Fencing, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Fencing Preview

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Fencing has been an Olympic sport since the first modern Olympics with the women’s events starting in 1924.  The events have expanded from three in the first Olympic games to ten, as there has been since 1996.  Five of the events are in men’s fencing, with five in women’s. Four of the events are in the foil category, three in Épée, and three in Sabre. The US has only won 20 medals in fencing at the Olympics, a far smaller number than the 115 of France and the 114 of Italy. The US only has two gold medals, both in women’s individual sabre at the last two Olympic games.

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of 16 athletes, eight men and eight women.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Fencing
Men:
Seth Kelsey** – Individual Épée
Soren Thompson& – Individual Épée
Miles Chamley-Watson – Individual and Team Foil
Race Imboden – Individual and Team Foil
Alexander Massialas – Individual and Team Foil
Daryl Homer – Individual and Team Sabre
Tim Morehouse* – Individual and Team Sabre
James Williams – Individual and Team Sabre

Women:
Courtney Hurley – Individual and Team Épée
Maya Lawrence – Individual and Team Épée
Susie Scanlan – Individual and Team Épée
Lee Kiefer – Individual and Team Foil
Nzingha Prescod – Individual and Team Foil
Nicole Ross – Individual and Team Foil
Dagmara Wozniak – Individual Sabre
Mariel Zagunis** – Individual Sabre
* – Was on team in 2008
** – Was on team in 2004 & 2008
& – Was on team in 2004

Schedule:

What are the different forms? Foil is a light weapon. In this form the target is the torso. Double touches are not permitted. Épée uses a heavier weapon and allows the whole body to be targeted. Doubles touches are allowed. In sabre you are allowed to score with the side of the weapon and the upper body is the target area. Double touches are not allowed.  Fencing is a little hard to pick up at first. The basic point is to hit your opponent and avoid being hit, thereby scoring more points than them. Sabre in particular has become more about hitting first, getting hit 2nd doesn’t really matter.

All the fencing events are knockout style. In team events there are three fencers per team who will face the three fencers on the other team. Scores are summed up and the team with the most points at the end wins. Each fight is limited to three minutes. The first fight ends at three minutes or when a team reaches five points. The second fight ends at three minutes or when a team reaches ten points… and so on until the end.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
5:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 64
6:50 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 32
9:10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Quarterfinals
1 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Semifinals
2:10 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Bronze Medal Match
2:40 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Gold Medal Match

Sunday July 29th
5:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Round of 64
6:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Round of 32
8:10 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Round of 16
9:10 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Quarterfinals
1 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Semifinals
1:50 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Bronze Medal Match
2:10 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Gold Medal Match

Monday July 30th
5:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Round of 64
6:50 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Round of 32
9:10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Quarterfinals
1 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Semifinals
2:10 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Bronze Medal Match
2:40 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Gold Medal Match

Tuesday July 31st
5:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 64
6:50 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 32
9:10 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Quarterfinals
1 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Semifinals
2:10 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Bronze Medal Match
2:40 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Foil – Gold Medal Match

Wednesday August 1st
4 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Round of 32
6:15 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Round of 16
7:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Quarterfinals
8:10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Round of 32
9:45 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Round of 16
10:40 AM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Quarterfinals
12:30 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Semifinals
1:30 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Semifinals
2:10 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Bronze Medal Match
2:40 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Bronze Medal Match
3 PM – Men’s Fencing – Individual Épée – Gold Medal Match
3:30 PM – Women’s Fencing – Individual Sabre – Gold Medal Match

Thursday August 2nd
4 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Round of 16
5:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Quarterfinals
7 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Semifinals
10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Placement 5-6
10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Placement 7-8
1 PM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Bronze Medal Match
2:15 PM – Women’s Fencing – Team Foil – Gold Medal Match

Friday August 3rd
5:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Round of 16
6:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Quarterfinals
7:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Semifinals
9:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Placement 5-6
9:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Placement 7-8
1 PM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Bronze Medal Match
1:45 PM – Men’s Fencing – Team Sabre – Gold Medal Match

Saturday August 4th
4 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Round of 16
5:30 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Quarterfinals
7 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Semifinals
10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Placement 5-6
10 AM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Placement 7-8
1 PM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Bronze Medal Match
2:15 PM – Women’s Fencing – Team Épée – Gold Medal Match

Sunday August 5th
4 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Round of 16
5:30 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Quarterfinals
7 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Semifinals
10 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Placement 5-6
10 AM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Placement 7-8
1 PM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Bronze Medal Match
2:15 PM – Men’s Fencing – Team Foil – Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

Men’s fencing has been a challenge for the US. They have only won 13 medals, five silvers and eight bronze. They were able to win the team sabre silver in Beijing, that team sends one competitor, Tim Morehouse, back to London this year. In 2004 they were in the bronze medal match for both team foil and team sabre, but lost both to the Russians.

Seth Kelsey lost in the individual épée Round of 32 in Beijing, finishing 17th. Soren Thompson was a quarterfinalist in both team and individual épée in Athens. Unfortunately team épée is not an event in this Olympics, so the US will have to hope that these two can make a run at an individual medal. Tim Morehouse lost in the Round of 32 in Beijing in individual sabre, but his silver medal in team sabre should give him confidence heading into London.

The US has really come on strong in women’s fencing, winning five medals in Beijing, including a sweep of the medals in individual sabre, and two in Athens. That is much better than the zero they had before that. Mariel Zagnuis has been a major part of that, winning the last two golds in individual sabre and the team bronze. Unfortunately team sabre is not a part of London 2012, so she’ll only have one chance at a medal this year in the individual competition.

The US looks like a strong candidate to grab at least a medal or two from London. Hopefully the US can even exceed those numbers and continue the strong momentum from taking home six medals from Beijing.

Equestrian, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Equestrian Preview

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Equestrian competitions have been a part of the Olympic competition since 1912 and involves mixed-gender competition. The United States is the all time leader with 49 medals, including 11 golds, in the competition, though Germany has won 24 medals in the last five Olympics compared to only 17 for the United States. The US has medaled in every Olympics since 1960 (excluding the boycotted 1980 games).

The Team:

This year’s team features 13 competitors, 12 of whom will be competing in the team events and all of whom will be competing in the individual events.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Equestrian
Dressage:
Jan Ebeling
Tina Konyot
Adrienne Lyle – Individual only – She also has her own blog – http://adrienne-lyle.blogspot.com/
Steffen Peters^

Eventing:
Will Coleman
Tiana Coudray
Phillip Dutton*
Boyd Martin – has his own blog – http://boydandsilvamartin.blogspot.com/
Karen O’Connor&

Show Jumping:
Rich Fellers
Reed Kessler
Beezie Madden**
McLain Ward**
* – Was on team in Beijing
** – Was on team in Beijing and Athens
& – Was on team in Beijing, Sydney, Atlanta and Seoul
^ – Was on team in Beijing and Atlanta

Schedule:

Equestrian is a sport that probably is not familiar to many people. The dressage events are based on horses doing different movements and scored based off of how well they do those movements. There will be a grand prix round to start. The top seven teams and the top eleven individuals not on those teams move on to the grand prix special. The total score of the team from the grand prix round and the grand prix special will determine medals. Additionally the top 18 individual scores from the two rounds combined go through to the final, the grand prix freestyle. The grand prix freestyle scores determine the individual medals. Phew. And that’s just one of the forms of Equestrian…

Eventing is the decathlon of equestrian, involving a dressage portion, a cross-country portion, and a show jumping portion. Cross-country and show jumping are somewhat similar as they both involve a horse going through a course jumping over fences or other obstacles. The cross-country course is longer, linear and has more permanent bigger obstacles. Think logs, ditches, hedges. The show jumping course is smaller and set up in a ring. Additionally the fences are able to be knocked down. Think hurdles.

The first couple days are the dressage portion and the scores are translated to penalties (least penalties wins this competition). The third day is the cross-country portion where the riders will again attempt to avoid penalties (for jumping mistakes and time penalties). Finally on day 4 the showjumping is conducted with two rounds. After the first round the team medals are decided. The team of five will use the best three results to get their team score. The second round of jumping will only involve the top 25 individual riders at that point. Adding the final set of jumping penalties will provide the final results.

The jumping competition itself consists of five rounds, with two of those counting for the team competition. The first round is individual only and will narrow the field down to the top 60 and all team riders. The second round will narrow the field to the top 45, combined first and second round scores, and the best eight teams (second round only scores). The third round will narrow the field to the top 35 (first, second, and third round scores combined) and determines the team medalists (second and third round scores combined).  The fourth round narrows the field to the top 20 based only on the fourth round score and the fifth and final round determines the medals based off of the fourth and fifth round scores combined.  In case of a tie there is a jump-off conducted.

While it’s pretty confusing at first, I think the Equestrian competition could be interesting to watch, especially the jumping portions.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
5 AM – Eventing – Dressage Day 1

Sunday July 29th
5 AM – Eventing – Dressage Day 2

Monday July 30th
7:30 AM – Eventing – Cross-Country

Tuesday July 31st
5:30 AM – Eventing – Jumping
9:30 AM – Eventing – Individual Jumping

Thursday August 2nd
6 AM – Dressage – Grand Prix Day 1

Friday August 3rd
6 AM – Dressage – Grand Prix Day 2

Saturday August 4th
5:30 AM – Jumping – Round 1

Sunday August 5th
6 AM – Jumping – Round 2

Monday August 6th
9 AM – Jumping – Round 3

Tuesday August 7th
5 AM – Dressage – Grand Prix Special

Wednesday August 8th
7 AM – Jumping – Final Round A
9:45 AM – Jumping – Final Round B

Thursday August 9th
7:30 AM – Dressage – Grand Prix Freestyle

Past Results:

Dressage has been a decent medal producer for the United States, they won the team bronze in four straight Olympics before losing that spot to Denmark in the Beijing games. The individual portion has not been the US’s strong suit, the last medal was in 1932.  Steffen Peters came in 4th in Beijing and is a serious threat for a medal this time around. Peters was also part of the team that won bronze in Atlanta.

Eventing has been a good event for the United States in the three Olympics before Beijing the American team had won a medal, though the last gold was in 1984.  The US has won a medal in the last four Olympics in the individual portion of the competition, the last gold being in 2000 when David O’Connor was victorious. In Beijing the US took home the silver in the individual eventing but finished 7th as a team. Phillip Dutton is actually a two-time gold medalist, both coming for Australia, from winning the 1996 and 2000 team events.  Karen O’Connor is a five-time Olympian now. She has competed in 1988 (Seoul), 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2008 (Beijing). She won the bronze in Sydney and the silver in Atlanta, both as part of the team event.

Jumping has been another good event for the US with team medals in 3 of the last four Olympics, including the last two golds, and individual medals in the last two Olympics. The US almost had two individual medals in Beijing but Beezie Madden and McLain Ward ended up tied for 3rd and Madden won the jump-off. Both were part of the team that won gold in Athens as well.

It seems a safe bet that the Us will win medals in Equestrian in London. It is simply a question of which events and which competitors.

Cycling, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Cycling Preview

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Cycling has been a part of every modern Olympics and has included women’s cycling since 1984. The program constantly seems to be changing, of the 18 events to be held in London, five are new from Beijing while five other events from Beijing are gone. Of the current events only men’s team pursuit, men’s/women’s individual sprint, and men’s/women’s individual road race have histories at the Olympics stretching earlier than Atlanta. France is the all-time leader in cycling medals with 86, but the US is 4th with 50, including 14 golds. The US won three bronze, one silver and one gold in Beijing.

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of 12 men and 12 women. Eight of the 24 athletes were part of the team in Beijing and three were around back in 2004 in Athens.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Cycling
Men:
Timmy Duggan – Road – Road Race
Tyler Farrar – Road – Road Race
Chris Horner – Road – Road Race
Taylor Phinney* – Road – Road Race & Time Trial
Tejay van Garderen – Road – Road Race
Jimmy Watkins – Track – Sprint
Bobby Lea* – Track – Omnium
Sam Schultz – Mountain Biking – Cross-Country
Todd Wells** – Mountain Biking – Cross-Country
David Herman – BMX
Connor Fields – BMX
Nic Long – BMX

Women:
Kristin Armstrong** – Road – Road Race & Time Trial
Amber Neben* – Road – Road Race & Time Trial
Shelley Olds – Road – Road Race
Evelyn Stevens – Road – Road Race
Dotsie Bausch – Track – Team Pursuit
Sarah Hammer* – Track – Team Pursuit & Omnium
Jennie Reed** – Track – Team Pursuit
Lauren Tamayo – Track – Team Pursuit
Lea Davison – Mountain Biking – Cross-Country
Georgia Gould* – Mountain Biking – Cross-Country
Arielle Martin – BMX
Alise Post – BMX
* – Was part of the team in Beijing
** – Was part of the team in Beijing and Athens

Schedule:

There are a lot of cycling competitions so we’ll try to explain them one at a time. Additionally there are various categories of events: road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, and BMX.

Road Cycling – Road Race –  The road race is a fairly straight forward event. All athletes will start at the same time, the first one to finish wins! The men’s race is a meager 156 miles, while the women’s race is only 87 miles.  No big deal. There is a section called Box Hill that is supposed to be very challenging and will be looped (nine times by the men, twice by the women).

Road Cycling – Time Trial – The time trial event will see competitors begin every 90 seconds. The fastest time for the course wins. The men will race 44km while the women race 29km.

Track Cycling – Sprint – The sprint event is a sprint, just three laps of the track long! There will be two riders racing, starting side by side, and the first one to finish wins. Win two of the three heats and you move on.  There will be a time trial before the tournament to develop seeding, then we will have the knockout tournament. This is the event you may have seen videos of where neither rider is even “trying” most of the time, perhaps basically stopping. Here is an example:

Track Cycling – Team Pursuit – Team pursuit is pretty cool concept. In team pursuit the two teams start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch the other team. They are only allowed 3km to do so, if they don’t catch the other team by that time then the team which finishes the 3km the fastest wins. To “catch” the other team the entire group of three must get within 1m.  After putting up qualifying times only the top four teams will be eligible for the gold. 1st will face 4th and 2nd will face 3rd with the winners facing off for gold. 5th faces 8th, 6th and 7th face off, and the two teams out of those four (along with the losers of the other two races) which had the fastest times in that round will compete for the bronze.  In all reality, most teams aren’t going to actually catch the other teams, it’s more of a quickest team to complete 3km competition despite the name.

Track Cycling – Omnium – The omnium is the cycling version of the decathlon, six events in all. In each event the winner receives one point, the 2nd two, and so on. Add up all the points from all the events and the lowest total wins. The events are: Flying lap – a race against the clock (fastest single lap). Points race – you get points for lapping competitors and sprints. The sprints occur every 10 laps. Requires endurance and then getting up to high gear quickly for the sprints. The men’s race lasts 30km, the women’s 20km.  Elimination race – one of my favorites – has everyone bunched together racing with a sprint every two laps. After each sprint the last rider is eliminated. Gets pretty crazy quick as riders are getting eliminated left and right. Individual pursuit – Much like team pursuit but with only one rider on each side.  Scratch race – 16km race for men, 10km race for women. Very simple. Time trial – 1km for men, 500m for women – fastest time (one at a time) wins.

Mountain Bike Cycling – Cross-Country – Riders all start at once and the first to finish wins.  The terrain, of course, is a challenging trail type ride. There’s even a few rock areas to ride over.

BMX Cycling – BMX – First of all let’s be clear… this is not BMX “trick” riding like we see at the X-Games. This is take your BMX bike and race and see who can go the quickest. 450m for the men, 44m0 for the women, both complete with jumps and other fun surprises for the riders.  In London each rider will ride once to get a seeding time. The men will move to quarterfinals. Each quarterfinal will have five runs where you pick up points based on your finish. After three of the five runs, the top two move on. The rest compete in the final two runs and the top two from there move on as well.  The women will go straight to the semifinals. For the men and women the semifinals will have three runs, the top four in each semifinal after the runs will move to the final. The final is a one-run competition where the winner takes the gold.

If you’re like me after reading all that you are excited to watch some cycling, and probably not just the “Tour de France” kind.

All Times ET

Saturday July 28th
5 AM – Men’s Cycling – Road – Road Race

Sunday July 29th
7 AM – Women’s Cycling – Road – Road Race

Wednesday August 1st
7:30 AM – Women’s Cycling – Road – Time Trial
9:15 AM – Men’s Cycling – Road – Time Trial

Friday August 3rd
11 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Team Pursuit – Qualification

Saturday August 4th
5 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Qualification
5:25 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 250m Time Trial (Flying Lap)
5:55 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – 1/16 Finals
11 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – 1/16 Repechage
11:10 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Team Pursuit – Round 1
11:40 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – 1/8 Finals
12 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 30km Points Race
12:40 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – 1/8 Repechage
12:45 PM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Team Pursuit – Finals
1:20 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Final (9-12)
1:25 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – Elimination Race

Sunday August 5th
5 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – Individual Pursuit
11:35 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Quarterfinals
12 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 15km Scratch Race
1:10 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 1km Time Trial
1:45 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Final (5-8)

Monday August 6th
11 AM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Semifinals
11:10 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 250m Time Trial (Flying Lap)
12:05 PM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 20km Points Race
12:40 PM – Men’s Cycling – Track – Sprint – Finals
1:20 PM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – Elimination Race

Tuesday August 7th
5:15 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – Individual Pursuit
11:10 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 10km Scratch Race
11:50 AM – Women’s Cycling – Track – Omnium – 500m Time Trial

Wednesday August 8th
10 AM – Men’s BMX – Seeding
10 AM – Women’s BMX – Seeding

Thursday August 9th
10 AM – Men’s BMX – Quarterfinals

Friday August 10th
10 AM – Women’s BMX – Semifinals
10:08 AM – Men’s BMX – Semifinals
11:30 AM – Women’s BMX – Final
11:40 AM – Men’s BMX – Final

Saturday August 11th
7:30 AM – Women’s Mountain Bike – Cross-Country Race

Sunday August 12th
8:30 AM – Men’s Mountain Bike – Cross-Country Race

Past Results:

First we’ll deal with the men. Most of the male road competitors for the United States have some international experience.  Timmy Duggan was a part of the last Road World Championship, but was part of a group well off the pace  finishing almost nine minutes off the pace and in 174th place.  Tyler Farrar was the best American at the Road World Championship finishing in 10th place in the road race competition. Farrar has also won a stage of the Tour de France in 2011. While not participating in the Road World Championship, Chris Horner was the winner of the Tour of California last year. Taylor Phinney finished 15th at the latest Road World Championship in the time trial. He also had a good race in the road race portion, finishing in 24th place. Phinney competed in the Beijing Olympics in the track portion of cycling. He finished 8th in the individual pursuit competition. In Beijing the US did come home with a medal in the road competition as Levi Leipheimer won the bronze in the time trial.  In Athens the US won both the gold (Tyler Hamilton) and the bronze (Bobby Julich) in the time trial competition.

On the track,  Bobby Lea was a competitor in the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championship, so we have some feel for how he might do in the Omnium. At the World Championship Lea finished 17th, with his best finish being 13th in three events (flying lap, individual pursuit, 1km time trial). In 2008 Lea did not finish the points race he was entered in and finished 16th in an event called the madison.  The US last medaled in men’s track during the 2000 Olympics.

In the cross-country competition Todd Wells is the more experienced of the two male competitors having finished 43rd in Beijing and 19th in Athens.  The US has never medaled in men’s mountain biking. In the BMX competition the US won the silver and bronze in Beijing (the first time the competition was held) but have three new Olympians to rely on this year.

As far as women go, the road team will have high expectations heading into London. Why? Because Kristin Armstrong won the gold medal in the time trial event in Beijing and is back to defend that title. Armstrong also raced in the road race in Beijing finishing in 25th, barely beating Amber Neben who finished 33rd.  Armstrong also competed in the road race in Athens and finished in 8th place.

The track team brings back several members of the Beijing team, Jennie Reed and Sarah Hammer, but neither of them in the events they participated in. Sarah Hammer participated in the women’s point race and the individual pursuit while Jennie Reed participated in the individual sprint. Hammer placed 5th in the individual pursuit while Reed finished 7th in the women’s sprint. These two will now join together with Dotsie Bausch and Lauren Tamayo to form the first women’s team pursuit team (it’s a new event) the US will send to the Olympics.  Three of the four (minus Reed) participated in the UCI Track Cycling World Championship and qualified in 5th place, less than a second out of place to compete for the bronze.  Hammer will be the first woman to compete in the omnium at the Olympics for the US (it’s also a new event) and has a good result this Spring to look back at for motivation and encouragement. Hammer finished 3rd at the World Championships, 5 points out of 2nd.  Her best event was individual pursuit where she finished 2nd.  The US last medaled in a women’s track event in 1992, so Hammer could end that 20-year drought.

In mountain biking Georgia Gould will look to improve on her 8th place finish in Beijing and reach the medal stand this time.  The Us has only medaled once in mountain biking, a bronze medal in the inaugural event in Atlanta.  In BMX the women will look to improve upon the bronze medal that Jill Kintner won in Beijing. Arielle Martin had a crash in the World Championships ahead of Beijing that cost her the spot to Kintner, so she could be a real threat for the medal stand.

Boxing, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Boxing Preview

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Boxing has been at every Olympics since 1912 and has given us some big moments for some of Boxing’s biggest names. Oscar de la Hoya, a young Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), Joe Frazier, and George Foreman all won Gold for the United States.  In all there have been 48 gold medals in Boxing for the United States and 110 total medals.  While the men have the historic legacy to look back at. this will be the first Olympics to include women’s boxing.

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of nine men and three women. Only one of these, Rau’shee Warren, has been to the Olympics before. Warren, who qualified for Athens as a 17-year old, is making his 3rd Olympic trip, something no American boxer has ever done before.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Boxing
Men:
Rau’shee Warren – Flyweight
Joseph Diaz – Bantamweight
Jose Ramírez – Lightweight
Jamel Herring – Light Welterwight
Errol Spence – Welterweight
Terrell Gausha – Middleweight
Marcus Browne – Light Heavyweight
Michael Hunter – Heavyweight
Dominic Breazeale – Super Heavyweight

Women:
Marlen Esparza – Flyweight
Queen Underwood – Lightweight
Claressa Shields – Middleweight

Schedule:

The boxing tournaments are single-elimination and feature five or four rounds (depending on the event).  A bout is three rounds and scored based off of successful punches over the entire bout. This makes for exciting quick bouts where both boxers must go for it right away. Bronze medals are awarded to both boxers who lose the semifinal matches.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Round of 32
10 AM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Round of 32
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Round of 32
5 PM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Round of 32

Sunday July 29th
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Round of 32
10 AM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Round of 32
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Round of 32
5 PM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Round of 32

Monday July 30th
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Round of 32
9:45 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Round of 32
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Round of 32
4:45 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Round of 32

Tuesday July 31st
9:45 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Round of 32
4:45 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Round of 32

Wednesday August 1st
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Round of 16
9:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Heavyweight – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Super Heavyweight – Round of 16
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Round of 16
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Heavyweight – Round of 16
5:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Super Heavyweight – Round of 16

Thursday August 2nd
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Round of 16
9:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Round of 16
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Round of 16
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Round of 16

Friday August 3rd
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Round of 16
9:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Round of 16
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Round of 16
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Round of 16

Saturday August 4th
9:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Round of 16
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Round of 16
5:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Round of 16

Sunday August 5th
8:30 AM – Women’s Flyweight – Round of 16
9:30 AM – Women’s Lightweight – Round of 16
10:30 AM – Women’s Middleweight – Round of 16
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Quarterfinals
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Heavyweight – Quarterfinals

Monday August 6th
8:30 AM – Women’s Flyweight – Quarterfinals
9:30 AM – Women’s Lightweight – Quarterfinals
10:30 AM – Women’s Middleweight – Quarterfinals
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Quarterfinals
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Quarterfinals
5:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Super Heavyweight – Quarterfinals

Tuesday August 7th
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Quarterfinals
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Quarterfinals

Wednesday August 8th
8:30 AM – Women’s Flyweight – Semifinals
9 AM – Women’s Lightweight – Semifinals
9:30 AM – Women’s Middleweight – Semifinals
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Quarterfinals
5:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Quarterfinals

Thursday August 9th
11:30 AM – Women’s Flyweight – Final
11:45 AM – Women’s Lightweight – Final
12:15 PM – Women’s Middleweight – Final

Friday August 10th
9 AM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Semifinals
9:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Semifinals
10 AM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Semifinals
10:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Heavyweight – Semifinals
3:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Semifinals
4 PM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Semifinals
4:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Semifinals
5 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Semifinals
5:30 PM – Men’s Boxing – Super Heavyweight – Semifinals

Saturday August 11th
3:45 PM – Men’s Boxing – Bantamweight – Final
4:15 PM – Men’s Boxing – Light Welterweight – Final
4:45 PM – Men’s Boxing – Middleweight – Final
5:15 PM – Men’s Boxing – Heavyweight – Final

Sunday August 12th
8:30 AM – Men’s Boxing – Flyweight – Final
8:45 AM – Men’s Boxing – Lightweight – Final
9:15 AM – Men’s Boxing – Welterweight – Final
9:45 AM – Men’s Boxing – Light Heavyweight – Final
10:15 AM – Men’s Boxing – Super Heavyweight – Final

Past Results:

As mentioned at the start, the US has had great success in past Olympics. An outlier was the US performance in Beijing where only Deontay Wilder, a heavyweight, medaled. Wilder won the bronze when he lost to Clemente Russo of Italy.  In addition to Wilder only one other boxer made the quarterfinals.  Rau’shee Warren lost in the first round to Oksung Lee in Beijing, a disappointing result in his second Olympic trip.

In 2004 the US won a gold when Andre Ward, a light heavyweight, beat Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus in the final. Andre Dirrell, competing as a Middleweight, won the bronze when he lost to Gennadiy Golovkin of Kazakhstan.  Rau’shee Warren lost in the first round to Zou Shiming of China in his first Olympic bout. Two Americans other than Dirrell and Ward made the quarterfinals, and no American other than Warren lost in the first round.

2000 was a great year for the Americans as they won two bronze medals and two silver medals.  1996 was another strong year as the US won five bronze medals (including one by Floyd “no money yet” Mayweather Jr.) and a gold. 1992 featured a gold (Oscar de la Hoya) , a silver, and a bronze.  You have to go all the way back to 1988 to find the last time the US won multiple gold medals in a single Olympics. that year the Us won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals. It was a remarkable haul that saw the US medal in eight of the 12 events.

Rau’shee Warren has shown the ability to compete Internationally before having won the Gold in 2007 at the World Amateur Championship. He finished 3rd in the latest championship, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Joseph Diaz was able to make the quarterfinals at that championship to earn his spot, and is only 18 years old.  19-year old Jose Ramírez was only able to get to the 2nd round in Baku, but finished 4th in the American (North and South) tournament to qualify for London.  Jamel Herring, a 26-year old Marine boxer, didn’t advance out of the 1st round in Baku, but also finished 4th in the American tournament to qualify. 22-year old Errol Spence had a strong run in Baku before losing in the quarterfinals, qualifying him for London. Terrell Gausha, a 24-year old, was unseeded in the USA Olympic Trials but went all the way, winning the tournament. He then went to the American tournament and proceeded to win that as well. He’s definitely carrying a lot of momentum into London. Marcus Browne was able to make the 3rd round in Baku, but a loss there cost him a chance to qualify for London. Browne then went to the American tournament and was able to qualify, winning the Light heavyweight division. Michael Hunter, America’s Heavyweight, earned his spot in a similar manner by winning the American qualifying tournament too. The final member of the American team, the Super Heavyweight Dominic Breazeale, is surprisingly a former quarterback at Northern Colorado. Breazeale qualified when he finished 3rd at the American tournament.

On the women’s side, Marlen Esparza, who despite being only 22, has already won a bronze medal at a world championship six years ago, made the quarterfinals of the world championship this year to make the Olympics.  Quanitta Underwood lost in the Round of 16 at the world championship by a single point to Ingrid Egner of Norway. She was rewarded for her strong performance by receiving an invitation to the Olympics.  Claressa Shields, only 17 and still in high school, was knocked out in the 2nd round at the world championship by Savannah Marshall of England (who went on to win the tournament) but was still able to qualify for the Olympics thanks to advancing as far as anyone else from the Americas.

Once again it looks like  Rau’shee Warren will be the best chance the US has at a medal, being the only one to medal at the World Championships during the last year. Hopefully some of the other boxers from the US can make a good run at the games as well echoing something many great American boxers have done over the years.

Beach Volleyball, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Beach Volleyball Preview

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Beach Volleyball has become a more popular sport in America over the last decade for.. well… I guess obvious reasons. It doesn’t hurt that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are two time defending gold medalists. Can they win it one more time though, or has their prime passed?

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of eight athletes, four men and four women. All of the men are going to their second Olympics. Two of the women are first time Olympians while Walsh is a three time Olympian and May-Treanor is going to her fourth.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Beach Volleyball
Men:
Jake Gibb*
Sean Rosenthal*
Phil Dalhausser*
Todd Rogers*

Women:
Misty May-Treanor***
Kerri Walsh**
Jen Kessy
April Ross
* – Was on team in 2008
** – Was on team in 2004 & 2008
*** – Was on team in 2000, 2004, and 2008

Schedule:

The tournament will begin with the teams divided into six four-team pools for round robin play. All the group winners and runner-ups will advance to the Round of 16. Two of the 3rd place finishers will get automatic spots for the Round of 16 while the other four will battle for the other two spots. After that it is a straight knockout tournament.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Sunday July 29th
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Monday July 30th
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Tuesday July 31st
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Wednesday August 1st
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Thursday August 2nd
4 AM – 3 PM – Men’s and Women’s Group Stage Matches

Friday August 3rd
4 AM – 4 PM – Men’s and Women’s Round of 16

Saturday August 4th
4 AM – 4 PM – Men’s and Women’s Round of 16

Sunday August 5th
1 PM – 5 PM – Women’s Quarterfinals

Monday August 6th
1 PM – 5 PM – Men’s Quarterfinals

Tuesday August 7th
12 PM – 4 PM – Men’s and Women’s Semifinals

Wednesday August 8th
1 PM – Women’s Bronze Medal Match
4 PM – Women’s Gold Medal Match

Thursday August 9th
1 PM – Men’s Bronze Medal Match
4 PM – Men’s Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

The US is home to the defending champions in both the Women’s and the Men’s event. The women’s title was of course won by May-Treanor and Walsh and the men’s title was won by Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal made it to the quarterfinals in 2008.

In 2004 May-Treanor and Walsh won again and the other US women’s team won the bronze. The top men’s team that year made it to the quarterfinals. Back in 2000 the men’s team of Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana won gold while Misty May’s team was the top women’s team for the US advancing to the quarterfinals.

So if the past is any indication the US should be a strong competitor for medals in both the women’s and the men’s tournament. It will be interesting to see if May Treanor and Walsh can win one last gold medal as they are now eight years removed from their first gold medal.

London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Table Tennis

Table Tennis Preview

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Table Tennis is not a sport that is dominated by Americans, in fact no American has ever medaled in Table Tennis. The field is stacked with great players from Asia. Only one medal has left the Far East, the Men’s Team Silver in 2008 which went to Germany.

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of four athletes. Timothy Wang will compete in Men’s Singles while Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang will compete in Women’s Singles. Hsing and Zhang will team with Erica Wu to compete in Women’s Team. All are first time Olympians.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Table Tennis
Men:
Timothy Wang

Women:
Ariel Hsing
Lily Zhang
Erica Wu

Schedule:

Information is a bit hard to find but it appears the Individual competition is a best-of-7 competition. The team competition appears to consist of four singles matches and a doubles match. The team that wins three of the five matches advances. Both competitions are a purely knockout tournament.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
4 AM – Women’s Singles – Preliminary Round
4:45 AM – Men’s Singles – Preliminary Round
6:15 AM – 9:30 AM – Women’s Singles – 1st Round
11 AM – 2 PM – Men’s Singles – 1st Round
3:30 PM – Women’s Singles – 2nd Round

Sunday July 29th
4 AM – Women’s Singles – 2nd Round
6 AM – 8:30 AM – Men’s Singles – 2nd Round
1 PM – Women’s Singles – 3rd Round

Monday July 30th
5 AM – Men’s Singles – 3rd Round
10:30 AM – Women’s Singles – 4th Round
2 PM – Men’s Singles – 4th Round

Tuesday July 31st
5 AM – Women’s Singles – Quarterfinals
11 AM – Women’s Singles – Semifinals
3 PM – Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals

Wednesday August 1st
5 AM – Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals
9:30 AM – Women’s Singles – Bronze Medal Match
10:30 AM – Women’s Singles – Gold Medal Match

Thursday August 2nd
5 AM – Men’s Singles – Semifinals
9:30 AM – Men’s Singles – Bronze Medal Match
10:30 AM – Men’s Singles – Gold Medal Match

Friday August 3rd
5 AM – 9:30 AM – Women’s Team – 1st Round

Saturday August 4th
9:30 AM – 2 PM – Women’s Team – Quarterfinals

Sunday August 5th
2 PM – Women’s Team – Semifinals

Monday August 6th
5 AM – Women’s Team – Semifinals

Tuesday August 7th
6 AM – Women’s Team – Bronze Medal Match
10:30 AM – Women’s Team – Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

In 2008 the US’s Men’s Singles player lost in the Preliminary Round while in 2004 the US had an athlete in the 2nd Round. The women had a lot more success in Beijing as Wang Chen, a former Chinese Table Tennis player, made it to the quarterfinals. Additionally the women’s team was able to get into the playoff round for the bronze medal, though they didn’t medal. In 2004 the women had one competitor into the 3rd Round.

It would be surprising to see the US advance far in any of the competitions, but their best chance might come with the Women’s Team.

Badminton, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Badminton Preview

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First of all… who knew that badminton had an n before the t?!!? I sure didn’t… surprise surprise. Hopefully I can spell it right from now on. The US does not have a glorious history in badminton, never having medaled.

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of three athletes. Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan will compete in men’s doubles and Rena Wang will compete in women’s singles.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Badminton
Men:
Howard Bach**
Tony Gunawan

Women:
Rena Wang
** – Was on team in 2004 & 2008

Schedule:

Badminton in the Olympics is played best of three games, each game to 21 points (must win by two). If a game reaches 30 points it is automatically over.

The tournament will begin with a round robin group stage for both Men’s Doubles and Women’s Singles play. In Doubles play there will be four groups of four with the top two teams moving on to the quarterfinals. In singles play there will be 16 groups of four with the four group winners moving on to the Round of 16.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
3:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Men’s Doubles Group Stage, Women’s Singles Group Stage

Sunday July 29th
3:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Men’s Doubles Group Stage, Women’s Singles Group Stage

Monday July 30th
3:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Men’s Doubles Group Stage, Women’s Singles Group Stage

Tuesday July 31st
3:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Men’s Doubles Group Stage, Women’s Singles Group Stage

Wednesday August 1st
4 AM – 12 PM – Women’s Singles Round of 16

Thursday August 2nd
4 AM – Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals
7:30 AM – Women’s Singles Quarterfinals

Friday August 3rd
4 AM – Women’s Singles Semifinals

Saturday August 4th
4 AM – Men’s Doubles Semifinals
8:30 AM – Women’s Singles Bronze Medal Match and Gold Medal Match

Sunday August 5th
4 AM – Men’s Doubles Bronze Medal Match
8 AM – Men’s Doubles Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

Howard Bach is the only competitor to return to the Olympics for the US, having been to Athens and Beijing. In 2008 he reached the quarterfinals with Bob Malaythong before losing to Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China. In 2004, paired with Kevin Qi Han, Bach reached the round of 16 before losing to Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard-Hansen of Denmark.

In 2008 the Women’s Singles athlete from the US failed to advance out of the Round of 64, while no Women’s Singles athlete made the Olympics in 2004. It appears no woman has ever even won a set in the singles competition at the Olympics for the US. The best finish ever by a Men’s Doubles team was in 2008 with the quarterfinal appearance.

There might be some hope for the Bach-Gunawan combination as the two won the 2005 World Badminton Championship. Additionally Gunawan in his younger days competed for Indonesia and won the 2000 Men’s Doubles gold medal. Rena Wang is only 20 so she will be getting a good experience to build on at such a young age, and if she could even win a set for the US it would be a historic accomplishment.

Archery, London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics

Archery Preview

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The United States has a somewhat rich history in archery, but has struggled in the last few years. Three men and three women will attempt to turn that around in London.

The Team:

The team is made up of three men and three women who will compete both individually and as a team. Brady Ellison took part in the 2008 Olympics and Jennifer Nichols is in her 3rd Olympics having taken part in the 2008 and 2004 Olympics. Khatuna Lorig competed in 3 Olympics (92, 96, and 2000) before becoming a US Citizen and took part in the Beijing games, making this her 5th Olympics!

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Archery
Men:
Brady Ellison*
Jake Kaminski
Jacob Wukie

Women:
Miranda Leek
Khatuna Lorig*
Jennifer Nichols**
* – Was on team in 2008 – Beijing
** – Was on team in 2004 & 2008

Schedule:

The individual competitions will begin with a Ranking Round to set the seeds for the knockout portion of the tournament. After the knockout bracket is set (1v64, 2v63 and so on) the competitors will face off in five-set matches. Each set consists of three arrows. Win three sets and you are through.

The team competitions will be seeded using the combined scores of the team members from the Ranking Round, the top 4 teams on each side getting a bye with teams 5-12 matching up. In the team competition it is only total points that matters, not sets.

July 27
4 AM ET – Men’s Ranking Round
8 AM ET – Women’s Ranking Round

July 28
4 AM ET – Men’s Team – Round of 16
10 AM ET – Men’s Team – Quarterfinals
11:40 AM ET – Men’s Team – Semifinals
12:33 PM ET – Men’s Team – Bronze Medal Match
1:01 PM ET – Men’s Team – Gold Medal Match

July 29
4 AM ET – Women’s Team – Round of 16
10 AM ET – Women’s Team – Quarterfinals
11:40 AM ET – Women’s Team – Semifinals
12:33 PM ET – Women’s Team – Bronze Medal Match
1:01 PM ET – Women’s Team – Gold Medal Match

July 30-August 1
4 AM ET – 11:05 ET – Rounds of 64 for both genders followed by rounds of 32, some men and some women will go on each day.

August 2
4 AM ET – Women’s Individual – Round of 16
9 AM ET – Women’s Individual – Quarterfinals
9:52 AM ET – Women’s Individual – Semifinals
10:21 AM ET – Women’s Individual – Bronze Medal Match
10:37 AM ET – Women’s Individual – Gold Medal Match

August 3
4 AM ET – Men’s Individual – Round of 16
9 AM ET – Men’s Individual – Quarterfinals
9:52 AM ET – Men’s Individual – Semifinals
10:21 AM ET – Men’s Individual – Bronze Medal Match
10:37 AM ET – Men’s Individual – Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

Men:
Brady Ellison: In 2008 he had a great Ranking Round and ended up seeded 15th. Despite the high seed he was knocked out in the Round of 32 by 47th-seed Jay Lyon of Canada.

As a team in 2008 the US ended up seeded 10th after the Ranking Round and lost in the Round of 16 to 7th seeded Chinese Taipei.

The US won five of the first seven medals in men’s individual archery, but haven’t won gold since Justin Huish in Atlanta. Vic Wunderle was the last American to medal, winning silver in 2000.

The team won their first gold medal in 1996 and followed that up with a bronze in 2000, but haven’t been on the medal stand since then.

Brady Ellison is the two-time defending FITA Archery World Cup champion, though that competition is a weaker field than the Olympics.

Women:
Jennifer Nichols: In 2008 she ended up the 24th seed after the Ranking Round and was knocked out in the Round of 32 by 9th seeded Nami Hayakawa of Japan. In 2004 she was the 19th seed and advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to Yun Mi-Jin of South Korea.

Khatuna Lorig: In 2008 she was the 26-seed after the Ranking Round but pulled off upsets in the Round of 32 and the Round of 16 to advance all the way to the quarterfinals. She lost in the quarterfinals to Yun Ok-Hee of South Korea. Back in 1992 she won a bronze medal in archery as a member of the Unified Team.

There was no US women’s team in Beijing, but in 2004 the women’s team was seeded 9th and lost to Greece in the Round of 16.

The US women won the first two women’s individual archery gold medals, but none since Luann Ryon in Montreal (1976), the last medal for the US in the sport.

The women’s team did win bronze in 1988, the first year of that competition.

South Korea is the dominant country of archery having won every women’s team gold medal, four of the six men’s team gold medals, and six straight women’s individual gold medals (interrupted in 2008 by China).

London 2012, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Soccer

Women’s Soccer Preview

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The first sport that will kick-off for the US is Women’s Soccer. Women’s Soccer will actually get going BEFORE the Opening Ceremonies. The first game for the US will be on the 25th of July against France.

The Team:

The US Team is made up of 18 women, many of whom will be familiar to US fans from Beijing.

Ten of the 18 members were on the team in Beijing and five of the members of the team were on the team in Athens.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Women’s Soccer Team
GK – Nicole Barnhart*
GK – Hope Solo*
DF – Heather Mitts**
DF – Christie Rampone**
DF – Rachel Buehler*
DF – Becky Sauerbrunn
DF – Amy LePeilbet
DF – Kelley O’Hara
MF – Shannon Boxx**
MF – Heather O’Reilly**
MF – Amy Rodriguez
MF – Carli Lloyd*
MF – Tobin Heath*
MF – Megan Rapinoe
MF – Abby Wambach&
MF – Alex Morgan
FW – Lauren Cheney*
FW – Sydney Leroux
Coach – Pia Sundhage*
* – Was on team in 2008 – Beijing
& – Was on team in 2004 – Athens
** – Was on team in 2004 & 2008

Schedule:

In the Olympics the Women’s Soccer Tournament is made up of 12 teams divided into three groups. After round-robin play in each group all the teams that finish in 1st and 2nd and two of the 3rd place teams qualify for the Quarterfinals. At that point it is a regular knockout tournament.

The US’s group consists of France, Colombia and North Korea.  They will likely win the group and face a 3rd place team from Group E or F in the quarterfinals, followed by likely Brazil in a Semifinal.  The most likely team to meet in the Final would be Japan.

The US is ranked 1st in the world, Japan 3rd, Sweden 4th, and Brazil 5th.  France is ranked 6th, North Korea 8th, and Colombia 28th.

Wednesday July 25th – Noon ET – France
Saturday July 28th – Noon ET – Colombia
Tuesday July 31st – 12:15 PM ET – North Korea
Friday August 3rd – Quarterfinals
Monday August 6th – Semifinals
Thursday August 9th – Medal Matches

Past Results:

The US Women are the two-time defending champs, along with winning a silver in 2000 and a gold in the Inaugural tournament in 1996.  The only other team to win a gold medal is Norway.  The US has beaten Brazil in each of the last 2 Olympic Finals, but unless one of the teams finishes as runner-up in its group they would meet before the final this year. A new country will win a medal this year as the only other countries than the US and Brazil to have won medals before (China, Germany, and Norway) are all absent from the games.

The best finishes from teams in the tournament are:
Brazil – Silver (2004 & 2008)
Cameroon – 1st Olympics
Canada – 8th (2008)
Colombia – 1st Olympics
France – 1st Olympics
Great Britain – 1st Olympics
Japan – 4th (2008)
New Zealand – 10th (2008)
North Korea – 9th (2008)
South Africa – 1st Olympics
Sweeden – 4th (2004)
USA – 1st (1996, 2004, & 2008)

At the Women’s World Cup last year Japan beat the US in the final with Sweeden topping France in the 3rd place game.  England (who have many of the players on the Great Britain squad) and Brazil were knocked out in the Quarterfinals.  The US was actually in a group with North Korea and Colombia, winning 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. The Americans also defeated the French 3-1 in the semifinals.

Olympics

My Memories of Olympics Past

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The first Olympics I actually remember watching something from was Atlanta in 1996. I was eight at the time, so that sounds about right. The event? The Women’s Gymnastics Team Final… Kerri Strug landing her vault to win the US a gold medal. I was in a hotel room with my family in Newton, IA after spending the day at Adventureland. I sure hope those details are correct, because that’s the way I’ve remembered it for years and I think it’s one of my earliest true memories.  I kinda remember the hype around Michael Johnson and his races.  Other than that… I don’t think I really remember anything.

I remember being more aware of the 98 Winter Olympics. Some of that probably had to do with receiving the magazine Sports Illustrated for Kids (which apparently still exists!  If you have young children get this magazine for them). That said I’m not sure I remember much from the actual Games. I do remember Tara Lapinski winning gold… or at least I’d like to think I do. I’m convinced in my head I remember watching that (and I probably did… my mother loves figure skating) but I’m not sure. Either way can you believe she’s THIRTY now? I will admit I’m stunned to find out that Michelle Kwan was *only* 17 back then. I always had her pegged as an older woman compared to Lapinski I guess.

On to Sydney… being twelve at the time I remember a bit more. I remember having a t-shirt my grandparents bought me with the Sydney logo on it. I remember Ian Thorpe bursting on to the scene to the delight of his home crowd. I remember Rulon Gardner winning gold, that was a big deal since he was a former Nebraska wrestler. How could I forget Vince Carter’s dunk over some Frenchie. That was definitely my top dunk of all-time for quite a while after that.

Salt Lake City? Now the Olympics had really come home for me. Fourteen years old and beginning to really get into sports. I was probably on a sports message board or two (or ten) by this point and much more plugged in. Apollo Anton Ohno. Totally into watching him. Sara Hughes? I remember her winning gold while I was working on a paper for my 8th grade English class. Poor Michelle Kwan… I think I was probably rooting for her. I remember realizing how fun luge and bobsled were to watch. Hockey was a big deal to me back then and I followed the US team’s run. And who could forget that French judge…

Athens. Michael Phelps is a new big name. The Men’s Basketball team comes up short. That was pretty disappointing and very frustrating. How could so many big names stars fail to win? It was nice that the fastest men in the world were mostly Americans. Dominance.  I also remember some of the events like canoeing, and the epicness of the Games being held in Greece once again!

Turin was largely forgotten to me. I was wrapping up my senior year of high school, working a lot and taking difficult classes. I remember that the final four episodes of Arrested Development were ran against the Opening Ceremonies of the Games. I remember Apollo Anton Ohno again, speed skating became easily one of my favorite Winter Olympic sports.

Beijing.  Epicness. I might have had a job during this time… but I wasn’t really good at going all the time. Additionally a lot of the best events were in prime time somehow, and I would sit in the lounge at the dorms watching Olympics every night. What don’t I remember from Beijing? Some of my favorite Olympic moments. Phelps… Phelps… Phelps. Seemed like every day he was winning another gold, some of them in unbelievable fashion. I shouted/screamed a few times when he pulled the rabbit out of his hat. USAIN BOLT. Unbelievable. I still find it hard to believe what he did in those two gold medal runs.

My friend Kara would come over to watch soccer with me in the wee hours. She’d make biscuits. I’d fall asleep on the couch and miss most of the games. I remember being frustrated to no end by the dang US Men’s team… so many players on that squad I liked. Such a let down against the Dutch and then choking against Nigeria. Ugh. The women did slightly make up for it… but I have to admit I was asleep when the US scored the winning goal (I think). I was probably awoken by Kara’s shouts and did my best to pretend I had been awake.

I was reminded of my love for gymnastics during the Games. I was always rooting for Shawn Johnson, but Nastia won me over too. She was incredible. I cried when she won the gold. That she was able to win gold 20 years after her father won a gold medal in the Olympics was so cool. When Shawn got her gold medal too, it made it all okay in my mind.

Vancouver was the first Olympics I got to watch with my now wife.  We watched the figure skating pretty closely (as apparently my mother did when I was an infant in 1988). So exciting to see the US recapture the Men’s title.  The Canadian dancing team was so fun to see win, easy to root for our neighbors to the North.  Yikes… can’t believe I just copped to enjoying Ice Dancing publicly.

I remember watching more skating, more skiing, more bobsledding. Hannah Kearney winning gold to start things off, a great start. Moguls. Are. Awesome. Lindsey Vonn capturing gold! Shaun White ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING the competition. The Bodemiester himself, Bode Miller getting his gold medal. The US Bobsledding team!  I was rooting for them so hard! Curtis Tomasevicz is of course a former Husker, so he was a real big deal here in Nebraska. I remember missing the Men’s Ice Hockey gold medal game, but I don’t remember why anymore.

So here we are in 2012. The Games start in three weeks! I’m not ready… they are always so hard to resist once they arrive and gone in a flash. So much is packed into those 16 main days. You can’t take it all in, even if you try, and no one really expects you to. I will surely witness some incredible moments by athletes from all over the world. If Usain Bolt can win another 100m gold, I ‘m sure it’ll be one of my lasting memories of London. Yet there is nothing quite like seeing a fellow American take home a title, or even just give their best effort, every last ounce while representing our country.

This year I don’t want to find out who they are when NBC tells me about them. I want to know ahead of time, when their chance is still yet to come. I want to find out who doesn’t win a medal but gave it their all anyways.  I want to root them on and give them what they deserve after all their hard work. I think they deserve our support and recognition for the great feat that just getting to the Olympics is.

While I love that the Olympics are the World’s Games and I understand Morgan Freeman’s “Go World!”,  I’m willing to admit I’m more drawn towards Ian Darke’s “Go Go USA!”

Share your favorite Olympic memories in the comments below!

Covering America's Athletes