- Kirani James wins the first gold medal for Grenada, the spice country, and shows great sportsmanship to Oscar Pistorius in 400m heat.
- Kerri Walsh Jennings & Misty May-Treanor win their third gold medal in Olympic play and their last match together, 21-0 in Olympic matches, 42-1 in Olympic sets.
- Usain Bolt beating his 2008 Olympic record in the 100m with a time of 9.63, showing that his decline was silly talk and repeating gold in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
- Mo Farah giving Great Britain its first gold medal in the 10,000m with his training teammate, Galen Rupp, taking the silver medal, giving the U.S. the first medal in that event since 1964.
- The record setting 2012 Men’s U.S. Basketball team. A record 156 points against Nigeria, Carmelo Anthony set the in-game scoring record with 37 points, LeBron James recorded the first triple-double in Olympic basketball history and Kevin Durant being the player who scored the most total points in a single Olympic games. Oh and they defeated Spain to win back-to-back gold medals.
- Michael Phelps becomes arguably the greatest Olympian ever, ending his great career with 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold medals.
- Destinee Hooker becoming the silent breakout star of the Olympics. Showing her awesome natural talent as a member of the women’s indoor volleyball team.
- Andy Murray making up for his loss in Wimbledon in May by getting a gold medal in men’s individual tennis.
- Gabby Douglas and the Fab Five. Douglas was the true breakout star of the Olympics, earning a gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition and the whole U.S. gymnastics team claimed gold.
- Allyson Felix finally broke through and claimed gold. Three times over.
- The women’s U.S. basketball team earned their FIFTH straight gold medal and currently owns a 41 game winning streak in Olympic play.
Done with this year’s games.. Why not look ahead to 2016! Preview of the XXXI Summer Games in Rio.
- Usain Bolt cemented his legacy as one of the best track runners ever in Olympic history in London. What will he do for an encore? A 100m, 200m & 4×100 relay three-peat or maybe he’ll conquer other track and field events.
- Michael Phelps says he’s done with swimming but don’t feel bad for American swimming. Ryan Lochte said he’ll be back and without the large Phelps shadow looming, all eyes will be on him. Also, breakout performances from Allison Schmitt and Missy Franklin in London ensure that women’s American swimming stays on top.
- The Brazil men’s soccer team is 0-3 in their last three gold medal games. Provided they get there again in 2016, could home field advantage buoy them to their FIRST gold medal?
- You thought this year’s men’s basketball team was good? Well, minus Kobe, the whole team can return. Not to mention Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Blake Griffin who are certainly going to want to play after missing the Olympics with injuries. Durant & Westbrook will be 4 years older, LeBron will be in his prime and Anthony Davis will be entering his 4th year in the NBA. As if that’s not enough, we’ll have young players like John Wall, Kyrie Irving and DeMarcus Cousins who will have come into their own by 2016. We’ll be pretty loaded.
- I doubt many people watched fencing during the Olympics but if you did, you know the name Race Imboden. The youngster from Brooklyn who didn’t get gold but was very impressive against Italy could get America its first individual gold medal in fencing.
- Football. American football. Could it make its debut in Rio? The NFL has made a case to the IOC. If so, who would be on the U.S. team? The recognizable names or would they have a 23 and under team, which I think they should do.
- Speaking of football or futbol, the U.S. men’s soccer team didn’t qualify for the Olympics this year after underperforming again. Hopefully they qualify in 4 years and at least medal. Baby steps.
- AND speaking of coming back, will baseball or softball make its return to the Summer Games? I sure hope so.
