My Top 10 2012 Summer Olympic Athletes

By Nathan Young on August 14, 2012

I am a big sports fan and I am sad to see the 2012 London Olympics come and go. Many people watched online and on TV and took in the British Culture while watching the athletes compete. I thought London put on a great Olympic Games and the people of Great Britain were great hosts to the athletes. But there were a couple of problems such as NBC showing the major Olympic events on a tape-delay while everyone already knew the results thanks to social media. The Twitter hashtag #nbcfail was very popular during the games. I was just glad there was multiple ways to watch the live-streams online!

Here is the final Olympic Medal Count. The United States won 104 medals during the 30th Olympiad and the women dominated winning around 2/3rds of the U.S.A. gold medals!

I really liked the Olympic Cauldron at the London games. Each pedal represents the 204 countries that were participating in the games. And each pedal had the country’s name engraved on the pedal and the country got to take their pedal home! Future Olympic games have their work cut out when they design their Cauldrons. I just wonder why the designers of the 2012 London Olympic Cauldron decided to not have it seen by the people from outside the Olympic Stadium. Past games had the Cauldron way up high so everyone inside Olympic Park and the city could see the Cauldron. I bet in future Olympics we will probably see the Cauldron way up high again!

So after watching lots of coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games I have come up with a list of the top 10 Olympic Athletes of the 30th Olympiad.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps won four golds and two silver medals in the London Olympics bringing his medal total to 22 during his entire Olympic career. I am sure many people are going to miss seeing Michael competing in the Olympic Games.

Gabby Douglas

Gabby Douglas was the first woman of color in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion; and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.

Usain Bolt

This runner from Jamaica dominated the track during the London Olympic Games winning three gold medals and breaking records. He has set the mark as the world’s fastest runner.

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team

Admit it. You had to feel proud that the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team beat Canada in the last-minute and then beat Japan to win gold in the London Olympic Games.

Missy Franklin

Missy Franklin has won the hearts of many people around the world. She won five medals (four were gold medals) during the London Olympic Games. Many people also like her because she has turned down endorsement money to stay as an amateur so she can compete in college.

Oscar Pistorius

This runner from South Africa ran with artificial lower legs during the London Olympic Games. Although he did not win any medals he will do well during the London Paralympic Games later this month.

Mo Farah

This athlete from the home country of Great Britain is the best long distance track runner in the world. He won two gold medals during the London Olympic Games and that caused the country to cheer for him big time!

Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix won three gold medals during the London Olympic Games. She also has a huge following by many people and is a great role-model. She is tested often for drugs as she participates in the Project Believe program from the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Ryan Lochte

Ryan did very well at the London Olympic Games winning five medals including two golds. With Michael Phelps now retired Ryan Lochte will become the top male swimmer during the 2016 Olympic Games.

U.S. Women’s 4x100m Team

Carmelita Jeter, Allyson Felix, Tianna Madison and Bianca Knight set a new world record with a time of 40.82. This new record beat out a 27 year record formally held by East Germany.