Road to London 2012: US Olympic Qualifying Events To Watch

This summer’s Olympics will take place in London from July 27 through Aug. 12. Before the Games begin, each sport in the program goes through a qualification stage to establish the final field of competitors. Many of these competitions will take place in the following weeks. Here are a few coming up.

DIVING
June 17 to June 24
Seattle, Washington

Diving is one of the most prestigious, competitive, drama-filled diving events in the world. This event will showcase the best diving in America and will serve as the final team selection competition for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The Trials will include men’s and women’s 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform, and men’s and women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform competition.
Approximately 120 of US’s best divers are expected to compete for 16 spots on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Diving Team. Notable participants include three-time Olympian Troy Dumais, 2011 World platform silver medalist David Boudia, and 2008 Olympians Kelci Bryant, Chris Colwill, Mary Beth Dunnichay, Thomas Finchum, Haley Ishimatsu and Christina Loukas. The Trials will be held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center located at 650 SW Campus Drive, Federal Way, WA 98023 (approximately 20 miles south of Seattle). The phone number is 206-296-4444.
TELEVISION COVERAGE: NBC and Versus
NBC will televise a total of five hours on live coverage on Sat. and Sun., June 23-24. In addition, the Trials will receive 10 hours of live and tape delayed coverage on NBC’s sports cable network Versus from June 19-22.
TICKETS:
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.

GYMNASTICS
June 28 to July 1
San Jose, Calif.

The United States in 2008 fell short of the dominant performance of China, which won 18 total medals in this sport, versus the Americans’ 10. But the United States has entered this Olympic year with an encouraging amount of depth in its talent, raising expectations.
WHOM TO WATCH Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, who sparkled in Beijing while taking the women’s gold and silver in the individual all-around competition, are in the mix again. But the gymnast generating buzz now is Jordyn Wieber, 16, who capped a whirlwind 2011 season with a gold medal in the all-around competition last October at the world championships in Tokyo.
WHAT TO DO San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, includes the Tech Museum, with its many large, interactive exhibits making it one of the city’s most popular attractions. If you have a car, nearby Saratoga has many acclaimed wineries, like the pinot noir specialist Savannah-Chanelle. And if you prefer to move on foot, stroll through the shops in Japantown, then wait patiently for a table at Gombei, a beloved bustling restaurant serving home-style Japanese food.
Event Schedule
June 28 Thursday
2:00 pm     Men’s Competition – Day 1
June 29 Friday
5:30 pm     Women’s Competition – Day 1
June 30 Saturday
12:00 pm     Men’s Competition – Final Day
July 1 Sunday
5:30 pm     Women’s Competition – Final Day
All-Session tickets for all 4 days of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics are on sale now through Ticketmaster. All-Session tickets are available at 5 price levels; $130, $250, $310, and $525 plus applicable fees.
USA Gymnastics Events
2012 Kellogg’s® Pacific Rim Championships
March 16-18, 2012
Comcast Arena and Comcast Community Ice Rink
Everett, Wash.
2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships
April 16-18, 2012
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
2012 Secret U.S. Classic
May 26, 2012
UIC Pavilion
Chicago, Ill.
2012 Visa Championships
June 7-10, 2012
Chaifetz Arena
St. Louis, Mo.
Information: usagym.org/pages/events/trials.

SOCCER
March 22 to April 2
Nashville and Kansas City, Kan.

Though the American women rollicked through their qualifying tournament in January, outscoring opponents by 38-0 over five games, the men will face stiffer competition in their quest to reach England, where the game as we know it today was standardized in the 19th century as football.
The American team will open play in Nashville against Cuba on March 22. El Salvador and Canada are also in the Americans’ first-round group. The top two teams in each of the two first-round groups — the other group has Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago — will advance to the semifinals on March 31 at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. The two semifinal winners earn Olympic berths from the Concacaf region. The regional final will be played on April 2.
WHOM TO WATCH The Olympics showcase emerging talent, and Juan Agudelo, a 19-year-old striker born in Colombia and raised in New Jersey, possessing a precocious mixture of power and technique, is the brightest young star on the United States team. Agudelo, who has played professionally in New York since 2010, was invited to train this winter with Liverpool, one of the most famous clubs in the world.
WHAT TO DO The Concacaf, qualifying tournament begins at LP Field in Nashville. Before a game, you can fill up on meat-and-three standards served communal style at Monell’s, a no-frills restaurant in a 19th-century brick home. After the final whistle, a five-minute cab ride back across the Cumberland River takes you to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a rowdy honky-tonk on Broadway beloved by locals. The competition moves to Kansas City for the semifinal round, with the top two countries qualifying for the 2012 Games. Though it’s less than a quarter of the capacity of Wembley Stadium in London, Livestrong Sporting Park, a beautiful European-style stadium opened in 2011, is a worthwhile pilgrimage destination for hard-core American soccer fans.

The U.S. Roster

Goalkeepers Bill Hamid (D.C. United/M.L.S.), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire/M.L.S.)
DefendersJosh Gatt (Molde/Norway), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United/M.L.S.), Ike Opara (San Jose/M.L.S..), Kofi Sarkodie (Houston/M.L.S.), Zarek Valentin (Montrea/M.L.S.), Jorge Villafana (Chivas USA/M.L.S.)
Midfielders Freddy Adu (Philadelphia/M.L.S.), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/Mexico), Mix Diskerud (Gent/Belgium), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz/Germany), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia/M.L.S.), Michael Stephens (Los Angeles/M.L.S..)
Forwards Juan Agudelo ( Red Bulls/M.L.S.), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City/M.L.S.), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim/Germany), Brek Shea (Dallas/M.L.S.)
The United States team’s matches will all be televised live on Universal Sports Network and NBC Sports Network. Universal will carry the three first-round matches from LP Field in Nashville: vs. Cuba, 9 p.m. (all times Eastern), March 22; vs. Canada, 7 p.m., March 24 and vs. El Salvador, 9 p.m., March 26. If the Americans advance, the NBC Sports Network will carry the semifinal from Livestrong Sporting Park on March 31 at 9 p.m. The final will be on Universal on April 2 at 8 p.m., though both team will already have locked up their Olympic trips before it kicks off.
All the matches in the qualifying tournament will be streamed live at Concacaf.com.
Information: ussoccer.com

TRACK AND FIELD
June 22 to July 1
Eugene, Ore.

For Americans, track and field can seem to disappear for three years before re-emerging at the Olympic Games. The star four years ago was Usain Bolt of Jamaica. But the United States, as a team, dominated across the board, winning a total of 23 medals, 7 of them gold, to lead the international field.
WHOM TO WATCH Allyson Felix won silver medals in the 200-meter race in the 2004 and 2008 Games. She has added the 400-meter to her repertory since then, recording the fastest time last year at the United States championships and winning the silver at the world championships a couple of months later. At 26, she is in her prime and is a favorite to steal the spotlight in London.
WHAT TO DO The University of Oregon and its sports teams are a major presence in Eugene, the birthplace of Nike, and the spirit of competition thrives in an otherwise chilled-out community. By June, the Saturday Market, a weekly outdoor handicraft and farmers’ marketplace, draws thousands of people downtown for a full day of shopping and eating. The market, which opened in 1970, features hundreds of licensed vendors, a wide variety of international food options — and plenty of space for drum circles.
Information: tracktown12.gotracktownusa.com
London 2012 Olympics: Athletics qualification
There are 24 men’s events and 23 women’s events – women do not compete in a 50km walk – and the target number of athletes for the Games is 2,000. Nations are able to enter up to three athletes per event provided they have achieved the A standard and one athlete per event if they have achieved the B standard.

The qualifying period for Marathon, Walk and combined events is from Jan 1, 2011 to July 8, 2012, for all other individual events it is May 1, 2011 to July 8, 2012. Relay qualification is between Jan 1, 2011 to July 2, 2012.

Men		Event	Women
A Standard	B Standard		A Standard	B Standard
10.18	10.24	100m	11.29	11.38
20.55	20.65	200m	23.1	23.3
45.25	45.7	400m	51.5	52.3
01:45.6	01:46.3	800m	01:59.9	02:01.3
03:35.5	03:38.0	1,500m	04:06.0	04:08.9
13:20.0	13:27.0	5,000m	15:15.0	15:25.0
27:45.0	28:05.0	10,000m	31:45.0	32:10.0
02:15:00	02:18:00	Marathon	02:37:00	02:43:00
08:23.1	08:32.0	3,000m SC	09:43.0	09:48.0
13.52	13.6	110m H / 100m H	12.96	13.15
49.5	49.8	400m H	55.4	56.55
2.31	2.28	High Jump	1.95	1.92
5.72	5.6	Pole Vault	4.5	4.4
8.2	8.1	Long Jump	6.75	6.65
17.2	16.85	Triple Jump	14.3	14.1
20.5	20	Shot Put	18.35	17.3
65	63	Discus Throw	62	59.5
78	74	Hammer Throw	71.5	69
82	79.5	Javelin Throw	61.5	59
8200	7950	Decathlon / Heptathlon	6150	5950
01:22:30	01:24:30	20km Race Walk	01:33:30	01:38:00
03:59:00	04:09:00	50km Race Walk	-	-
Top 16 teams		4x100m	Top 16 teams
Top 16 teams		4x400m	Top 16 teams

The qualification rules and timetable in full, from IAAF.org:

PARALYMPICS TRACK & FIELD TRIALS 
June 29 – July 1
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Approximately 200 athletes are expected to participate at the Trials. Although the competition is the U.S. qualifying event for athletes to make the U.S. Paralympic Team, it is open to athletes from all countries. The Trials will determine the final selections for the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team that will compete in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Athletes who meet the minimum qualifying standards at a sanctioned track & field event are eligible to compete in the Trials.
The top U.S. Paralympic athletes are expected to compete, including the following world record holders:
Amanda McGrory (Champaign, Ill.) – T53 5000m (11:39.00)
April Holmes (Somerdale, N.J.) – T44 100m (12.98), 200m (27.1) & 400m
Anjali Forber-Pratt (Champaign, Ill.), Jessica Galli (Savoy, Ill.), Amanda McGrory, Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.) – T53-54 4x100m relay (1:02.16)
Lex Gillette (Chula Vista, Calif.) – F11 long jump (6.73)
Jeff Skiba  (Chula Vista, Calif.) – F44 high jump (2.11)
Events will be held at the Michael A. Carroll Stadium. The venue features an oval 400-meter, eight-lane track made up of Mondo surface, which mimics the same track surface that athletes will be racing on at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The stadium is located right at the heart of downtown Indianapolis, easing travel for the participants and providing them with convenient services to the airport, hotel and eating options.

SWIMMING
June 25 to July 2
Omaha

Swimming grabbed the country’s attention during Michael Phelps’s eight-gold run in Beijing, but other Americans have continued since then to excel.
WHOM TO WATCH Ryan Lochte, 27, and Rebecca Soni, 25, were each named World Swimmer of the Year in 2010 and 2011, making it the first time since 1990 that Americans received both the men’s and women’s awards in consecutive years. Lochte, Phelps’s longtime foil, won six medals at the world championships in Shanghai last July, signaling his intention to challenge Phelps, who is aiming for an all-time medals record in London. Soni flashed her potential in 2008, winning a gold and two silvers, and seems primed for a breakthrough this summer.
WHAT TO DO The trials are at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha’s revitalized North Downtown neighborhood. Slowdown, an indie-rock club, helped anchor the area’s upturn after opening in 2007 and has become the best place to see and hear live music in the city. Fans of baseball — which along with softball was bumped from the coming Summer Games — can see a game in the College World Series, held nearby at TD Ameritrade Park.
Ticket Information
All-session tickets and four-day ticket packages for the 2012 Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Omaha are now on sale. Three levels of tickets are available for the four-day packages (either June 25-28 or June 29-July 2):

• $290
• $235
• $180

Tickets may be purchased online at ticketmaster.com through an interactive seating diagram, allowing spectators to select their seat(s). Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 800-745-3000, and at the CenturyLink Center Omaha box office. Fans looking to purchase all-session packages should contact the CenturyLink Center Omaha box office directly at 402-341-1500.
More Information: usaswimming.org

TENNIS
July 9 to 15
Newport, R.I.

Olympic tennis received a boost when results from the Games started to count toward the year-end professional rankings, and Beijing represented a new high point, with all the best men’s and women’s players. But even though there’s been something of a renaissance within the game — helped by frequent epic battles among a crop of charismatic singles players — it has largely excluded Americans.
WHOM TO WATCH The United States will be a serious contender in doubles, thanks to the ongoing brilliance of a couple of sibling pairs. While the world-famous Williams sisters — Venus, 31, and Serena, 30 — plan to defend their gold medals from the 2004 and 2008 Games, another set of twins is also vying for first place. Bob and Mike Bryan, 33-year-old identical twins who form the top-ranked men’s pair in the world, will try to improve on their bronze medals from Beijing. The Newport event, called the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships, will be the last time the brothers will compete before London.
WHAT TO DO The Bryan brothers have already committed to play this grass-court event, held on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in Newport, with the tournament’s timing and playing surface making it the ideal precursor for the London Games. The museum itself holds more than 16,000 objects charting the evolution of the game. Take a short walk from there to the busy waterfront and treat yourself to one of the inventive cocktails at Fluke, whose upstairs bar affords a fantastic view of the harbor.
Information: tennisfame.com/atp-tournament.
VOLLEYBALL (MEN’S)
May 7- May 12
Long Beach, California
The winner of the eight-team NORCECA(North America, Central America and Caribbean volleyball confederation) Olympic qualification tournament at the Walter Pyramid will earn a spot in the London Olympics this summer.
The defending Olympic champion U.S. national team is looking to qualify for its seventh straight Olympics. The men are ranked sixth in the world. The other teams competing in the event May 7-12 will be Cuba, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Twelve men’s teams will play in the London Olympics. Great Britain has a berth as the Olympics host, and Russia, Poland and Brazil qualified with the top finishes in last year’s FIVB World Cup.