Team USA turned in another stellar performance in Day 7 of the Olympics, picking up six more medals for a total of 23 as well as witnessing a certain swimmer make even more Olympic history. Here’s a rundown of the big stories for the United States, as well as the athletes representing USC.

Story of the Day: Michael Phelps Earns 19th Medal, Makes History

Michael Phelps has once again made Olympic history, as he became the most decorated Olympian of all time. He and Team USA dominated the men’s 4x200 meter relay and stood at the top spot on the winner’s podium, proudly displaying their gold medals. For Phelps, this particular gold makes him the winningest athlete to ever compete in the Olympics: he has won 15 gold, two silver and two bronze medals. 

Phelps said to NBC: "I thank those guys for helping me get to this moment ... I just wanted to hold on. I thank them for allowing me this moment."

Previously, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina held the record with 18 medals, earning her final one in the 1964 Tokyo games.

When Team USA won, Phelps’ teammates embraced him in excitement, and all in attendance gave a standing ovation to the new King of the Games.

The Games got off to a rocky start for Phelps, who did not even reach the medal stand in the 100m free, one of his best events. However, he has since turned it around, earning a silver medal for the 4x100m freestyle relay, a silver in the 200m butterfly (which was actually a “disappointment” as it is one of his best events) and now a gold for the 4x200.

He is poised to further extend his Olympic glory, as he still has a few events in which he will compete.

U.S. Women Win It All In Gymnastics

The “Fab Five”—the nickname given to this group of young gymnasts that have taken the world by storm—made their own Olympic history when they became only the second team in USA history to win the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition. Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney easily bested their competition, which was expected ever since they won the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. These girls got off to a strong start in London in the team finals, consecutively posting three of the best scores ever (in team history) in the vault competition. From there, they were on a roll.

The Russians, who won the silver medal, gave Team USA a run for their money briefly when they came within four-tenths of a point for their performances on the uneven bars. Ross, Douglas, and Raisman responded by giving the Americans a strong lead again for their unshakeable balance beam routines. In the end, the Americans, Russians and Romanians would grace the winners’ podium, none beaming nearly as much as the Fab Five.

It’s been 16 years since the “Magnificent Seven” showed us that Americans could hang with the best of them in gymnastics, and these girls undoubtedly have a lot more to show us before their careers are over.

USC Olympians Update:

Katinka Hosszu (Hungary): Hosszu swam in the semifinals of the 200m butterfly this morning and came in ninth, just missing a spot in the finals. She still has the 800m freestyle relay to try her hand at earning a medal.

Dimitri Colupaev (Germany): This Trojan swam as a member of the 800m freestyle relay, and he and his national team came in fourth place. Though he will not bring back any hardware to USC, he will return as yet another Olympian that the Trojans can claim in their ranks.

Clement Lefert (France): After narrowly beating Team USA for the gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay, Lefert earned himself his second Olympic medal in the 800m freestyle relay. He now owns a gold and a silver medal, with one more chance to medal in the 100m butterfly.

Donald Suxho (USA): Suxho and the men’s volleyball team, who are still competing in group play, have survived another round as they bested Germany 3-0. Next, they will face Brazil on Aug. 2.

Amy Rodriguez (USA): This soccer player and Trojan alum helped her team earn a 1-0 victory over North Korea en route to winning Group G and moving on to the quarterfinals, where the team will play New Zealand. This is Rodriguez’s second stint with Team USA in the Olympics and is looking to earn another medal.

Jennifer Kessy & April Ross (United States): On Kessy's 35th birthday, the beach volleyball duo defeated Sanne Keizer and Marleen van Iersel of the Netherlands in three sets. With the victory, the former Trojans improved to 2-0 in Pool D group play.   

Joel Dennerley & James Clark (Australia): Dennerley & Clark are playing water polo for their native Australia and contributed to their team, as Australia easily defeated Kazakhstan, 7-4. Their next group play game will be on Aug. 2, against the Spaniards.

Shea Buckner (USA): Another water polo player out of Troy, Bucker and Team USA won a very thrilling and tight match against Romania, 10-8. The U.S. won the gold in water polo in Beijing, and is looking to repeat that performance. The men’s water polo team will play again on Aug. 2, this time against the host nation of Great Britain. 

Medal Results from Day 7: 

Canoeing (Slalom)

Men's Whitewater C-1 | Gold: Tony Estanguet (France), Silver: Sideris Tasiadis (Germany), Bronze: Michal Martikan (Slovakia)

Diving

Women's 10-meter Platform Synchro | Gold: Wang Hao & Chen Ruolin (China), Silver: Alejandra Orozco & Paola Espinosa (Mexico), Roseline Filion & Meaghan Benfeito (Canada)

Equestrian

Individual Eventing | Gold: Michael Jung (Germany), Silver: Sara Algotsson Ostholt (Sweden), Bronze: Sandra Auffarth (Germany)

Team Eventing | Gold: Germany, Silver: Great Britain, Bronze: New Zealand

Fencing

Men's Foil | Gold: Lei Sheng (China), Silver: Alaaeldin Abouelkassem (Egypt), Bronze: Choi Byung-Chul (South Korea)

Gymnastics

Women's Artistic Team Final | Gold: United States, Silver: Russia, Bronze: Romania

Judo

Men's 81-kilogram (178 lbs) | Gold: Kim Jae-Bum (South Korea), Silver: Ole Bischof (Germany), Bronze: Ivan Nifontov (Russia) and Antoine Valois-Fortier (Canada)

Women's 63-kilogram (138.5 lbs) | Gold: Urska Zolnir (Slovenia), Silver: Xu Lili (China), Bronze: Gevrise Emane (France) and Yoshie Ueno (Japan)

Shooting

Men's Skeet | Gold: Vincent Hancock (United States), Anders Golding (Denmark), Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar)

Swimming

Men's 200-meter Butterfly | Gold: Chad Le Clos (South Africa), Silver: Michael Phelps (United States), Bronze: Takeshi Matsuda (Japan)

Men's 4x200-meter Freestyle | Gold: United States, Silver: France, Bronze: China

Women's 200-meter Freestyle | Gold: Allison Schmitt (United States), Silver: Camille Muffat (France), Bronze: Bronte Barratt (Australia)

Women's 200-meter Individual Medley | Gold: Ye Shiwen (China), Silver: Alicia Coutts (Australia), Bronze: Caitlin Leverenz (United States)

Weightlifting

Men's 69-kilogram (152 lbs) | Gold: Lin Qingfeng (China), Silver: Triyatno (Indonesia), Bronze: Razvan Martin (Romania)

Women's 63-kilogram (138.5 lbs) | Gold: Maya Maneza (Kazakhstan), Silver: Svetlana Tsarukaeva (Russia), Bronze: Christine Girard (Canada)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more of Neon Tommy's 2012 Olympic coverage here.

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