The goaltender for the U.S. women’s soccer team, Hope Solo, 30, is shooting for another big summer. Last year, her acrobatic saves helped the U.S. reach the finals of the Women’s World Cup, where it lost a heartbreaker to Japan on penalty kicks. But the team’s run captivated American soccer fans, and its quest to avenge that loss will be a big Olympic story line. Solo’s reach has expanded beyond sports: she appeared, along with swimmer Ryan Lochte and Serena Williams, on the cover of Vogue before the Games and had a turn on Dancing with the Stars. (She lost.) The U.S. women’s soccer team has won the past two Olympic titles. Anything less than gold will be crushing for Solo and the American team.
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
Hope Solo
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