THE CONTENDERS
Athletes to watch and what to expect in selected events at the Games
ARCHERY
MEN
Key dates: July 28, team medals; Aug. 3, individual championship Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground
Big story: South Korea has dominated the team competition, but France, Italy and the U.S. are closing the gap. The Americans –
with Brady Ellison, ranked No. 1in the world – look like a good bet to reach the podium.
Top U.S. prospects: Ellison finished 27th in Beijing but was only 19 and has matured as an athlete since then. He will be joined by Jake Kaminski and Jacob Wukie.
Others to watch: No. 2-ranked Im Donghyun hopes to give South Korea an individual title. Viktor Ruban of Ukraine is looking to repeat after winning gold in Beijing.
Little-known fact: Im has won two team golds and still holds the record for the highest score in Olympic competition, a mark he set in 2004. Yet he reportedly has 20/100 vision in one eye and 20/200 in the other and doesn’t wear corrective lenses.
WOMEN
Key dates: July 29, team medals; Aug. 2, individual championship Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground Big story: Look for Korea, India, China and Chinese Taipei to fight it out for the team gold. Second-ranked archer Ki Bo Bae leads the defending champion South Koreans.
Top U.S. prospects: Miranda Leek, ranked No. 7 in the world, looked impressive at the trials. She will be joined by three-time Olympian Jennifer Nichols and Khatuna Lorig, another multiple-Olympian, who coached actress Jennifer Lawrence for the film “The Hunger Games.”
Others to watch: Deepika Kumari of India arrives in London as the world’s top-ranked archer. Ki should present a threat. Britain will pin its hopes on No. 14 Naomi Folkard.
Little-known fact: Archery first joined the Olympic roster in 1900, remaining for the next eight years. After a brief reappearance in 1920, it was gone for more than five decades before making a return at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
— David Wharton
BASKETBALL
MEN
Key dates: July 29, U.S. opener against France; Aug. 10, semifinals; Aug. 12, medal games
Venue: Olympic Park Basketball Arena (pool play); North Greenwich Arena (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals)
Big story: Is there really any way Team USA loses? Didn’t think so. This team might be better than the one in Beijing, which went 8-0 and won its games by an average of 27.9 points. Spain has some interesting players
(the Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon) but can’t touch the U.S. in overall
depth.
Top U.S. prospects: Take your pick: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony.
Others to watch: Backups Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala and Deron Williamswould challenge for a gold medal if they were the only guys on the team. Forward Anthony Davis was the top pick in the NBA draft after taking Kentucky to the NCAA championship.
Little-known fact: Hard to believe and easy to forget, but only eight years have passed since the U.S. went 5-3 and staggered to a bronze medal in Athens.
WOMEN
Key dates: July 28, U.S. opener against Croatia; Aug. 9, semifinals; Aug. 11, medal games
Venue: Olympic Park Basketball Arena (pool play, quarterfinals); North Greenwich Arena (semifinals, finals)
Big story: It will be stunning if Team USA doesn’t win a fifth consecutive gold. The U.S. has a 33-game winning streak, including a 5-0 run in preliminary play in Beijing with an average margin of victory of 43 points. Top U.S. prospects: Guards Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird are in their third Olympics, as
is forward Tamika Catchings. Candace
Parker averaged only 4.5 points in Beijing but will blow through that easily in London. Others to watch: Maya Moore and Tina Charles are first-timers who will command attention off the bench. Little-known fact: Team USA Coach Geno Auriemma has firsthand experience with half the roster, having coached Bird, Taurasi, Charles, Moore, Swin Cash and Asjha
Jones while they were at the University of Connecticut.
— Mike Bresnahan
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
MEN
Key dates: Aug. 6 and 7, quarterfinals and semifinals; Aug. 9, final Venue: Horse Guards Parade Big story: Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are trying to become the first men’s team to repeat as gold-medal winners. But it’s a tough field.
Top U.S. prospects: Dalhausser says he likes playing in the rain and he may get his wish. The second American team, Jake
Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, has been on a hot streak with three final appearances on the world tour.
Others to watch: Emanuel Rego, the socalled Michael Jordan of beach volleyball, stands atop the Olympic rankings with partner Alison Cerutti. Germany will pin its
hopes on third-ranked Julius Brink and
Jonas Reckermann. Little-known fact: The Americans trail the Brazilians, 9 to 7, in the all-time medal count. But the U.S. has won three of the four men’s gold medals.
WOMEN Key dates: Aug. 8, gold-medal match Venue: Horse Guards Parade
Big story: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh will try for an unprecedented threepeat, but much has changed in four years. Walsh gave birth to two children and MayTreanor had to recover from an Achilles injury suffered while rehearsing for “Dancing With the Stars.”
Top U.S. prospects: There is another talented American team: Jennifer Kessy and
April Ross barely missed making the team last time but are now ranked No. 4 in the world. Others to watch: No surprise that a Brazilian duo — Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva — are No. 1in the Olympic rankings. The Chinese will send Zhang Xi and Xue Chen. Little-known fact: Three thousand tons of sand were brought from a quarry in Godstone, Surrey, to create temporary courts just outside the prime minister’s official residence to create a backdrop for this television-friendly sport.
— David Wharton
CYCLING
MEN’S BMX Key dates: Aug. 10, medal event Venue: Olympic Park Big story: Connor Fields, a 19-year-old from Las Vegas, won the U.S. trials and has surged to a No. 2 ranking. This is only the second Olympics for BMX, so Fields could become the first American to win gold in the event. Top U.S. prospects: Besides Fields, Nic Long of Lakeside, Calif., finished second to Fields at the trials and is on the team with David Herman of Denver. Others to watch: Sam Willoughby of Australia, No. 1in the world, and defending gold
medalist Maris Strombergs of Latvia should press Fields for gold.
Little-known fact: BMX bikes have only one gear and one brake.
WOMEN’S BMX
Key dates: Aug. 10, medal event Venue: Olympic Park
Big story: Britain’s Shanaze Reade looked to have the first-ever women’s gold medal wrapped up in Beijing before she suffered a serious crash near the end of the race. The same thing happened recently at the world championships, making Reade seem cursed in the same way American speedskater Dan Jansen had been in many big races.
Top U.S. prospects: Alise Post, 21, who was too young for the 2008 Olympics (the age minimum is 19), has suffered a broken leg and serious knee injury in the last two years, but she’s healthy now and considered a dark-horse medal contender.
Others to watch: Magalie Pottier of France, a former junior world champion, won the senior world championships this year. Caroline Buchanan of Australia is also a medal contender.
Little-known fact: After the test event, the first jump was made smaller after many competitors, especially women, crashed.
MEN’S MOUNTAIN BIKE
Key dates: Aug. 12, cross-country medal
event Venue: Hadleigh Farm, Essex
Big story: Can anyone beat France’s 31year-old Julien Absalon, the two-time defending gold medalist? Absalon has also won four straight world championships and is the most decorated rider of all time.
Top U.S. prospects: Sam Schultz, a 26year-old from Montana, recently had his first-ever top-10 finish at a World Cup event, but a medal is unlikely. The other American is 36-year-old Todd Wells of Kingston, N.Y.
Others to watch: Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic and Nino Schurter of Switzerland have beaten Absalon in World Cup events since the last Olympics and would seem to have the best chance of keeping Absalon from a three-peat.
Little-known fact: Unlike other cycling events, mountain bikers aren’t allowed help to fix a damaged bike.
WOMEN’S MOUNTAIN BIKE
Key dates: Aug. 11, cross-country medal
event
Venue: Hadleigh Farm Big story: Julie Bresset is favored to become the first Frenchwoman to win gold since the event joined the Olympics in 1996.
Top U.S. prospects: Georgia Gould, 32, of Baltimore, finished eighth in Beijing and earned an automatic Olympic berth this year because she ranked in the top 10 of the World Cup rankings. Lea Davison, 29, of Jericho, Vermont, is the other U.S. qualifier.
Others to watch: Canada has two medal hopes with two-time world champion Catharine Pendrel and rising star Emily Batty. Little-known fact: Since the sport joined the Olympics in 1996, only one American
woman ( Susan DeMattei, bronze) has medaled at the Olympics.
MEN’S ROAD AND INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
Key dates: July 28, road race; Aug. 1, time
trial
Venue: Road race, The Mall; Time trial, start-finish at Hampton Court Palace
Big story: How the riders who have just finished the grueling Tour de France will be recovered in time for the Olympic races, which will start less than two weeks after the tour. For example, Spain’s Samuel Sanchez, the defending road-racing gold medalist, suffered a Tour de France injury that might keep him from the Games.
Top U.S. prospects: Tyler Farrar took a tour of the road-race course and finds it suits his style. He is particularly fond of the Box Hill climb and said he would be disappointed if he didn’t medal.
Others to watch: Britain’s Mark Cavendish has been the best sprinter in the world and has focused so much on the Box Hill climb of the road-race course that he has lost weight to make the climbing portion of the course more suitable for him. German sprinter
Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan of Slovakia are also road-race medal threats. Fabian
Cancellara, the defending gold medalist from Switzerland, is favored to defend his time trial title.
Little-known fact: London organizers expect more than 15,000 to watch the road race, possibly the largest crowd ever for the event. Most will try to climb to Box Hill, the uppermost part of the course, about 20 miles outside of London. WOMEN’S ROAD AND INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
Key dates: July 29, road race; Aug. 1, time
trial
Venue: Road race, The Mall; Time trial, start-finish at Hampton Court Palace
Big story: Dutch superstar Marianne Vos, who won the prestigious Giro Donne last month, less than a month after breaking her collarbone, has been winning international races since 2006 when she was 19. In Beijing she won gold medals on the track and now has chosen road racing.
Top U.S. prospects: The U.S. team is lead by former Wall Street worker Evelyn Stevens, who could medal in the road race and time trial, as could defending time-trial gold medalist Kristin Armstrong, who is also recovering from a broken collarbone suffered in late May. Also a time-trial medal contender is Irvine’s Amber Neben, who won the world time-trial gold in 2008.
Others to watch: The British have a strong road-racing team led by defending champion Nicole Cooke. Sweden’s Emma Johansson also is a threat, both on the road and in the time trial, as is two-time defending world champion Giorgia Bronzini, who leads a strong Italian team.
MEN’S TRACK CYCLING
Key dates: Aug. 2, team sprint finals; Aug. 3, team pursuit finals; Aug. 5, omnium finals; Aug. 6, sprint finals Venue: Olympic Park Big story: The host nation hopes to earn up to 10 cycling medals, and the large majority of them are expected on the track. Chris
Hoy, of Scotland, won three gold medals in Beijing and hopes to repeat that success.
Top U.S. prospects: Bobby Lea has the U.S. omnium spot, and Jimmy Watkins of Bakersfield will represent the U.S. for the men’s sprint, though neither are likely medal contenders. Others to watch: Gregory Bauge and Kevin Sireau of France could win multiple
medals, and Germany’s sprint trio – Robert
Forstemann, Max Levy and Stefan Nimke — have vocally said they will challenge British supremacy.
Little-known fact: Track cycling has been in every Olympics except 1912, when Stockholm was unable to build a velodrome.
WOMEN’S TRACK CYCLING
Key dates: Aug. 2, team sprint finals; Aug. 3, keirin finals; Aug. 4, team pursuit finals; Aug. 7, sprint, omnium final events Venue: Olympic Park Big story: Olympic champion and ninetime world champion Victoria Pendleton battles Australian rival and world champion Anna Meares in the sprints. American Sarah Hammer, who faded under unwanted attention in Beijing when she and track teammates wore masks to protect against polluted air, is ready to star in the omnium. Top U.S. prospects: Besides Hammer, Dottsie Bausch, Lauren Tamayo and Jennie Reed could earn a medal in the team
pursuit. Others to watch: Lithuania’s Simona Krupeckaite could leave London with multiple medals and is top-ranked in the keirin. Wai
Lee of Hong Kong did well in the sprint events at the Olympic test events this year.
Little-known fact: The omnium is a new event for the women in the Olympics and is compared with track’s heptathlon because it consists of multiple events (six) over two days.
— Diane Pucin
FENCING
Key dates: Each of the 10 events (six individual, four team) is completed in a single day. Aug. 1is women’s saber day. Venue: ExCeL Exhibition Centre
Big story: The United States went from an afterthought to No. 2 in the fencing medal count (six to Italy’s seven) in 2008, prompting reactions of disbelief from the traditional European powers. A changed Olympic program (no more team event in women’s saber) and a less experienced (and smaller; two instead of three) women’s saber group than the trio who swept the individual medals in Beijing will make it nearly impossible for Team USA to match that medal performance in London.
Top U.S. prospects: No. 1-ranked Mariel Zagunis will be after her third straight gold medal in women’s saber. Reigning world bronze medalist Lee Kiefer, 18, who is headed to Indiana’s Notre Dame after the Olympics, is fifth-ranked in women’s foil.
Race Imboden, 19, ranked fifth in foil, left Notre Dame for a year to train for the Olympics and then decided against South Bend, preferring to stay near his home in New York. The men’s epee team won the world title in May, but their event is not on the Olympic program.
Others to watch: Foilist Valentina Vezzali,
38, who will be Italy’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, is the only woman to win five fencing golds (three individual, two team). Vezzali, ranked No. 1, also has won 11 world titles.
Little-known fact: Albert Van Zo Post, the only U.S. fencer other than Zagunis to win Olympic gold, did it in an event called single sticks, which appeared on the Olympic program just once (1904). It used wooden sticks rather than steel blades.
— Philip Hersh
GYMNASTICS
MEN’S ARTISTIC
Key dates: July 28, team, all-around and individual event qualification; July 30, team final; Aug. 1, all-around final Venue: North Greenwich Arena Big story: Will the United States make a serious challenge for its second-ever team gold Olympic medal? The first came in 1984 in Los Angeles. Individually, all eyes will be on Japan’s Koehei Uchimura, the consensus world’s best all-around. The 23-year-old is at the peak of his skills and he won gold at the last three all-around championships. He took silver to China’s Yang Wei in 2008 and hasn’t lost since. Top U.S. prospects: Either John Orozco or Danell Leyva could sneak in for an allaround medal, though it’s unlikely they’ll challenge Uchimura for gold. And Leyva or
Jon Horton, or both, who won silver in 2008 on the horizontal bar could get individual medals on that equipment. Jake Dalton is a threat for a floor exercise medal and Sam
Mikulak could get a parallel bars individual
medal.
Others to watch: The British team is making a big push to get both a team medal and
some individual shiny stuff. Louis Smith is a two-time European champion silver medalist on the pommel horse. Phillipp Boy of Germany, who finished second in the last two worlds to Uchimura in the all-around, should medal if the injured wrist he has been dealing with is healed.
Little-known fact: Rope climbing was a gymnastics discipline until 1932.
WOMEN’S ARTISTIC
Key dates: July 29, team, all-around and individual event qualification; July 31, team final; Aug. 2, all-around final Venue: North Greenwich Arena
Big story: With teams down to five from the six that were allowed in 2008, will the U.S., defending world champion, bring back what team coordinator Martha Karolyiwants more than anything, a second team gold? A Karolyi-coached team has won Olympic gold only once, in Atlanta. In Athens and Beijing, the favored U.S. settled for silver. And there is already talk that the U.S. will dominate the all-around competition, as it did in Beijing, with defending world champion Jordyn Wieber and her on-the-rise 16year-old teammate Gabrielle Douglas, both at the top of their games. China, Russia and Romania are expected to challenge for team medals, with the host team, Britain, also making a push.
Top U.S. prospects: Besides Wieber and Douglas, the U.S. can expect a vault medal from defending world champion McKayla Maroney of Long Beach and 15-year-old Kyla Ross who has been flawless on uneven bars during the national championships
and Olympic trials. Aly Raisman has won world medal on floor exercise and Douglas is an individual medal possibility on uneven bars and floor. Others to watch: A pair of Romanians, Larissa Iordache and Catalina Ponor, sparkled on the balance beam at the European nationals, winning gold and silver, and 36-year-old German Oksana Chusovitina is still a force on the vault. Britain’s Beth
Tweddle, at 27, would love to take an uneven
medal. China’s Sui Lu and Russia’s Viktoria
Komova are favorites on the balance beam, and Komova should push Douglas and Wieber in the all around as well as have a chance on the unevens. Little-known fact: Australia’s women’s
coach Peggy Liddick, who along with Steve Nunno, helped Shannon Miller win seven Olympic and nine world championship medals, was granted Australian citizenship last January.
— Diane Pucin
SHOOTING
MEN
Key dates: July 28 (air pistol); July 30-31 (skeet); Aug. 2 (double trap); Aug. 3 (prone rifle)
Venue: Royal Artillery Barracks, southeast London
Big story: Can Matt Emmons, who won an Olympic gold in 2004 and silver in 2008, come back from his thyroid cancer in 2010 to win the gold again in men’s prone rifle? Top U.S. prospects: Emmons, Jason Turner (air pistol), Vince Hancock (skeet) and Glenn Eller (double trap) Others to watch: Raymond Debevec of Slovenia, holder of Olympic and world records in men’s 50 rifle 3 in his eighth consecutive Olympics, dating back to 1984 in Los Angeles
Little-known fact: India will send 11shooters to the Games.
WOMEN Key dates: July 28, skeet; and Aug. 4, trap Venue: Royal Artillery Barracks Big story: Can Monrovia’s Kim Rhode become the first U.S. Olympian to win five medals in five different Olympic Games? She will compete in skeet July 28 and trap Aug. 4.
Top U.S. prospects: Rhode and Cory Cogdell, 2008 bronze medalist in trap shooting
Others to watch: Katerina Emmons, wife of American shooter Matt Emmons and a gold medalist in Beijing, will be competing for the Czech Republic national team in the 10meter air rifle event.
Little-known fact: Rhode’s husband, Mike Harryman, plays in a band called Fishing for Neptune.
— Bill Dwyre
SOCCER
MEN Key dates: Aug. 11, gold-medal game. Venue: Six stadiums throughout England, Scotland and Wales
Big story: Argentina, winner of the last two tournaments, won’t be back to defend its title, which could leave the door open for Brazil, winner of five World Cups but never an Olympic title. The South Americans are
led by 20-year-old phenom Neymar, a player
the legendary Pele says is better than Lionel Messi. Top U.S. prospects: Failed to qualify Others to watch: Atletico Madrid forward Adrian could help Spain make more history if he can add an Olympic crown to the Euro and World Cup titles the country already holds. Mexico, behind Chivas star Marco
Fabian, dominated CONCACAF qualifying and could also be dangerous here.
Little-known fact: Britain, mad about soccer, will be participating in the Olympic tournament for the first time since 1960.
WOMEN
Key dates: July 25; U.S. plays France and Canada plays Japan.
Venue: Six stadiums throughout England, Scotland and Wales
Big story: The U.S. made it to the goldmedal match in all four previous Olympic tournaments for women, winning three times and losing once in overtime. But the field here looks to be the deepest it has ever faced. The U.S. has lost just six of 98 matches in five years under Coach Pia Sundhage but her .883 winning percentage is just third all-time among U.S. coaches.
Top U.S. prospects: Former UCLA striker Sydney Leroux is the only player who wasn’t on the U.S. roster in last summer’s World Cup. It’s a deep veteran team led by forwards Abby Wambach (138 international goals in 182 matches) and Alex Morgan (27 goals in 42 caps) up front and Hope Solo, the world’s best goalkeeper, on the back line. But the 12-nation Olympic field will be challenging since it features eight of the world’s top nine teams, according to FIFA.
Others to watch: The U.S. has failed to win just twice in 16 matches this year, and that tie and draw came against Japan, the team that beat the Americans in last summer’s World Cup. Brazil, the two-time Olympic silver medalists and the World Cup runnerup in 2007, is always dangerous with fivetime World Player of the Year Marta.
Little-known fact: The U.S. is the only country to hold World Cup and Olympic titles at the same time. Japan could become the second if it reaches the top of the medal podium in London.
— Kevin Baxter
SWIMMING
MEN
Key dates: July 28, 400-meter individual medley; July 29, 4x100-meter relay; Aug. 3, 100-meter butterfly Venue: Olympic Park Aquatics Centre
Big story: Can the U.S. hold off the rest of the world? In total medals, almost certainly yes. In the prestige relay — the 4x100, the one in which Jason Lezak saved Michael
Phelps’ chance at eight gold medals in Beijing — maybe not. Australia or France — possibly both — could finish ahead of the U.S. Phelps intends to retire after the Olympics, so his final individual swim should be the 100 butterfly. He needs three medals to become the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Ryan Lochte, like Phelps, will be swimming for seven medals. Lochte and Phelps are set to go head-to-head twice, in the 200 IM and 400 IM.
Top U.S. prospects: With six wins, Phelps will finish his career with 20 gold medals — double the next-closest Olympian. But Lochte, with a lemon-lime backpack and red-white-and-blue winged shoes, is a heaven-sent rival for Phelps. There is also Cullen
Jones, an African American who leads learn-to-swim programs in the inner city, who is a medal favorite in the 50 freestyle. And Matt Grevers is favored in the 100 backstroke after winning silver in Beijing.
Others to watch: Brazil’s Cesar Cielo won the 50 freestyle in Beijing and has the fastest time in the world this year, with Jones and Anthony Ervin chasing him. Australia’s
James Magnussen, 21, is the phenom to watch — to win the 100 freestyle and possibly to medal in the 50. Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima could become the first male swimmer to win gold in the same event three consecutive times — in the 100 or 200 breaststroke, or both — unless Phelps beats him to it by winning the 400 IM on the first day.
Little-known fact: Davis Tarwater, 28, announced his retirement from swimming on the next-to-last day of the U.S. Olympic Trials, only to unretire in less than 24 hours when Phelps dropped out of the 200, creating a spot for him.
WOMEN
Key dates: July 29, 400-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly; July 30, 100-meter backstroke Venue: Olympic Park Aquatics Centre
Big story: The hype machine should be in full motion revolving around Missy Franklin, a bubbly 17-year-old from Colorado. Franklin is entered in four individual events, favored to win the 100 and 200 backstroke and not expected to medal in the 100 and 200 freestyle. But she has come so far so fast that projection is impossible. If she suffers from any Olympic jitters, they should show up in her first event, the 100 back, with finals on the third day of the competition.
Top U.S. prospects: In addition to Franklin, look to Rebecca Soni, who should do well in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, even though she was upset in the 100 in the trials. Dana
Vollmer set the American record in the 100 butterfly. If she can drop a half-second, she can set the world record. Jessica Hardy, a Long Beach swimmer left off the team in 2008 after a positive drug test she traced to a contaminated supplement, is strong in the breaststroke but qualified in the 50 and 100 freestyle.
Others to watch: Becky Adlingtonwas the only British swimmer to win gold in Beijing. She won the 400 and 800 free; the pressure is on to repeat in home water. Stephanie Rice, perhaps the most popular Olympian in swimming-mad Australia, will defend her Beijing gold medals in the 200 and 400 IM. Rice, who had shoulder surgery last year, tweets her own bikini and glamour shots.
Little-known fact: Vollmer’s mother did not just bring a cheering section to the pool to support her daughter. Mom brought a defibrillator to every meet for four years, while Vollmer experienced symptoms of a potentially fatal heart condition called long QT syndrome.
— Bill Shaikin
TENNIS
MEN
Key dates: Aug. 4, doubles finals; Aug. 5, singles and mixed doubles finals Venue: Wimbledon Big story: Will Roger Federer double up his 2012 Wimbledon title by winning his first Olympic singles gold medal? (He won doubles gold in Beijing.) Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Olympics with knee tendinitis, opening the way for Britain’s Andy Murray or Nadal’s countryman David Ferrer.
Top U.S. prospects: John Isner, the only American in the top 10, can get hot with his serve, and he should be motivated after being upset early at Wimbledon. Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo are the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world and are favored to win after settling for bronze in 2008.
Others to watch: Novak Djokovic, who won three of the four majors in 2011, as is Murray, the Scotsman who made it to the Wimbledon final. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the hardhitting Frenchman, could benefit from shortened best-of-three matches. Americans Lisa Raymond and Bob Bryan made themselves the mixed favorites by winning Wimbledon.
Little-known fact: John Pius Boland, an Irishman, won the first Olympic tennis gold
medal in 1896, and he died on St. Patrick’s Day in 1958.
WOMEN Key dates: Aug. 5, singles and doubles finals Venue: Wimbledon Big stories: Serena Williams, 30, says she’s happier and healthier than she has ever been. She just finished winning Wimbledon, as well as the tournament at Stanford. She has never won a singles gold. She and sister Venus Williamswon the women’s doubles at Wimbledon, making them favorites to defend their Olympic title. Top U.S. prospect: Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber will also represent the U.S. in doubles and are ranked No. 1in the world. The Williams sisters, who don’t have a ranking because they don’t play enough together, easily beat the top-ranked Americans at Wimbledon. Christina McHale, 20, ranked 32nd in the world, would have a slight chance at a bronze medal. Venus and Varvara Lepechenko, the other American singles players would be huge upsets if they were to win a medal. Others to watch: Maria Sharapova, who won the French Open in May, was upset in the fourth round of Wimbledon, the same day Kim Clijsterswas knocked out. Sharapova, who won her first major at Wimbledon, could challenge Williams, as could Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska and 2011Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Little-known fact: So far, four women’s tennis players (Sharapova-Russia, Radwanska-Poland, Stephanie Vogt-Lichtenstein, Tsevetana Pironkova-Bulgaria) have been named flag bearers for their countries in the opening ceremony.
— Diane Pucin
TRACK AND FIELD
MEN Key dates: Aug. 5, 100-meter final; Aug. 8, 110-meter hurdles final; Aug. 9, 200-meter final; Aug. 9, decathlon final; Aug. 10, 4x400meter relay final; Aug. 11, 4x100-meter relay final; Aug. 12, marathon Venue: Olympic Stadium Big story: Will Jamaicans dominate the sprints? Usain Bolt, who set world records in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay in Beijing, lost both sprints to Yohan Blake in Jamaica’s Olympic trials because of hamstring tightness and withdrew from an Olympic tuneup meet in Monaco. U.S. trials winner Justin Gatlin, back from a doping suspension, and American record holder Tyson Gay should challenge for gold in the 100. American Wallace Spearmon Jr. should push the Jamaicans in the 200. Top U.S. prospects: Aries Merritt, clocked in a world-leading 12.93 seconds three times in the 110-meter hurdles, and Jason Richardson, who has two sub-13 times. Ashton Eaton, who set a decathlon world record at the trials, could be joined on the medal stand by Trey Hardee. Galen Rupp could win a medal in the 5,000, perhaps the only U.S. top-three finish in a race longer than 400 meters. He’s also entered in the 10,000. Others to watch: South African 400-meter runner Oscar Pistorius will become the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics. China’s Liu Xiang, the Beijing Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion, and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba highlight a superb field. In the 400 hurdles, Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson is favored after recording four of the world’s top five times this season. Mo Farah, the 2011world champion at 5,000 meters and second at 10,000, is among Britain’s top hopes for a track and field medal. Little-known fact: According to the Telegraph newspaper, 100-meter race starter Alan Bell had the same role when Bolt was disqualified for false-starting at last year’s world championships. Bell also started many youth races involving Sebastian Coe, head of the London Olympic Organizing Committee.
WOMEN Key dates: Aug. 4, 100-meter dash final; Aug. 5, 400-meter final; Aug. 6, pole vault final; Aug. 7, 100-meter hurdles final; Aug. 8, 200meter final; Aug. 8, long jump final; Aug. 10, 4x100-meter relay final; Aug. 11, 4x400-meter relay final. Venue: Olympic Stadium. Big story: Allyson Felix’s third try for gold in the 200 after two silver finishes. She ran a world-best 21.69 seconds at the U.S. trials after more than a week of suspense over her tie for third in the 100 with Jeneba Tarmoh. Felix’s medal chances in the 100 are slim, but she kept her spot in that race because she considers it good preparation for the 200, and her trials performance supported that. Felix is in the pool for both relays. Top U.S. prospects: World 100-meter champion Carmelita Jeter, who won the final at the U.S. trials and was second in the 200. Sanya Richards-Ross, who’s attempting a 200-400 double and likely to run a relay. Pole vaulter Jenn Suhr, who won silver at Beijing. Lolo Jones, part of a strong 100-meter hurdles contingent with Beijing champion Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells. Others to watch: Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100 and 200 and twotime 200 gold medalist Veronica CampbellBrown. Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia, pursuing a third straight pole vault gold medal after no-heighting at her last warmup event. Australia’s Sally Pearson has dominated the 100-meter hurdles but lost to Wells at a recent London meet. Jessica Ennis, the 2009 world heptathlon champion, carries the country’s medal hopes in the sport. Little-known fact: At the 1948 London Games, American Alice Coachmanbecame the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 61⁄ inches.
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— Helene Elliott
VOLLEYBALL
MEN Key dates: July 29, pool play begins; Aug. 8, knockout round begins; Aug. 12, medal matches Venue: Earls Court Big story: It has been a rocky four years for Team USA since ending a 20-year gold medal drought in 2008. They finished sixth at both the 2010 worlds and 2011World Cup.
But the U.S. goes into London after winning the silver medal in the July 8 World League Final, losing to Poland in the championship match after an impressive straight-set win over Cuba in the semifinals.
Top U.S. prospects: Post-Beijing was a transition period: New coach ( Alan Knipe, on leave from Long Beach State) and a new setter ( Lloy Ball retired from national team after starting at setter in four straight Olympics). Clay Stanley, 34, MVP and top scorer in 2008, has gone on to be named USA Volleyball men’s indoor player of the year in 2010 and 2011. Half the 12 players on the London Summer Games roster are rookies; five played with the 2008 gold medalists.
Others to watch: Russia and Brazil each has had moments of glory since winning bronze and silver, respectively, at the 2008 Olympics. Brazil, ranked No. 1, is the reigning world champion; Russia is the reigning World Cup winner. And Poland has come on strong, finishing second at last year’s World Cup before winning the recent World League title. Russia’s Maxim Mikhailov has developed into one of the world’s best allaround players.
Little-known fact: Jon (1968) and Clay Stanley became the first father-son Olympians in U.S. volleyball history when Clay made his first Olympic team in 2004. Jon
Stanley is in the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
WOMEN Key dates: July 28, pool play begins; Aug. 7, knockout round begins; Aug. 11, medal matches Venue: Earls Court Big story: Can coach Hugh McCutcheon do for the U.S. women what he did for the Olympic champion men in 2008, when he endured family tragedy during the Games? USA Volleyball asked McCutcheon to take over the women’s team after Beijing, where his father-in-law was stabbed to death in an act of random violence. The task with the women looks easier than it did with the men, who had finished fourth and 10th in major global tournaments the two years before Beijing. Since the 2008 Olympics, when the U.S. women won their first medal (silver) since bronze in 1992, Team USA has been ranked no lower than second in the world. They head to London with the No. 1 ranking and a shot at the first gold since volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1964. Top U.S. prospects: After 2009, when she won a third NCAA outdoor title in the high jump, Destinee Hooker turned her focus to volleyball, played her first national team tourney in 2010 and quickly became a mainstay for Team USA. Last year, Hooker was named MVP of the volleyball World Grand Prix. In 2008, she missed the Olympic track team in the high jump by just 1inch. Others to watch: Brazil, the reigning Olympic champion, has consistently been strong for two decades, winning medals in three of the last four Olympics. Brazil captain Fabiana Claudino, who plays professionally in Turkey, is a renowned blocker. Little-known fact: One player on each team can be off-color: The libero, who wears a different color shirt than the rest, is a defensive specialist who must stay in the back row, cannot serve, block, attempt to block or make an attacking hit on a ball above the net.
— Philip Hersh
WATER POLO
MEN Key dates: Aug. 6, U.S. plays Hungary in its final group-play match. Venue: Water Polo Arena Big story: Hungary beat the U.S. in the Beijing final to win its third consecutive gold medal and its ninth overall. But it could be a different after the U.S. snapped a 10-year losing streak to Hungary with two wins in less than a week in the lead-up to this summer’s Games. The U.S., Hungary and Serbia, the bronze medalists in 2008, are in the same group in pool play. Top U.S. prospects: Tony Azevedo, a Brazilian-born attacker, scored the winning goal for the U.S. in last year’s Pan Am Games final and had a team-high 17 goals in Beijing. Ryan Bailey, a center, had seven goals and an assist in the 2008 tournament Others to watch: The silver in 2008 was the first U.S. medal in water polo in two decades. The Americans lost to a veteran Hungarian team in that final but now it’s the U.S. that may be the more experienced squad, led by Bailey and Azevedo, the only fourtime Olympians in U.S. water polo history. Four others from the U.S. will be playing in their third Games. Little-known fact: Since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, Italy and Spain are the only teams from outside Eastern Europe to win an Olympic water polo gold. The U.S. with 12 medals overall, is second only to Hungary (15) in terms of hardware won, but just one of those medals is gold and six were silver, making the Americans first in terms of second-place finishes.
WOMEN Key dates: Aug 5, quarterfinals, the start of the knockout round Venue: Water Polo Arena Big story: Although the U.S. has medaled in all three previous Olympic tournaments for women, it has never won — losing to Australia in the final two seconds in 2000 and to the Netherlands in the final 29 seconds in 2008. Attackers Brenda Villa and Heather Petri, both four-time Olympics, have played in every U.S. Olympic water polo match. And with both contemplating retirement after London, this is their last chance to go out as winners. Others to watch: Australia won bronze in 2008, making it the only country other than the U.S. to medal more than once. Russia, Italy and a young Spanish team could also be competitive. Top U.S. prospects: Goalie Betsey Armstrong, a two-time Olympian, is considered the best keeper in the world. Her two penalty-shot saves earned the U.S. a gold medal in last year’s Pan Am Games. Maggie Steffens, a 19-year-old defender, is the youngest player on the U.S. team. Little-known fact: Shortly before leaving for London, the U.S. women traveled to Las Vegas, where they tuned up for the Olympics by playing an exhibition against performers from the water-themed Cirque du Soleil show “O” at the Bellagio.
— Kevin Baxter