The 2012 US Olympic Team Strikes Gold in London
Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremonies
Let’s face it, there were just way too many exceptional performances during the 2012 London Olympics to select just one. It would not only be very difficult to select one athlete, but also a missed opportunity to celebrate the many amazing and inspiring athletes who performed above and beyond. So I have decided to award the August, 2012, Athlete of the Month to all of the gold medal winners from the United States Olympic team and throw in a quick comment on their performance and/or accomplishments. I selected the US Olympic team because they finished with the most total medals and yes, I am just a tad biased, as the United States is my home country.
A big congrats, however, must go out to Great Britain for their exceptional performance, way to go. And a big thank you for hosting a great XXX Olympiad, well done.
Here’s a look at the forty six gold medals brought home by the US Olympic Team. Congratulations to everyone for your amazing performances.
Allyson Felix during the women's 4 X 400m relay
| Athlete | Event | Gold Medals | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
Claressa Shields | Boxing | 1 | First US Women's Gold in Boxing. |
Kristin Armstrong | Cycling | 1 | Lance who? |
Aly Raisman | Gymnastics | 1 | Well Done. Gold in the Floor X. You made Massachusetts proud. |
Gabby Douglas | Gymnastics | 1 | Keep smiling flying squirrel. Gold in the overall. |
US Women's Gymnastic team | Gymnastics | 1 | Amazing performance by all. |
Kayla Harrison | Judo | 1 | Don't mess with Kayla. |
Women's Rowing 8's | Rowing | 1 | Women's 8's gold. Back to back Olympic gold! |
Kim Rhode | Shooting | 1 | 99 out of 100.. not too shabby. |
Jamie (Beyerle) Gray | Shooting | 1 | The pride of Lebanon, PA. |
Vincent Hancock | Shooting | 1 | First skeet shooter to repeat. |
US Women's Soccer Team | Soccer | 1 | Sweet revenge. |
Michael Phelps | Swimming | 2 | 22 Olympic medals - Thank you. |
Missy Franklin | Swimming | 2 | The future of US swimming. |
Allison Schmitt | Swimming | 1 | 5 medals in London, 3 of them gold. |
Dana Vollmer | Swimming | 1 | WR in the 100m butterfly. |
Ryan Lochte | Swimming | 1 | 11 time Olympic medalist. |
Matt Grevers | Swimming | 1 | 100m backstroke gold. |
Nathan Adrian | Swimming | 1 | 100m freestyle gold. |
Rebecca Soni | Swimming | 1 | 2:19:59 200m breaststroke WR. |
Katie Ledecky | Swimming | 1 | 800m free gold at 15 years old. Wow! |
Tyler Clary | Swimming | 1 | 200m Backstroke gold. |
Women's 4 X 200 Free Relay | Swimming | 1 | New Olympic record 7:42:92 |
Women's 4 X 100 Medley Relay | Swimming | 1 | New World record 3:52:05 |
Men's 4 X 200 Free Relay | Swimming | 1 | Phelps, Lochte, Dwyer, Berens |
Men's 4 X 100 Medley Relay | Swimming | 1 | Last podium of Phelps career. |
Serena WIlliams | Tennis | 1 | Finally got the singles gold. |
Mike & Bob Bryan | Tennis | 1 | Doubles gold for the brothers. |
Serena & Venus Williams | Tennis | 1 | Women's Doubles Gold. |
Sanya Richards-Ross | Track & Field | 1 | Gold in the 400m and the 4 X 400m relay. |
Women's 4 X 100 relay | Track & Field | 1 | New World Record. Amazing race. |
Women's 4 X 400 Relay | Track & Field | 1 | Crushed the field. |
Allyson Felix | Track & Field | 1 | 200m gold. Poetry in motion! |
Brittney Reese | Track & Field | 1 | Women's Long Jump. |
Aries Merritt | Track & Field | 1 | 1 less step, 1 giant leap. 100m Hurdles |
Christian Taylor | Track & Field | 1 | American men went 1-2 in the Triple Jump. |
Ashton Eaton | Track & Field | 1 | Decathlon - World's greatest athlete. |
Jennifer Suhr | Track & Field | 1 | Pole Vault - Great effort in awful weather. |
Jordan Burroughs | Men's 74Kg Free Wrestling | 1 | Pride of Camden, NJ. |
Jake Varner | Men's 96Kg Free wrestling | 1 | Don't mess with Jake. |
Kerri Walsh Jennings & Misty May Treanor | Beach Volleyball | 1 | Familiar with the term 3-peat. |
US Women's Basketball Team | Basketball | 1 | Was it ever in doubt. |
US Men's Basketball Team | Basketball | 1 | Seems unfair, really unfair. |
US Women's Water Polo Team | Water Polo | 1 | First gold ever for women's polo. |
David Boudia | Platform Diving | 1 | Clutch last dive from 10 meters up to win the gold. |
Mo Farah during the men's 5000m
Usain Bolt at the start of the men's 200m
Some of the more memorable Olympic moments.
- Seeing McKayla Maroney’s vault during the team all-around. The look on the judge’s faces was priceless, like they just saw something for the first time. She should have received a perfect score for that vault.
- Watching Michael Phelps finish up his amazing swimming career.
- Usain Bolt winning both the men’s 100m and 200m finals. World’s fastest human.
- Allyson Felix finally getting the 200m gold and then earning two more in the 4 X 100 and 4 X 400. She is like watching poetry in motion.
- Mo Farah winning the 5,000m and 10,000m in a packed Olympic stadium that was going absolutely crazy. I was on the edge of my seat.
- Bradley Wiggins following up his Tour de France win with a gold in the Olympic time trial.
- Andy Murray finally breaking through to defeat Roger Federer to win the men’s singles gold.
- Kirani James winning Grenada’s first ever-Olympic medal, a gold in the 400m. Also, James swapping bibs with Oscar Pistorius after the 400m semifinals.
- Watching David Boudia win the gold medal in the 10m platform diving on his last dive. What a clutch performance.
Congratulations to all of the athletes who participated in the 2012 London Olympics. You gave us 17 days of amazing performances. We are already looking forward to the 2016 Summer Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro. And thank you to host city London for putting on a truly wonderful Olympic Games for all of us to enjoy.
© 2012 Bill De Giulio
Comments
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 26, 2012:
Hi mizjo. It certainly was a great summer Olympics. I'm envious, maybe someday I'll get to attend an Olympics. I really enjoyed your Hub on attending the games, great job. Thank you for the nice comments and vote.
mizjo from New York City, NY on August 26, 2012:
Great coverage, Bill. Electrifying pictures. What a Summer Olympics that was. I'm almost afraid to compare it to Beijing.
Voted up and awesome.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 19, 2012:
Hi Carol. I really miss the Olympics. So many great moments by athletes from all over the world. Thanks for stopping by to read, comment and vote. Have a great day.
carol stanley from Arizona on August 19, 2012:
It seems kind of sad that the Olympics are over. However, with this hub you have covered all we want to remember. Great hub and one worth bookmarking and voting up.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Hi Johan. We sat around on Monday evening not knowing what to do with ourselves. I really do miss it. What a moment for the Olympics having Oscar Pistorius competing. Thanks for sending him!
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Hi Carol. We don't know what to do with ourselves now that the Olympics have ended. We watched as much as we could and it was really amazing some of the performances. As always I appreciate you comments and the vote.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Hi HouseBuyersUS. Thank you. Much appreciated.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Thanks pramod. It was a great 2 weeks with many great performances. Thank you for stopping by to read and comment. We appreciate the "salute"
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Hey Bill. Sorry you couldn't watch it. Hopefully reading about it here helps. It is one of my favorite sporting events also. Great job by everyone, especially GB as the host. Have a great day.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Thanks Christy. Usain may have a huge ego but he backed it up with his performance. There were so many memorable moments from London. Can't wait till Rio. Thanks for stopping by to comment and share. Have a great day.
Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on August 14, 2012:
Thanks CCahill. Felix is like a gazelle, amazing. I know what you mean, I included every gold to make sure I included to lesser known athletes also. It was a great Olympics, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Johan Smulders from East London, South Africa on August 14, 2012:
Its cold turkey, I don't know what to do tonight so im browsing the hub. Great article!
carol stanley from Arizona on August 14, 2012:
You did a great job in noting the highlights of the Olympics. It is kind of sad to be over. We were glued to the TV. Thanks for putting this great hub together. Voted UP.
pramodgokhale from Pune( India) on August 13, 2012:
Yes Sir,
USA is again top in medal tally, pride of you and nation.The efforts and players aspiration has certainly factor of achievement.
salute to winners of Olympic
pramod
Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on August 13, 2012:
Always one of my favorite sporting events. Too bad I couldn't watch any of it. Very nice tribute my friend; you did a fine job of highlighting some incredible performances.
Christy Birmingham from British Columbia, Canada on August 13, 2012:
Great read! I especially like your list of the most memorable moments. I think Bolt is one of them for sure :) I am sharing this hub.
CCahill from England on August 13, 2012:
What an amazing site the Olympic stadium was from outside.
Felix looks like shes flying :D
Great roundup, always difficult to resist praising the usual suspects
