Bolt burns down the track, Murray breaks the British curse, Feck flops his way pop culture history, and none of us are impressed by the Maroney face. Here are the memorable moments No. 10 to No. 1. Watch all 50 here.

Al Bello/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesDonald Miralle/Getty ImagesStuart Hannagan/Getty ImagesDaniel Berehulak/Getty ImagesAl Bello/Getty ImagesSean Garnsworthy/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesJonathan Ferrey/Getty ImagesShaun Botterill/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesGetty ImagesMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersReutersDAVID GRAY/ReutersMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersGetty ImagesNBCOlympics.com

10. #notimpressed
McKayla Maroney<!––> was a virtual lock to win the individual vault competition, and after her first attempt – her signature high-flying Amanar vault – she was on pace for gold. But the second attempt didn’t go quite as well; she landed on her rear end. She still took silver, but her twisted grimace on the podium said it all: McKayla Maroney is not impressed. Her look of seething dissatisfaction became an instant internet meme.

9. Felix refuses to settle for silver
After taking silver in the women’s 200m sprint in Athens and Beijing, anything less than gold would have been a huge disappointment for Allyson Felix<!––>. In the first 100 meters of this year’s race she was neck-and-neck with teammate Carmelita Jeter<!––> and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce<!––>, but she pulled away on the home stretch, winning gold at 21.88 seconds. She added gold in the 4x100m and 4x400m to make her the most decorated American track athlete of these Games.

8. Andy Murray pulls through
Andy Murray<!––> couldn’t have picked a better time or place to break through. The proverbial tennis bridesmaid, Murray – who has lost all four of his Grand Slam finals – is the guy who can’t win the big ones. Scratch that: was. A month after he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer<!––> at the All England Club, Murray again faced off with Federer on Centre Court. This time Olympic gold was on the line, and this time Murray, who hails from Scotland, wasn’t going down. He blew past Federer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, then celebrated by climbing into the stands to hug his family and one particularly awe struck random boy who just happened to be standing there at the right time.

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7. Stephan Feck’s brutal back flop
Sometimes there are big consequences to small actions. Never was that more true than for Stephan Feck<!––>. The German diver’s right foot slipped as he launched during his second attempt in the 3m springboard preliminary round and it was all down hill from there. His form was destroyed by the bad jump and Feck’s plans for a highly technical dive with negligible splash ended up a lot closer to what happens when kids dare each other at summer camp.

6. Misty and Kerri sign off in style
Misty May-Treanor<!––> and Kerri Walsh Jennings<!––> both took time off after winning their second straight beach volleyball gold in Beijing; Misty ruptured her Achilles tendon practicing for “Dancing With The Stars” while Kerri gave birth to two children. But they decided to make one last run at Olympic glory – and what a run it was. They overcame a tough Chinese team in the semifinals (22-20, 22-20), then knocked off fellow Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross in the final to become the first women to win three straight beach volleyball gold medals. It was their last match together: Kerri plans to keep playing but Misty is retiring from the game. Their tearful medal ceremony won’t soon be forgotten.

5. Gabby becomes America’s princess
Early in 2012 no one outside of the gymnastics world knew who Gabby Douglas<!––> was, but all 4-foot-11-inches of her was ready for the big stage. She finished second to Jordyn Wieber<!––> at nationals by a mere two-tenths of a point, and then won Trials over the world champ by the same margin. They were supposed to square off a third and final time for Olympic gold, but Wieber failed to qualify, leaving the door open for Gabby to grab the title. She didn’t hesitate as she became the third straight American and first African-American woman to win the Olympic gymnastics all-around.

4. Pistorius runs for those who can’t
Oscar Pistorius<!––> won a battle for Paralympians in 2008 when his appeal fighting for the right to compete in the Olympics was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport – they decided his “blades” didn’t offer him an advantage over able-bodied athletes. Four years later Pistorius walked into the Olympic Stadium as a member of the South African team and on August 4 he ran his first race, the 400m, finishing second to qualify for the semis. He didn’t make the finals, but that wasn’t his goal: “The whole experience is mind-blowing,” Pistorius said after his race. “It’s a dream come true. It’s really a humbling experience to be here.”

3. Morgan’s Miracle
The U.S. women’s soccer team was expected by some (read: us) to waltz over the Canadians and into the gold medal final with ease, but our friendly neighbors to the north did not go quietly into the night. Instead star Christine Sinclair<!––> scored three goals, each one answered by the Americans. Abby Wambach<!––> put the U.S. into extra time with an 80th-minute penalty kick score. Then, in the 123rd minute, Alex Morgan<!––> headed in a miracle on a cross by Heather O’Reilly<!––> to secure the victory with 30 seconds left. The women went on to win gold against Japan three days later.

2. Bolt becomes a legend
Usain Bolt<!––> said his performance in London would make him a legend, but after his times began to slip and his young countryman Yohan Blake<!––> beat him twice at Jamaican Trials, many questioned whether Bolt had enough to repeat at the Games. He proved us wrong, becoming the first man to win the 100m/200m double, then running a record shattering anchor leg in the 4x100m final as the Jamaicans became the first team in history to dip below the 37-second mark. Some still aren’t believers, but we believe Bolt has cemented himself as one of the greatest runners in history, and nothing short of a legend.

1. Phelps is history’s greatest Olympian
London was supposed to be the swan song  for Michael Phelps<!––> as he passed the torch to the next generation. It didn’t start that way when he failed to medal in his first race. But he won silver in his second race and from there it was on; he took home more medals than any other athlete for a third straight Games. But it was No. 19 that mattered most: swimming the anchor leg of the 4x200m free, he touched the wall to become the most decorated Olympian ever, passing Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina. Phelps’ eyes welled as he heard the national anthem play once again. He finished his career with 22 medals including 18 golds, and we hope his iPod has been playing “You’re the Best” from ‘The Karate Kid’ ever since he retired.

Follow Kitchen and Stern on Twitter, and let us know what happened in America the last three weeks.

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• PHOTOS: Team GB’s Super Saturday
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Three weeks before the Games began BBC Radio predicted that Team GB would take home 95 medals at this year’s Olympics. While that figure seemed absurdly high to many observers, Team GB has still exceeded the expectations of many.

Through 15 days, British athletes have tallied 62 medals – 28 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze (the BBC projection estimated a total of 27 golds and 25 silvers but jumped overboard on bronze, forecasting 43 third-place finishes for the home country athletes). That’s the fourth highest haul at this point, firmly behind Russia (78), China (87) and the U.S. (102). Team GB is third in the number of gold medals with 28. The 62 total medals at this point is the most the country has taken home in 104 years. At the 1908 Games, also held in London, British athletes won 146 medals (56 gold, 51 silver and 39 bronze), though far fewer nations competed in Olympics back then.

This year’s success was driven by traditional GB powerhouse sports like cycling, rowing and track field. In his last Olympics Sir Chris Hoy<!––> led a track cycling team to seven gold medals in 10 possible events at the beautiful new Velodrome (nicknamed ‘The Pringle’ for its chip-like shape). GB cyclists took 12 total medals in the four cycling disciplines (track, road, mountain and BMX).

Led by rising superstar Jessica Ennis<!––>, who took gold in the heptathlon, Team GB collected four gold medals in track field, and six medals total. In addition to Ennis, distance runner Mo Farah<!––> thrilled the home country – who love their distance runners – by winning gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m, and to top it off Greg Rutherford<!––> won a surprise gold in the long jump.

The traditionally strong British rowers maintained their reputation here, taking home nine medals, and the equestrians and sailors held up their ends bringing home five total medals each.

Even fan favorites like teen heartthrob Tom Daley<!––> came through — he took home his first Olympic medal with a bronze in the 10m platform diving competition Saturday night.

Britons have been tremendously excited by all the gold medals won by their athletes. The BBC shows a running medal count on the news each night, London mayor Boris Johnson praised “Team GB’s glutinous desire for gold,” and Prime Minister David Cameron has seized the moment to try to make his country more competitive from the ground up – starting with the nations youth.

“I want to use the example of competitive sport at the Olympics to lead a revival of competitive sport in primary schools,” he said in a statement this week. “We need to end the ‘all must have prizes’ culture and get children playing and enjoying competitive sports from a young age, linking them up with sports clubs so they can pursue their dreams.”

© 2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use, reproduction, modification, distribution, display or performance of this material without NBCUniversal’s prior written consent is prohibited.

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For as much as 2012 was a year to celebrate London and English culture, it was just as much a year to celebrate women at the Games.

For the first time in history the U.S. women outnumbered the men. Women also out-medaled men and provided some of the greatest moments of the Games, but to leave it at simple statistics and trivia would be hollow. Women dominated in ways you can’t place on a pie chart.

This was the first time we were able to see women box in competition after years of resistance. Claressa Shields<!––>, a 17-year-old from Flint, Mich. became our first gold medalist of the event. Queen Underwood<!––> and Marlen Esparza<!––>, who won bronze, boxed their way into history as well.

While the U.S. men faltered in water polo, volleyball, on the track, and on their bikes, the women succeeded almost universally, winning 59 medals, including 29 golds.

This was also a Games for Allyson Felix<!––>, who finally earned her coveted gold in the 200 meters. This one was for Misty May-Treanor<!––> and Kerri Walsh Jennings<!––>, who finished their historic three-peat, and for the women’s basketball and soccer teams who continue to dominate and provide incredible role models for coming Olympians.

And these Games were for 17-year-old swimmer Missy Franklin<!––>, who won five medals and who we expect to be the face of the Rio Games four years from now.

This one was also for those outside the States as well. Women from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei, six total, became the first to compete at the Olympics under their nation’s flag, taking part in track, judo, table tennis, and swimming. None will go home with medals, but the Olympic Creed reads that, “the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle,” and it’s rarely been more true.

It’s been forty years since Title IX began the journey toward ending discrimination in sports for women. We’re definitely not there yet, but the Olympics is an event that celebrates equality in athletics and culture. This was the Games that moved that needle forward in a dramatic way for women. And this Games was just the start.

Follow Olympic Talk for all the latest from the London Games.

Women stepped to into the limelight at these Games: For the first time, every competing nation sent female participants, and Team USA not only sent more women than men to London, but American women won more golds than the men — also a first.

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Bob Costas speaks with Michael Phelps about his historic London Olympics and legendary career, with Phelps breaking down his performances in London.

We first saw Michael Phelps<!––> as a 15-year-old swimming the 200m butterfly to a fifth place finish in Sydney, and even if we knew he was special then, we’re not sure anyone could have predicted what we’ve seen the last twelve years. On Tuesday Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history when he swam his team to gold as anchor of the 4x200m free for his record 19th career medal. He’s since added three, upping his total to 22. Here’s a few numbers that break down his incredible career:

Al Bello/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesDonald Miralle/Getty ImagesStuart Hannagan/Getty ImagesDaniel Berehulak/Getty ImagesAl Bello/Getty ImagesSean Garnsworthy/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesJonathan Ferrey/Getty ImagesShaun Botterill/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesGetty ImagesMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersReutersDAVID GRAY/ReutersMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersGetty ImagesNBCOlympics.com

18 – Career golds won by Phelps. Twice as many as Larissa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, Mark Spitz, and Carl Lewis, who each won nine.

48 – Years Latynina held the record after winning No. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

8 – Gold medals Phelps won at the 2008 Beijing Games, breaking Mark Spitz’s 40 year record of seven from the Munich Games.

29 – Times Phelps has broken a world record in an individual event.

37 – Times Phelps has broken a world record if you include relays.

2 – Career individual three-peats. Phelps won the 200m IM and 100m butterly in Athens, Beijing, and London. No other male swimmer has a single three-peat in an Olympic event.

22 – Medals Phelps officially ends his extraordinary career with.

0.05 – Combined time in which Phelps won his first two 100m butterfly golds. He beat Milorad Cavic<!––> by 0.01 in Beijing and beat teammate Ian Crocker by 0.04 in Athens.

0.23 – Time in which Phelps won the 100m butterfly Friday night after coming off the turn in seventh.

2 – Silver medals Phelps has won to go along with 15 gold and two bronze. Phelps didn’t finish second in any Olympics until Sunday’s 4x100m free relay and won another silver Tuesday night in the 200m fly.

6 – World Records Phelps currently holds in Olympic events, including the 100m fly, 200m fly, 400m IM, 4x100m free, 4x200m free, and 4x100m medley relay.

1 – Athlete who’s received a personal tweet of congratulations from President Obama during these Olympics: Michael Phelps.

0 – Equals.

Thanks to swimming producer Ryan Hurley for the research assist.

Follow Olympic Talk for all the latest on the London Games.

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Bolt burns down the track, Murray breaks the English curse, Feck flops his way pop culture history, and none of us are impressed by the Maroney face. Here are the memorable moments No. 10 to No. 1. Watch all 50 here.

Al Bello/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesDonald Miralle/Getty ImagesStuart Hannagan/Getty ImagesDaniel Berehulak/Getty ImagesAl Bello/Getty ImagesSean Garnsworthy/Getty ImagesGERARD JULIEN/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesMARTIN BUREAU/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesNick Laham/Getty ImagesJonathan Ferrey/Getty ImagesShaun Botterill/Getty ImagesTIMOTHY CLARY/Getty ImagesGetty ImagesMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersReutersDAVID GRAY/ReutersMICHAEL DALDER/ReutersGetty ImagesNBCOlympics.com

10. #notimpressed
McKayla Maroney<!––> was a virtual lock to win the individual vault competition, and after her first attempt – her signature high-flying Amanar vault – she was on pace for gold. But the second attempt didn’t go quite as well; she landed on her rear end. She still took silver, but her twisted grimace on the podium said it all: McKayla Maroney is not impressed. Her look of seething dissatisfaction became an instant internet meme.

9. Felix refuses to settle for silver
After taking silver in the women’s 200m sprint in Athens and Beijing, anything less than gold would have been a huge disappointment for Allyson Felix<!––>. In the first 100 meters of this year’s race she was neck-and-neck with teammate Carmelita Jeter<!––> and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce<!––>, but she pulled away on the home stretch, winning gold at 21.88 seconds. She added gold in the 4x100m and 4x400m to make her the most decorated American track athlete of these Games.

8. Andy Murray pulls through
Andy Murray<!––> couldn’t have picked a better time or place to break through. The proverbial tennis bridesmaid, Murray – who has lost all four of his Grand Slam finals – is the guy who can’t win the big ones. Scratch that: was. A month after he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer<!––> at the All England Club, Murray again faced off with Federer on Centre Court. This time Olympic gold was on the line, and this time Murray, who hails from Scotland, wasn’t going down. He blew past Federer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, then celebrated by climbing into the stands to hug his family and one particularly awe struck random boy who just happened to be standing there at the right time.

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7. Stephan Feck’s brutal back flop
Sometimes there are big consequences to small actions. Never was that more true than for Stephan Feck<!––>. The German diver’s right foot slipped as he launched during his second attempt in the 3m springboard preliminary round and it was all down hill from there. His form was destroyed by the bad jump and Feck’s plans for a highly technical dive with negligible splash ended up a lot closer to what happens when kids dare each other at summer camp.

6. Misty and Kerri sign off in style
Misty May-Treanor<!––> and Kerri Walsh Jennings<!––> both took time off after winning their second straight beach volleyball gold in Beijing; Misty ruptured her Achilles tendon practicing for “Dancing With The Stars” while Kerri gave birth to two children. But they decided to make one last run at Olympic glory – and what a run it was. They overcame a tough Chinese team in the semifinals (22-20, 22-20), then knocked off fellow Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross in the final to become the first women to win three straight beach volleyball gold medals. It was their last match together: Kerri plans to keep playing but Misty is retiring from the game. Their tearful medal ceremony won’t soon be forgotten.

5. Gabby becomes America’s princess
Early in 2012 no one outside of the gymnastics world knew who Gabby Douglas<!––> was, but all 4-foot-11-inches of her was ready for the big stage. She finished second to Jordyn Wieber<!––> at nationals by a mere two-tenths of a point, and then won Trials over the world champ by the same margin. They were supposed to square off a third and final time for Olympic gold, but Wieber failed to qualify, leaving the door open for Gabby to grab the title. She didn’t hesitate as she became the third straight American and first African-American woman to win the Olympic gymnastics all-around.

4. Pistorius runs for those who can’t
Oscar Pistorius<!––> won a battle for Paralympians in 2008 when his appeal fighting for the right to compete in the Olympics was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport – they decided his “blades” didn’t offer him an advantage over able-bodied athletes. Four years later Pistorius walked into the Olympic Stadium as a member of the South African team and on August 4 he ran his first race, the 400m, finishing second to qualify for the semis. He didn’t make the finals, but that wasn’t his goal: “The whole experience is mind-blowing,” Pistorius said after his race. “It’s a dream come true. It’s really a humbling experience to be here.”

3. Morgan’s Miracle
The U.S. women’s soccer team was expected by some (read: us) to waltz over the Canadians and into the gold medal final with ease, but our friendly neighbors to the north did not go quietly into the night. Instead star Christine Sinclair<!––> scored three goals, each one answered by the Americans. Abby Wambach<!––> put the U.S. into extra time with an 80th-minute penalty kick score. Then, in the 123rd minute, Alex Morgan<!––> headed in a miracle on a cross by Heather O’Reilly<!––> to secure the victory with 30 seconds left. The women went on to win gold against Japan three days later.

2. Bolt becomes a legend
Usain Bolt<!––> said his performance in London would make him a legend, but after his times began to slip and his young countryman Yohan Blake<!––> beat him twice at Jamaican Trials, many questioned whether Bolt had enough to repeat at the Games. He proved us wrong, becoming the first man to win the 100m/200m double, then running a record shattering anchor leg in the 4x100m final as the Jamaicans became the first team in history to dip below the 37-second mark. Some still aren’t believers, but we believe Bolt has cemented himself as one of the greatest runners in history, and nothing short of a legend.

1. Phelps is history’s greatest Olympian
London was supposed to be the swan song  for Michael Phelps<!––> as he passed the torch to the next generation. It didn’t start that way when he failed to medal in his first race. But he won silver in his second race and from there it was on; he took home more medals than any other athlete for a third straight Games. But it was No. 19 that mattered most: swimming the anchor leg of the 4x200m free, he touched the wall to become the most decorated Olympian ever, passing Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina. Phelps’ eyes welled as he heard the national anthem play once again. He finished his career with 22 medals including 18 golds, and we hope his iPod has been playing “You’re the Best” from ‘The Karate Kid’ ever since he retired.

Follow Kitchen and Stern on Twitter, and let us know what happened in America the last three weeks.

© 2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use, reproduction, modification, distribution, display or performance of this material without NBCUniversal’s prior written consent is prohibited.

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LONDON — The 2012 Summer Games, arguably the best-ever, came to a close Sunday night amid a big party at Olympic Stadium, a rock ‘n roll show that reminded everyone everywhere that for all the solemnity and the gravitas, the Olympics are Games and games are fun.

Such a simple concept. Such a remarkable premise. This, among so many extraordinary notions, is likely to be one of London’s far-reaching legacies.

They promised a party.

They delivered.

“These were happy and glorious Games,” International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said in his remarks Sunday night to the thousands who jammed Olympic Stadium.

Added London 2012 organizing committee chair Seb Coe, “We lit the flame and we lit up the world.” Moments afterward, the cauldron was extinguished.

Seven years ago, at an IOC assembly in Singapore, London won the Games. The XXX Olympiad itself ran for 17 days. Plainly put, London 2012 organizers set new standards for what a Games should be in real time and what’s next. Just one example as everyone starts going home Monday: left behind is the largest urban park in Europe created in 150 years, and no white elephants.

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• Closing Ceremonies Through The Years

Reviews of these games will be especially good in the United States. The American team won the medals count, overall and gold, with 104 and 46; at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, the U.S. team won the overall count, with 37.

The British team, relentlessly and fervently cheered on by the home crowd, won 65 medals, 29 gold, its best performance in more than a century. A particular highlight: three gold medals in 45 minutes on the first Saturday at the track, highlighted by Jessica Ennis’ gold in the heptathlon, the noise seeming to shake the stadium. Queen Elizabeth said Sunday of the British team, “Their outstanding performance will, I am sure, have inspired a new generation.”

Michael Phelps won six more medals, four gold, lifting his career total to 22, 18 gold, both the most-ever.

Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win both sprints at consecutive Games and then anchored the Jamaican 4×100 relay team to a world-record; persnickety track officials even let him keep the baton.

David Rudisha not only broke the world record on the track in the 800 meters — he lifted the other seven guys in the race to new heights. It was the singular performance of the Games, according to London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe.

South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius ran on carbon-fiber blades. He didn’t win. The important thing was that he ran in the first instance.

These were Games at which women athletes starred, over and again.

Women’s boxing made its debut; Katie Taylor of Ireland may well have been the best boxer, male or female, in London.

Kerri Walsh and Misty May of the United States won their third straight gold in beach volleyball, and at what was probably the coolest venue at London, Horse Guards, near the British prime minister’s residence.

The U.S. women’s soccer team survived a semifinal overtime thriller against Canada, and then defeated Japan — before more than 80,000 people — for gold. At Wimbledon, American Serena Williams won gold in women’s singles and then teamed with sister Venus for gold in doubles.

Back at the pool, 17-year-old Missy Franklin of the United States won four golds; another American, 15-year-old Katie Ledecky won the 800-meters.

For the first time, all 204 nations sent female competitors. Saudi Arabia’s Sarah Attar, competing in a white headscarf, long-sleeved green jacket and black leggings, ran in the heats of the 800 meters, finishing last, 43 seconds behind the winner of the heat. Again, it didn’t matter. She ran.

The crowd at Olympic Stadium cheered for her — just as they cheered everyone. Attendance at the stadium in particular proved amazing, with 80,000 on hand for even the morning heats.

London — like Los Angeles in 1984 — seemed to have been transformed by the Olympics.

Linda Grant, writing a few days ago in one of the British newspapers, the Independent, put it this way, observing the scene in the upscale St. Johns Wood neighborhood where a South Korean Olympian had come in for take-away coffee and a Mongolian and a Belarussian archer were enjoying a couple beers together outside:

“What has happened to London is that, in the space of a few days, it has become filled with hordes of individuals and families who are happy. Who are delighted to be in London, delighted to watch their sport played the very best it can be played, delighted to wave a national flag with the enthusiasm that comes of knowing that, unlike our English football squad, we’re actually going to win something. The last time so many people were enjoying themselves as much in London must have been VE Day.”

This was what British organizers had said all along was the goal. After the weight of history that was Beijing in 2008, they sensed that the Olympic movement needed a refresher in great sport and big fun.

Or, as American track stars DeeDee Trotter and Francena McCorory put it Saturday at a late-night news conference after winning the 4×400 relay, Trotter saying first, “London is off the chains! And that’s putting it mildly.” She added, “Was it chaos? Yes. Was it good chaos? Absolutely?”

McCorory then said, “We just wish we could pay for everything in U.S. dollars instead of pounds!”

All that was left Sunday night — beyond the hand-over to Rio 2016, which kicks off in 1,452 days — was the three-hour dance party. The Spice Girls did their thing. What else to say?

Just this, from U.S. judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison: “This has been the highlight of my life.”

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LONDON (AP) — With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolor pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun.

The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock ‘n’ roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats.

The Spice Girls staged a show-stopping reunion, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle sauntered through “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” — accompanied by Roman centurions, Scottish bagpipers and a human cannonball.

It all made for a psychedelic mashup that had 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more were watching around the world.

What a way to end a games far more successful than many Londoners expected. Security woes were overcome, and traffic nightmares never materialized. The weather held up, more or less, and British athletes overachieved.

It all came with a price tag of $14 billion — three times the original estimate. But nobody wanted to spoil the fun with such mundane concerns, at least not on this night.

“We lit the flame, and we lit up the world,” said London organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe. “When our time came, Britain, we did it right.”

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International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge declared the Olympics over with praise for the athletes.

“Through your commitment to fair play, your respect for opponents, and your grace in defeat as well as in victory, you have earned the right to be called Olympians,” he said, adding: “These were happy and glorious games.”

But the night was about splash more than speeches.

Festive and fast-moving, the ceremony opened with pop bands Madness, Pet Shop Boys and One Direction, a shout-out to Winston Churchill and a tribute to the Union Jack — the floor of Olympic Stadium floor arranged to resemble the British flag.

Monochrome recreations of London landmarks were covered in newsprint, from Big Ben’s clock tower and Tower Bridge to the London Eye ferris wheel and the chubby highrise known as the Gherkin.

Street percussion group Stomp built the noise into a frenzy, and dancers brandished brooms, in a nod to the spontaneous popular movement to clean up London after riots shook neighborhoods not far from Olympic Stadium just a year ago.

Liam Gallagher performed “Wonderwall,” a 1990s hit by his former band, Oasis, Muse rocked the house with the hard-edged Olympic anthem “Survival,” and Queen guitarist Brian May was joined by singer Jessie J for a crowd-pleasing “We Will Rock You.”

The headline performers were each paid a pound, a little more than $1.50.

The night ended with the extinguishing of the multi-petaled Olympic cauldron and a supercharged rendition of “My Generation” and other classics by The Who that had the crowd dancing in the aisles. Confetti rained down, and fireworks lit up the sky.

Prince William’s wife, Kate, and Prince Harry took seats next to Rogge. They sang along to “God Save the Queen.” There was no sign of the queen herself, who made a memorable mock parachute entrance at the July 27 opening ceremony.

Following Olympic tradition, the 10,800 athletes of the London Games marched in as one rather than with their nations, symbolizing the harmony and friendship inspired by the games.

As the crowd cheered their heroes and flashbulbs rippled through the stadium, the Olympians cheered back, some carrying national flags, others snapping photographs with smartphones and cameras.

They held hands, embraced and carried each other on their shoulders, finally forming a human mosh pit on the field.

The ceremony had something for everyone, from tween girls to 1960s hippies. The face of John Lennon appeared on the stadium floor, assembled by 101 fragments of sculpture, and just as quickly gave way to George Michael, Fatboy Slim and Annie Lennox.

Eight minutes were turned over to Brazil, host of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which delivered an explosion of samba, sequins and Latin cool. Following tradition, the mayor of London handed the Olympic flag off to his Rio counterpart.

Britons, who had fretted for weeks that the games would become a fiasco, were buoyed by their biggest medal haul since 1908 — 29 golds and 65 medals in all.

The United States edged China in both the gold medal and total medal standings, eclipsing its best performance at an Olympics on foreign soil after the Dream Team narrowly held off Spain in basketball for the country’s 46th gold.

While the games may have lacked some of the grandeur of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were more than a few unforgettable moments.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became an Olympic legend by repeating as champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Michael Phelps ended his long career as the most decorated Olympian in history.

British distance runner Mo Farah became a national treasure by sweeping the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races, and favorite daughter Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with her victory in the heptathlon.

Female athletes took center stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas soared to gold, the U.S. soccer team made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed houses turned out to watch the new event of women’s boxing. And women competed for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei for the first time.

And then there was Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee from South Africa running on carbon-fiber blades, who didn’t win a medal but nonetheless left a champion. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4×400 relay semifinal on a broken leg, allowing his team to qualify and win silver.

Britons seemed exhausted and exhilarated after two glorious weeks in the world’s spotlight, and just months after the country celebrated the queen’s 60th year on the throne with a magnificent pageant and street parties.

Some at Olympic Park acknowledged happy surprise that not much had gone wrong, and so much had gone right.

“I was a bit worried we wouldn’t be able to live up to it,” said Phil Akrill of Chichester. “But walking around here it’s just unbelievable.”

Even non-Brits were proud of their adopted homeland.

“It’s just been a really nice thing to see,” said Anja Ekelof, a Swede who now lives in Scotland. “The whole country has come together.”

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Article source: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/2012/london-olympics-conclude-on-a-musical-note.html?cid=rss

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LONDON — He was barely noticed in 2004, lost amid the turmoil of the Larry Brown-coached U.S. squad that managed only bronze. He was there the last time around, for the gold in Beijing, important but still not quite the Alpha Dog with a fully involved Kobe Bryant<!––> on the roster.

But make no mistake about it: LeBron James<!––> was the main man for this gold-medal winning Team USA men, and, moreover, represents the fulcrum upon which its fortunes pivot for Rio in 2016. And perhaps beyond.

James had 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and two dramatic plays down the stretch in Sunday afternoon’s 107-100 win over Spain at North Greenwich Arena. But what was most impressive about James was something that didn’t appear on the score sheet but did appear on the team’s pregame scouting report:

LEBRON MUST GUARD A GASOL!

He did, and did it well, standing up to both Pau and the hulking Marc, a pair of ‘footers as they say in the NBA, each of them with a clear four inches on the 6-8’ LeBron. Throughout the Games, in fact, James did the dirty work — tough defense, battling for position with the big men, ceding his more familiar perimeter-oriented faceup game to teammates Kevin Durant<!––> (30 points in the final), Carmelo Anthony<!––> and Bryant. But — and this is key — James also had major responsibility for the “clean” work such as scoring, setting up the offense and being the pressure release point against Spain’s persistent zone. Thus did he succeed in being both Queen Bee and Worker Bee.

The U.S. led by only 97-91, the outcome very much in doubt, when James suddenly spotted an open lane in the Spain defense, drove hard and dunked. Forty seconds later he buried a three-pointer that essentially sealed the win. He was open both times partly because Spain elected to put a box-and-one defense on Durant.

In Spain’s defense, Durant did have the 30 and five of Team USA’s 15 three-pointers. But there is a lesson: Do not leave LeBron in the climactic minutes. Maybe once. Not now.

“That was an unusual experience,” said James. “Seeing a box-and-one and I wasn’t the ‘one.’”

Athletes in team sports are not generally singled out as “Greatest Athletes of the Games.” But for male athletes, put James on a short list with David Rudisha<!––>, Usain Bolt<!––>, Michael Phelps<!––> and Mo Farah<!––>.

Throughout his two weeks in London, LeBron was pleasant enough but business-like to the point of brusqueness. This team has been compared and contrasted so much to the 1992 Dream Team that we might as well extend it to this: If Bryant was Magic Johnson, the out-front Rotarian (okay, not an exact comparison since Kobe is sometimes given to sullenness), then LeBron was Michael Jordan, the oncourt focal point.

Back in the States, few will understand how difficult the road to the gold-medal was, for Argentina (which Team USA beat in the semifinal) and Spain are world-class teams. Watching LeBron and Durant, the two keys to the future, jumping around and hugging after the game, it was clear that they understood.

One couldn’t help but feel, though, that Sunday’s game might’ve represented an end of sorts, the two-decade closure to what started with the Dream Team in 1992. Officially, that is not the case. Despite all the chatter about changing the Olympics to an Under-23 tournament, and making a World Cup of Basketball the true global event, there will be no structural change for Rio.

But there will be change within Team USA. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has announced that this is last Olympic Games. They can find an X’s and O’s guy to replace him, but Coach K brought gravitas and helped change the national team from a part-time lark to a concept when he accepted the job in 2005. After the U.S. players won the gold medal in Beijing, they hung them around Coach K’s neck. (Though they did reclaim them.) And Bryant confirmed after the game that London was the end for him.

Further, the kerfuffle over whether or not to change the Olympic format could impact James’s decision on participation. “If the 23-Rule goes in, I’m not playing,” James said the day before the final. “If the rule doesn’t go in, then it’s an I-don’t-know thing, and that means there’s a chance. But there’s no chance if the 23 rule goes in.”

James and Durant are extremely close; they were the first to hug when the final buzzer sounded. The latter will follow the former, and others (Chris Paul<!––> Deron Williams<!––>, Anthony) will follow them. Players like the Olympics. They understand the Olympics. Yes, the Games may soon recede from memory as the pressure of an NBA season mounts, but those feelings come again every four years, and they come strong.

NBA executives should know this: Dilute the Games at your own peril.

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