LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS BELONG TO THE U.S. WOMEN WITH MEDAL COUNT HONORS COMING HOME

The 2012 Summer Olympics may have been in London, but the United States women owned the Games.
Here's a fun fact for you: Only two countries won as many gold medals at the 2012 Olympics as the 29 earned by the United States women.
That's right, just two countries matched the American women in gold medals. China as a country won 38, while Great Britain took home 29, tying the U.S. ladies. I think it's safe to say that American women dominated these Olympics.
It gets better. The United States women won 58 medals in all, better than all but three countries (China, Russia, Great Britain).
And they topped the men both in gold medals won (29 to 17) and overall medals earned (58 to 45).
Way to hold down the fort, ladies.
But it wasn't just about sheer numbers. The United States women also provided some of the most memorable moments from these Games.

 

The women's gymnastics team made us all proud by winning the team competition, and Gabby Douglas only added to the haul when she took home the individual all-around competition. Aly Raisman joined the fun when she won the gold on floor exercise and earned a bronze on the beam.
How about Serena Williams? A few weeks after winning Wimbledon, she took home gold medals in both the individual competition and in doubles with sister Venus.
The U.S. women owned the pool, with Missy Franklin and Allison Schmitt winning five medals and Dana Vollmer and Rebecca Soni each taking home three. As if winning five medals as a 17-year-old wasn't amazing enough, Franklin set two world records along the way and became a national treasure with her bubbly and humble personality.

 

The U.S. women did pretty well on the track as well. Allyson Felix took home three gold medals, Sonya Richards-Ross won two and the 4x100 relay set a world record. Speaking of relays, the U.S. women won both of them, taking the 4x400 relay in relative ease.
What about the team sports?
The U.S. women's basketball team continued its unrivaled dominance, winning its fifth-straight gold medal and 41st straight game. In the past 30 years, the American women have only lost once in Olympic play.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh made it three gold medals in a row in beach volleyball, though they weren't as dominant as usual. For the first time ever, they lost a set in Olympic play as teammates. Just one, however—we wouldn't want the other teams in the sport thinking they actually stood a chance.
And who did they beat in the final? Oh, just another American team, Jen Kessy and April Ross.

 

How about the women's soccer team? All they did was offer the most entertaining game of the Olympics, beating Canada 4-3 in the semifinals. They did so in style, overcoming three deficits and winning on a stoppage time goal in overtime.
As if that wasn't good enough, they topped it off by beating Japan in the gold-medal game, avenging the team's loss to the Japanese in the 2011 World Cup final. Revenge is a dish best served gold, it turns out.

And let's not forget about Maggie Steffens and the water polo team, who won gold for the first time.

The 2012 Games will be remembered for many achievements by men—Usain Bolt solidifying himself as the greatest sprinter ever, Michael Phelps solidifying himself as the greatest Olympian ever, Oscar Pistorius inspiring us all—but ultimately, nobody dominated these Games like the women of the United States.
You made us proud, ladies.