Olympic Results 2012: Biggest Surprises from Today's Action

The Olympics are all about moments. Something about the pageantry and nationalism that surrounds the Games draw us in as viewers, and the storylines and surprises that are produced are what make the Games so compelling. While the Olympics are still in their early stages, there were still some big surprises coming out of London.

Here are the biggest eyebrow-raisers from the Games today.

Park Tae-Hwan Disqualified, But Not Really

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-Hwan most likely experienced the most emotional day of his life.

A favorite to earn the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle, it appeared that Tae-Hwan's hopes to win the gold were dashed by a false start call that left him disqualified in his qualifying heat. After the race, Tae-Hwan was officially disqualified for the alleged false start, despite a very close call according to video evidence.

However, according to The Guardian, Tae-Hwan was reinstated after winning an appeal of the disqualification and will now be allowed to participate in the final. Tae-Hwan will be defending his title, as he won the event in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

China and Japan Underwhelm in Men's Gymnastics

Both the Chinese and Japanese men's gymnastics teams were expected to dominate the competition in London. After two rounds of competition, neither is living up to its billing as the favorite in the competition.

China and Japan finished Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the 2008 games, but after the first two rounds in London, it is Team USA that has the lead. An upstart Great Britain team currently sits at No. 2 on the overall leaderboard, as they pulled off an upset of China to put both favorites on the medal bubble heading into the rest of the competition.

Michael Phelps Comes Up Empty-Handed in 400 IM

For Americans, Michael Phelps has become synonymous with Olympics. It's rare for an Olympic athlete to have year-round cache with sports fans the way Phelps does. It's all thanks to his outstanding eight-medal effort in 2008, but today's action let everyone know that 2012 is definitely not 2008.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 400-meter individual medley became the first event that Phelps hasn't medaled in since 2000:

"

Michael Phelps: 4th in 400 IM; fails to medal in an Olympic event for the first time since 2000 (when he was 15)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 28, 2012"

While no one expects Phelps to recapture the magic of his 2008 dominance, the fact that he didn't even reach the podium remains one of the bigger surprises of the day. Fortunately for the USA, teammate Ryan Lochte claimed gold in the event.

Phelps' success, or lack thereof, in future swimming events will definitely be a story to watch as the Olympics progress.