Meet Team Usa

• Scott Parsons, kayak, brews beer at his Bethesda, Md., home.

• Greta Gould, mountain biking, can juggle and ride a unicycle and auditioned for the Ringling Bros. circus three times; she never made the cut.

SECRET FEAR

Not every member of the swim team was born a fish. Michael Phelps took his first lessons on his back because he was afraid to put his head underwater. The mother of Katie Hoff had to wash her daughter's hair as little as possible because Katie didn't like water either.

CARDIAC KID

Leonel Manzano, who'll run the 1,500 meters in Beijing, stands 5'5" but according to his doctors has a heart the size of a 7-foot man's. (They have told him it's the result of his intense training and is perfectly healthy.)

NICKNAMES

• Kate (Tiki) Barber, field hockey captain, was given that handle when she was playing for North Carolina and the future NFL running back was at ACC rival Virginia.

• Bershawn (Batman) Jackson, 400-meter hurdler, earned the moniker as a kid because he had big ears, but keeps using it because he now flies over the hurdles; he has the nickname on his license plate.

• Michael (Meatball) Friedman, cycling, has—as the name suggests—an un-Lance-like physique.