From the qualifying trials to the opening ceremony, TIME rounds up photos of the world’s best athletes preparing for the 2012 Games in London
How to Stash Olympic Medals Before the Games
What to do with all those medals before the Olympics? Store them in the Tower of London, of course.
The Soggy London Games?
With the temperamental nature of the British summer, the rain could yet put a dampener on the carefully planned London Games…
British Gold Rush? The Host Nation Gets Serious About the Olympic Medals Race
No stage is bigger than that of a home Olympics, so London 2012 officials drafted a battle plan early.
Felix-vs.-Tarmoh Dead Heat: Why Track’s Big Night … Went Kaput
As the last minute, Jeneba Tarmoh backed out of her prime-time duel with Allyson Felix. How the runoff veered off course
US Women’s Gymnastics Team Named, Minus Reigning Olympic Champ Nastia Liukin
It was goodbye to the reigning Olympic all-around champion and hello to the new faces of women’s gymnastics at the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Sunday night. And on both counts there were plenty of tears.
50 Olympic Athletes to Watch
From Qatar to South Africa, Russia to the U.S., TIME takes you around the globe to meet the extraordinary men and women you’ll be seeing this summer at the London Games
Trained by SEALs
The elite unit preps London-bound Olympians for action
Woman Enough?
Inside the controversial world of Olympic gender testing
London: 10 Things to Do
While globalization has sprinkled Starbucks and other avatars of American retailing along most of London’s main streets, you’ll still find the authentic city in the small markets, boutiques and family-run pubs and cafes that …