Thomas Lurz

Perhaps the world's premier open water swimmer, Lurz is looking for gold in London to add to a staggering collection of medals from recent world championships. In the 5- and 10-kilometer races combined, the German has won five golds and three silvers at general swimming worlds in addition to five golds and two bronzes from open water worlds, with those events held in alternating years. Among those are three golds in the 10k, which is the Olympic distance. That dominance made him the overwhelming choice as open water swimmer of the decade from 2000-09, according to a vote held by swimming's governing body, FINA. Open water swimming didn't make its Olympic debut until 2008, when the 10k marathon was introduced, and Lurz may have been disappointed by his finish in Beijing. In a race that took nearly two hours to complete, only two seconds separated first place from third, but Lurz settled for bronze in 1:51:53.6. He also competed in the 2004 Games in the 1,500-meter freestyle, finishing 22nd, but he'll surely be trying to make his best Olympic memory at the Serpentine in London.