Northeast Ohio athletes London-bound for 2012 Olympics

CLEVELAND - When the 2012 Summer Olympics in London get under way, northeast Ohio will be represented in Team USA by some exceptional athletes.

To help you keep track of these competitors, below is a list compiled from Team USA. Once an athlete has made it onto the official Olympic website for American competitors, we will update this list.

John Bickar is on the U.S. Olympic shooting team. Bickar was born in Canton.

Jason Borchik is on the Olympic handball team. Borchik is from Copley Township.

Terrell Gausha is on the Olympic boxing team. Gausha is from Cleveland, and is a Glenville High School graduate. Gausha, 24, is the reigning middleweight boxing champion. On his Olympic profile page, Gausha names his mother as his biggest influence, because she has always supported him.

LeBron James is on the Olympic basketball team. James , of Miami, was formerly of Akron.

Lee Kiefer is on the Olympic fencing team. Kiefer was born in Cleveland, but lives in Kentucky today. Her current U.S. ranking in junior and senior fencing is first place. Kiefer's world ranking is fifth for junior, and sixth for senior, according to her bio on the Team USA web page.

Alfred Kruger is on the Olympic track and field team. Kruger lives in Ashland. He will compete in the hammer throw event. Kruger, born in 1979, has an accomplished competition track record. On his Olympic profile page, Kruger names his coach, Olympian Jud Logan, as helping reach the Olympic level.

Justin Lester is on the Olympic wrestling team. Lester, born in 1983, is from Akron. He is a graduate of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, where he was a four-time state wrestling champion. On his Olympic profile page, Lester's first words in his bio are, "The Goal is the Gold."

Tianna Madison is on the Olympic track and field team. Madison was born in Elyria, and is a 2003 graduate of Elyria High School. She currently lives in Los Angeles. On her Olympic profile page, it states Madison "became only the third athlete in Ohio history to win four events at a state championship meet two years in a row, in 2002 and 2003...(joining) U.S. Olympic legend Jesse Owens (1932-33) on that list."

Holley Mangold is on the Olympic weightlifting team. Mangold attended Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, where she majored in theology sociology and philosophy. She is from Dayton, and today lives in Columbus. Mangold's brother is Nick Mangold on the New York Jets. Her Team USA bio page states her favorite food is steak, and most people do not know when she was five, she was the speed roller-skating champion of Ohio.

Margot Shumway is on the Olympic rowing team. Shumway calls Westlake her hometown, but now lives in Arlington, Va., and trains in Washington, D.C. She went to Ohio State University. On her Olympic profile page, Shumway reveals she loves reading, writing and music. "Her favorite song is "( Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding," states her profile. It also says Shumway likes to listen to AC/DC before she competes.

*Bridget Franek is on the Olympic track and field team. (Franek was not listed on the Team USA website as of Monday, July 9, but she did qualify in the trials, according to The Akron Beacon Journal .) Franek is a 2006 graduate of Crestwood High School in Mantua, Portage County.