The speedy striker came off the bench at last year’s Women’s World Cup. But after her goals in the semifinal and championship games, expect Alex Morgan, 23, to be in the starting lineup in London. “I want to make a bigger impact on this team’s success,” says Morgan, who is making her Olympic debut. Morgan says she has eaten healthier and analyzed more tapes of her play in preparation for the Olympics. When breaking down her game, one of her coaches once used a golf analogy. “She said I have a lot of golf clubs in my bag,” says Morgan. “I’m just trying to use a few more of them.”
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
Alex Morgan
Soccer, U.S.
Full List
Athletes to Watch
- Rebecca Adlington
- Tony Azevedo
- Kenenisa Bekele
- Yohan Blake
- Usain Bolt
- Veronica Campbell-Brown
- Mark Cavendish
- Oksana Chusovitina
- Tom Daley
- Phil Dalhausser
- Gabrielle Douglas
- Kevin Durant
- Brady Ellison
- Matthew Emmons
- Jessica Ennis
- Allyson Felix
- Missy Franklin
- Tony Gunawan
- Bahiya Al-Hamad
- Trey Hardee
- Im Dong Hyun
- Larisa Iordache
- Yelena Isinbayeva
- Lolo Jones
- Lin Dan
- Liu Xiang
- Ryan Lochte
- Holley Mangold
- Ous Mellouli
- Carolina Mendoza
- LaShawn Merritt
- Alex Morgan
- Fabiana Murer
- Aliya Mustafina
- Sally Pearson
- Michael Phelps
- Paula Radcliffe
- Kimberly Rhode
- Dayron Robles
- Caster Semenya
- Hope Solo
- Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi
- Katie Taylor
- Allison Schmitt
- Aisuluu Tynybekova
- Kohei Uchimura
- Kerri Walsh
- Rau’shee Warren
- Jordyn Wieber
- Mariel Zagunis