London 2012: 100 Team GB contenders
- Published
BBC Sport highlights 100 British Olympians with the ability to shine at London 2012.
Archery
Alison Williamson: The Athens bronze medallist will become only the third Briton to compete in six summer Olympics.
Larry Godfrey: Aerospace engineer Godfrey reached his first World Cup final in June and is a former Olympic semi-finalist.
Athletics
Jessica Ennis: The poster girl for the 2012 Olympics has recovered from a career-threatening injury to become one of the best all-round female athletes on the planet.
Mo Farah: His gutsy 5000m world title last year underlined his emergence as a global force since moving to the USA to work under marathon legend Alberto Salazar.
Other leading athletes: Yamile Aldama,Holly Bleasdale,Robbie Grabarz,Paula Radcliffe
Badminton
Chris Adcock: The left-hander has already enjoyed success in London, clinching silver with mixed doubles partner Imogen Bankier at the 2011 World Championships.
Basketball
Luol Deng: The basketball icon's £43m contract with the Chicago Bulls makes him far and away the best-paid British athlete plying his trade abroad.
Boxing
Luke Campbell: England's first European amateur champion in 47 years has spent time in Los Angeles at the gym of the legendary Freddie Roach, who currently trains Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan.
Other leading boxers: Nicola Adams,, externalFred Evans,Tom Stalker
Canoeing
Rachel Cawthorn: She was the first British female canoeist to medal at a World Championship, earning bronze in the 500m.
Other top canoeists: Ed McKeever
Cycling
Sir Chris Hoy: The first Briton for a century to win three gold medals at one Olympics, and he now boasts four Olympic and 11 world titles.
Laura Trott: An exciting youngster who has overcome physical problems to become world champion in the six-discipline omnium and team pursuit.
Other leading cyclists: Bradley Wiggins
Diving
Tom Daley: The Devonian diver became Britain's youngest ever world champion in an Olympic sport when he clinched gold on the 10m platform in 2009 at the age of 15.
Pete Waterfield: He shot to fame by winning silver at the 2004 Olympics and hoping for another podium finish in London after teaming up with Daley at the start of 2011.
Equestrian
Zara Phillips:, external The Queen's granddaughter and former world champion will follow her parents in competing at the Olympics.
Other leading equestrian competitors: Mary King
Fencing
Richard Kruse: A qualified civil engineer, in the build-up to the 2008 Olympics Kruse was employed part-time by a company working on the London 2012 site.
Football
Ryan Giggs: The most decorated player in the history of the English game will be looking to add an Olympic medal to his bulging trophy cabinet.
Other top footballers: Ellen White
Gymnastics
Beth Tweddle: The greatest British gymnast of all time, with three world titles and six European gold medals, will have two shots at an elusive Olympic medal.
Other top gymnasts: Kat Driscoll,, externalLouis Smith
Hockey
Ashley Jackson: The first Englishman to pick up the coveted World Young Player of the Year award after helping his country win the European title.
Other top hockey players: Barry Middleton
Judo
Euan Burton: Scot Burton says he has wanted to be Olympic champion since he took up the sport as a six-year-old.
Modern Pentathlon
Mhairi Spence: Spence became the first British world champion since Steph Cook in 2001 when she struck gold three months before London 2012.
Samantha Murray: World Championship bronze in May came less than a year after she considered quitting the sport.
Rowing
Katherine Grainger: Britain's most successful female rower, with silver medals at each of the last three Olympics.
Andy Hodge: The 33-year-old has returned to the men's four to defend the Olympic title he won in 2008.
Other top rowers: , external, externalMark Hunter,Constantine Louloudis,Pete Reed,Greg Searle,Anna Watkins
Sailing
Ben Ainslie: It must be hard for Ainslie to pick a career highlight given that he is the most successful British sailor in history.
Other leading sailors: Andrew Simpson
Shooting
Peter Wilson: The world record holder in the double trap is coached by Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai's ruling family.
Richard Faulds: A veteran of four successive Olympic Games, Faulds won gold in the double trap clay shooting in 2000, in a dramatic shoot-off in Sydney.
Swimming
Rebecca Adlington: The pool in Mansfield where Adlington learned to swim was re-named in her honour after her Beijing success, when she won two Olympic titles.
Other top swimmers: Ellen Gandy,Liam Tancock
Taekwondo
Sarah Stevenson: The two-time world champion won Great Britain's first ever Olympic taekwondo medal when clinching bronze in Beijing.
Lutalo Muhammad: A controversial selection ahead of world number one Aaron Cook, Muhammad is nonetheless a European champion.
Tennis
Andy Murray: The first player to win a match that started and finished under the Centre Court roof at Wimbledon could clinch Olympic gold at the same venue.
Triathlon
Alistair Brownlee: A world champion for the second time in 2011, the Yorkshireman's superb record marks him out as a leading contender for Olympic gold.
Other top triathletes: Helen Jenkins
Weightlifting
Zoe Smith: She became the first Englishwoman to win a weightlifting medal in Commonwealth Games history when she clinched bronze in the 58kg weight division in Delhi.
Profiles researched and written by Paul Birch, Sophie Brown, Alex Rice, Andrew Toft and Noel Sliney.
- Published26 July 2011