Below is the list of tables from the database along with their columns and datatype. Need to generate an accurate SQL query for the question.
Only use the columns present in the respective table. Only use the columns which are required to generate the SQL query. Only use table joins if required and not otherwise.

### Tables ###
TABLE: CREATE TABLE table_204_912 ( id number, "rank" number, "athlete" text, "country" text, "time" number, "notes" text )

### Question ###
how many athletes ranked in the top 15 are from the united states ?

### Accurate SQL ###

SELECT COUNT("athlete") FROM table_204_912 WHERE id <= 15 AND "country" = 'united states'