Summer Olympics 2012: Medal Predictions and Results for Day 8

The Olympics are about pageantry, national pride, lifelong dreams and competitive ideals.

Oh, and they're about medals. 

That's where this slideshow comes in: medals—who's expected to win them and who does win them on Day 8 of medal competition at the London Games, Aug. 4.

Bleacher Report's predictions for the day's medal winners are based on research of the picks from Sports Illustrated and USA Today, event previews at SI.com and Yahoo, information from sport-specific websites and the expertise of Bleacher Report's Olympic writers.

Throughout the day, this slideshow will update with the actual winners of each event.

Triathlon: Women's Final

Event time: Saturday, 4 a.m. ET

Venue: Hyde Park

Actual Results:

Gold: Nicola Spirig, Switzerland

Silver: Lisa Norden, Sweden

Bronze: Erin Densham, Australia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Nicola Spirig, Switzerland

Silver: Andrea Hewitt, New Zealand

Bronze: Helen Jenkins, Great Britain

Of note: Spirig won the 2012 World Series Triathlon. 

Rowing: Women's Single Sculls

Event time: Saturday, 4:30 a.m. ET

Venue: Eton Dorney

Actual Medalists

Gold: Mirka Knapkova, Czech Republic

Silver: Fie Udby Erichsen, Denmark

Bronze: Kim Crow, Australia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Zhang Xiuyun, China

Silver: Kim Crow, Australia

Bronze: Mirka Knapkova, Czech Republic

Of note: Zhang finished fourth in Beijing.

Rowing: Men's Lightweight Double Sculls

Event time: Saturday, 4:40 a.m. ET

Venue: Eton Dorney

Actual Medalists:

Gold: Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist, Denmark

Silver: Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, Great Britain

Bronze: Peter Taylor and Storm Uru, New Zealand

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, Great Britain

Silver: Peter Taylor and Storm Uru, New Zealand

Bronze: Stany Delayre and Jeremie Azou, France

Of note: Hunter and Purchase won gold in ‘08.

Rowing: Women's Lightweight Double Sculls Final

Event time: Saturday, 5:00 a.m. ET

Venue: Eton Dorney

Actual Results

Gold: Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking, Great Britain

Silver: Xu Dongxiang and Huang Wenyi, China

Bronze: Christiana Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou, Greece

Silver: Anne Lolk and Juliane Elander Rasmussen, Denmark

Bronze: Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking, Great Britain

Of note: Tsiavou finished sixth in Beijing.

Rowing: Men's Four Final

Event time: Saturday, 5:30 a.m. ET

Venue:  Eton Dorney

Actual Results

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: Australia

Bronze: United States

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: Greece

Bronze: Germany

Of note: Great Britain has won four straight golds. 

Shooting: Women's 50m 3 Positions

Event title: Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET

Venue: Royal Artillery Barracks

Actual Medalists

Gold: Jamie Gray, USA

Silver: Ivana Maksimovic, Serbia

Bronze: Adela Sykorova, Czech Republic

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Sonja Pfeilschifter, Germany

Silver: Barbara Engleder, Germany

Bronze: Jamie Gray, USA

Of note: Pfeilschifter holds the world record in this event. 

Badminton: Women's Singles Final

Event time: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. ET

Venue: Wembley Arena

Actual Medalists

Gold: Li Xuerui, China

Silver: Wang Yihan, China

Bronze: Saina Newal, India

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Wang Yihan, China

Silver: Li Xuerui, China

Bronze: Wang Xin, China

Of note:  A Chinese athlete has won gold in this event every Olympics since 2000. 

Badminton: Women's Doubles Final

Event time: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. ET

Venue: Wembley Arena

Actual Medalists

Gold: Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, China

Silver: Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa, Japan

Bronze: Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova, Russia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, China

Silver: Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa, Japan

Bronze: Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova, Russia

Of note: Tian won bronze at the 2011 World Championships.

Tennis: Men's Doubles Final

Event time: Saturday, 9 a.m. ET

Venue: Wimbledon

Actual Medalists

Gold: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, USA

Silver: Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France

Bronze: Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet, France

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, USA

Silver: Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France

Bronze: Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet, France

Of note: The Bryan brothers won bronze in Beijing.

Tennis: Women's Singles Final

Event time: Saturday, 9 a.m. ET

Venue: Wimbledon

Actual Medalists

Gold: Serena Williams, USA

Silver: Maria Sharapova, Russia

Bronze: Victoria Azarenka, Belarus

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Serena Williams, USA

Silver: Maria Sharapova, Russia

Bronze: Maria Kirilenko, Russia

Of note: Williams has won two doubles gold, but never a singles gold. 

Shooting: Women's Trap Final

 Event time: Saturday, 10 a.m. ET

Venue: Royal Artillery Barracks

Actual Medalists

Gold: Jessica Rossi, Italy

Silver: Zuzana Stefecekova, Slovakia

Bronze: Delphine Reau, France

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Du Li, China

Silver: Sonja Pfeilschifter, Germany

Bronze: Barbara Engleder, Germany

Of note: Du is a two-time Olympic champion.

Trampoline: Women's Final

Event time: Saturday, 10:26 a.m. ET

Venue: North Greenwich Arena

Actual Medalists

Gold: Rosannagh MacLennan, Canada

Silver: Huang Shanshan, China

Bronze: He Wenna, China

Predicted Medalists

Gold: He Wenna, China

Silver: Rosannagh MacLennan, Canada

Bronze: Karen Cockburn, Canada

Of note: He is the defending champion. 

Track and Field: Men's 20km Walk

Event time: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

Venue: The Mall

Actual Medalists

Gold: Chen Ding, China

Silver: Erick Barrondo, Guatemala

Bronze: Wang Zhen, China

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Valeriy Borchin, Russia

Silver: Luis Lopez, Colombia

Bronze: Wang Zhen, China

Of note: Borchin won in 2008. 

Cycling: Women's Team Pursuit Final

Event time: Saturday, 12:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Velodrome

Actual Medalists

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: USA

Bronze: Australia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: Australia

Bronze: USA

Of note: These are the first Olympics featuring this event.

Weightlifting: Men's 94kg (207 Pounds) Final

Event time: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Venue: ExCeL South Arena 3

Actual Medalists

Gold: Ilya Ilyin, Kazakstan 

Silver: Alexandr Ivanov, Russia

Bronze: Anatoli Ciricu, Moldova

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Artem Ivanov, Ukraine

Silver: Ilya Ilyin, Kazakstan 

Bronze: Alexandr Ivanov, Russia

Of note: Ilyin is the defending champ in this event. 

Fencing: Women's Epee Team Final

Event time: Saturday, 2:15 p.m. ET

Venue: ExCeL South Arena 1

Actual Medalists

Gold: China

Silver: South Korea

Bronze: U.S.

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Romania

Silver: China

Bronze: Russia

Of note: This event was not featured in the 2008 Olympics (via SI.com).

Swimming: Women's 50-Meter Freestyle

Event time: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Aquatics Centre

Actual Medalists

Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands

Silver: Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Germany

Bronze: Marleen Veldhuis, Netherlands

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands

Silver: Britta Steffen, Germany

Bronze: Therese Alshammar, Sweden

Of note: Steffen won this event in Beijing.

Track and Field: Women's Discus Throw Final

Event time: 2:30 p.m. EST

Venue: Olympic Stadium

Actual Medalists

Gold: Sandra Perkovic, Croatia

Silver: Darya Pishchalnikova, Russia

Bronze: Li Yanfeng, China

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Sandra Perkovic, Croatia

Silver: Li Yanfeng, China

Bronze: Nadine Muller, Germany

Of note: Perkovic was suspended for six months after failing two drugs tests in 2001 (via SI.com). 

Swimming: Men's 1,500-Meter Freestyle

Event time: Saturday, 2:36 p.m. ET

Venue: Aquatics Centre

Actual Medalists

Gold: Sun Yang, China

Silver: Ryan Cochrane, Canada

Bronze: Ous Mellouli, Tunisia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Sun Yang, China

Silver: Ous Mellouli, Tunisia

Bronze: Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy

Of note: Sun holds the world record.

Track and Field: Men's Long Jump

Event time: Saturday, 3:25 p.m. ET

Venue: Olympic Stadium

Actual Medalists

Gold: Greg Rutherford, Great Britain

Silver: Mitchell Watt, Australia

Bronze: Will Claye, U.S.

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Greg Rutherford, Great Britain

Silver: Sebastian Bayer, Germany

Bronze: Sergey Morgunov, Russia

Of note: Rutherford won bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. 

Swimming: Women's 4x100 Medley Relay

Event time: Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET

Venue: Aquatics Centre

Actual Medalists

Gold: USA

Silver: Australia

Bronze: Japan

Predicted Medalists

Gold: USA

Silver: China

Bronze: Australia

Of note: The Americans beat China in this event at the World Championships. 

Swimming: Men's 4x100 Medley Relay

Event time: Saturday, 3:27 p.m. ET

Venue: Aquatics Centre

Actual Medalists

Gold: USA

Silver: Japan

Bronze: Australia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: USA

Silver: Australia

Bronze: Germany

Of note: The Americans won this event in Beijing. 

Track and Field: Women's Heptathlon

Event time: Saturday, 3:35 p.m. ET

Venue: Olympic Stadium

Actual Medalists

Gold: Jessica Ennis, Great Britain

Silver: Tatyana Chernova, Russia

Bronze: Lyudmyla Yosypenko, Ukraine

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Jessica Ennis, Great Britain

Silver: Tatyana Chernova, Russia

Bronze: Kristina Savitskaya, Russia

Of note: Ennis holds the British record in this event. 

Track and Field: Men's 10,000-Meter

Event time: Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET

Venue: Olympic Stadium

Actual Medalists

Gold: Mo Farah, Great Britain

Silver: Galen Rupp, U.S.

Bronze: Tariku Bekele, Ethiopia

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Mo Farah, Great Britain

Silver: Zersenay Tadese, Eritrea

Bronze: Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia

Of note: Farah won silver at the 2011 World Championships. 

Track and Field: Women's 100-Meter Dash

Event time: Saturday, 4:55 p.m. ET

Venue: Olympic Stadium

Actual Medalists

Gold: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica

Silver: Carmelita Jeter, USA

Bronze: Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica

Predicted Medalists

Gold: Carmelita Jeter, USA

Silver: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica

Bronze: Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica 

Of note: Fraser-Pryce is the defending champ.