Ohio's Olympic Hopefuls

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will take place this summer in Bejing, China, from August 8 - 24, 2008. More than 10,000 athletes, representing up to 205 countries will compete in 302 events in 28 sports. The United States is expected to bring a team of approximately 600 men and women.

A disporportionate number of these athletes will likely come from California and Colorado, where there are Olympic training facilities. However, a handful of Ohio's best are likely to make (or have already made) the team. Just a few of these are:

Theresa DeWitt - Women's Trap Shooting/Shotgun. This Cincinnati native place 4th in the 1996 Olympics and won a silver medal at the 2006 World Cup.

Jessica Kirkland - Tennis. At 18, this Dayton native is one of the top-ranked US tennis players under the age of 20. She's ranked 20th in the US and 199th in the world.

Tianna Madison - Long Jump. An Elyria native, Madison was the runner-up in the 2006 USA Outdoor Games and the 2005 World Champion.

Rau'shee Warren - Flyweight Boxing. This two-time national champion hails from Cincinnati. He also competed in the 2004 Olympics.

Jason Rogers - Men's Saber/Fencing. An Ohio State University graduate, Rogers is a two-time NCAA fencing champion and a 2004 Olympian.

Bianca Flohr - Artistic Gymnastics. Orginally from Creston, Ohio (near Cincinnati), Flohr was a member of the gold medal US team at the 2005 Pan American Championship and played 2nd on the balance beam.

Ashley Press - Gymnastics. From Hamilton, Ohio, Press was 2nd in the uneven bars and 3rd in the floor exercises in the 2006 World Cup Championship.

LeBron James - Basketball. Last, but certainly not least, our own LeBron is expected to head up the all-star US men's basketball team.

Good luck to all!

^{(photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)}