Top 100 Olympians to Watch

With the Beijing Olympics right around the corner, Time lists the top 100 athletes to watch. A sampling of stars gunning for gold, from the court to the pool to the track:

• LeBron James, basketball: This determined athlete's golden guarantee is raising hopes for the US team, which has lost to the likes of Greece and Puerto Rico in recent years.
• Dara Torres, swimming: No swimmer has qualified a fifth Olympic run—until now. This American broke that record and may break other ones, even at age 41.

• Michael Phelps, swimming: With his 80-inch wingspan, size-14 feet, and almost superhuman ability to recoup from arduous training, the American's biggest adversary may be the finals' early-morning time slots.
• Liu Xiang, hurdles: One of China's Olympic poster boys, the country has assigned three doctors to oversee his well-being. No pressure.
• Yao Ming, basketball: Despite an injury in February, poster boy # 2 vowed to lead Team China in the Olympics.
• Allyson Felix, sprints: With an Olympic silver medal under her belt, the US star is determined to turnaround track's steroid-marred reputation by stepping up to the tallest podium, clean.

Click the link below for the entire list. (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)