London 2012 Olympics Chat Thread

[key2win]

Fresh take: Misty May-Treanor parts ways with Kerri Walsh Jennings, having won a third gold - Yahoo! Sports

LONDON – Just minutes after winning her third-straight Olympic Games gold medal with partner Kerri Walsh Jennings, beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor revealed she is quitting the sport to start a family with her husband, baseball player Matt Treanor.

The American duo of May-Walsh once again dominated the sand to round out their career together with a perfect Games record of 21-0, having lost just a single set (earlier in this year's Games) along the way.

But while Walsh Jennings will carry on toward Rio in 2016, May-Treanor is done, preferring to leave the sport on top, and plans to dedicate herself to family life with as much effort as she pursued athletic glory.

"Now it is time for me to be a wife," said May-Treanor, after she and Walsh Jennings defeated fellow Americans Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the final, 21-16; 21-18. "I want to be a mom. Our families sacrifice more than people realize and this is about getting back to that. My mind says it's time, my body says it's time. It's the right time."

The pair competed together for 11 years and celebrated with hugs and smiles and tears at the culmination of a remarkable journey. On form this year, they were not expected to complete the three-peat, but survived a series of obstacles to get the job done.

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Hope Solo saves the day again for U.S. - Yahoo! Sports

LONDON – Hope Solo's personality is pretty unusual, often prickly, and totally unapologetic. And the U.S. women's soccer team could not be happier about it.

The U.S. goalkeeping star kept her best for last at the Summer Games, with a superb performance that included four outstanding saves as the side retained its Olympic title with a 2-1 victory over Japan. Solo is never more impressive than when she has a point to prove. A public spat with national team legend Brandi Chastain at the start of the tournament, then allowing three goals against Canada in a tense semifinal, proved to be the perfect cocktail for a Solo master class at Wembley Stadium.

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Team USA advances to Olympic gold-medal game on Dwight Howard's day - Yahoo! Sports

LONDON – Kobe Bryant and the United States will meet Pau Gasol and Spain for the Olympic gold medal, a historic rematch of the 2008 Beijing Games when Bryant helped Team USA hold off the Spaniards in a fierce, thrilling … wait … what? Oh. Never mind.

Dwight Howard was traded to the Lakers!

London Games organizers still decided to play Friday's semifinal games for the Olympic men's basketball tournament, but all anyone wanted to talk about – the U.S. press, at least – was the titanic trade that sent Howard to the Lakers and potentially shifted the NBA's balance of power. Gasol helped rally Spain past Russia 67-59, and Bryant helped Team USA roll past Argentina 109-83 to deliver the gold-medal rematch, but that was a story for another day.

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Usain Bolt wins third gold medal of London Games, leads Jamaica to world record in 4x100 relay - Yahoo! Sports

LONDON – Usain Bolt can go ahead and trademark that now-famous line in his unforgettable Jamaican accent – "One, two, tree." That’s how many gold medals he has defended from the 2008 Beijing Games, helping Jamaica win Saturday night's 4x100 in world-record fashion at Olympic Stadium.

Bolt single-handedly won gold in the final 100 meters, with the U.S. and Jamaica making the final handoff in a dead heat. After Jamaica's Yohan Blake tracked down America's Tyson Gay on leg three, all that was left was for Bolt to win an even race to the finish. And as he has done so often, Bolt exploded in the anchor leg with his long strides, easily outdistancing American Ryan Bailey by five meters and finishing in 36.84. That was good enough to shave two-tenths of a second off the previous world record of 37.04 and gave Bolt ownership of the three most coveted world records in men's track: the 100 meters, 200 meters and the 4x100 relay.

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Team USA fights off Spain to win gold medal in Olympic rematch - Yahoo! Sports

LONDON – Somewhere in the midst of their relaxing afternoon stroll to the gold medal, Team USA looked up and found themselves in a fight. Spain rained 3-pointers over the Americans' heads. Pau and Marc Gasol bullied the U.S. frontline. And after U.S. center Tyson Chandler became entangled with Sergio Rodriguez in the second quarter, the little Spanish point guard stepped up and jabbed his right index finger into Chandler's face.

Rodriguez's message was clear: For all your NBA talent, for all your American dominance, you will not push us around.

Yes, Team USA's gold-medal rematch with Spain proved nearly as difficult as their battle in Beijing four years ago. Just like in 2008, the Americans finally separated themselves from Spain in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, holding on for a 107-100 victory that gave them their second straight Olympic gold medal.

Mike Krzyzewski coached his final game for Team USA, joining Henry Iba as the only men to guide the U.S. to consecutive golds. He'll stay involved with USA Basketball but has no plans to continue coaching the national team. Krzyzewski helped USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo rebuild the national team after the U.S. finished sixth at the 2002 world championships and won only bronze at the 2004 Athens Games. As Sunday's game ended, LeBron James showered his coach with water.

Krzyzewski and Colangelo reshaped the national team program by getting a core group of NBA stars to commit to playing – and staying – together. This too, might have been the final game for several of them. James isn't sure he'll play in the 2016 Games in Rio. Kobe Bryant declared Sunday his last appearance in the red, white and blue.

"This is it for me," Bryant said after scoring 17 points in the victory. "The other guys are good to go."

Kevin Durant showed throughout the tournament he's more than capable of taking ownership of Team USA if he wants. Durant wasn't on the U.S. roster in 2008, but has since become one of the NBA's biggest stars. He played like one against Spain, totaling 30 points and nine rebounds. Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder lost the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, but he leaves the summer with his first Olympic gold medal.

"I'm going to look back and remember how fun it was for all of us to be around each other," Durant said. "I'm excited to cap it off with a gold medal."

James had 19 points and seven rebounds and hit a late 3-pointer to finish off Spain. He only strengthened his reputation as the game's greatest player during these Olympics. He now joins Michael Jordan as the only players to win the NBA regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA title and Olympic title in the same year.

"It was a great ride for me," James said. "I could have never scripted it any better."

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Overall Medal Count
Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 46 29 29 104
2 China 38 27 22 87
3 Russia 24 25 33 82
4 Great Britain 29 17 19 65
5 Germany 11 19 14 44
6 Japan 7 14 17 38
7 Australia 7 16 12 35
8 France 11 11 12 34
9 South Korea 13 8 7 28
10 Italy 8 9 11 28

[OriolesFan]

The 2012 U. S. Olympic team did very well - congratulations. That is one colorful picture from the closing of the 2012 Olympics, thanks for sharing it.