2012 US Summer Olympic Team

The Games of the 30th Summer Olympiad in London, England are officially in the history books. It was an amazing Olympics where our U.S. athletes shone in both competition and in sportsmanship. Medalists and those that did not medal alike should be very proud of all of their achievements.

U.S. athletes competed in hundreds of individual and team competitions in 26 major sports groups and 39 disciplines during the 2012 Games. For some, the road to the Olympic Games was by invitation. For most though, it involved fierce competition, Olympic trials, intense preparation, fundraising, blood, sweat, tears and more.

Join me on a salute to our incredible athletes, the United States Olympic Team!

Many of our athletes only got to the Olympic Games by winning or placing in a national qualifying event (like sanctioned track and field events, for example) or by performing well in established Olympic Trials (those are common for the swimming events). Both Trials and qualifying events began in earnest in February of 2012 and, in many cases they ran through June for many sports that require an individual to compete for a spot on the overall Olympic team.

You can find links to the profiles of all of your favorite U.S. athletes that qualified for the 2012 Summer Games here:

Team USA - Athletes

We wanted to know too!

Athletes in team sports like basketball, soccer, volleyball and water polo tend to be chosen for the Olympic Team by the national coaching squad via their national reputation, national ranking or through results at previous competitions. Some team sports will also hold an Olympic tryout.

Why are so many of the team sports made up of professional athletes?

Since the 1970s when Eastern bloc countries (like Russia, but then as the U.S.S.R.) began to support "state sponsored" athletes to gain a competitive advantage at the games, the rules against participation by professionals (those paid to play or teach their sport, or those given corporate endorsement contracts as a result of their visibility from sport) have gradually been lifted.

Currently only boxing and wrestling remain comprised of all amateur competitors and national soccer teams are allowed only three professional players each. All other athletes in all sports can be amateur or professional.

Most of the coaches who teach, train and motivate our Olympic athletes in individual sports or two person sports (beach volleyball, for example) are chosen by the athlete and, of course, they typically only represent him or her. Occasionally they represent other athletes competing at the games but this is rare.

Most of the team sports coaches are chosen by the U.S. Olympic committee and/or members of the governing body for a given sport. Track and Field coaches, for example, are chosen by USATF.

Coaches can apply/ask to be a part of the coaching staff. Regardless of whether a coach applies or is invited by the USOC, he or she must meet strict guidelines. Among them:

*Available for all necessary trials, preliminaries and the games

*Eligible for a passport/have a valid passport

*A willingness to coach and train no other athletes for the Olympics that are eligible to play for another country's team

Team USA did well in 2012! Great job! For the official overall medal counts for the 30th Summer Olympic Games, please check the link below:

2012 Summer Olympic Games Medal Count

Now, I don't know how long that link will be active so here's a brief glimpse of the final standings:

Country/Gold/Silver/Bronze/Total

1 United States 46 29 29 104

2 China 38 27 23 88

3 Great Britain 29 17 19 65

4 Russia 24 26 32 82

5 Korea 13 8 7 28

6 Germany 11 19 14 44

7 France 11 11 12 34

8 Italy 8 9 11 28

9 Hungary 8 4 5 17

10 Australia 7 16 12 35

Do you have a favorite U.S. Summer Olympian? Take your pick and tell us why! Don't see your favorite here? Check "Other" and let us know who it is. We can always add to this list. The more, the merrier!

U.S. Olympic athletes in many disciplines and in both team and individual sports can train at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nearly 560 athletes and coaches can use the training center at a time. They're provided with housing, dining, recreational facilities and other services during their stay on the complex.

Colorado Springs is also the host to the Olympic Visitor Center. More than 140,000 people tour the center annually. There, the public can learn more about the U.S. Olympic Committee, about the training center and other Olympic facilities (like the winter sports center in Lake Placid, NY) and about the Olympic Movement. The Visitors Center includes the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, a U.S. Olympic Store, public dining, an auditorium and meeting space. There's a great rooftop terrace that has an Olympic flame display and a great view of the entire sports complex including the Irwin Belk Olympic Path.

Free public tours of the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs are available. The tour includes a 12-minute film and 45-minute walking tour of the Olympic complex where visitors can view athlete training facilities including the Sport Center Gymnasiums, the weightlifting and wrestling facilities, the USA Shooting Center, the Coaching & Sport Science area, the Aquatics Center, and the Sport Medicine area.

As in previous years, Ralph Lauren was the official designer for the opening and closing ceremonies uniforms that were worn by the US Olympic Team, its coaches and its officials.

The closing ceremonies uniforms were revealed several months before the Olympics. The picture above is representative of what our Olympic and Paralympic athletes wore to close out their respective games.

Before July, the only other uniforms to be unveiled were those by Nike for Team USA Basketball players. A photo of those can be seen in the gallery just below.

July Uniform Update: The Opening Ceremonies uniforms were unveiled as expected only a few weeks before the start of the games. They ignited quite a controversy among the athletes, coaches and the American public. Though they were designed by Ralph Lauren, the uniforms were made in China in low wage factories but for enormous price tags. The uniform consists of white slacks/skirts with blue blazers as a base. The men's blazers costs nearly $800 each while the women's are nearly $700. Each man has a tie to wear that cost $125.00. Rightly upset at both place of manufacture and cost, the press and the public have taken the U.S. Olympic Committee to task. It was determined that the uniforms for the Winter Olympic games that be com were held in Japan in 2014 were completely "Made in the USA."

Tell the world all about your love for all things related to the Olympic Games! Do you know an athlete that competed? Tell us about him or her. Do you just want to offer your congratulations to the team? Feel free...