London 2012 Tickets Tours Hotels: Get ready for London: Athletes to watch

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At Spyns is happy to announce that our website is live giving you information on all the tours we have on offer. With so many athletes out there to watch, it makes it a tough choice choosing what Olympic sessions you want to see. We can help you out, and show you around London at the same time. Chat with us live online to find a tour that suits you best www.london-olympiad.com.If you would like more information/detailed itineraries on our luxury 5, 7, and 10-Day tours feel free to contact me at henry@london-olympiad.com.

Whatever geopolitical or other storylines may surround an Olympics prior to the Opening Ceremony, once the Games commence, the world's athletes usually dominate the headlines for 17 days.
The 2012 Olympics in London should feature many of Beijing's stars looking to write new (hi)stories and a cadre of promising athletes from the host nation vying to become the "face of the Games." Here are some athlete stories to watch in the lead-up to the Games of the 30th Olympiad.

The Fastest Men in Water and on Land
Michael Phelps, whose eight golds in eight events in 2008 may never be matched, will be 27 in London, and though he will swim a slightly reduced program, he should still be the man to beat in the races he enters. The Baltimore native won five gold medals and one silver at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. Already the winner of the most golds in a single Games (eight) and in an Olympic career (14; five more than any other athlete), Phelps enters London in need of three medals to own more medals than any other Olympic athlete, ever (Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won 18 medals), a feat that he should accomplish, cementing his place as the greatest Olympian ever.

On the track, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who won both the 100m and 200m with a dramatic flair befitting his record-shattering speed in Beijing, will look to become the first man to twice sweep the Olympic sprints in London, when he'll be 25 years old. Bolt added gold in the 4x100 relay to leave Beijing with three victories, a feat he matched at the 2009 Worlds in Berlin while lowering his own world records in both the 100m and 200m. London could also deliver the matchup many had hoped to see in Beijing: Bolt vs. American Tyson Gay, who will turn 30 during the 2012 Games. Gay won both the 100m and 200m at the 2007 Worlds but a hamstring injury at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials knocked him out of the 200m and he was unable to advance to the finals in the Beijing 100m. Gay was second to Bolt in the 2009 Worlds 100m.

Who will be the "face of the Games" for the host nation?
Great Britain finished fourth in both gold (19) and total (47) medals in Beijing, and should have considerable successes at home in 2012. Here are four of the athletes with a good chance to become Olympic icons on their native soil.

Paula Radcliffe
Radcliffe, the marathon world record holder, will be 38 in Beijing and has one large void left on her resume - an Olympic medal. An injury forced her to the curb in Athens and another injury hampered her training leading up to Beijing, where she struggled to a 23rd place finish. Already a mother (she gave birth to her daughter, Isla, in January 2007), Radcliffe is pregnant again, but should have plenty of time to recover and train for the 2012 Olympic marathon.

Tom Daley
One of the stated objectives of the London 2012 Olympic bid was to increase youth participation in sport. Daley, the 2009 world champion 10m platform diver who will be 18 in London, could just be young man to do that. Despite his youth, he already has Olympic experience - he competed in Beijing as a 14 year-old, finishing 7th in the 10m platform and 8th in the synchronized 10m platform.

Jessica Ennis
Ennis, who will be 26 in London, is the reigning world champion in the heptathlon. An injury forced her out of the Beijing Games, so she will be seeking an Olympic redemption of her own in 2012.

Chris Hoy
At the Beijing Games, track cyclist Hoy became the first athlete from Great Britain to win three gold medals at a single Games in 100 years. Hoy, a Scot who will be 36 in London, also won a gold in Athens and a silver in Sydney. Nicknamed "The Real McHoy", he was named BBC's Sport Personality of the Year in 2008.

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