50 worldwide 2012 contenders

BBC Sport highlights 50 aspiring Olympians from around the world with their sights on a place on the podium at London 2012.

Archery

Im Dong-Hyun (South Korea): One of the best archers in the world is legally blind in one eye but Im has dismissed the idea of having laser eye surgery and says he's uncomfortable in glasses or contact lenses.

Athletics

Usain Bolt (Jamaica): The peerless Jamaican has redefined sprinting since breaking the 100m world record in only his fifth competitive race over the distance.

Other leading athletes: Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia),Sally Pearson (Australia),David Rudisha (Kenya),Caster Semenya (South Africa)

Badminton

The left-hander's Olympic victory in Beijing made amends for Athens, where he suffered a shock first-round defeat.

Burst into the spotlight when, at barely 16 years old, she propelled India to team bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Basketball

Miami Heat star James is arguably the biggest name in the world of basketball and the natural heir to his idol Michael Jordan.

Boxing

Artur Beterbiev (Russia): Beterbiev was named as the International Boxing Association's best amateur boxer of 2010 after successfully defending his European light-heavyweight title.

Katie Taylor (Ireland): Earned her third successive world title in 2010, and the win over China's Cheng Dong in the final was her 100th victory from 106 bouts.

Canoeing

Tony Estanguet (France): Estanguet became the first canoeist to successfully defend an Olympic individual whitewater title when he struck gold in 2004.

Max Hoff (Germany): Finished fifth behind British winner Tim Brabants at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing but has since earned back-to-back world titles and three successive European gold medals over 1000m.

Cycling

Anna Meares (Australia): Has three Olympic medals, including gold in the 2004 time trial, and is likely to be one of Victoria Pendleton's main rivals.

Other top cyclists: Julien Absalon (mountain biking; France),Jack Bobridge (track; Australia),Maris Strombergs (BMX; Latvia)

Diving

Produced one of the most memorable moments of the Beijing Games when he perfectly executed the highest scoring dive in Olympic history in the final round.

Equestrian

The queen of dressage is looking to bow out in style with her fourth consecutive gold at her seventh Olympics.

Fencing

Despite having won the world title four times, he has his eyes on his first Olympic medal in his third appearance at the Games.

Football

Won both the Golden Ball for best player and the Golden Boot as the top scorer at the 2007 Women's World Cup, and scored four goals in as many games in the 2011 tournament.

Yet another player to be burdened with the tag of the 'new Pele', his early performances have made the football world sit up and take notice.

Gymnastics

The all-around Olympic champion is planning to defend her title after returning from an extended break.

Kohei Uchimura (Japan): The Olympic silver medallist made history in 2011 as the first gymnast to win three consecutive all-around world titles.

Hockey

Teun de Nooijer (Netherlands): Two-time Olympic champion, the first at the age of 20, Holland's most capped player, and a three-time World Hockey Player of the Year.

Rani Rampal (India): One of the hottest young talents in the game, Rampal scored six goals at the 2010 World Cup and was voted Young Player of the Tournament - at the tender age of 15.

Judo

Teddy Riner (France): The 6ft 8in heavyweight is a five-time world champion; Olympic gold would establish him as one of judo's all-time greats.

Sarah Menezes (Brazil): Brazil's female sports personality of the year in 2009 is one of the country's leading hopes for a gold medal in 2012.

Modern Pentathlon

Lena Schöneborn (Germany): The Olympic champion ended the 2011 season as world number one after winning overall World Cup gold and her first European title.

Rowing

Mahé Drysdale (New Zealand): A four-time world champion in the single scull, with an unprecedented three consecutive world titles between 2005 and 2007, his Olympic best so far is bronze in 2008.

Other leading rowers: Drew Ginn (Australia),Ekaterina Karsten (Belarus)

Sailing

The most successful sailor in the history of the 470 class is intent on upgrading her Olympic silver from 2008.

Other top sailors:

Shooting

Niccolo Campriani (Italy): Became the first competitor to officially qualify for the 2012 Olympics after winning the men's 10m air rifle title at the World Championships in August 2010.

Du Li (China): The double Olympic champion will attempt a hat-trick of gold medals after returning from a two-and-a-half year absence in February 2011.

Swimming

Michael Phelps (United States): Boasts a staggering 16 Olympic medals, including a record 14 golds - eight of which came in Beijing.

Other leading swimmers: Alicia Coutts (Australia),Ryan Lochte (United States),Federica Pellegrini (Italy),Missy Franklin (United States)

Taekwondo

Two-time Olympic champion has enjoyed over a decade of dominance and has been described as the "Muhammad Ali of taekwondo".

Tennis

The long-time world number one became the second youngest player, behind Bjorn Borg, to win 10 Grand Slam titles when he secured his sixth French Open in 2011.

Table tennis

Became world number one at the start of 2011 for the first time since 2003, ending China's 88-month monopoly.

Triathlon

The hard-running Spaniard has regularly topped the world rankings since 2006 and is widely perceived as the main threat to British hopes of triathlon gold at the London Olympics.

Volleyball

The most successful player in beach volleyball history announced in March 2010 that she and her partner Kerri Walsh were reuniting to attempt a third consecutive Olympic gold.

A two-time Olympic silver medallist, Gamova is seeking an elusive gold, having been named Most Valuable Player at the 2010 World Championships as Russia retained the title.

Weightlifting

The super heavyweight has emerged as an unstoppable force in weightlifting. He won the world title at his first attempt in 2010 - easily overcoming Olympic champion Matthias Steiner by lifting a total of 453kg.

Wrestling

Freestyle wrestler Yoshida is arguably the most dominant athlete in any sport - incredibly, she has only lost once since 2001 and is unbeaten at the Olympics, World and Asian Championships.

Profiles researched and written by Paul Birch, Sophie Brown, Alex Rice and Noel Sliney.