London 2012 Olympics

Fourteen writers reflect on memorable scenes and events from the London Games:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/08/14/2012-london-olympics-memorable-moments/index.html

http://www.bellanaija.com/2012/07/28/london-2012-olympic-moments-style-highlights-of-the-teams-at-the-opening-ceremony-which-is-your-best-dressed-team/

25 memorable moments from the 2012 London Games

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/story/2012-08-12/2012-london-olympics-best-moments/57018348/1

London 2012 Olympics: the best moments of a golden Games

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/aug/13/london-2012-guardian-highlights-golden-games

Great, Great, Event!

I greatly enjoyed these Olympics. The American athletics did our nation proud. I was able to see more of these Olympics than any previous ones. An outstanding feature of Comcast XFINITY On Demand allowed me to watch events I had missed or those I wanted to see again. Except for the 1976 and 1984 Olympics, which I attended, I enjoyed these the most. There were so many outstanding performances and wonderful and exciting moments.

David Boudia from the USA was nearly perfect on his final 10 meter platform dive to win the Gold. It was America’s only gold in this event since Greg Longanis’ in 1988. Going into the last dive only 0.15 points separated the top three divers. They all hit their last dives but Boudia’s was better to upset the two favorites.

The best for me today was seeing Allyson Felix of the U.S. finally getting her Olympic gold in the 200 meters, overtaking two-time 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica down the stretch to win in 21.88 seconds. Allyson, a silver medalist in the 200 in 2004 and 2008, was behind coming off the turn but powered past Fraser-Pryce over the last 40 meters.

It was also great seeing Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh win their third consecutive gold in beach volleyball.

It didn’t take long for my previously most exciting Olympic event to be replaced by one even more exciting and meaningful. The dynamic duo of April Ross and Jen Kessy shocked the Brazilian beach volleyball team to advance to the gold medal match. The number one seeded Brazilians had beaten the Americans nine straight times and won the first set handily 21-15. They also got a lead in the second set and seemed poised to close out the match, but the Americans rallied to win the final two sets to get the upset.

Just watched the most exciting game of the Olympics that I have seen, women’s water polo semifinals . Who would have guessed? I did not see the women’s soccer win over Canada which must have been its equal in excitement and more significant. In regulation, the USA was leading 9-8 when the Aussies goal attempt bounced of the post and in the scramble the American coach called timeout with one second left. The trouble was the Americans did not have possession and the Aussies scored on a penalty throw to tie the game. Without the timeout the clock would have run out in regulation with the Americans winning. Fortunate for the Americans, and especially for the coach, they scored twice in the overtimes to finally win.

It was very sad when McKayla Maroney, the best by far women’s gymnastics's vaulter in the world, fell during the individual vault final and had to settle for the silver. She had worked so hard and so long in her young life to perfect the vault and then at the crucial moment fell short.

Watching19-year-old Grenada's Kirani James win his country's first ever Olympic gold as he added the 400m title to his World Championship crown was a great moment for his tiny nation a feel good moment for me. This is a new generation of 400m men. In an event traditionally dominated by the United States, not a single American made the final.

The most surprising and exciting event for me was the 10,000 meters where Mo Farah of Great Britain and Galen Rupp of USA took home the gold and silver medal respectively. Although the two represent different countries they are training partners, friends and now Olympic medalists. It was the first time an American has been a factor in this race since Billy Mills, a native American, surprised the world by winning this event in 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His time was almost 50 seconds faster than he had ever run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. Mills is the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. His victory is considered one of the greatest of Olympic upsets. A former United States Marine, Billy Mills was a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.

Checkout the joy of Mo Farah and Galen Rupp in this photo timeline:

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248216-2012-London-Olympics-Games/article/13915-Mo-and-Rupp-Olympic-Moment-Mens-10k-Final-100-Meters

A highlight for me and for Great Britain was Andy Murray's win over Federer in the tennis finals.