings in this area of Olympic sports.

The Chinese team only has a handful of "real" contenders on the track and field circuit. Let's take a look at how these two countries match up on the men's and women's side of things.

Men's Track and Field

China only has a few true medal contenders in men's track and field, while Team USA has gobs of potential top-three finishers (especially on the track).

For China, Liu Xiang is expected to be in the gold-medal hunt in the 110-meter hurdles. He will face stiff competition from Aries Merritt and Jason Richardson, but he will be looking for vengeance from his disappointment in 2008.

Other than that, China's male track athletes aren't expected to contend for much. Si Tianfeng is a contender in the August 11 50K walk, and Wang Zhen is also a contender in the 20K walk, but that's where their expected success ends.

Surprise contenders could emerge for China, but Team USA has contenders across the board. Whether it be track or field, the American men will earn their fair share of Olympic accolades.

Women's Track and Field

China's women have a solid reputation in field events, but their track reputation pales in comparison to the United States'. 

Li Yanfeng earned a bronze medal in the discus final already, but Gong Lijiao failed to earn a medal in women's shot put competition. That's a blow for a team seeking any medals they can find in this part of London's competition.

Outside of those two field athletes, Liu Hong is China's best hope of earning a track and field medal. She is expected to contend in the women's 20K walk race, and we will see how she does on August 11.

None of this is set in stone. China could surprise everyone with a plethora of unexpected medals in track and field competition, but this is Team USA's forte. They bring some of the world's top athletes to London, and the overall medal standings will reflect that as Olympic competition continues to progress.

China is on top for now, but the United States will literally "run" them down in the end.