Mary Whipple

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33 Team USA Athletes to Watch in London

After coxing the women’s eight to silver in Athens and gold in Beijing, Whipple is looking for another gold in London. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

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London 2012 By: Aaron Stern, NBC Olympics

These 33 Team USA athletes are poised to do big things in London. (AP Photos)

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Jordan Burroughs The new face of U.S. wrestling is the odds-on favorite to win gold in the 74kg freestyle competition. (AP Photo/Victoria Will)

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Phil Dalhausser ... As the men’s equivalent of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings in beach volleyball, aka American dominance, the pair is gunning for their second-straight Olympic gold. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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Gabby Douglas The uneven-bars standout has improved her consistency this year and is every bit as crucial to a women’s gymnastics team gold as headliner Jordyn Wieber. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Allyson Felix Her coach has compared her slender and graceful running style to Olympic legend Wilma Rudolph; after winning silver in the 200m in Athens and Beijing Felix is aiming for multiple sprint medals in London. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Missy Franklin The gregarious 17-year-old swimmer is taking her sport by storm and could haul in seven medals in London. As Michael Phelps steps aside after London, Franklin is poised to become the face of American swimming. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Dawn Harper The hurdler may not have as high a profile as her teammate Lolo Jones, but she has something that Jones does not: a gold medal from Beijing in the 100m hurdles. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Kayla Harrison She has a strong chance to bring home the first-ever U.S. gold in judo. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

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Jonathan Horton The hero of the 2008 Beijing men’s gymnastics squad is back for London and at age 26 is the greybeard of this year’s team. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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Race Imboden The 19-year-old foilist hopes to become the Mariel Zagunis of U.S. men’s fencing. (AP Photo/Carmelo Imbesi)

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Kerri Walsh Jenn... The duo is shooting for a third-straight gold in beach volleyball and is rounding back into competitive form after injuries (May-Treanor) and child birth (Walsh Jennings) put the duo on the competitive shelf for significant stretches after the Beijing Games. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

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Carmelita Jeter The best sprinter most Americans probably haven’t heard of yet is a good bet to prove herself the fastest woman in the world by winning the 100m sprint. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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Reed Kessler The youngest-ever U.S. Olympic show jumper will lead the two-time defending gold champion show jumping team. (Joe Klamar/AFP/GettyImages)

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Jen Kessy and Ap... The lesser-known women’s beach volleyball duo could well be the ones to upset May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings in London. (NVL via AP Images)

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Lolo Jones The enigmatic hurdler lost out on what seemed like a sure-fire medal in Beijing when she clipped a hurdle; she’s garnered plenty of attention for her revealing interviews and modeling stints but how she’ll perform on the track in London is one of the biggest questions in these Games. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Ryan Lochte Phelps’ charismatic teammate could steal a couple of gold medals from Phelps’ London spoils; though a newer name than Phelps to most Americans, Lochte (who will turn 28 in London) is actually almost a full year older. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Danell Leyva and... The young dynamic duo of the men’s gymnastics team, the two are at once friends and competitors and will lead a U.S. squad as talented as any to come along in quite some time. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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Steven Lopez He hails from a family of Olympic taekwondokas and can become the most decorated taekwondo athlete of all-time with a medal of any kind in London. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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McKayla Maroney A big part of the strong women’s gymnastics team, Maroney is the favorite to win gold in the vault competition. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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Alex Morgan The 23-year-old is the U.S. soccer team’s most potent scoring threat and is also easy on the eyes, meaning you’ll see plenty of her both on the field and in commercials during the Games. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

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Michael Phelps Goes without saying, but he’s arguably the greatest Olympian of all-time and he’s three medals of any type away from quantifying that superlative. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Kim Rhode Shooter Kim Rhode may not be a household name, but with a strong performance in London she can become the first American to win an individual medal in five straight Games. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Sanya Richards-R... The Jamaican-born sprinter won 400m bronze and 4x400m gold in Beijing; she’ll have her husband, NFL player Aaron Ross (who won the Super Bowl last year with the New York Giants), cheering her on as she pursues multiple medals again in London. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Jason Richardson America’s best men’s hurdler is a likely participant in a 110m final that has record-breaking potential if all of the favorites qualify. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Evelyn Stevens The former Wall Street investment banker took up cycling as a hobby in 2008, then quit her day job to race full time; she heads to London with a legitimate shot at making the medal podium. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

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Queen Underwood The biggest name in American women’s boxing, Underwood backed her way into the Games – can she fight her way out? (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

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Abby Wambach She scored the gold-clinching goal for women’s soccer in Athens but missed Beijing with a broken leg; she’s back for London and will be a crucial component in the quest for gold. (AP Photo/Bret Hartman)

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Mary Whipple After coxing the women’s eight to silver in Athens and gold in Beijing, Whipple is looking for another gold in London. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

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Jordyn Wieber The tenacious 17-year-old is known for performing at her highest level when it matters most; she’s the lynchpin of a U.S. squad that has its sights set on its second-ever team gold and could also become the fourth U.S. woman to win the all-around title. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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Mariel Zagunis Simply the best American fencer of this or any recent generation, the two-time Olympic gold medalist has almost single handedly put U.S. fencing on the international map. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

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