Olympic Update: Day 16 (The Olympic Wrap)

Posted by thesportsjunky on August 12, 2012 · Leave a Comment 

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The London 2012 Olympics are now officially finished as the flame has been extinguished and the athletes begin to head home. The greatest sporting event of the year wrapped up in two wild weeks that featured amazing achievements and crushing disappointments. There have been amazing stories featuring the best athletes in the world and their quest for gold. There have also been many stories of determination despite not winning gold. There were plenty of stories to look to during the Olympics as the world focused on one of the world’s oldest cities for two weeks. The biggest story as the world leaves London is what these games will eventually mean to London and to the world of sports. As the games finish the legacy becomes the most important part of life after the Olympics. The legacy of London 2012 is a tough thing to nail down as there are so many things that can be remembered. The legacy could centre around two of the greatest athletes to ever compete in the Olympics. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps stole the headlines in their respective weeks as Phelps earned his 22 medal making him the most decorated athlete to ever compete. Usain Bolt continued his winning streak as he remained undefeated at the Olympics and remained the fastest man in the world. The Games may also be about the great performance from the home team. Team GB had a great Olympics in as the host country saw their team climb up the medal table to earn more medals than ever including 29 Gold medals. There is also the multiple people who seemingly came out of nowhere to become Olympic champions. Athletes like Ruta Meilutyte who won a Gold medal in swimming when she was on almost nobody’s radar. These are all great stories and great legacies for the London 2012 Olympics but one thing stood out more than anything else at these games. This was the new sense of inclusion at the Olympic Games that had never been seen in previous games. As LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe stated in his opening address these Olympics were the games for everyone. More than ever the Olympic Games featured a more equal program and more equal inclusion policy. One of the glaring examples of this were athletes who never though they would be able to compete in the Olympics. Athletes like Natalia Partyka who played in the Olympic table tennis tournament with one arm. Another example is Oscar Pistorius who inspired everyone becoming the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics. These athletes were usually forced to compete in the Paralympics but new rules, and a long legal battle by Pistorius, these athletes were allowed to compete. The London Games also saw a step to the future in terms of gender equality. The London Games saw new sports and new events added to the games in order to create an equal program. The track cycling earned a brand new set of sports that made the program completely gender equal. Women’s Boxing also made its debut in the Olympics adding another side of the sport and making the entire Olympic program that much more equal. The London Games also saw countries breaking the barriers of gender equality. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Brunei became the last countries in the world to allow women to compete in the Olympics. It took them long enough to allow women to compete but after the IOC leaned on these countries to allow it all three including women in their Olympic teams.  This set a new standard in the Olympics as it made the Games more equal than ever. Of course it is not perfect as the Olympics still have ways to go to be completely equal in both sport availability and amount of women in the games. What London did though was take a massive step forward that they cannot go back from. With this step forward the Olympics are on the path to complete equality. It will not happen overnight but when it does happen sports fans can look towards London 2012 as the spark that started the movement. This is the legacy of the London games as they will be looked upon as the starting point to equality in the Olympic Games. At least this is what could be the legacy of the games as the Olympics will need to continue to progress and continue to grow. If that can happen London will be seen as the starting point and will be remembered forever for just that reason making the London legacy a great one coming from a great games.

 

The Canadian Story

Sinclair Carries the Flag

The Canadian Women’s Soccer Team captured the imagination of the country with their run towards the bronze medal and for that effort the team’s captain and the leading scorer in the Olympics, Christine Sinclair had the honour of carrying the flag in the Olympic Stadium.

 

Not 12^th but close

The COC had set out a specific goal before the Olympics as they hoped to earn enough medals to end the games in the top 12 on the medal table and after two weeks they came close finishing with 18 medals and in 13^th place as they came close to their goal

 

One Gold for Canada

Rosie MacLennan was one of the biggest heroes for Canada in the Olympics as she earned Canada’s one and only Gold medal in women’s trampoline having Canada’s only gold medal performance to stand out above the rest of the Canadian team

 

Some Improvements for Canadian Team

The Canadian team in 2008 saw a number of disappointments with 10 4^th place finishes as they just missed an extra 10 medals but in 2012 the Canadians team only saw 6 of these 4^th place finishes as they improved and look to continue improving for 2016

 

Promising Future for Canada

Canadians saw a number of young talent in 2012 as athletes like Damian Warner who finished 5^th in the decathlon as the Canadian team has seen glimpses of the future of the Olympic team and it looks good

 

The End of Legends

Along with the young talent Canadians also saw the end of some legendary careers like that of Clara Hughes and Tonya Verbeek who ended their Olympic Careers in London and will remain in the minds of Canadians forever

 

Day 16 Medal Results

 

Athletics:

Men’s Marathon

Gold- Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda)

Silver- Abel Kirui (Kenya)

Bronze- Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (Kenya)

 

Basketball:

Men’s Basketball

Gold- USA

Silver- Spain

Bronze- Russia

 

Boxing:

Men’s Flyweight (52kg)

Gold- Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana (Cuba)

Silver- Tugstsogt Nayambayar (Mongolia)

Bronze- Michael Conlin (Ireland)

Bronze- Misha Aloian (Russia)

 

Men’s Lightweight (60kg)

Gold- Vasyl Lomachenko (Ukraine)

Silver- Soonchul Han (South Korea)

Bronze- Yasniel Toledo Lopez (Cuba)

Bronze- Evaldas Petrauskas (Lithuania)

 

Men’s Welterweight (69kg)

Gold- Serik Sapiyev (Kazakhstan)

Silver- Freddie Evans (Great Britain)

Bronze- Andrey Zamkovoy (Russia)

Bronze- Taras Shelestyuk (Ukraine)

 

Men’s Light Heavyweight (81kg)

Gold- Egor Mekhontcev (Russia)

Silver- Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan)

Bronze- Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino (Brazil)

Bronze- Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine)

 

Men’s Super Heavyweight (+91kg)

Gold- Anthony Joshua (Great Britain)

Silver-Roberto Cammarelle (Italy)

Bronze- Magomedrasul Medzhidov (Azerbaijan)

Bronze- Ivan Dychko (Kazakhstan)

 

Cycling:

Men’s Mountain Bike

Gold- Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic)

Silver- Nino Schurter (Switzerland)

Bronze- Marco Aurelio Fontana (Italy)

 

Handball:

Men’s Handball

Gold- France

Silver- Sweden

Bronze- Croatia

 

Modern Pentathlon:

Women’s Modern Pentathlon

Gold- Laura Asadauskaite (Lithuania)

Silver- Samantha Murray (Great Britain)

Bronze- Yane Marques (Brazil)

 

Rhythmic Gymnastics:

Team All-Around

Gold- Russia

Silver- Belarus

Bronze- Italy

 

Volleyball:

Men’s Volleyball

Gold- Russia

Silver- Brazil

Bronze- Italy

 

Water Polo:

Men’s Water Polo

Gold- Croatia

Silver- Italy

Bronze- Serbia

 

Wrestling:

Men’s 96kg Freestyle

Gold- Jacob Stephen Varner (USA)

Silver- Valerii Andriitsev (Ukraine)

Bronze- George Gogshelidze (Georgia)

Bronze- Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)

 

Men’s 66kg Freestyle

Gold- Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (Japan)

Silver- Sushil Kumar (India)

Bronze- Akzhurek Tanatarov (Kazakhstan)

Bronze- Livan Lopez Azcuy (Cuba)

 

Medal Table
#	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	USA	46	29	29	104
2	China	38	27	22	87
3	Russia	24	25	33	82
4	Great Britain	29	17	19	65
5	Germany	11	19	14	44
6	Japan	7	14	17	38
7	Australia	7	16	12	35
8	France	11	11	12	34
9	South Korea	13	8	7	28
10	Italy	8	9	11	28
13	Canada	1	5	12	18

Filed under Olympics · Tagged with Canadian Gold Medal, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Women's Soccer Team, Christine Sinclair, Clara Hughes, Damian Warner, Day 16 Medal Results, Great Britain, London 2012, London 2012 Day 16, London 2012 Legacy, London 2012 Medal Table, London 2012 Olympics, Michael Phelps, Natalia Partyka, Olympic equality, Olympic legacy, Olympics, Olympics Day 16, Oscar Pistorius, Rosie MacLennan, Ruta Meilutyte, Team GB, Tonya Verbeek, Usain Bolt