Michael Phelps
Swimmer
Age: 26
Team: USA
Bling: 14 Olympic gold medals
USP: Based on his height, his reach should be around 196cm but actually measures 208cm from fingertip to fingertip.
Competition: Fellow American Ryan Lochte
Louis Smith
Gymnast
Age: 23
Team: GB
Bling: Olympic bronze
USP: Extraordinary flexibility combined with long arms. When he was a child he could touch his kneecaps while standing up without bending at all.
Competition: Hungarian Krisztián Berki
Jessica Ennis
Heptathlete
Age: 26
Team: GB
Bling: Two world championship golds
USP: Can jump 30cm higher than her own height, a feat only six high jumpers worldwide have bettered. Currently holds the British high jump record at 1.95m.
Competition: Russian Tatyana Chernova and Ukranian Nataliya Dobrynska
Usain Bolt
Sprinter
Age: 25
Team: Jamaica
Bling: Three Olympic golds
USP: Takes 41 strides to run 100m — most
elite athletes
take 44.
Competition: Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, who won last year’s world title
Sir Chris Hoy
Track cyclist
Age: 36
Team: GB
Bling: Four Olympic golds and one silver
USP: Each of his thighs has a circumference of 27in — 4in more than Victoria Beckham’s waist
Competition: France’s Grégory Baugé and Australian Shane Perkins
Yelena Isinbayeva
Pole vault
Age: 30
Team: Russia
Bling: Two Olympic golds, five times world champion
USP: Body control and technique. She holds the world record of 5.06 metres.
Competition: Brazilian Fabiana Murer, the world champion,
and fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova
