Olympic Medal Count 2012: Predicting the Final Medal Standings

Only one country will reign supreme when the 2012 Summer Olympics comes to a conclusion.

We are just about done with Day 3 of the Olympics and the competition is just heating up. Let's predict which countries will finish on top of the medal count when it's all said and done.

In typical Olympics fashion, we will only reward the top three countries. Here is how I see it playing out in 2012:

United States: 100 medals

The United States have dominated the Summer Olympics since the turn of the century. In 2004 and 2008, the U.S. won more medals than any other country.

2012 won't be any different.

We have seen over the past three days of the Games that Americans are capable of winning just about every event in which they participate. Unlike athletes from other countries, the Americans can even produce medals in events in which they aren't generally strong.

But events like swimming and gymnastics are where you will see an influx of medals to add to the end result for Team USA.

The United States has proved to be the most consistent country in terms of earning medals. We have seen it in recent years, and it will only continue in 2012.

China: 94 medals

China may not win the final medal count, but there is no nation better at winning gold medals. They already carry the early lead, and their dominance will only continue in that area.

As far as being the best at more competitions, not even the U.S. can match China—not in recent history, and not this year either.

China will be looking to get over that hump of being close. It's great to win gold in more competitions, but it's even better to have the most medals at the end of the day, exhibiting a more well-rounded contingent of athletes.

Russia: 80 medals

Russia has always been a force to be reckon with in many sports, but they haven't been able to earn the top spot in the medal standings.

With several countries fighting for the third position, Russia will have to use their stronger events to collect a great amount of medals. They won't find themselves where they want to be if they can't even produce medals in their own specialties.

Russia is a bit down the ladder in terms of current medals (five), but as we get deeper into the competition, expect the Russians to narrow the gap.

Current medal count according to NBCOlympics.com: Time: 2:41 p.m. ET

1. China: 14

2. United States: 13

3. Italy: 8

4. France: 6

5. Korea: 5