2012 London Olympics Legacies

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt
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Bolt has put himself into the All-Time Greats category in both athletics and Olympics history. He is my MVP of the Games. After a great performance in Beijing where he won Gold in his only 3 events, the 100, 200 and 4x100 meters, many people were selecting fellow countryman and partner in workouts, Yohan Blake, to defeat him in the 100 meters and 200 meters. At the Jamaican trials, Blake beat Bolt in both events. His 1st event at Olympic Stadium was the 100 meters. In the final, he defeated Blake by .12 of a second and got the Olympic Record at 9.63. The 200 meters was much the same, defeating Blake by .12th of a second and was .02 seconds of an Olympic Record. His last event he partnered with Blake, the 4x100 meter relay. Bolt got the baton from Blake in the final and sprinted to the World Record and 1st time ever a relay team ran the 4x100 in go under 37 seconds. He is definitely one of the best of all-time.

Michael Phelps 

Michael Phelps was looking to become the most decorated Olympian. He did that, by getting 6 more medals to make his career total of 22. He has 18 gold medals, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals. But, the Olympics showed the Phelps isn't who he once was. He didn't medal n the 200 meter IM, no Olympic or World Records, and got his 1st 2 ever silver medals. But, he still got 4 golds to prove, he wasn't going to leave quietly. 

Ryan Lochte 

This was Ryan Lochte chance to prove he is, at the moment, better then Phelps and best in the world. However, he underachieved in London. He won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. He went 1-1 when up against Phelps, winning the 200 meter IM and Phelps winning the 400 meter IM. He won his other gold in a relay. If he wanted to be better then Phelps, he needed to medal in every event and have more golds then silvers and bronze combined.

The Fab Five (US Women's Gymnastics Team)

The Fab Five: Wieber, Douglas, Maroney, Raisman,
and Ross
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The Fab Five is a tale of many different stories. We will start with the team in the team competition. That is the big success story, where the US win by more then 5 points and their 2nd ever gold. The most successful individual is, to many people's surprise, Aly Raisman. In addition to the team gold, she won floor gold, bronze in the balance beam, and tied for 3rd in the individual all-around, but was pushed back to 4th due to the tiebreaker. Jordyn Wieber was a favorite for the individual all-around. However, she did not even make the final, despite becoming 4th overall. Due to only one country being allowed 2 participants per gymnastics final, Wieber was bumped out because Raisman and Gabby Douglas got higher scores. She was devestaed. One of the biggest shock of the games. Douglas won the individual all-around gold, but didn't medal in uneven bars and balance beam. McKayla Maroney's silver medal in the vault might have been even more surprising then Wieber. She was the heavy favorite, especially after a fantastic vault in the team final. Kyla Ross only  final was the team final. 

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings

Misty and Kerri solidified themselves as the best beach volleyball team ever. They only lost one set on their way to gold, against sisters Doris and Stephanie Schwaiger of Austria. In the gold medal match, they defeated fellow countrywomen Jen Kessy and April Ross 21-16 and 21-16 to get their 3rd gold in 3 Olympics. They put beach volleyball on the map in the United States and made it one of the sports to watch every 4 years. 

US Men's Basketball Team

The US men's basketball team will be remembered for LeBron James triple-double, Kevin Durant's tournament scoring record, and Kobe Bryant and Coach K's final game. But, it was more of the role players that made the team successful. Kevin Love was the big man who played his heart out to win. Chris Paul was clutch in the last few minutes of the gold medal match vs Spain. Carmelo Anthony was a good 6th man coming off the bench. Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams provided good energy.

The Games of the XXX Olympiad 

2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
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This Olympics' slogan fits how the Games turned out. The slogan was "Inspire A Generation". I think these games will inspire a generation. What will inspire people the most will be women participants from every country for the first time. That will inspire more women to do sports. Also, Oscar Pistorious, the 1st double amputee to participate in athletics, will inspire people to believe that anything is possible. This Olympics also has the 1st ever athlete from South Sudan. It's athlete, Guor Marial, participated as an Independent Olympian because South Sudan does not have an Olympic Committee yet. I think the biggest legacy of the 30th Olympics will be the beginning of the China-US rivalry. The medal race was very close until the US pulled away in the final days. China wants to beat the US and US always wants to be 1st. The next few Olympics will be intense.

Notable Names Through The Olympics 1st Week

Kim Ha Na, Meiliana Jauhari, Ha Jung En, Jung Kyung Eun, Kim Min Jung, Greysia Polii, Wang Xiaoli, and Yu Yang

Wang, Yu, Jung, and Kim hear it from Torsten Berg
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These 8 badminton participants were disqualified from the women's doubles tournament. Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang were the 2011 World Champs and number 1 seed from China. Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na of South Korea faced the Chinese duo in the last match of the Group A. Both were 2-0. The winner might have to face the number 2 seed of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, who lost a day earlier, in the semi-finals instead of the finals. So they wouldn't have to face the 2 seed until the finals, Wang and Yu deliberately tried to loose the match. They faltered on many serves and missed easy shots. The South Koreans also performed poorly. Later in the day, Ha Jung En and Kim Min Jung of South Korea faced Indonesia's Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii. All 4 players were told to play hard and after they were not, tournament referee and umpire Torsten Berg disqualified them all by giving them black cards. They were taken back after the players promised they would play harder. They Indonesia's ended up losing the match. The 2 other teams in their group made the quarters due to the DQ's.

Torsten Berg Talks To Ha, Kim, Jauhari, and Polii
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The defending men's singles gold medalist and number 2 seed in this years competition, China's Lin Dan said about the controversy that, "This situation really is not in the Olympic sporting spirt," and "I think it will definitely bring a negative impact." He also said that having a round-robin style preliminary round is also at blame, saying, "If they just had a knockout round it would all be fine. You lose and that's it," and "Why would the tournament rules people have (a format) like this?" This is the 1st time the competition has a preliminary round. In the past, it was just a regular single-elimination tournament.

Ruta Meilutyte

Ruta Meilutyte, the 15 year old swimmer from Lithuania, surprised many at the London Aquatics Centre. It all started when, in the 4th Heat for the women's 100 meter breaststroke, she came in 1st in not only the heat that include olympic record holder Leisel Jones from Australia, but also 1st of all participants. In the semi-finals, she set a European record in the event with a time of 1:05.21 and was, again, 1st overall. Swimming in Lane 4 in the finals, she won the gold medal with a time 1:05.47. In the 50 meter freestyle, she was 1st in her heat, but did not qualify for the semi's and in the 100 meter freestyle,she finished 5th in her heat and didn't make the semi's.

Natalia Partyka

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Natalia Partyka

Poland's Natalia Partyka is not your average table tennis player. She has no right forearm. That does not stop her from playing in not only the Paralympics, but the Olympics, too. The 68th ranked women's player is participating in both the women's singles and women team tournaments. For the women's singles, she had a preliminary round and 1st round byes. Partyka started play in round 2. She started by playing Mie Skov of Denmark. Partyka won 4 sets to 3. In the 3rd round, she lost to Jie Li of the Netherlands, 4-2 after being up by 2 sets. She will be playing on Denmark's women's team for the team competition. They will face Singapore in the 1st Round.

Mikkel Hanson and Aron Palmarson 

Mikkel Hanson and Aron Palmarson have been playing great in the men's handball tournament. Hanson, the 2011 Men's IHF World Handball Player of the Year, has been lighting it up for Denmark. He is tied for 6th in goals with 22 and 4th in assists with 17. The Left Back has led Denmark to a 3-1 record in Group B with 1 game to go, securing a spot in the quarterfinals. His best match so far was against Serbia when he scored 7 goals and dished out 5 assists. Palmarson has been a leader for 4-0 Iceland. He has 25 goals, which puts him 4th in goals, and 15 assists, which puts him at 6th for assists. When Iceland faced Tunsia, Palmarson scored 8 goals and had 4 assists. 

Elisa De Francisca, Arrianna Errigo, Valentina Vezzali

Ilara Salvatori, Errigo, Vezzali, and De Francisca celebrate
a gold medal in women's team foil
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Women's foil fencing was dominated this year by the Italians. Elisa De Francisca, Arriana Errigo, and Valentina Vezzali all won 2 medals and all only participated in 2 events. It all started on July 28th when the women's foil competition started. It started with a round of 64 and then dwindled down to 4. De Francisca made it to face South Korea's Nam Hyun Hee, who see defeated 11-10. Fellow countrywomen Errigo and Vezzali faced off in the other semi-finals. The 22 year old, Errigo, defeated the 3 time women's foil gold medalist (2000-2008) in Vezzali, 15-12. That set up a DeFrancisca-Errigo final. In the bronze medal match, Vezzali won to secure the bronze medal. In the final, DeFrancisca edged Errigo 12-11. In the women's team foil, Italy cruised to the final by blowing out Great Britain, 42-14, and France, 45-22. The final was better for Italy's opponent, Russia, as Italy won 45-32. 

2012 Summer Olympics in London Preview

2012 London Summer Olympic Logos
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The 2012 Summer Olympics are being held in London. This is going to be London's 3rd ever Olympics. The 1st was held in 1908 and the 2nd in 1948. The 1908 Olympics were supposed to be held in Rome, but due to a volcano eruption, London got to host the Olympics. The 1948 Olympics were the 1st held after World War II and the 1st in 12 years since the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 

The selection process for the 2012 Olympics started in 2003 when London announced they were bidding for the 2012 Olympics. In 2005, they won the vote to become the host of the Olympics. Then, in 2008, the Olympic Flag went to London from Beijing. Then, from 2011 to a few months ago, test events called London Prepares were held to prepare London for the Games. 

Now, it is time for London to be on the Worlds Biggest Stage. It has been 9 years in the making  with ups and downs, highs and lows. London will shine with the light on them. Here is the Olympics Preview of sports and a look at some of Olympics uniqueness.

Basketball

The United States basketball team, for both men and women, are the favorites for both tournaments. The women's team hasn't loss an Olympic game since 1992, making them the large favorite to win. The men's team has some challengers that believe they can beat them. These teams include 2008 runner-ups Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and France. Russia also has a chance, led by former NBA Forward Andrei Kirilenko, but I don't believe they will be much of a threat to the US team. 

The US will most likely face Spain in the final. Spain has what the US doesn't, big men. They have the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, and Serge Ibaka coming off the bench. Their backcourt features Raptors' Jose Calderon and former NBA player and currently on Barcelona's basketball team Juan Carlos Navarro. Also in the backcourt is former NBA player Sergio Rodriguez. Rudy Fernandez, who just left the Denver Nuggets to play for Real Madrid, is also on the team. Ricky Rubio, who is out with a torn ACL, is going to missed a point guard to be a back-up or even a starter. 

Brazil also has good big men. The Wizards' Nene, Cavilers' Anderson Varejao, and Spurs' Tiago Splitter. Leandro Barbosa of the Pacers is going to be a key player in the backcourt for them. Argentina is going to be led by the Spurs' Manu Ginobili, Bucks' Carlos Delfino, and Suns' Luis Scola. Guard Pablo Prigioni, who recently signed with the Knicks, will be a key to success for the team. France is not just Tony Parker. They have Nicolas Batum at small forward, Boris Diaw, Kevin Seraphin, and Ronny Turiaf as the big men. These teams look to be very good.

The US Team Pumped Up
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I predict that the US will win. They have the best all-around roster, even with 1 true center (Tyson Chandler) and 1 power forward who has played in NBA (Kevin Love, the other PF, Anthony Davis, was drafted 1st overall in the 2012 Draft). All 3 of the big men need to be strong off the glass and be a force in the post on defense. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are the leader for this team and are going to perform very well. Those 2, and Kevin Durant, need to be consistent scorers. Carmelo Anthony needs to bring scoring as the 6th man off the bench. Andre Iguadala is going to be a big help to the team. He is probably the 2nd most veristale player on defense in the NBA, 1st is LeBron. He going to be a big help on the team. Chris Paul is going to be a great distributor. Deron Williams will do a good job also at the point. 

Football (Soccer)

The Olympic Football Tournaments for the men and women are different, but somewhat the same. For the men's tournament, each team has a minimum of 15 players that must be born before January 1st, 1989 and can have 3 overaged players play on the team. For the women's team, they can send the national team. The US women look to their 3rd consecutive Gold Medal and 4th in the last 5 Olympics (This is the 5th Women's Soccer Tournament in the Olympics history). Japan is looking to win the Olympics after winning the Women's World Cup. The Men's tournament has many good team's looking to win, like Brazil, Spain, and Great Britain.

Alexandre Pato (Wearing 17, not 9, for the Olympics) and Neymar
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Brazil is my pick to win the Men's Olympics Football Tournament. They have won 5 FIFA World Cups, but never an Olympic Gold Medal. Brazil has some of the best forwards in the world. AC Milan's Alexandre Pato, Santos' Neymar, 1 of the 3 overaged players Porto's Hulk, and Internacional's Leandro Damiao. The other 2 overaged players are Defenders Real Madrid's Marcelo and Thiago Silva, who just moved from AC Milan to Paris Saint-Germain. The front line are going to score a lot of goals and all have experience on the Brazil national team. 

Spain has won the last 2 European Championships and the last FIFA World Cup. Adding an Olympic Gold Medal would be very. 2 goal-scorers in the 2012 Euro Final are on the team, defender Jordi Alba, who recently was moved to Barcelona, and striker Juan Mata of Chelsea. In net, for the team is Manchester United's David De Gea. The 21 year old started 29 games in the English Premier League and 39 games in all of the competitions Man U competed.

Great Britain is uniting to compete in the Olympics for the 1st time since 1960. However, no players from Scotland and Northern Ireland made the sqaud. There are 13 players from England and 5 players from Wales on the team. Manchester United and Wales' Midfielder Ryan Giggs is playing in his 1st major tournament. Giggs is a Man U legend (He's 38 years old and 1st played for Manchester United in 1991 and hasn't ever left) and is well deserving of being a member of the team. Other notables on the include Man U and England's Tom Cleverly, Man City and England's Micah Richards, another overaged players, Liverpool and Wales' Craig Bellamy, the other overaged player, and Chelsea and England Ryan Bertland

Athletics

Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt
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The big debate going into the athletics portion of the Olympics is the growing rivalry between Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Usain Bolt won the gold medal for the 100 meters, 200 meters, and was a member of the gold medal winning 4x100 relay at the 2008 Olympics. He currently has the 100 meter Olympic Record (9.69 seconds) and World Record (9.58 seconds) and the 200 meter Olympic Record (19.30 seconds) and World Record (19.19 seconds). Bolt is trying to become the 1st sprinter ever to win two Gold Medals in both the 100 meters and 200 meters in back-to-back Olympics. Yohan Blake beat Bolt at the Jamaican trials in both events. These 2 are the favorites for the the 100 and 200 meters. They will also be on the Jamaican team competing in the 4x100 meters, also making Jamaica the favorites in that event. 

Going from the shorter track events to the longer events, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele has 1 the last 2 Gold Medal in the 10,000 meters and won Gold in Beijing and Silver in Athens in the 5,000 meters. He has the World Record (26:17.53) and Olympic Record (27:01.17) for the 10,000 meters and the World Record (12:37.35) and Olympic Record (12:57.82) for the 5,000 meters. Bekele is looking to become the 1st person ever to win 3 straight Gold Medal in the 10,000 meters

The Men's Decathlon has 10 events that are going to be held over 2 days. On the 1st day, 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 meters. On day 2, 110 meters hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1,500 meters. Ashton Eaton is the current World Record holder, breaking the previous record this year with 9039 points. In the Women's Heptathlon,  the 7 events will be also be held over 2 days. The events include 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and the 200 meters, which will be held on day 1. The long jump, javelin throw, and 800 meters will be held on day 2. Jackie Joyner-Kersee has both the Olympic and World Record  with 7291 points from the 1988 Olympics. Defending gold medalist, Natalyia Dobrynska of Ukraine, is back to defend her title. 

Swimming 

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte
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Swimming is going to be about Michael Phelps vs. fellow American Ryan Lochte. Phelps won Gold Medal in all of his 8 events at the 2008 Olympics, and is 3 medals away from having the most medals in Olympics history. However, Lochte has beaten Phelps many times and could be in his way of more Gold Medals to add to his collection. Michael Phelps is swimming the 200 meter IM (individual medley), 400 meter IM, 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly, 4x100 meter freestyle relay, 4x100 meter medley relay, and the 4x200 freestyle. Ryan Lochte is in the 200 meter IM, 400 meter IM, 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter backstroke, 4x100 meter freestyle relay, 4x100 meter medley relay, and the 4x200 meter freestyle relay. That means there are 2 events where they go head-to-head and 3 where they team up. That means that every race is going to count to see who is the best. 

The US women are going to be led by 17 year old Missy Franklin. Franklin is going to be swimming in 7 events, 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke, 200 meter backstroke, 4x100 meter medley relay, 4x100 meter freestyle relay, and 4x200 meter freestyle relay. Franklin has never been in an Olympics, but she is expected to do really well. If the women want to do really well in swimming, they need to follow the lead of Franklin. 

The longest swimming competition is the marathon, which is 10km and is held in open water. There are no heats, just a finals in which 25 competitors compete. This is only the 2nd time the marathon is going to be held at an Olympics. It was 1st held in Beijing, where Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands won with a time of 1:51:51.6. He has retired from swimming. For the women, Russia's Lara Ilchenko won with a time of 1:59:27.7 at the '08 Olympics. She is not going to defend her title. 

Gymnastics 

At the 2008 Olympics, China was the top team in gymnastics. The men's team dominated by winning 7 of the 8 artistic gymnastics gold medals . The women's team won 2 of the 6 gold medals for artistic gymnastics. For the trampoline events, China won the gold for both men and women. The US has a chance to do some damage this year in London. 

The US Women's Gymnastics Team
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The US women's team is being called the best gymnastics team that the United States has ever sent to the Olympics. The team is lead by Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglass. Both are expect to perform very well and battle each other for the gold medals. Wieber won 2 gold medals at the 2011 World Championships. Douglass defeated Weiber at the Olympic Trials. For the US to do well, these 2 need to be leaders and win.

The Men's gymnastics team will be led by Danell Leyva and John Orozco. Leyva is a world champ on the parallel bars, making him the favorite for that event. Orozco won gold in the All-Around at the US National Championships. The US team won the bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships, as they will try to improve on that in London. The 2011 World Champion on the All-Around portion was Japan's Kohei Uchimura, who is gold medal threat in that event and a few others. 

Water Polo

Water Polo for both men and women started at the beginning of a century. Men's water polo began in 1900 in Paris, women water polo was fist held at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The United States were the runner-up in both the men and the women's competition. The United States have never won a Gold Medal in Water Polo.

Hungary in 2008 Receiving Their Gold Medals
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The US men's team is looking to win it's 1st gold medal after coming so close in 2008. It was the 1st time they medaled since 1988. The men's team have to watch out for Hungary. Hungary is the returning Gold Medalist, having won the last 3 gold medals. Hungary has 9 Gold Medals in total and 15 medals overall. Since 2008, however, they haven't finished higher then 3rd in major tournaments. In the European Championships, they finished 4th in 2010 and 3rd in 2012. In the World Championships, they finished 5th in 2009 and 4th in 2011. Peter Biros, Zoltan Szecsi, Gergely Kiss, and Tamas Kasas are looking to win their 4th gold medal, which would make them have the most gold medals in water polo history. All 4 are going to have to be very good to win the 4th gold medal. 

The women are the favorites to win the women's tournament. They have medaled in every Olympics, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal. They came in 1st in 2009 and 6th in 2011 in the World Championships. They won the World Cup in 2010. At the 2011 Pan American Game, they came in 1st place. In the FINA World League, they came in 1st place in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. They are looking for the lead. Heather Petri and Brenda Villa are looking to win their 1st gold medal and 4th medal overall.

Badminton 

Badminton has 5 events, men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Badminton was 1st held in Barcelona at the 1992 Summer Olympics. All of the events, except for mixed doubles, were 1st played in 1992, mixed doubles were 1st held in 1996. This year looks to be a very good year for badminton. 

Wang Yihan
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The men's singles number 1 seed is Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The Beijing sliver medalist is trying to get his 1st gold medal and Malaysia's 1st gold medal in badminton. His silver medal in 2008 was Malaysia's 1st since medal 1996. Lin Dan is the 2 seed and reigning Gold Medalist. "Super Dan" has won 4 World Championships, including the most recent championship in 2011, won Gold at the Asian Championships in 2010, and won 2 Asian Championships. Lin Dan is married to 2008 Olympics Women's Singles Silver Medlaist Xie Xingfang. These 2 players are my picks to be in the final. 

For women singles, the top 3 seeds are from China. They are Wang Yihan, Wang Xin, and Li Xuerui. Wang Yihan won the 2011 World Championship in London. Wang Xin has won a silver and bronze medal at the World Championship. The 4th seed is India's Saina Nehwal, winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Games women's singles. She went to the Quarterfinals in the 2008 Summer Olympics and in the last 3 World Championships. She has a good chance of making a run to the finals. 

For men's doubles, China's Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng are the number 1 seed. They were the runner-up's in the 2008 Olympics. They have 4 Gold Medals from the World Championships for doubles. The women's doubles favorite are Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang from China. Yang won a Gold Medal in Beijing with Du Jing for doubles. The Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang won the 2011 World Championship. Mixed Doubles 1 seed and 2011 World Champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei are looking to win their 1st Gold Medal. 

Olympic Stadium
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Olympic Stadium 

The Olympic Stadium is a new stadium made for the Olympics. It is in Olympic Park in Stratford, London.  It has an 80,000 seat capacity, but only 25,000 of the capacity is permanent. A temporary upper tier hold 55,000 people. The permanent lower tier hold the other 25,000 spectators. The temporary and permanent mix of a stadium has never been attempted before for an Olympic Stadium. It is going to the host Athletics, the Opening Ceremony, and the Closing Ceremony. The Stadium is surrounded by water on 3 of it's side. 

Wenlock and Mandeville
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Mascot

The mascot for the 2012 Olympics is Wenlock. His partner and 2012 Paralympics mascot is Mandeville. Wenlock is named after the town of Much Wenlock which held and still holds the Wenlock Olympian Society, a forebear of the modern Olympics. Mandeville is named after the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which was where the Paralympics were created. The two are drops of steel from mills in Britain. To tribute London taxi's, each has a taxi light on their forehead and have their initial in it. The mascots also have their own Facebook and Twitter accounts.  

College Sports Never End, Not Even During Summer Break

The 2011 Summer Universiade Logo

The school year isn't the end for college sports. Every two years a international event is held by the FISU (International University Sports Federation). The event is called Universiade. There is a Winter and a Summer Universiade. The Winter Universiade was held earlier this year in Erzurum, Turkey from January 27-February 6. 


The Summer Universiade started Thursday the 11th in Shenzhen, China. It is ending later today with the Closing Ceremony. The 26th ever Universiade had 24 sports, including Athletics, Basketball, Football (Soccer), Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, and many more.




With only 5 medals left to be handed out later today in China, China not only has the most gold medals with 75, but also has the most medals overall with 145. Russia, who has 131 total medals, second most total medals. Russia also has the most silver medals with 44 and 45 bronze medals. 3rd overall with 87 total medals is Japan, Korea is in 4th with 77, and the in 5th with 49 medals is the US.

Going for the rebound, From left to right USA's Darius Miller
(#12),  Finland's Matti Nuutinen (#11), USA's Orlando Johnson
(#9), and USA's Trevor Mbakwe (#15)

Basketball for the US is usually a guarantee for a medal. The Men's Basketball team didn't deliver on the expected medal. The US team, featuring Scoop Jardine (Syracuse), Aston Gibbs (Pitt), and JaMychal Green (Alabama), didn't even compete in a medal game. They defeated Germany 86-83 to take 5th Place. The Women's team, however, showed what US basketball is all about. They won 112-53 vs Brazil, 114-68 vs Slovakia, 85-33 vs Great Britain, 96-30 vs Finland, 79-67 vs Australia, and 101-66 vs Chinese Taipei in the Gold Medal Game. The US team was led by the Ogwumike sisters, Nneka and Chiney (Both go to Stanford), and Sklar Diggins (Notre Dame).


The US earned 11 of their 15 medals in the pool. 8 of the 11 medals won in swimming events were individuals. The 8 events and winners are Jimmy Feigen (men's 100 meter freestyle), Matt McLean (men's 200 meter freestlye), Michael Klueh (men's 800 meter freestyle), Tim Phillps (men's 50 and 100 meter butterfly), Haley Anderson (women's 1500 meter freestyle), Jennifer Connolly (women's 50 meter backstroke), Annie Chandler (50 meter breaststroke), and Madeline Dirado (400 meter IM). The 3 other swimming gold medals came through relay victories. The Men won the 4x100 (4 swimmers each swim 100 meters) freestyle relay and the the 4x200 (4 swimmers each swim 200 meters) freestyle relay. The Women won the 4x200 freestyle relay.


Next week, the college football season begins. The end of one college sports season ends within two weeks of when the new season starts. That proves that the college sports season never really ends.