Germany's Olympic Hopefuls
Germany has around 450 athletes who will compete at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Ralf Schumann -- Rapid Fire Pistol Shooting
The 46-year-old rapid fire pistol shooter Ralf Schumann is famous for his steadiness in the shooting gallery. Schumann, who has won three Olympic gold medals and has been a professional pistol shooter nearly all of his adult life, says he has no plans on retiring. Beijing will be his chance to prove that he still has what it takes.
Fabian Hambuechen -- Gymnastics
As the youngest German athlete to compete in the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, Hambuechen won over the gymnastics world with his youthful charm. Now 20 years old, many predicted that this will be Hambuechen's big chance to bring home a gold medal. But unfortunately, he only came in seventh after flying off the off the horizontal bar in the men's all-around Olympic final on Thursday, Aug. 14.
Isabell Werth -- Dressage Horse Riding
Isabell Werth is the most successful equestrian rider in the history of the Olympics. The four-time champion in dressage, which is often described as "horse ballet," is expected to dominate this year's Olympic dressage competition. But it will be her first Olympic competition without her horse "Gigolo." She'll instead take her two Hanoverian geldings, "Satchmo" and "Warum nicht."
Britta Heidemann -- Epee Fencing
German fencer Britta Heidemann has posed nude for playboy magazine, boasts an Olympic fencing gold and now has China wrapped around her finger. Heidemann is somewhat of a celebrity in the Olympic host country, having spent three months there at the age of 15, is enrolled in Chinese studies at Cologne University and will be back in China for work in September. She won epee gold on Wednesday and became the center of media attention afterwards when she fielded some questions in Chinese. Local media was delighted about "the pretty German" and the China News Service even named her love for China the reason why she grabbed the gold. The Xinhua agency was able to report that the family she lived with during her first stay in the country named her Xiao Yue (Little Moon). The gold came after a team silver in Athens 2004. The same year she posed for the German edition of Playboy.
Timo Boll -- Table Tennis
Described as a human windmill, Timo Boll is Germany's best chance to win a medal in table tennis. But left-handed Boll, 27, who is famous for his wicked tophand forespin will have to beat the Chinese at their game.
Equestrian Show Jumping
Four German equestrian athletes (Ludger Beerbaum, Marco Kutscher, Christian Ahlmann und Otto Becker) are ranked among the top 10 show jumpers in the world. Germany is favored to pick up medals in Beijing.
Andreas Dittmer -- Flatwater Canoeing
Canoe and rowing events have been important medal-winners for the German Olympic Team for decades. Andreas Dittmer is a water-borne speed demon who has won three Olympic gold medals and eight world championships in flatwater canoeing. Dittmer is from an athletic family. His sister, Anja, is an Olympic triathalete.
Women's Soccer Team
They have an unyielding defense and a knack for exploiting opponents' weaknesses. Germany are the reigning women's world soccer champions. About the only medal they haven't won is the Olympic gold, something they plan to change in Beijing.
Britta Steffen -- Freestyle Swimming
Germany's Britta Steffen gate-crashed an American victory parade on Friday, Aug. 15, as she took the women's 100m freestyle in 53.12 seconds -- the only non-American to win a gold medal in the Olympic swimming competition on the day as Michael Phelps, Rebecca Soni and Ryan Lochte all swam world records. Steffen took a gold with a remarkable comeback that saw her win after lying just eighth at the turn as she managed to overtake the leading Australian Lisbeth Trickett with the last touch, beating the world record holder by just 0.04 seconds.
Steffi Nerius -- Javelin Throw
Steffi Nerius has been throwing anything and everything since she was a toddler. Her object of preference these days is the javelin. Nerius won the silver medal in the javelin throw at the 2004 Games in Athens. Yet she'll have competition from fellow German Christina Obergfoell, a rising star in javelin throwing, who set a European record of 70.20 meters last year.