Going for Gold; U. S. Olympic teams are set, ready to compete in London
Posted on Jul 24, 2012 in Sports
Graphic by Daniel Twieg
The 2012 Summer Olympics are swiftly approaching, the anticipation is building and the countdown is officially begun.
On July 27, Team USA will descend upon London to fight for the gold. What separates the Olympic Games from regular sports is that this is where individual defining moments are born.
The final men’s basketball roster full of NBA players has just been announced and will feature some of pro basketball’s prolific stars holding court for America.
The team consists of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. All won gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. They were joined by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Tyson Chandler, who won gold at the 2010 World Championships, and Anthony Davis, a new addition to the Olympics scene.
Love, Chandler, and Davis provide some inside size and presence, which may be the obvious weakness of this team. Having Dwight Howard onboard would have pretty much secured the medal, but he is out with a back injury.
There are also three Oklahoma City Thunder players on the roster. OKC were runner-ups in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat. Seeing Reigning MVP James play alongside of his Finals rivals should quite a show.
The U.S. men’s swim team was the dominant pool force at the Beijing Olympics, raking in 31 medals and 12 gold.
The team that consisted of all veteran swimmers has all retired. This year, Team USA will see many young, ambitious swimmers come up through the ranks and compete for medals. This makes predictions harder but the prospect of winning more exciting.
All eyes will be on swim star Michael Phelps. Phelps became the first athlete ever to win eight gold medals at a single Olympics. That’s more medals than most Olympians get in their entire lives.
Phelps lost the 200-meter butterfly for the first time after a nine-year winning streak. He has also stated that he will not be swimming eight events at London as he did in Beijing, and it is also rumored that this will be his last Olympics.
Ryan Lochte, winner of four medals at Beijing including two gold and two bronze, will be on Phelps’s heels, looking to avenge his lost to Phelps during the last Olympics.
Although Americans led the track and field competition in Beijing with seven gold and 23 overall medals, all eyes were on Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
Bolt won both the men’s 100 and 200-meter events and was the main factor behind Jamaica’s total domination of the Americans in the sprint events. Despite the Jamaica’s success in the sprint events, the United States is still the country to beat in these competitions.
LaShawn Merritt will defend his gold medal in the 400 for the U.S. in London. Merritt, who helped the U.S. take the 1,600-meter relay in Beijing, has been cleared for the London Games after receiving a 21-month ban for taking the penis-enlargement product, ExtenZe.
Lolo Jones is the most significant name for the American women. Jones hopes to claim her first Olympic medal in London. Jones was the favorite to win the 100 hurdles in Beijing and actually led the final race until falling over the second-to-last hurdle. All eyes will also be on Allyson Felix. She got in after edging out her friend, Jeneba Tarmoh, and got the final Olympic spot after tying in the National finals.
The track and field events will be held over the last 10 days at London’s Olympic Stadium.
The Olympics are not about what you have achieved in a season, but what you can accomplish in a moment in time. It’s either make history or be history.
Bobby Epps
Staff Writer
bobbyepps@gmail.com
Awesome! I would love to be in London to witness the Olympics live!