London Olympics Conclude, IOC Grateful
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August 12, 2012
LONDON — The London Olympics
have come to a close with the International Olympic Committee pleased
with nearly all aspects of the organization and the running of the 30th
Summer Games. And the United States finished first in the medals
standings.
At his closing news conference on Sunday, International Olympic
Committee President Jacques Rogge said he is “happy” with the way these
Olympics went, except for some of the ticketing distribution, and that
he is grateful to the London organizers. “A splendid village, state of
the art venues, 44 world records, 17 Olympic records and I would say
history is being written by many, many athletes," he said.
Among those Rogge pointed out were U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and British cyclist Chris Hoy.
Phelps won six medals in London, four gold and two silver, taking his
Olympic career total to 22, surpassing the record of 18 Olympic medals
held by former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. Eighteen of Phelps’
medals are gold, twice as many as any other Olympian.
As he did in Beijing, Bolt won the 100 and 200-meters and was on
Jamaica’s world record-setting 4 x 100-meter relay team to become the
first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting.
Hoy won two gold medals at the Olympic Park Velodrome to bring his
career total to six, making him the most successful British Olympian in
history.
The United States topped the medals table with 46 gold, 29 silver and
29 bronze for a total of 104. On Sunday’s final day of competition, the
Americans won golds in men’s basketball and freestyle wrestling.
Although the United States won the most medals four years ago at the
Beijing Games with 110 to China’s 100, China won the gold medal count
with 51 to the USA’s 36.
U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Officer Scott Blackmun said he
is pleased with the London results. “We had very, very high expectations
coming into the Games, and I think our expectations have been exceeded
both on the field of play and off. One of our primary objectives is
getting as many American athletes on the podium as we can," he said.
Blackmun said that when you include the team sports, the United States
had more than 200 athletes at these Olympics stand on the podium with
either a gold, silver or bronze medal.
He said the biggest disappointment for the U.S. team was in the boxing
ring. “We have a pretty strong and rich history in boxing. I think in
L.A. [i.e., the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics], we won gold in every weight
class except one. This is the first time, I think, in history that we
haven’t had any men on the podium. We have to fix that. We have to
change that. We’re going to sit down and take a hard look at why we are
where we are and make some changes," he said.
USOC Chairman Larry Probst said it was good to see the United States
top the London medal standings. “My opinion is the American public has
high expectations for our Olympic team and our Olympic athletes. There
was a lot of speculation about where we would finish as a team, and a
lot of people predicted that we would finish second, and some even
suggested third. So we are extremely proud of what our team has
accomplished and what our athletes have accomplished, and yeah, we love
to come in first," he said.
China was second in London with 38 gold in its total of 87 medals.
Host Britain was third with 29 gold and a total of 65 medals. In all,
85 countries won medals in London compared to 80 nations that won at
least one Olympic medal in Beijing.
During his final remarks at the Closing Ceremonies Sunday night, London
Olympics Committee organizing chairman Sebastian Coe repeated the theme
of these Summer Games, saying “the spirit of these Olympics will
inspire a generation.” And he added, “when our time came, Britain, we
did it right.”
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