Who are The best US Female Olympians

There are quite a few talented female US Olympians going into the 2012 London Olympics. Hopes are high for lots of incredible gold medal action from these incredible athletes. But who is poised to be the best? Which athletes stand above their peers and have a really good chance to be the ones people will be talking about for the rest of the summer?

Missy Franklin US Swimmer:

Missy Franklin is poised to become the swimmer of the moment..and perhaps for the future. She is only 17 years old, but even at her tender age she is so good people anticipate she could easily become the greatest female swimmer of all time. All the potential is there, now she just has the Herculean task of living up to all of that potential as she prepares to compete in her first Olympics.

She is swimming in an amazing 7 events (the same number as her male counterpart, Michael Phelps), and is expected to gain some sort of medal in almost all of these events, with at least a handful of gold. Can Missy really become the female Phelps, coming back again and again and collecting Gold? Only time will tell for sure… but the potential is there.

Alex Morgan: US Women’s Soccer

While Goalie Hope Solo is the most famous member of the US Olympic team, and certainly an important part of any potential win, young Alex Morgan has been flashing brilliant on the Soccer pitch. She is great looking, young, an incredible athlete and she is such a good striker that she has to be eyeing the “most goals scored” in an Olympics honor. Something that no American has ever done, even with multiple gold medal winning teams.

At just 21 years old Morgan is agile, quick and athletic. Just plain quicker and simply better than most of those around her. She is also running hot right now and should be peaking at the best time in her career, during her Olympic appearance. Alex Morgan on an already strong US team bodes well for the US women’s Soccer team.

Jordyn Wieber Gymnastics:

Jordan Wieber is one of the two very talented US female Gymnasts. Her teammate Gabby Williams is also shockingly good. But Wieber has a little more experience and practice and on the stage of the Olympics, those nerves and experience could make the difference and see her coming out ahead of her teammate gabby Williams.

As for how she will stack up against the rest of the world, it looks good so far. She is the 2011 world champion and it looks like she is as good as she was last year. With, what looks to be another talented US team, the Olympic women’s Gymnastics Enthusiasts are hopeful about the chances of Jordyn and her Gymnastics teammates.

Kerri Walsh and Misty May Treanor: Beach Volleyball

Kerri Walsh and Misty May Treanor have been so dominant in Olympic Beach volleyball that their names have become synonymous with the sport.  But this year is different. For this one they are not the team that had not been beaten in YEARS. They have been beaten, and while they are still strong…they are not dominant.

Since their 2008 dominance, Walsh took time off from the sport to have a family and Treanor had a serious injury filming, “Dancing with the Stars”. They are back together and look like they have a solid chance to get a gold…but it is far from the “sure thing” it was only 4 years ago. The tougher competition just makes the beach volleyball series in the Olympics that much more exciting.

Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix is facing some stiff competition on the from her own US teammates. There are a ton of good US sprinters and it is a crowded field at the 100 and 200m races. Still Allyson is the slight favorite to win the 200m and that same “tough” team should make the 100m relay team win an almost certainty, except for an equally talented Jamaican team to challenge them. Allyson may not medal in the 100m, where she had a infamous 3rd place tie to make the team, but she does have the talent to win that event with a good start.