London 2012 United States: Studs Who Must Shine for America to Medal

The 2012 Olympics have been very good to the United States thus far. America currently sits second in the overall medal race with 71, just three behind China at the time of this writing. 

Despite all that success, there is still much work to be done. Whether America can catch China in the medal race is debatable, but we do know that it is going to be close and come down to the final day. 

There are a few star-level athletes who need to shine in their respective events to put the United States over the top, and here are the best of the best. 

Allyson Felix, Women's 200-Meter Finals

Felix has thrived in this event at the previous two Olympics, winning silver both times. She may not be the best runner in the 200-meter dash—that honor still has to go to Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who has won Olympic gold the last two Olympics—but she is America's best chance to medal. 

Felix's best time of the season is 21.69 seconds, which is actually the best time of anyone in the field. There are various reasons for that, like perhaps a runner did not go all-out in a race because they were guaranteed a spot in the finals and had no reason to exert their full arsenal. 

Still, America has to rely on Felix to medal in this event. She is the best and most consistent performer from the country, and has done nothing to make anyone think her performance has slipped. 

Brad Walker, Men's Pole Vault

Walker is the default American in the pole vault because he was the only one from the country to qualify for the finals. 

The good news is that Walker has proven himself to be more than capable of at least sitting alongside the best the world has to offer. His personal best vault is 6.04 meters, and his season best is 5.90 meters. 

Walker will have to do better than that to match the top vaulters in the world, as it would be tied for fourth. Give him the benefit of the doubt, simply because we have seen him do better. 

Maggie Steffens, Women's Water Polo

The United States women's water polo team has had a few inconsistent performances in these Olympics, but the team's record is quite impressive at 4-0-1. Admittedly, I did take some liberties with this pick because the team is guaranteed a medal, it is just a question of whether it is silver or gold. 

The American women will close the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday in the Gold Medal Game against Spain, who is also 4-0-1 in these Games. 

Steffens is tied for the team lead with five goals scored in these Olympics, but where she separates herself is in the assist category. Through five games, Steffens has four assists.

She always puts herself and her teammates into a position to succeed, which is going to be critical against a team like Spain that can match the United States in talent. 

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