Highlights and Lowlights of The London Olympics

Bolt Strikes Thrice

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Going into London 2012, there were doubts about his fitness and talk of a challenge from his 22-year-old sprinting partner Yohan Blake, but in a few seconds on the track, Jamaican runner Usain Bolt blew them all away. The Olympic showman repeated his three-peat from Beijing, winning gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter races and 4×100-meter relay — the only man to ever manage such a feat. On the way, he notched up another Olympic record for the 100-meter and, together with his Jamaican teammates, a world record in the 4×100-meter relay. The athletics star of the 2012 Games, Bolt tarnished his image somewhat with a swipe at Carl Lewis, saying he had "no respect" for the former Olympic champion after Lewis questioned Jamaica's drug-testing policy.
Phelps Number One Olympian In History

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The soft-spoken boy from Towson, Md., claimed the title of greatest of all time in London, winning four gold and two silver medals to bring his career total to 22 Olympic medals, more than any Olympian in history. The superlative swimmer's 18 gold medals is also a record: more than twice that of any other athlete. Phelps finished his Olympic career in style — with a gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
Queen’s Sky-Dive

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Danny Boyle's opening ceremonies proved divisive — rave reviews in Britain combined with some raised eyebrows among U.S. commentators confused by his praise of the National Health Service and puzzled by a few of the historical and pop references. But everyone agreed Queen Elizabeth II's grand entrance — skydiving out of a helicopter over the Olympic Stadium with Daniel Craig's James Bond — was a blast. The Queen's stunt double, skydiver Gary Connery, in May was the first person to successfully jump from 2,400 feet without a parachute, using a specially designed wing suit.
Team GB!

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The hometown advantage paid off big for Team GB, which won an astounding 65 medals — 29 of them gold — putting them third in overall medals, behind only the United States and China. The London Games produced a slew of home-grown heroes, including heptathalon champion Jessica Ennis; runner Mo Farah, winner of both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races; cyclist Chris Hoy, who added two Olympic gold medals to bring his lifetime total to six; and Scottish tennis ace Andy Murray, who finally overcame the British curse to beat world No. 1 Roger Federer on center court at Wimbledon, the first time a Brit has won a tournament there in 75 years.
Fab Five Top The World

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In a nostalgic replay of the Cold War battles that used to dominate Olympic gymnastics, this year's women's event was a showdown between Team USA and the squads of Russia and Romania. In the end, America's Fab Five, made up of Jordyn Wieber, Gabrielle Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Aly Raisman, took the gold medal, the first team gold for Team USA since the 1996 squad (aka the Magnificent Seven). The Fab Five provided some of the most memorable moments of the entire Olympics, with Douglas also winning the all-round title and Maroney completing a near-perfect vault that left even the judges stunned.
David Lekuta Rudisha Sets World Record

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Kenya's reserved David Lekuta Rudisha is the polar opposite of Usain Bolt, but the Jamaican showman broke off a live interview he was doing with the BBC to applaud the middle-distance runner when he received his gold medal for the 800-meter race. Running without a pace setter, Rudisha ran a blistering 1 minute 40.91 seconds, a new world record. The athlete, a member of the Maasai tribe, continues his family's Olympic tradition. His father, Daniel Rudisha, won silver in the 1968 Olympics as part of Kenya's 4×400-meter relay team.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Twitter Feed

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London 2012 was the Twitter Olympics. Athletes, reporters and celebrities chimed in with their instant commentary on the sports, results and controversies. But the gold medal in Olympic tweeting has to go to Samuel L. Jackson, who entertained his 1.2 million Twitter followers with a blow-by-blow of virtually every Olympic event, from women's weightlifting, or in Jackson-speak, "Lil' babes, picking up heavy shit!" to men's swimming ("LOCHTE SMOKED DAT ASS!!!") to cycling: "GB Cyclists!! BIPFOUKKENCYCLIN BRILLIANCE! Go Host Nation!"
Internet Troll Harasses Tom Daley

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British Diver Tom Daley was the target of some nasty online attacks during the Games. After Daley and his Team GB diving partner Pete Waterfield missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the men's synchronised 10-meter platform diving event, a teenager blasted the Olympic hopeful, tweeting: "You let your dad down i hope you know that." Daley's father, Rob, died last year from brain cancer. Police arrested the 17-year-old Internet troll on suspicion of malicious communications. Daley got his revenge in the men's single diving competition, where he won a bronze medal.
Liu Xiang Falls Again

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After an injury forced the Chinese hurdler to pull out after the first heat in the Beijing Games in 2008, all eyes were on Liu Xiang in London this year. And then, disaster. In the first heat of the 110-meter hurdles the nightmare of Beijing repeated itself. Liu crashed out, his old injury to his Achilles tendon crippling him before the first barrier. Liu remains the only Chinese athlete to have won gold in athletics — in Athens in 2004.
Branding Police

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The International Olympic Committee drew fire after censuring several athletes for alleged violations of sponsorship rules banning logos of companies that are not official Olympic sponsors. Branding offenses included Dr. Dre sending free pairs of his Beats headphones to Olympic swimmers to wear on TV ahead of competition, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake brandishing a Richard Mille wristwatch during his 100-meter final run, and Team USA's 800-meter runner Nick Symmonds, who had to use white tape to cover up a temporary tattoo on his left arm bearing the Twitter handle of one of Symmonds' sponsors. The athletes argued sponsorship is the only way for them to finance their Olympic efforts.
Badminton Cheaters

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Eight badminton players, from China, South Korea and Indonesia, were disqualified from the Olympics for trying to lose deliberately so that they could draw easier matchups in the quarter finals. The women's doubles teams, which included top-ranked pair Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang (pictured), repeatedly served into the net during their match, drawing boos and jeers from the London crowd.
Pee-in-Pool Gate

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The U.S. Olympic swim team ruled in London, winning 31 medals, including 16 golds, but all everyone seems to be talking about is what they left behind in the pool. After Ryan Lochte admitted to 'Today' special correspondent Ryan Seacrest he sometimes pees in the Olympic pool, commentary switched from talking about Lochte's swimming prowess (including his two gold medals won in London) to his urinatory habits. "Everyone does it," said swimming champion Michael Phelps, but British Prime Minister David Cameron was not amused, telling the Metro newspaper, "It's not OK to pee in the pool."
NBC’s Tape Delay

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Perhaps nothing generated more online outrage this Olympics than NBC's decision to show many of the most popular events on tape-delay for the U.S. audience. The move meant events such as the men's 100-meter final and even the opening ceremony were not shown live on NBC's main channel. The move sparked a rash of derogatory Twitter hashtags, including #NBCfail. But NBC executive producer Jim Bell defended the move, saying it was the best way to secure the biggest primetime audience and the best return for the $1.2 billion NBC paid for Olympic rights.
Cyclist Tyler Hamilton Stripped of Gold

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Doping scandals were thankfully few and far between at this year's Olympics. The biggest drug scandal involved American cyclist Tyler Hamilton, gold medal winner in the cycling road time trial event in Athens in 2004. In a '60 Minutes' interview last year, Hamilton admitted to using performance enhancing drugs repeatedly throughout his career. Finally, the International Olympic Committee took action, stripping Hamilton of his medal and handing it to Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia.

Bolt Strikes Thrice

Phelps Number One Olympian In History

Queen’s Sky-Dive

Team GB!

Fab Five Top The World

David Lekuta Rudisha Sets World Record

Samuel L. Jackson’s Twitter Feed

Internet Troll Harasses Tom Daley

Liu Xiang Falls Again

Branding Police

Badminton Cheaters

Pee-in-Pool Gate

NBC’s Tape Delay

Cyclist Tyler Hamilton Stripped of Gold