Time Magazine’s 100 Olympic Athletes to Watch

\”Time\” magazine has just released their picks for the top 100 athletes to watch at the Beijing Games. Leading the list is my hometown hero, LeBron James. (sometimes the world is a very small place.) The other top 20 on the list are below. Visit the \”Time\” Web site for the complete, interactive list.

1. LeBron James – US – Basketball\r\n2. Dara Torres – US – swimming – the 41 year old mother is planning to show the world age is no barrier.\r\n3. Michael Phelps – attempting to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at a single Olympic Games.\r\n4. Liu Xiang – China’s biggest medal hope on the track, in the 110 meter hurdles\r\n5. Yao Ming – China’s favorite basketball giant.\r\n6. Allyson Felix - Won a silver in Athens in the 200 meters\r\n7. Shawn Johnson - At just 16 years old, she is regarded as the best gymnast in the world\r\n8. Roman Sebrle (pictured above) – Czech decathlete\r\n9. Guo Jingjing – China’s medal hope\r\n10. Tyson Gay - United States medal hope in the 100 meters\r\n11. Asaga Powell – Former Jamaican world recorder holder in the 100 meters\r\n12. Usain Bolt – Current world record holder in the 100 meters from Jamaica\r\n13. Yang Wei – China’s gymnastics medal favorite\r\n14. Stephanie Rice – Katie Hoff’s rival in the 200 and 400 meter medley’s.\r\n18. Chris Paul – point guard in the U.S. basketball team\r\n19. Paul Hamm – U.S. gymnast medal favorite, recovering from a wrist break\r\n20. Zou Shiming – Chinese boxer who won a bronze medal at the Athens games\r\n\r\n