PressBox: Local Olympians To Watch

Local Olympians To Watch

By Daniel Gallen

Michael Phelps
Sport: Swimming
Hometown: Towson
High School: Towson

Phelps, with his 14 gold medals (16 total), is competing in his fourth Olympics and will have a schedule of seven events, all of which he is a defending gold medalist in. Phelps will swim four individual events (100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley), along with three relays (4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x200-meter freestyle relay, 4x100-meter medley relay) in his program. He's coming off his historic performance four years ago in Beijing, where he set seven world records, and he also recorded four first-place finishes and one second-place finish at the Olympic Trials in Omaha in late June.

Phelps is expected to compete for medals July 28 (400-meter individual medley), July 29 (4x100-meter freestyle relay), July 31 (200-meter butterfly, 4x200-meter freestyle relay), Aug. 2 (200-meter individual medley), Aug. 3 (100-meter butterfly) and Aug. 4 (4x100-meter medley relay).

Katie Ledecky
Sport: Swimming
Hometown: Bethesda
High School: Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

The youngest member of the 530-member Team USA, Ledecky turned heads in Omaha at the Olympic Trials by winning the 800-meter freestyle. Few thought the rising sophomore, widely thought of as a contender for the 2016 Olympics, would be headed to London. In addition to her victory in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky also finished third in the 400-meter freestyle and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle.

The heats for the 800-meter freestyle are Aug. 2, with the finals taking place Aug. 3.

Carmelo Anthony
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Baltimore
High School: Towson Catholic/Oak Hill Academy

Anthony, who starred at the now-closed Towson Catholic before transferring to Oak Hill, will be playing in his third Olympics. He averaged 2.4 points in 2004 and 11.5 points in 2008, earning bronze and gold medals, respectively.

Team USA has games scheduled July 29 (France), July 31 (Tunisia), Aug. 2 (Nigeria), Aug. 4 (Lithuania) and Aug. 6 (Argentina). The quarterfinals are scheduled for Aug. 8, semifinals on Aug. 10, and the gold medal and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 12.

Kevin Durant
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Rockville
High School: Montrose Christian

Durant, whose Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Miami Heat during the NBA Finals in June, is on his first Olympic team after being one of the final cuts of the 2008 squad. He had his first taste of international competition at the 2010 FIBA World Championships, when he averaged 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists en route to being named MVP of the tournament.

Angel McCoughtry
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Baltimore
High School: St. Frances Academy

McCoughtry, The Baltimore Sun's 2003 Metro Player of the Year, is playing in her first Olympics for a Team USA squad looking to win its fifth consecutive gold medal at the games. McCoughtry starred at Louisville during her collegiate years and was Atlanta Dream's No. 1 overall pick during the 2009 WNBA Draft. As part of her previous international experience, she won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2007 Pan American games in Brazil.

Team USA has games scheduled July 28 (Croatia), July 30 (Angola), Aug. 1 (Turkey), Aug. 3 (Czech Republic) and Aug. 5 (China). The quarterfinals will be played Aug. 7, the seminfinals Aug. 9 and the medal round games are Aug. 11.

Julie Zetlin
Sport: Gymnastics
Hometown: Bethesda
High School: Walt Whitman

Returning from a knee injury, Zetlin is the first American to qualify for the Olympics in rhythmic gymnastics since 2004. The chances of her reaching the podium are slim, because Eastern European athletes traditionally dominate the sport. Still, the 22-year-old could promote the sport in the United States and help inspire the next generation that can someday medal in rhythmic gymnastics, a sport the U.S. Olympic Committee does not fund.

The individual all-around takes place from Aug. 9-11 and the group competition is scheduled for Aug. 9-12.

Farrah Hall
Sport: Sailing
Hometown: Annapolis
High School: Broadneck

A graduate of St. Mary's College, Hall will be competing for Team USA in windsurfing for the first time in London. Hall started her journey to the Olympics in 2005 after moving to St. Petersburg, Fla., and was third in her class at the 2011 Pan American Games.

The women's competition starts July 31 and runs through Aug. 7.

David Banks
Sport: Rowing
Hometown: Potomac
High School: Winston Churchill

Banks began rowing at Stanford in 2001 and was a member of U.S. men's four in Beijing in 2008. He's part of the men's eight for London, a team that qualified as the final team in the final race on the final day of qualifying on May 22. In previous international competition, he's been on teams that finished sixth at both the 2010 World Cup and World Rowing Championships.

The early rounds of the men's eight are July 28 and July 30, with the medal round beginning Aug. 1.

Scott Parsons
Sport: Kayaking
Hometown: Bethesda
High School: St. John's Jesuit (Ohio)

This is Parsons' third trip to the Olympics after competing in 2004 and 2008. His best finish came in Athens in 2004, when he finished sixth in the K-1 (kayak single) slalom event, the same one he will contest in London. He finished 20th in Beijing.

The heats for the men's K-1 are July 29, and the semfinals and finals are scheduled for Aug. 1.

Caroline Queen
Sport: Kayaking
Hometown: Darnestown
High School: Bullis

Queen came up short in a bid four years ago to become a 16-year-old Olympian, but has returned as a 20-year-old to compete in the slalom kayak in London. Queen won her spot on the team with a 35th place finish at the 2012 World Cup. She entered the competition tied with another competitor for the spot on the team. She's currently enrolled at Davidson College in North Carolina.

The heats of her kayak competition are July 30, while the semifinals and finals are scheduled for Aug. 2.

Matthew Centrowitz
Sport: Track and Field (1500 meters)
Hometown: Annapolis
High School: Broadneck

Competing for the University of Oregon, Centrowitz won an NCAA championship at 1,500 meters in 2011 and then followed up by winning the American championship in the same event two weeks later. That performance qualified him for the 2011 World Athletics Championships, during which he won the bronze medal in the 1,500. He's the son of the two-time Olympian of the same name and was a three-time Pac-10 champion at 1,500 meters at Oregon. Centrowitz, who set the state record in 1,600 meters in 2007, is competing in his first Olympics.

The first round of the 1,500 meters is Aug. 3, the semifinals are Aug. 5 and the final is Aug. 7.

Suzanne Stettinius
Sport: Modern Pentathlon
Hometown: Parkton
High School: Hereford

Stettinius, 24, is competing in her first Olympics in the event that combines fencing, swimming, riding, running and shooting in a day-long event. Stettinius grew up on a horse farm in northern Baltimore County and gradually took on other sports as she grew up. The end result is a well-rounded skill set and a spot on Team USA, which has never won a gold medal in the event.

The women's modern pentathlon takes place Aug. 12.

Posted July 28, 2012