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ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM VIENCKOWSKI
•
JULY 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
ONE TOWATCH
DAVIDOLIVER
TRACK AND FIELD
Nowadays, a lot of athletes
have blogs, with most featuring
short, mundane posts on the
day-to-day happenings in their
careers. Not so with David
Oliver: The 2008 Olympic
110-meter hurdles bronze
medalist doesn’t update his
blog (davidoliverhurdles.blog
spot.com) very often, but
when he does, he pours his
heart out.
Oliver’s pièce de résistance?
His stream-of-consciousness
recap of the 2011 season, which
tops out at 5,877 words and is
part diary, part insider column
(“I know this sport is definitely
one that everyone builds you
up to tear you down”) and part
manifesto (“95 percent of life’s
issues are black and white and
boil down to two options: You’re
either going to do something or
you’re not”).
The first two-time
All-American
in any sport
from Howard
University,
Oliver grew
up in
Denver
and for the
past several
years has been
living and training in
Orlando, Fla., under
legendary coach
Brooks Johnson
(who’s been coach-
ing Olympians since
1960). Though his 2011
season was plagued
by injuries, Oliver feels
confident about his
chances this year. Or,
as he puts it in the blog:
“Don’t be surprised
when you see me at
the top of the podium
in London!”
ARCHERY
:
The
U.S. men are the
top-ranked team
in the world, ahead
of second-ranked
France and perennial
powerhouse South Korea. The seventh-
ranked U.S. women won silver at the 2011
World Cup and could surprise people
here—but they’ll have to go through
South Korea (which has taken gold at
every Olympic Games since 1988) to do it.
BASKETBALL:
Ever since the U.S.
team’s disappointing
third-place finish in
the Athens Games of
2004, team chairman
Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzy-
zewski have been fielding more cohesive
squads that are again dominating the
competition. Meanwhile, the women
have won gold in the past four Olympic
Games (and six out of the last seven).
BEACH
VOLLEYBALL:
Sand volleyball
legends and two-time
gold medalists Misty
May-Treanor and
Kerri Walsh are on the hunt for a third
consecutive gold, but will face tough
competition fromBrazil’s Larissa Franca
and Juliana Silva, currently the top-
ranked team in the world.
EQUESTRIAN:
You don’t need to
know the difference
between show
jumping and dressage
to appreciate the fact
that America trails only Germany in
medals in this sport. This year’s squad,
featuring double-gold-medalist show
jumper Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden, is the
most experienced yet.
FENCING:
Seeing as
howmost Americans
think of fencing as
something they put
up around their yard,
you’d expect the
United States to fare poorly in this event,
which France historically dominates. But
thanks to two-time gold medalist Mariel
Zagunis (see page 93), the U.S. is once
again in contention.
BOXING:
America
has racked up more
boxing medals (108
total, 48 gold) than
any other nation, and
boasts a deep lineup
of legendary alums (Cassius Clay, George
Foreman, etc.). This year, its best hope
to add to that lead is flyweight Rau’shee
Warren, the first U.S. boxer to compete in
three Olympic Games.
FRONT
RUNNERS ...
American Olympians have brought home more medals
than any other team. Here are their best chances to
add to the tally.
SOUTH
AFRICA
70
JAMAICA
55
ARGENTINA
66
CZECH
REPUBLIC
49
MEXICO
55