Team USA should be proud of the way they prepared for, competed in, and spread good will and inspiration at the 2012 London Olympics. Here’s a cut and paste from USATF’s official press release:
Team USA Superlatives
- Allyson Felix is the first woman since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games
- 1st time U.S. women won 2 medals in the long jump
- The .55 improvement in the women’s 4x100m relay world record (41.37 to 40.82) was the largest drop in that event in the modern era.
- Will Claye’s bronze in the LJ and silver in the TJ marks the first time since 1936 that any man has medaled in both jumps at the Games and the first time an American has done it since Meyer Prinstein in 1904
- 2012 marks the fifth time the U.S. has gone 1-2 in the decathlon; the last time was 1956
- Ashton Eaton’s 10.35 in the 100m is an Olympic decathlon record
- Galen Rupp’s silver medal in the men’s 10,000m is the first medal by an American since Billy Mills’ gold in 1964
- Leo Manzano’s silver medal in the men’s 1,500m is the first medal by an American since Jim Ryun’s silver in 1968
- Sanya Richards-Ross is only the second U.S. woman to win the 400 at the Games
- The two-medal effort by Richards-Ross and DeeDee Trotter in the 400 is the second for the U.S. in that event in Olympic history.
- The two-medal effort by Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter in the 200 is the second for the U.S. in that event in Olympic history.
- The U.S. won multiple mens’ medals in distances 1,500m and above for the first time since 1968
- Best U.S. team finish in the men’s 1,500 since 1936 (2nd, 4th)
- Brigetta Barrett’s silver in the women’s high jump is the first U.S. medal since Louise Ritter won gold in 1988.
U.S.-best performances at Olympic Games (18)
- Galen Rupp, men’s 10,000m – 27:30.90
- Trevor Barron, men’s 20km race walk – 1:22:46
- Dawn Harper, women’s 100m hurdles (tie) – 12.37
- Matt Centrowitz, men’s 1,500m (run in the semifinals), 3:34.90
- Leo Manzano, men’s 1,500m – 3:34.79 (surpassing Centrowitz’s semifinal time)
- Maria Michta, women’s 20K walk – 1:32:27
- Justin Gatlin, men’s 100m – 9.79
- Duane Solomon, men’s 800m – 1:42.82
- Aries Merritt, men’s 110m hurdles – 12.92
- Men’s 4x100m relay – 37.38 in prelims
- Women’s 4x100m relay – 41.64 in prelims
- Women’s 4x100m relay – 40.82
- Men’s 4x100m relay – 37.04
- Brigetta Barrett, women’s HJ – 2.03m/6-8
- Ashton Eaton, men’s decathlon – 8,869 pts.
- Lashinda Demus, women’s 400m hurdles – 52.77
- Amber Campbell, women’s hammer – 69.93m/229-5
- Brittany Borman, women’s javelin – 59.27m/194-5
Records set at Olympic Games by Team USA
World Record – Women’s 4x100m relay (40.82)
American records – Men’s 4x100m relay (37.38), Men’s 4x100m relay (37.04), Women’s 4x100m relay (40.82)
