With more just a month to go for the London Olympics 2012, the stage is all set and 157 countries and more than 10000 athletes taking part in the competition, it sure would be one cracker of an event. Top athletes would make a beeline to eye top glory at the grandest stage of them all.
Here are few athletes to watch out when the Games gets underway and in all likelihood would emerge as the top athletes of the event.
Usain Bolt (Athletics): He has been undoubtedly one of the best names in the athletics today and had a phenomenal run in the Beijing Olympics. The Jamaican sprinter is the fastest man on the Earth and is exceptional speed saw him earn gold medals in 100m, 200m and 4X100m relay along with three world records.
He is one of the most consistent athletes of this era and his five golds in two World Championships in a proof enough to that. His knack at performing at the right time is what that makes him so dangerous and he definitely would be a force to reckon to in this year’s Olympics.
Michael Phelps (Swimming): He has been one of the reasons why the Beijing Olympics would remain as memorable for the global sporting arena. Phelps won an astonishing eight gold medals in the Beijing most by any athletes in a single Olympics bettering the record set by Mark Spitz of America in 1972 Munich Olympics.
With 14 gold medals, Phelps owns the record for all time Olympic golds and he would definitely look to improve and just three medals in this Olympic would allow him set a new record and surp-ass Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s overall record of 18 medals.
He said that this is going to be his last Olympics, so expect him to come hard at his competitors as he would be looking forward to enter the record books and sign off on a high note.
Federica Pellegrini (Swimming): The Italian swimmer has a deep connection with swimming considering the fact that she was born in the watery city of Venice. She is Italy’s most successful swimmer and in Beijing she became the first Italian female swimmer to win an Olympic gold. She won the 200m freestyle in 2008 Olympics and currently holds the world record in the 200m (long and short course) and 400m (long course) freestyle.
At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, ended with a timing of 3:59.15, hence becoming the first women to have ever breached the four minutes mark in 400m freestyle.
Katie Taylor (Boxing): With women’s boxing making its debut at the Olympics, stage cannot get more fitting than this for the Irish pugilist Katie Taylor.
Taylor who has won three World Championships and five European Championships, she would be keen on making her mark at the Olympics.
