The best and worst Olympic moments from the 2012 London Games
LONDON -- The best and the worst from the two weeks of the Games, as selected by writers Doug Lesmerises and Tim Warsinskey. The highs
1. Usain Bolt wins three golds, calls himself a living legend: USA swimmer Missy Franklin said the athletes in the dining hall started cheering when Bolt walked in one day, so what's the world supposed to do when he's actually running? In his three gold-medal finals -- the 100, the 200 and the 4x100 relay -- Bolt was in action for about 40 seconds. But they may have been the most electric 40 seconds of the Games.
He waved to the crowd like Queen Elizabeth before the 200, as concerned with his planned intro moves as with his race. He's track royalty. As he told spring teammate Yohan Blake in 2010, "You came around at the wrong time, because this is my time. These next two years are mine." These two weeks certainly were.
2. Team USA's women's 4x100 relay breaks a 27-year-old world record: Americans broke seven world records here -- five in swimming, one in shooting and one in track -- and all by women. None was more impressive than the 40.82 run by Elyria's Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix (who won two other golds as well), Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter.
"I looked over at the clock and I saw the time and it was 37, 38, 39, and in my head I said, 'We just did it,'" said Jeter, who ran the anchor leg. "I didn't know we went 40.82, but I knew we ran well. We just made history and I was so blessed to run with these women."
3. Jessica Ennis leads Great Britain's medal haul: The heptathlete dazzled her home crowd with an expected victory, one of 28 British golds so far, that elicited what may have been the largest roar of the Olympics.
"That was the loudest thing I've ever heard when Jessica Ennis won the gold medal," said her male counterpart, Team USA decathlon Olympic champ Ashton Eaton.
Kept out of the Beijing Olympics by injury, she served as the face of the Games coming in, lived up to the hype and won't be leaving Great Britain's consciousness any time soon.
"I've had great support, although I have been under a huge amount of pressure," Ennis said in victory. "The crowd helped me and I can't believe I've done it."
4. Gabby Douglas gives U.S. women's gymnasts a sweep of the team and all-around gold: The 16-year-old continued her country's gymnastics tradition and made history.
"Those are the two biggest medals and that's a first time in the history of USA gymnastics," team coach Marta Karolyi said. "We are happy for what we got."
Douglas also was happy with the title that often goes with gymnastics success, as America's Sweetheart. "It is definitely fitting because everyone says they love my smile, so why not use it on the floor?" Douglas said.
5. Michael Phelps says goodbye after a record 22 Olympic medals: Asked before the Games what keeps him motivated, Phelps said, "How many toppings do I want on my sundae?"
While adding six medals to his haul, four gold and two silver, London also made him human. His fourth-place finish to start the Games in the 400 IM and his silver in the 200 butterfly after gliding to the wall accentuated how amazing eight golds in eight races in Beijing really was.
After coming to London with 14 career golds and two bronze medals, at least the silvers completed his collection.
1. Worst men's boxing team in U.S. history: Red flags flew when the coaching staff was replaced weeks before the games. Alarms went off when Cincinnati's Rau'shee Warren failed to win a bout for the third straight Olympics, the last two of which he was predicted to win gold. The U.S. men did not win a medal for the first time.
It should be noted that Cleveland's Terrell Gausha should not be included in this condemnation because he won a fight and fought well in his loss. Also, the U.S. women won a gold and bronze in three weights.
"We are disappointed in boxing," USCO CEO Scott Blackmun said. "We want to do better. I don't mean in the people. But we are disappointed we didn't do better. We can do better and we have to focus on how. We have to fix that. We are going to sit down and look at where we are and make some changes."
2. Losing to win, the bad girls of badminton: Four women's teams were kicked out for intentionally tanking pool-play matches.
No. 1-seed China, South Korea and two Indonesian pairs got the boot for code of ethics violations that included "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport." The teams were trying to manipulate the quarterfinal bracket, and in the case of the Chinese pair, so they would not have to face another Chinese pair until the final. It became such a farce that the crowd booed the South Korean and Chinese teams in a match neither tried to win.
The fiasco highlighted a larger issue in pool-pool sports with predetermined bracket draws: Is it OK to lose to give yourself a better chance to win a medal? The answer is no. It's the Olympics. The core practice is that athletes should give their very best whenever possible.
3. U.S. wrestling lacks luster: With two weights yet to be wrestled Sunday, the U.S. has just one gold and two bronzes in Greco-Roman and men's and women's freestyle. The U.S. team continues to struggle with international style of defensive wresting and too often left outcomes in the hands of lazy, incompetent match officials.
The biggest disappointment on the team was Akron's Justin (Harry) Lester. It wasn't so much that he didn't win a medal. He lost to the eventual silver medalist in the quarterfinals. More shocking was the listless way he wrestled, especially in a repechages match he needed to win to have a shot at a bronze medal. He clearly gave up. It was an embarrassing performance.
4. The world view of Lolo Jones: She's a very pleasant person and a fine athlete and indeed suffered heartbreak when she hit a hurdle and didn't win a medal in 2008. But the overblown buildup Jones received this year had more to do with the notions that she is beautiful, she made a big deal about being a virgin and she posed partially nude.
The reality is she was not a strong medal contender this year and the public preoccupation with the latter three factors overshadowed a great race between gold medalist Sally Pearson of Australia, who broke the Olympic record, and U.S. champ Dawn Harper, who tied the old record and took silver while American Kellie Wells won bronze. Jones was a distant fourth.
5. U.S. men blown out of the gym: The U.S. men's gymnasts dominated qualifications, lending credence to its pre-Olympic hype. Then it fell apart.
The men placed fifth. The individual performances were just as bad. Danell Leyva won a bronze, but was the top qualifier and had to rally to get the medal. John Orozco qualified fourth and placed eighth. No one came close to a medal in the apparatus finals.
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Wet otters, peeing in the pool and a swimmer's sex life: The best funny quotes surrounding the Olympic Games
The Olympic games is officially at the end of its cycle, we've laughed, we've cried and we've celebrated and here at The Independent, we've decided to bring you the funniest quotes from the London 2012 Olympic Games. 1 - “I was quite surprised by that. It is not OK to pee in the pool.”
David Cameron on Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps’s revelation that they had peed in the Aquatic Centre pool.
2 - “I've been laying a patio.”
Beth Tweddle’s father Jerry, on being asked what he’d been going through this past week in the run-up to the gymnast’s last Olympics performance.
3 - “I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn't leave the country.”
Carl Lewis on Mitt Romney’s Olympics gaffes.
4 - “They are glistening like wet otters.”
Boris Johnson takes predictable pleasure in a rainy day at the beach volleyball.
5 - “I didn’t rescue the nation from the depths of Napoleon Bonaparte, but you do the best you can do in your style of racing.”
Ben Ainslie is customarily modest after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal
6 – “You've got to be among the chosen few to get in. It's a prawn sandwich fest.”
Bradley Wiggins slams the ticketing fiasco.
7 – “They hide their wheels a lot. The ones for the bikes they race on are put in wheel covers at the finish”
Isabelle Gautheron, head of the French cycling team, provokes derision after suggesting Team GB could have “magic” items to help their performance.
8 – “Any time someone has looked like superwoman in the history of our sport they have later been found guilty of doping.”
John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, on the “disturbing” world-record breaking performance by Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen.
9 - “I'm now a legend, I'm also the greatest athlete to live.”
Usain Bolt on doing the double-double winning the 100m and 200m twice in a row.
10 – “We’ve won the Olympics!”
Katherine Copeland , Britain’s youngest Olympic rower, after bagging gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls.
11 - "I am unable to watch the Olympics due to the blustering jingoism that drenches the event. Has England ever been quite so foul with patriotism?"
Morrissey not quite getting into the spirit of things.
12 – “I’ll be spending time with the family. I think we’ll probably go to Nandos – a chicken in pitta medium with chips and perinaise.”
Nicola Adams on how she celebrated becoming the first woman to win boxing gold.
13 – “Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud. I'm very proud.”
Mo Farah is angered by a journalist’s suggestion he would have preferred running under the Somali flag.
14 - "Can you have a word please Chris Hoy, I got done in an Olympic lane last night in my car.'"
I think you should speak to Sir Steve Redgrave, he's got more clout than me!'
Sir Chris Hoy can’t help Andrew Flintoff escape a Games Lane fine.
15 - "I'm pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg."
US runner Manteo Mitchell runs faster on a broken leg than any British 400m runner.
16 – “The support that we’ve had this week has been unbelievable and the crowd have been unbelievable and I’m just a bit disappointed that I haven’t been unbelievable”
Sprint freestyle swimmer Fran Halsall can’t hold back the tears after a disappointing week for Team GB in the Aquatic Centre.
17 – “You can never tell the difference between the original and the fake ones. All Nike products in the Egyptian Market are made in China. They all have the same logo. How can you know?"
EOC Chairman General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali passes the buck after Egyptian athletes are given counterfeit clothes.
18 – “I'm happy my parents didn't tell me off. They understand that I needed this."
Belgian cyclist Gijs Van Hoecke, the drunkest athlete at the Games, after being papped looking dreadful.
19 - "He goes out on one-night stands. He’s not able to give fully to a relationship because he’s always on the go.”
Ryan Lochte’s mother gives an insight into her son’s busy sex life.
20 - "It was the greatest day of sport I have ever witnessed. I dreamt that we would have a night like that but not in my wildest dreams did I think that it would actually unfold in the way that it did.”
Seb Coe on Super Saturday.
21 - "A drunken guest threw a bottle … on the track! I HAVE BEATEN HIM … Unbelievable!"
Bottle-throwing thug has the misfortune of sitting next to Dutch judoka Edith Bosch.
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McKayla Maroney isn’t a “mean girl”
The gymnast's been targeted online and called names for her chilly persona. But that doesn't make her a sore loser 
McKayla Maroney is not going to win any medals for congeniality. As a member of the U.S. gymnastics team’s “Fab Five,” she’s the one Least Likely to Crack a Smile. But if you think that automatically makes her a sore loser, or worse, that it justifies calling a 16-year-old girl a brat or a bitch, please report to the nearest rock and crawl under it.
Maroney, who came into the games as the reigning queen of the vault, has, in the short space of Olympic competition, become something else – a full-blown meme. And not a very flattering one. Her frequently stern face has already been captured in a million little unhappy ways. There’s Maroney rolling her eyes. There she is throwing down the kind of look that would normally transport one directly into the corn. And never has that expressiveness been more on display than it was on Sunday, when she landed flat on her butt on her second vault during the women’s finals. After Maroney blew her all-but-in-the-bag shot at the gold, she did not even try to look happy about her silver. Instead, she stiffly accepted a hug from the victor, Sandra Izbasa of Romania, and appeared to flat-out rebuff the affections of the bronze medalist, Maria Paseka of Russia. Later, at the medal ceremony, she looked like she was winning the prize for Person Whose Dog Just Died, twitching her lips grimly and shifting her gaze.
That face, that tough, steely look, has been a wide-open opportunity for would-be comics to poke fun at Maroney’s “Oh, hell no” countenance, and to riff on her “mean girl” persona. She’s had entire galleries devoted to her “bitch face,” which also serves as her unofficial nickname. She’s been a “fool” and a “brat” and a “baby,” a “snobby,” “pissy” “diva.” Well, what do you expect from the same civilization that also brought you the endless ragging on Gabby Douglas’ hair?
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Maroney, who came into the games as the reigning queen of the vault, has, in the short space of Olympic competition, become something else – a full-blown meme. And not a very flattering one. Her frequently stern face has already been captured in a million little unhappy ways. There’s Maroney rolling her eyes. There she is throwing down the kind of look that would normally transport one directly into the corn. And never has that expressiveness been more on display than it was on Sunday, when she landed flat on her butt on her second vault during the women’s finals. After Maroney blew her all-but-in-the-bag shot at the gold, she did not even try to look happy about her silver. Instead, she stiffly accepted a hug from the victor, Sandra Izbasa of Romania, and appeared to flat-out rebuff the affections of the bronze medalist, Maria Paseka of Russia. Later, at the medal ceremony, she looked like she was winning the prize for Person Whose Dog Just Died, twitching her lips grimly and shifting her gaze.
That face, that tough, steely look, has been a wide-open opportunity for would-be comics to poke fun at Maroney’s “Oh, hell no” countenance, and to riff on her “mean girl” persona. She’s had entire galleries devoted to her “bitch face,” which also serves as her unofficial nickname. She’s been a “fool” and a “brat” and a “baby,” a “snobby,” “pissy” “diva.” Well, what do you expect from the same civilization that also brought you the endless ragging on Gabby Douglas’ hair?
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