Summer Olympics, Day 14: U.S. Wrestler Jordan Burroughs Wins Gold

Olympics 2012, Women's 1500m Results: American Morgan Uceny Takes Fall As Turkey Wins Gold

Morgan Uceny's 1500m run ended the same way her run at the 2011 World Championships ended: with her on the ground, no chance of winning, due to no fault of her own.

The race was tight. That's not a big problem in races of less than a track length, where runners each get their own lanes. But in distance races, where all the runners find themselves bunched together along the furthest inside lane jockeying for position, accidents can happen: runners legs can clip each other, and when that happens, runners fall. A runner caught Uceny's knee with one of her strides with less than a lap to go, Uceny tumbled to the ground, and just like that, her Olympics were over. If this had been a qualifying round, she could have appealed, as Oscar Pistorius' 4x400 team did to earn a spot in the final of that relay, but no such luck in the finals.

Her anguish after losing will be able to fill the "agony of defeat" portion of slideshows for years to come. Uceny wasn't a favorite to win gold, but she had a shot at medaling. Luckily, she wasn't injured, but she leaves London without having had a real chance at winning.

Uceny would've been the first American woman to medal in the distance: in her place, two non-traditional track champions took her spot, as Turkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut took gold and silver, while Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal won bronze. American Shannon Rowbury took sixth.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

U.S. Women Win Gold, Set WR In 4x100 Relay

The United States won the women's 4x100-meter relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on Friday, and in the process smashed the world record with a time of 40.82 seconds. The foursome of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter became the first to collectively run under 41 seconds, breaking a 27-year-old record held by East Germany.

After the race, Jeter said she knew from the outset that the relay team could set a world record. Madison did too, but even she was shocked by just how dominant the performance was.

"I knew that the Olympic record was coming down," she said. "I just knew that if we had clean baton passes that we would definitely challenge the world record. Smash it like we did? I had no idea. But I knew it was in us."

The United States beat a favored Jamaican squad by almost six-tenths of a second for the win. Ukraine took the bronze, setting a national record with a time of 42.04 seconds. Felix has now won two gold medals at the London games. Jeter completed the trifecta with the win, after taking silver in the 100-meter and bronze in the 200-meter.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

2012 Olympics, Men's 4x400 Relay Results: United States Misses Gold For 1st Time Since 1980

The United States missed out on a gold medal in the men's 4x400-meter relay for the first time since 1980, finishing behind the Bahamas by just .33 seconds. Team USA did not participate in the event 32 years ago, or any event due to a boycott of the Moscow games. On Thursday, however, they were simply beat, fair and square.

Tony McQuay passed the baton to Angelo Taylor with the lead at the start of the anchor leg. Taylor anchored the gold medal foursome in Beijing, but was chased down and finally passed by Ramon Miller of the Bahamas within the final 75 meters of the race. The island nation was exuberant afterwards.

"For me, it's a joyful feeling," said Chris Brown, who ran the opening leg. "It's been a long journey for me. I've been here for a long time and this is my first Olympic gold medal. I've gotten silver and bronze before. It took me a long time. The United States is a tough team to beat."

The United States' relay team has had a rocky time in London, outside of the race itself. Lashawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner both had to be pulled out of the race before preliminaries due to injuries. To make matters worse, leadoff runner Manteo Mitchell broke his left fibula while in the final 200 meters of his leg during preliminaries. Mitchell finished his portion of the race, somehow, but had to watch his teammates race the finals in a walking boot. He celebrated nonetheless.

"I realize the significance," said Mitchell, who will receive a silver medal because he ran in the preliminaries. "But it's not about me. It's not about you. That's how Team USA operates. A lot of people on outside looking in think that this is an individual sport. But in the end, we're here to serve our countries."

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

Marathon Swimmers, The Otters Of The Olympics

Netherlands Wins Gold In Women's Field Hockey

The Netherlands took its second straight gold medal in women's field hockey on Friday.

Team USA's Paige McPherson Wins Taekwondo Bronze In Women's -67kg

Paige McPherson added another tally to the United States' overall medal count, defeating Franka Anic of Slovenia, 8-3, in the bronze medal match for the 67 kg division of women's taekwondo at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The two fighters were tied after the first round, with Anic scoring on one 3-point offensive kick, and McPherson scoring three 1-pointers. McPherson controlled the next two rounds, however. She outscored Anic 1-0 in the Round 2, and 4-0 in Round 3.

McPherson lost to Nur Tatar of Turkey in the semifinals to drop into the bronze medal bracket. Tatar will take on Kyung Seon Hwang of South Korea in the gold medal match at 5:15 p.m. ET.

The bronze medal was Team USA's 94th overall medal of the Summer games.

You can find a complete medal tracker at SI.com.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic Taekwondo, follow the 2012 Olympic Taekwondo section.

Men's 4x400m Relay Final: Bahamas Wins, U.S. Misses Gold For First Time Since 1980

The United States has been the dominant force in the men's 4x400-meter relay for the entirety of the event's Olympic existence. But an upstart Bahamas quartet turned the tables on the U.S. on Friday, winning the first track gold in the nation's history and stopping nearly three decades of American dominance.

Tony McQuay gave Angelo Taylor the baton and the lead entering the anchor leg of the relay, but Taylor, who won gold in the event in Beijing, was chased down by Ramon Miller on the last lap and passed in the final 75 meters. The Bahamas finished in 2:56.72 and the U.S. in 2:57.05.

The last time the U.S. failed to win the 4x400 was in 1980, when the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics. Team USA had won the last eight gold medals in the iterations of the event it entered, though it was later forced to vacate a medal earned with an ineligible runner in 2000.

Trinidad and Tobago held off Great Britain for bronze, beating out the Brits by .13 seconds.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

Women's 1500m: Turkey Wins First Ever Athletics Gold, American Morgan Uceny Falls

Turkey took gold and silver in the women’s 1500m with Asli Cakir Alptekin winning in a time of 4:10.23. Her countrywoman Gamze Bulut lead for most of the race and finished in the silver position with former world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain claiming the bronze. Alptekin’s medal marks the first ever Turkish gold medal in athletics.

The race started on a very slow pace and just about everyone was still in contention with less than 500m to go, but it was Alptekin who was able get out in front on the final lap.

No American woman has ever medaled in the 1500m at the Olympics, and Morgan Uceny looked as if she might have had a chance to change that until she was tripped up while making her move at the start of the last lap. Uceny tripped in the 1500m final at the 2011 World Championships as well, where she was considered the favorite. Fellow American Shannon Rowbury finished in sixth place.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic Athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic Athletics section.

Team USA Sets World Record In 4x100m Relay, Smokes Jamaica For Gold

Jamaica's women's 4x100-meter relay team looked like the favorite entering Friday's final, with 100m gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and two-time bronze medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown running. And the Jamaicans did turn in the third-fastest time in the history in the event. But Team USA's fleet foursome smashed the world record and left the Jamaicans in their dust for gold.

Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, and Carmelita Jeter combined to run the final in 40.82 seconds, crushing the world record held by East Germany since 1985 by more than half a second, and thumping Jamaica (41.41) by almost six-tenths of a second.

The race, possibly the fastest in history, also featured Ukraine's four-woman team setting a national record at 42.04 seconds for bronze.

Felix's gold is the second of her Olympics. Jeter's gold gives her a medal of each color in London.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

U.S. Relay Teams Qualify For Finals In Women's 400, Men's 100

Team USA is hoping to add more track medals in the relay events that will take place on Friday and Saturday. Two teams will run in finals Friday, and two more, the women's 4x400-meter and men's 4x100m squads, qualified for their Saturday finals.

The U.S. women easily won its heat in the 4x400 in 3:22.09, more than a second better than second-place Russia. And that time was the best of any team in qualifying, a great sign for Team USA -- especially considering that Sanya Richards-Ross, the 400 gold medalist, didn't run in the heat.

But the really interesting development was the U.S. qualifying first for the men's 4x100 final, exactly .01 seconds ahead of Jamaica. Jamaica is still the favorite to take gold in the event, and didn't run Usain Bolt in the qualifying heat, but it did put 100m silver medalist Yohan Blake on the track. Although the U.S. didn't run either Tyson Gay or Ryan Bailey, who both ran in the 100 final, the Americans pipped the Jamaicans, who won gold in Beijing.

The Great Britain team, a medal contender, was disqualified for a late baton pass in the first heat.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

American Jordan Burroughs Wins Wrestling Gold In 74kg Freestyle

American Jordan Burroughs won the gold medal in men's 74 kg freestyle wrestling. The first gold medal of the Olympics for USA wrestling.

Team USA Announces Lineups For Men's And Women's Relay Finals

The finals for the men's 4x400-meter relay and women's 4x100 relay at the 2012 Olympics both take place on Friday, and the speculation about who, exactly, will be selected for the teams from nations' "relay pools" is now over. Team USA announced its lineups for the men's 4x400 final and the qualifying rounds of the women's 4x400 on Friday.

M4x400m Lineups: USA: Nellum, Mance, McQuay, Taylor. GBR: Williams, Green, Greene, Rooney #Olympics

— Joe Battaglia (@JoeBattagliaNBC) August 10, 2012

W4x100 lineups: USA: Madison, Felix, Knight, Jeter. JAM: SAFP, Simpson, VCB, Stewart #Olympics

— Joe Battaglia (@JoeBattagliaNBC) August 10, 2012

The U.S. men have been dominant in the 4x400 for many years, winning every gold medal in the event since 1984, though their gold in 2000 was vacated retroactively. The 2012 foursome of Bryshon Nellum, Joshua Mance, Tony McQuay and Angelo Taylor only has one holdover from 2008 (Taylor), but is still a favorite to claim gold again, after tying the Bahamas for the fastest time in qualifying.

Team USA has been similarly competitive in the women's 4x100 from 1984 to 1996, winning four straight golds, but the Americans haven't topped the podium since Atlanta and haven't medaled since Sydney, where they took bronze. Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, and Carmelita Jeter give the U.S. a formidable quarter for Friday's final.

The final is also a long-awaited revival of the rivalry between Jamaica and the U.S. on the Olympic stage, and a chance for redemption for both squads, as handoff issues kept both from medaling in Beijing.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic athletics, follow the 2012 Olympic athletics section.

American Jordan Burroughs Advances To Men's 74kg Freestyle Gold Medal Final

American Jordan Burroughs has advanced to the gold medal final in freestyle wrestling's 74-kilogram division. Burroughs, the 2011 world champion, has looked impressive in advancing to the gold medal final on Friday. In the semifinals Burroughs defeated two-time world champion Denis Tsargush of Russia, 3-1, and will now face Iran's Sadegh Goudarzi in the finals at 2:48 p.m. ET.

Goudarzi, who defeated Hungary's Gabor Hatos in his semifinal, lost to Burroughs in the finals of the 2011 world championship and is the second-ranked wrestler in the world at this weight class, behind only Burroughs. Burroughs' medal, either gold or silver, will be the first medal in this Olympics for the American wrestling men.

Burroughs, who has the Twitter handle @alliseeisgold, has been 100 percent committed to the task of winning gold for years. He plans to wrestle through 2017, win two Olympic gold medals and then switch over to mixed martial arts.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub

Latvia, Colombia Win BMX Cycling Gold

Did you know that BMX was popular in countries other than America? In fact, in the world of BMX the United States isn’t even all that good. Did you know that BMX is an Olympic event? Both of those facts were reaffirmed today when Latvia and Colombia won gold medals in BMX racing.

In the men’s race defending gold medalist Maris Strombergs won in a time of 37.576 seconds, Australia’s Sam Willoughby took silver and Carlos Mario Oquendo Zabala of Colombia placed third for bronze. American Connor Fields, who won his semifinal, placed seventh. Fields crashed on the final turn, but was out of medal contention by that point. The crash did not take Fields out of the race, only slowed him, and was not quite as gnarly (BMX term) as some crashes that took place earlier in the Olympics.

In the women’s race Colombian Mariana Pajon won gold in a time of 37.706 seconds, New Zealand’s Sarah Walker claimed silver and Laura Smulders of the Netherlands took the bronze. Brooke Crain of the USA finished last place in the finals. Pajon, the Colombian flag bearer, was the strongest cyclist throughout the competition winning all three of her semifinal races as well. This was just the second gold medal ever for Colombia, with the other being won in women’s heavyweight weightlifting in 2000.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub

Paddy Barnes Wins Men's Light Fly Boxing Bronze

Five men's boxing semifinal matches have been held on Friday at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 10 men have been awarded bronze medals and five gold medal finals have been set.

In the men's light fly (49kg) division, Paddy Barnes of Ireland lost a semifinal bout to Zou Shiming of China and captured the first bronze medal of the day. The judges scored the match 15-15 but Zou was determined to have landed the higher aggregate of punches, according to The Independent. Barnes has actually lost in the same division to Zou at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the other semifinal, Kaeo Pongprayoon of Thailand defeated Russia's David Ayrapetyan, 13-12, to advance.

In the men's bantam (56kg) division, Ireland managed to send a boxer to the finals as John Joe Nevin defeated Cuba's Lazaro Alvarez Estrada, 19-14. In the other semifinal, Great Britain's Luke Campbell defeated Satoshi Shmizu of Japan, 20-11.

Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo of Cuba defeated Vincenzo Mangiacapre of Italy in the first semifinal of the men's light welter (64kg) division to advance to the final, 15-8. Ukraine's Dennis Berinchyk picked up a 29-21 victory over Munkh-Erdine Uranchimeg from Mongolia to make it to the final.

The men's middleweight (75kg) division also held its semifinals on Friday. Brazil's Esquiva Falcao Florentino advanced with a 16-9 victory over Anthony Ogogo of Great Britain, while Ryota Murata of Japan defeated Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev, 13-12.

Meanwhile, in the men's heavyweight (91kg) division, Oleksandr Usyk of the Ukraine easily defeated Bulgaria's Tervel Pulev, 21-5, while Clemente Russo of Italy advanced after a win over Teymur Mammadov of Azerbaijan, 15-13.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

What To Watch, Day 14: Team USA Basketball, Track Relays And BMX Crashes

What To Watch on Friday at the Olympics, featuring Team USA against Argentina, more BMX crashes and the United States running for gold in a pair of team relays on the track.

Team USA Men's Water Polo Loses To Spain In Classification Match

On Thursday, the United States women's water polo team took home the gold medal. On Friday, the men's team suffered another defeat and will now be trying to salvage a seventh-place finish at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In Friday's classification match, the U.S. lost to Spain by a final score of 8-7.

Well out of the running, the United States is waiting to see who wins Friday's other classification match between Australia and Hungary. The U.S. will play the loser of that match Sunday morning at 5:20 a.m. ET to determine who will go home in seventh and eighth place.

The men's semifinals will take place later on Friday. Croatia will take on Montenegro while Italy will play Serbia to decide which two teams will face off in the gold-medal final.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub. For more on Olympic water polo, follow the 2012 Olympic water polo section.

USA Field Hockey: Americans Finish 12th After Classification Loss To Belgium

It was a rough Olympics for America's representatives on the artificial turf at Riverbank Arena, as the U.S. women's field hockey squad lost a classification match Friday to finish winless in London.

After going 1-4 in group play, they were matched up against Belgium on Friday to battle for a better place in the world rankings. Although the United States scored first on a goal from Paige Selenski, they couldn't hold on, with Belgium striking twice to take a 2-1 victory and the 11th spot in the 12-team field hockey tournament.

The United States wasn't far from faring significantly better at the Olympics: of the six matches they played, five were decided by one goal. But they got the short end of the stick in four of the five matches, with the lone win coming against Argentina in a shocking upset. Argentina finished 3-1-1 in group play and meets the Netherlands on Friday night in the gold medal match.

The U.S. leaves London with a 1-5 record and hoping for a better performance in four years in Rio.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Swimming, Men's 10km Marathon: Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli Earns Open Water Gold

The last swimming gold of the London Olympics went to the first African male ever to win Olympic gold in swimming, Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli, who added to his London tally with gold in the men's 10km open water swim.

Mellouli was already known as one of the top distance swimmers in the world: he won gold in the men's 1500m swim in Beijing and took bronze this time around. But he tried the swimming marathon for the first time this spring and, as you can probably tell by the fact that he won gold, the newcomer isn't too bad at it. Mellouli accounts for two of Tunisia's three medals in London. He is also the first ever to medal both in the pool and in an open water events after the introduction of the 10km swim in 2008.

Mellouli kept pace with a tight pack for most of the beginning of the race, held in the Serpentine at London's famous Hyde Park, but towards the end it became clear that he had a burst of speed from his experience in the pool that none of the other swimmers were capable of matching. He beat Germany's Thomas Lurz, who won bronze in 2008, to the finish line by 3.4 seconds.

Here's the podium and the times of the swimmers who earned medals:

Gold: Oussama Mellouli, Tunisia, 1:49:55.1

Silver: Thomas Lurz, Germany, 1:49:58.5

Bronze: Richard Weinberger, Canada, 1:50:00.3

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Sailing, Men's and Women's 470: Australia, New Zealand Earn Gold Medals

Athletes wait their whole lives for a shot at Olympic gold, so an extra day probably wasn't too big of a problem for competitors in the 470 sailing competition. The medal race in the men's 470 competition was supposed to be Thursday, but lack of wind forced the event to be postponed until today, when a squad from Australia won for the men and New Zealand earned gold on the women's side. Great Britain earned a pair of silvers.

After winning five of the 10 previous races in the event, Australia's Belcher and Page only needed to finish one spot below a British boat to secure gold. Instead, they finished second while the Brits finished fourth, earning Australia its third sailing gold of the Olympics, the best of any nation. Page had previously won gold in the 470 class in Beijing.

In the women's 470, the Southern Hemisphere was represented once again, as New Zealanders Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie coasted to victory. They had a commanding lead on points entering the final race and proceeded to blow away the competition, winning by 41 seconds. It's New Zealand's fourth gold of the Olympics, great news for a country that has apparently taken great pride in its medal count per capita. The competition here was really for bronze -- France was battling a Netherlands boat for that slot, but finished only one slot ahead when they needed to be two.

Men's 470 class

Gold: Matthew Belcher/Malcolm Page, Australia

Silver: Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell, Great Britain

Bronze: Lucas Calabrese/Juan de la Fuente, Argentina

Women's 470 class

Gold: Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie, New Zealand

Silver: Hannah Mills/Saskia Clark, Great Britain

Bronze: Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout, Netherlands

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

2012 London Olympics: Event Schedule, TV Coverage For Friday

The 2012 Olympic Games in London is in the home stretch. Find Friday's schedule of televised events right here.

Olympics 2012 Track & Field: TV Coverage, Event Schedule For Friday

Friday at the Olympics will have six gold medal events in track and field. Find the day's schedule here.