Matt Emmons is a cancer survivor hoping to atone for a pair of costly blunders in Olympic shooting events. Teenager Race Imboden is seeking the first men's foil medal for the U.S. since 1960. World No. 1 Brady Ellison is hoping for the country's first archery medal in 12 years.
Check out the smaller sports on the Olympic docket, and there are plenty of compelling stories and medal prospects on the American side.
Glenn Eller and Vincent Hancock are hoping to defend their Olympic shooting golds from 2008. Shotgun specialist Kim Rhode could become the first American athlete to medal in five straight Olympics. Married shooters Sandra and Eric Uptagrafft are set to represent the U.S. in different disciplines.
World No. 1 Mariel Zagunis is seeking her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in saber, and the men's team wants to improve on its silver finish in Beijing.
Medal chances are slimmer in field hockey, triathlon, modern pentathlon and badminton, but the Americans could deliver some surprises.
The U.S. has been without a team handball entry since 1996, when men's and women's teams automatically qualified for the Atlanta Games through their host country status.
Here is a closer look at a handful of the smaller sports on the London schedule:
SHOOTING
The U.S. is poised to add to its Olympic-best 103 shooting medals, including 50 golds. The London team, subject to trials, is expected to include four Olympic champions.
Eller won the double trap and Hancock took the skeet competition in Beijing, making the most of the knowledge they gained in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. Rhode won gold in 1996 and 2004. Emmons earned the 50m rifle prone gold medal in 2004 and the silver in 2008, but is perhaps best known for shooting at the wrong target in Athens and his rifle accidentally going off in Beijing - robbing him of two more gold medals.
Emmons also was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and had his thyroid removed, making him even more of sentimental favorite this time around.
Other medal hopefuls include; Joshua Richmond, the world champion in double trap, Jason Turner, a 2008 bronze medalist in air pistol and Eric Uptagrafft, who was ranked No. 3 in 50m rifle prone. Sandra Uptagrafft will compete in pistol.
FENCING
U.S. fencers won six medals in Beijing and could exceed that number this summer. The United States - not Italy, not France, not Russia - is the only country that qualified the maximum 16 fencers for the London Olympics.
Zagunis is still going strong eight years after she won in Athens for America's first fencing gold medal in 100 years. The 19-year-old Imboden, hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., is ranked No. 4 in the world and won six gold medals in individual or team competitions last year. Lee Kiefer, the youngest member of the team at 17, snapped a long drought for U.S. women when she medaled in foil at the 2011 World Championships.
The U.S. also could medal in a couple of the team competitions. Tim Morehouse and James Williams are the key players on the saber team that won silver in Beijing, and the men's foil group handed Italy its first loss in more than a year earlier this season. The women's epee group is coming off a strong performance in the World Cup.
ARCHERY
The U.S. is without a medal in archery since 2000, but that should come to an end this summer.
Ellison is a strong contender for top spot on the podium in London. He won the World Cup final in 2010 and 2011. Last year, he became the first archer in the world to win three consecutive World Cup stages.
A top-three finish for the American team of Ellison, Jake Kaminski and Jacob Wukie is a more challenging task. South Korea's men's team has won three consecutive gold medals.
First-time Olympian Miranda Leek, ranked seventh in the world and just 19, has an outside shot in the women's individual competition. She won an individual event and helped the U.S. to a victory at a world ranking stop in Phoenix, and she placed fourth at a World Cup stage competition earlier this year.
Two-time Olympian Jennifer Nichols and four-time Olympian Khatuna Lorig also qualified for the U.S.
The American men have won only two medals (both in Sydney in 2000) since winning two golds in 1996. No U.S. archer made it past the quarterfinals in Beijing.
BADMINTON
Tony Gunawan is set to compete in his first Olympics since he became a U.S. citizen last year. He was part of Indonesia's gold medal-winning doubles team in 2000, and won the world doubles title in 2001. He then immigrated to the U.S. and won America's first world title with Howard Bach in 2005.
Gunawan, of West Covina, Calif., will team with San Francisco-native Bach again this summer. Bach is competing in his third games, and a quarterfinals appearance would be a good showing for the duo.
The only other qualifier for the U.S. in badminton is Rena Wang, of Arcadia, Calif., who is ranked 57th and will compete in the women's singles in her Olympic debut.
FIELD HOCKEY
The U.S. women's team is part of a loaded Group B for the London Olympics which also includes gold medal-favorite Argentina, former Olympic champs Germany and Australia, plus New Zealand and South Africa. So the Americans aren't expected to contend for a medal, but they do have a surprising showing last year for inspiration.
The U.S. punched its Olympic ticket with a 4-2 victory over Argentina in the Pan American Games final in October. It was the country's first victory over Argentina since 1987. Argentina had won each of the previous six Pan American competitions.
The 2008 Beijing squad finished eighth, and seven women will make their second Olympic appearance. Midfielder Katelyn Falgowksi was the only American to make the world all-star team last year.
MODERN PENTATHLON
Margaux Isaksen is seeking a rare medal for the U.S. in modern pentathlon, one of the more obscure Olympic competitions. But she had mononucleosis earlier this year and it affected her stamina in training and competition.
Isaksen was 16 when she finished 21st in Beijing and showed improvement by winning back-to-back events in October and qualifying for the final round in every World Cup event she entered, except for one in April during her recovery from mono.
U.S. Army Spc. Dennis Bowsher might be the only other American in the event unless the U.S. gets spots from a reallocation from other countries in mid-June. The 29-year-old Dallas native is 44th in the world, and qualified for the London Games with a fourth-place overall finish in last year's Pan American Games in Mexico.
TRIATHLON
Gwen Jorgensen leads the American group for the triathlon, which has yielded a lone bronze medal for the U.S. since the event was added to the Olympics in 2000.
Jorgensen, a collegiate swimmer and runner who completed her first triathlon in March 2010, finished second at an International Triathlon Union World Championship Series event in London last August - on the same course that will be used in the Olympics. It was the best-ever finish for a U.S. woman and qualified her for London Games.
Sarah Groff finished third in the ITU rankings last year for the first-ever series podium finish by a U.S. athlete, and Laura Bennett, who finished fourth in Beijing, also could shine in London.
The men's prospects are not as bright. Hunter Kemper is back for his fourth Olympics, while 28-year-old Manual Huerta, who fled Cuba in 1997 and became a U.S. citizen when he was 20, is in the games for the first time. Kemper and Huerta rank No. 27 and No. 35, respectively.
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AP Sports Writer Foster Niumata in London contributed to this report.
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Medal projections:
ARCHERY
Men
Individual:
Gold: Brady Ellison, USA
Silver: Im Dong-hyun, Korea
Bronze: Oh Jin-Hyek, Korea
Team
Gold: Korea
Silver: United States
Bronze: France
Women
Individual
Gold: Ki Bo Bae, Korea
Silver: Cheng Ming, China
Bronze: Denisse Van Lamoen, Chile
Team
Gold: Korea
Silver: China
Bronze: India
BADMINTON
Men's Singles
Gold: Lin Dan, China
Silver: Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia
Bronze: Chen Jin, China; Kenichi Tago, Japan
Women's Singles
Gold: Wang Yihan, China
Silver: Wang Xin, China
Bronze: Saina Nehwal, India; Juliane Schenk, Germany
Men's Doubles
Gold: Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae, South Korea
Silver: Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, China
Bronze: Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo Yeon-seong, South Korea; Carsten Morgensen and Mathias Boe, Denmark
Women's Doubles
Gold: Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli, China
Silver: Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, China
Bronze: Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung, South Korea; Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, South Korea
Mixed Doubles
Gold: Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, China
Silver: Xu Chen and Ma Jin, China
Bronze: Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, Indonesia; Lee Yong-dae and Ha Jung-eun, South Korea
FENCING
Men
Epee
Gold: Nikolai Novosjolov, Estonia
Silver: Bas Verwijlen, Netherlands
Bronze: Paola Pizzo, Italy
Foil
Gold: Andrea Cassara', Italy
Silver: Valerio Aspromonte, Italy
Bronze: Giorgio Avola, Italy
Saber
Gold: Nicolas Limbach, Germany
Silver: Alexey Yakimenko, Russia
Bronze: Aldo Montano, Italy
Saber Team
Gold: Russia
Silver: Belarus
Bronze: Italy
Foil Team
Gold: Italy
Silver: China
Bronze: Germany
Women
Epee
Gold: Sun Yujie, China
Silver: Ana Branza, Romania
Bronze: Li Na, China
Foil
Gold: Valentina Vezzali, Italy
Silver: Elisa Di Francisca, Italy
Bronze: Nam Hyun-Hee, Korea
Saber
Gold: Mariel Zagunis, USA
Silver: Sofya Velikaya, Russia
Bronze: Olga Kharlan, Ukraine
Foil Team
Gold: Italy
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Korea
Epee Team
Gold: Romania
Silver: Russia
Bronze: China
FIELD HOCKEY
Men
Gold: Australia
Silver: Netherlands
Bronze: Germany
Women
Gold: Netherlands
Silver: Argentina
Bronze: England
HANDBALL
Men
Gold: France
Silver: Spain
Bronze: Denmark
Women
Gold: Russia
Silver: Norway
Bronze: Denmark
TRIATHLON
Men
Gold: Alistair Brownlee, Britain
Silver: Javier Gomez, Spain
Bronze: Jonathan Brownlee, Britain
Women
Gold: Emma Moffatt, Australia
Silver: Helen Jenkins, Britain
Bronze: Sarah Groff, United States
MODERN PENTATHLON
Men
Gold: Andrey Moiseyev, Russia
Silver: Aleksander Lesun, Russia
Bronze: Adam Marosi, Hungary
Women
Gold: Amelie Caze, France
Silver: Mhairi Spence, Britain
Bronze: Lena Schoeneborn, Germany
SHOOTING
Men
50m Rifle 3 Positions
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, Italy
Silver: Matt Emmons, United States
Bronze: Jason Parker, United States
50m Rifle Prone
Gold: Sergei Martynov, Belarus
Silver: Wang Weiyi, China
Bronze: Marco de Nicolo, Italy
10m Air Rifle
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, Italy
Silver: Illia Charheika, Belarus
Bronze: Wang Tao, China
50m Pistol
Gold: Jin Jong-oh, South Korea
Silver: Damir Mikec, Serbia
Bronze: Vladimir Isakov, Russia
25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Gold: Alexei Klimov, Russia
Silver: Christian Reitz, Germany
Bronze: Zhang Jian, China
10m Air Pistol
Gold: Tan Zongliang, China
Silver: Jin Jong-oh, South Korea
Bronze: Yusuf Dikec, Turkey
Trap
Gold: Alexey Alipov, Russia
Silver: Rodolfo Vigano, Italy
Bronze: Massimo Fabbrizi, Italy
Double Trap
Gold: Joshua Richmond, United States
Silver: Peter Wilson, Britain
Bronze: William Chetcuti, Malta
Skeet
Gold: Mikola Milchev, Ukraine
Silver: Tore Brovold, Norway
Bronze: Valeriy Shomin, Russia
Women
50m Rifle 3 Positions
Gold: Barbara Engleder, Germany
Silver: Du Li, China
Bronze: Yi Siling, China
10m Air Rifle
Gold: Yi Siling, China
Silver: Katerina Emmons, Czech Republic
Bronze: Du Li, China
25m Pistol
Gold: Celine Goberville, France
Silver: Lenka Maruskova, Czech Republic
Bronze: Chen Ying, China
10m Air Pistol
Gold: Olena Kostevych, Ukraine
Silver: Lenka Maruskova, Czech Republic
Bronze: Zorana Arunovic, Serbia
Trap
Gold: Fatima Galvez, Spain
Silver: Elena Tkach, Russia
Bronze: Zuzana Stefecekova, Slovakia
Skeet
Gold: Kimberly Rhode, United States
Silver: Danka Bartekova, Slovakia
Bronze: Wei Ning, China
