Kosuke Kitajima

Kitajima ranks among the world's best swimmers, having won Olympic gold in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke in 2004 and 2008. Should he win gold in London in either event, he would join Dawn Fraser of Australia and Hungary's Krisztina Egerszegi as the only swimmers to win an event at three straight Olympics. Michael Phelps also has a chance to accomplish that in the 100 and 200 butterfly, and potentially, the 400 individual medley. Kitajima also won bronze medals in the 4x100 medley relay in Athens and Beijing. He won the 100 and 200 breaststroke at Japan's swimming championships in April and set a Japanese record of 58.90 seconds in the 100. Kitajima, who also competed in the 2000 Games and flirted with retirement after Beijing, is the first Japanese swimmer to qualify for four Olympics. Kitajima is recognized everywhere he goes in his native country and moved to Los Angeles in April 2009 to train at the University of Southern California.