In the midst of the Lolo Jones meltdown circus, Allyson Felix set her own record straight this Olympics.
Felix had won silver in the 200 meter dash in the 2008 and 2004 Olympic games, but was tired of settling for second. This year, Felix was determined to come home with the piece of hardware she deserved. Felix won the 200 meter race in 21.88 seconds. American Carmelita Jeter took the bronze, and the silver went to Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
A reflective Felix commented after the race, “I think it was all for a reason. It kept me motivated and it made this moment very special. It was a big weight being lifted.”
The race was close for the first 150 meters, but Felix exploded past the 100 meter gold medalist, Fraser-Pryce with 40 meters to go.
“She’s been trying very hard for this moment,” said Jeter, who became the first U.S. woman to medal in both sprints since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. “When I gave her a hug, that’s exactly what I told her: ‘You’ve waited for this moment.”
In women’s volleyball it was two American teams competing for gold in the finals. The two-time defending Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh topped Jennifer Kessy and April Ross.
Kessy and Ross were the No. 4 seeds in their bracket and had to upset the No. 1 seeded Brazilian team to advance, while May and Walsh came in as favorites since they had won the gold in 2004 and 2008.
Walsh had thought May had retired and was recruiting a new teammate when Misty came out of retirement to compete in the 2012 Olympics. She insists this will definitely be the end of her career, although if we’ve learned anything from great competitors like Michael Jordan it’s that retirement is sometimes not forever.
Medal Count:
USA 81
China 77
Russia 52
Photo Credit: Icon
