Top 5 Olympic Gold Medal Hopefuls for Team USA

Contributed by Emma Booth.
Regional Director, USA Sport Group.

Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps)
Let’s face it, swimmer Michael Phelps will be a gold medal contender even after he hangs up his trunks. 4 years ago he broke the world record for most gold medals in a single Olympic Games – eight. He won't be able to match that record in London though, as Phelps is ‘only’ competing in seven events this year... But will more than likely be on the podium seven times.

Jordyn Wieber (@jordyn_wieber)
16 year old Jordyn Wieber has taken the gymnastic scene by storm. She is already all-around World Champion as of 2011, a pretty impressive feat seeing she is still at high school. She will be leading the women’s team in London 2012, and with class such as Gabrielle Douglas and Alexandra Raisman, they will be very hard to beat.

Top 10: World's Biggest Stadiums

Contributed by Simon March.
Director, USA Sport Group.

America is known for its huge sporting venues, but only 4 make it into the worlds top ten biggest stadiums. Can you guess where the others are?

#10: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia
100,000
There are numerous sports stadiums around the world that hold 100,000, but we have decided to highlight Melbourne Cricket Ground, due to its great history. The oldest of the stadiums on our list, it was built in 1853 with the first game of cricket played on 30 September 1854. Until the 1970s, up to 130,000 people could be crammed into the stadium, however renovations and safety regulations have since restricted the capacity to its current 100,000.

#9: National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Malaysia

100,200
Built for the 1998 Commonwealth Games, construction work began in 1992 and was completed 3 months ahead of schedule. The stadium is now the home of the Malaysian soccer team and hosts a variety of sporting and non-sporting events.

USA's Top 5 Olympic Sports

Contributed by Han Palframan.
Regional Director, USA Sport Group.

The highly anticipated Olympics in London are starting in the summer of 2012 and this always draws in billions of viewers from all around the globe. With people choosing which sports to watch, it raises the question of what Olympic sports are the biggest and most popular in America? These are my top five, let's see if you agree!

#5: Volleyball

Through college and university, volleyball has an ever growing following in our hot summer climate. With the women’s game being heavily sponsored throughout the USA, 300 schools sponsoring the game at varsity level, increasing resources are being utilized in the league format. This has resulted in it developing into one of the most hotly viewed Olympic sports.

#4: Track

From the 100m, 100m hurdles and 200m, to the 400m and 400m hurdles, the sprint events are by far the biggest around the world. In America, Michael Johnson is the only athlete in history to win the 200 and 400m at the same games!

Top Moments of Sportsmanship

Contributed by Simon March.
Director, USA Sport Group.

In an increasingly competitive environment, it is easy to forget the backbone of any great athlete: sportsmanship.

Regardless of the type of sport, ability level of the player or level of competition, if the next generation of superstars could follow the example set by the athletes below, sport would be a much better place for it.

Golf: Adam Van Houten

Adam Van Houten, a student at Mount Gilead High School in central Ohio, had just won the state golf championship. It appeared he’d won by a comfortable seven-stroke margin, but Van Houten noticed a mistake on his scorecard. His playing partner had accidentally given him a five on the 10th hole instead of a six. Since Van Houten signed his scorecard before he’d even noticed the mistake, as per golf rules, he had two choices. He could ignore the mistake and win the state championship or report the mistake. He reported the violation to tournament officials and was disqualified from the competition.

Soccer: Paolo Di Canio

The Premier League game entered injury time with the score tied at one. Everton keeper Paul Gerrard went down with an injury, but West Ham played on. A cross found Paolo Di Canio, open net in front of him, Gerrard on the ground to his side. Instead of tapping into the empty goal, Di Canio picked up the ball and signaled the medical staff onto the field.