Olympic Results 2012: Most Impressive Showings from London's First Two Days

The 2012 Summer Olympics are only two days old, but that doesn't mean we haven't seen impressive performances. London's first two days were filled with outstanding showings by athletes in several different sports. 

There's plenty of action on the way, and the dynamic doings are far from over, but let's check out the most impressive displays of athletic achievement thus far.

Dana Vollmer

Vollmer set the world record in the women's 100-meter butterfly. She stood with China's Lu Ying and Austrlia's Alicia Coutts on the medal podium.

She was the reigning world champion for this event entering London, but no one ever expects a world-record performance. Vollmer swam a 55.98 second race. This makes her the record holder and the first women to break the 56-second mark in one fell swoop.

Vollmer's epic performance isn't just one of the best from the first two days. It's going to go down as one of London's best overall showings.

Kim Rhode

I'll stick with the Team USA theme for the moment because Rhode leaves me no choice. She tied the women's skeet world record and broke the Olympic record on Sunday.

Rhode hit 99-of-100 targets in the final round to defeat Wei Ning and Danka Bartekova. She was (obviously) nearly flawless, and her performance was awe-inspiring.

This is becoming old hat for Rhode. She's the only athlete to ever win an individual medal in five straight Olympic games. 

Watching her capture her medal this year was truly amazing.

Shiwen Ye

Ye won the women's 400-meter individual medley by a large margin. She also broke the event's world record.

Team USA's Elizabeth Beisel finished second in the race, but Ye was dominant. She won by more than two seconds, and it could have been even worse.

Anytime records are broken it's worth watching, but Ye was especially good. Two seconds isn't a large margin in regular life, but it's a lifetime in a swimming pool.

Ryan Lochte

Lochte won the men's 400-meter individual medley, but he didn't break any records. Either way, his performance was astounding.

Lochte defeated fellow countryman Michael Phelps in this race by a huge margin. Phelps finished fourth and could barely see Lochte from his No. 8 lane. 

Lochte defeated Thiago Pereira by almost four seconds. That's an absurd difference in an Olympic race. He showed why he's considered the best swimmer in the world with his first performance in London.