Olympic Results 2012: Best Performances from Day 2 in London

Day 2 of the 2012 Olympic Games in London is winding down, and the results were spectacular. All the best performances of the day were executed in the water, where three records were broken.

This isn't much of a surprise, though, as swimming is one of the high-profile sports every quadrennial, along with soccer, basketball and gymnastics. None of those sports have had their final events, though, and swimming has taken center stage thus far.

Here are the best individual performances from an exciting Day 2 from the 2012 London Summer Games.

Dana Vollmer Breaks the World Record and Wins the 100-Meter Butterfly

Vollmer was on fire on Sunday. She was highly motivated to perform well in these 2012 Summer Games after failing to qualify for the 2008 Games in Beijing, and boy, did she light it up.

Vollmer's time of 55.98 seconds is all the more impressive, considering she was in third place at the turn. Her strategy worked to perfection, though, and she's the only woman in history to crack the 56-second mark, according to RTTNews.com.

Vollmer talked to reporters after her monumental race, according to the AP, saying, "I'm on top of the world right now. I still know I can go faster."

More power to you, Dana. I hope you do in the future.

Camille Muffat Breaks the Olympic Record and Wins the 400-Meter Freestyle

The women's 400-meter free was one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the day for me. To be honest, I didn't think Muffat would win, even though she posted the fastest qualifying time of any woman leading up to the Olympic Games. 

I had pegged either Rebecca Adlington or Francesca Pellegrini to take home the gold this year. As it was, the field was loaded, and I knew someone would post a lightning-fast time. 

Muffat turned out to be the one to do so, and she did it in magnificent fashion, breaking the old Olympic record in the process. She becomes only the second French woman to win a gold medal in swimming, according to Olympics" target="_blank">The Star, and she spoke of her accomplishment afterwards:

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It means a lot to me. I had to make a choice between the medley and the freestyle. Now I can say I it's a good decision...It's one of my first victories and it is one that I had to win. At the end it really started to hurt which is unusual for me, but it is an Olympic final.

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You have to appreciate her competitive spirit, and judging by her performances of late, she's not yet finished.

Cameron van der Burgh Breaks the World Record and Wins the 100-Meter Breaststroke 

Van der Burgh became the first South African to win a medal in the 2012 Summer Games, and he did so in memorable fashion. He won the men's 100-meter breaststroke and beat the old world record by more than one-tenth of a second.

His closest competitor was almost a half-second behind him, and he easily won the gold. 

According to the Associated Press, van der Burgh was dedicating his performances in these Games to fallen comrade, Alexander Dale Oen of Norway, who died in April during a training session. Before the race, he said:

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"It’s obviously strange to be there without him," said van der Burgh, who is dedicating the event to Dale Oen. "But I can’t be focusing about Alex right now. I have to look after myself first and prepare for the race and try to win a medal."

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Van der Burgh did his old competitor proud on Day 2 of the 2012 Summer Games, and he should be proud of himself for his efforts.

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