• Both the Men’s and Women’s basketball team’s won gold in the last weekend of the 2012 London Olympics. Kevin Durant scored 30 points to put the men over the top against a very tough Spanish team. Candace Parker helped the women’s team win their 41st straight game in Olympic competition (dating back to 1992). The women’s team won their 5th straight gold, and continues their unparalleled dominance.
• American wrestlers Jake Varner and Jordan Burroughs won gold in the 96kg and 74kg weight levels respectively. On the track, the Women’s 4x 100 and 4x 400 relay teams both won gold. Alison Felix ran for both teams. Felix also won gold in the individual 200 meter race.
• Diver David Boudia, who barely made it through to the semifinals, seemingly found a new life and went on to win the 10 meter platform gold medal in a tremendously close final against British phenom Tom Daley and Chinese star Qiu Bo. With one dive left the three were all within 0.15 points of each other (in a sport where 90-100 points are typically awarded for a good dive) but Boudia finished with the best dive, taking the gold.
• The last weekend was helped the U.S. put some distance between every other country in the medal count with 104 (more on that to come).
Rory crushes PGA championships
• While many people were watching the Olympics over the weekend Rory Mcilroy was doing what he does best, playing golf. Mcilroy blistered the field, winning the PGA Tour, the final major of the PGA season, by a record 8 shots after shooting a final round 66.
• This dominant victory comes on the heels of last year's huge win at the U.S. Open (also by 8 shots) and people are starting to throw Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus comparisons out there. While we think it may still be too early to put that label on McIlroy, he's definitely shown that when he plays his A game, he is much better than anyone else in the world and if he can continue to find that level and win tournaments, both major and minor, this comparison might have to be revisited in a few years.
• While he does only have the two major victories, it's worth noting that Mcilroy is only 23 years and 3 months old, younger than Tiger Woods was when he won his second major.
Overall Olympic Wrap-up
• The Americans, bolstered by a very strong last weekend, won the overall medal count with 104 medals, putting a lot of distance between them and their closest competition, China with 87. Russia, who will host the 2014 winter Olympics, finished 3rd with 82 medals and the host country Great Britain finished 4th with 65. The US also led the way in gold medals with 46, with China second at 38.
• This haul represents the biggest single medal count for the U.S. in any Olympic competition not held in America. In 1984, in the L.A. games boycotted by most of the Soviet countries, the U.S. won 83 golds, and 174 overall. In the 1904 St. Louis Olympics the U.S. won 78 golds and 239 overall. This year's medal count is nothing to smirk at with the rest of the world gaining on America's traditional dominance in many sports.
• This year’s Olympics were dominated by the women. Of the 46 golds won by the U.S., women won 29. 58 of the overall 104 medals were won by women, a solid 56%.
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