The opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games is a little more than a month away, so with that, let’s take a closer look at just a few of the U.S. Women’s National Team gold medal hopefuls.
Some will arrive in London to compete for their very first medal, while others will return as reigning champions, determined to remind the U.S., and the world, just how driven and skilled they are at their craft.
The opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games is a little more than a month away, so with that, let’s take a closer look at just a few of the U.S. Women’s National Team gold medal hopefuls.
Some will arrive in London to compete for their very first medal, while others will return as reigning champions, determined to remind the U.S., and the world, just how driven and skilled they are at their craft.
The Olympic trials for some events (Track & Field, Swimming, Cycling) are still ongoing, so the final rosters for the games are not set at this time. However, the list below is comprised of world-class athletes, who consistently compete at a higher level, and who could represent the U.S. on the world stage.
9. Amber Neben – Cycling
Neben has been a mainstay in the world of cycling for over a decade, winning the UCI world time trial championship in 2008 and the U.S. national road race championship in 2003. She is the only active American female cyclist to win multiple UCI category 1 stage races, the Gracia Tour in 2002, the Tour du Montreal in 2003 and the Tour de l'Aude in 2005 and 2006. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2008, leading the pack for most of the race, until the final climb when she shifted gears, jamming her chain and her Olympic dreams. She is the ultimate survivor, overcoming spinal meningitis at a young age and by making a full recovery from melanoma in 2007.
8. Destinee Hooker – Volleyball
Hooker has won gold medals at the 2010 and 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix and the 2011 NORCECA Championships, as well as first team honors as one of the college AVCA All-American players of the year in 2008 and 2009. Her position on the court is opposite attacker, and her individual honors include MVP of the FIVB World Grand Prix with 101 total points scored (consisting of 90 kills, 8 blocks, 3 aces), while finishing fourth in Best Spiker with a 42% kill percentage.
7. Missy Franklin – Swimming
Franklin is a 5-time medalist (3 gold) at the World Aquatics Championships and a 2-time silver medalist at the World Short Course Championships. She currently holds the world record in the 4×100-m medley relay and the world record in the 200-m backstroke. In 2011, she earned FINA Swimmer of the Year honors. London 2012 will be the first Olympic games of Franklin’s young, and very promising, career.
6. Allyson Felix – Track
Felix is a 2-time Olympian, winning Gold in Beijing in 2008 in the 4 x 400m relay, silver in the 200m individual, and silver in the 200m in Athens in 2004. She is also an 8-time Gold medal winner at the World Championships dating back to 2009 in Berlin. She is the youngest gold medalist sprinter in the 200m at the World Championships, and is a proud participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, where she is regularly tested to ensure that her body is free of performance-enhancing drugs.
5. Marlen Esparza – Boxing
With women's competitive boxing set to make its Olympic debut this year, Esparza’s name was added to the record books as the first fighter to be added to the roster. This flyweight/featherweight (112 pounds), has won 6 consecutive USA boxing titles, a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships and a Gold medal at the 2008 Pan American Games.
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