U.S. media have their eyes glued on Jordyn Wieber, the reigning world all-around champion from Michigan. But before Wieber landed on top in 2011, Aliya Mustafina, now 17, was gymnastics’ diva and the 2010 world champion. A torn ACL sidelined her last season, but she has shown flashes of her former greatness — albeit inconsistently — since returning to competition last December. If she can regain top form in time for the Olympics, she may challenge the American for gold.
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
Aliya Mustafina
Gymnastics, Russia
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