Olympic Medal Count 2012: Updated Gold Standings for London
With the battles raging across the 2012 Summer Olympics, the concentration has shifted to the gold medal hunts. Everyone wants to know who walks away with the biggest prize in all of athletics.
There have been many gold medalists thus far, but only China and the United States have utterly dominated. They are battling for No. 1 and No. 2 overall, and everyone else in the world is just battling for No. 3.
While there is still a long way to go in the competitions, China and America have taken an early lead and will look to hold on for the rest of the Games.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Either way, this is how these two countries have dominated early.
Chinese Dominance
Gold-Medal Winning Events: Women's Synchronized Diving 10-m Platform, Men's Team Gymnastics, Men's Synchronized Diving 10-m Platform, Women's Synchronized Diving 3-m Springboard, Women's 10-m Air Pistol, Women's 400-m Individual Medley, Men's 400-m Freestyle, Women's Weightlifting Under 48 Kg, Women's 10-m Air Rifle
What It Means
There was no doubt that China would come into the 2012 Olympics with a great team of star athletes looking to defend their honor from 2008 when the games were held in their country.
The Chinese success in Beijing has resulted in even more success in 2012.
While the diving competitions are always China’s ace in the hole, their recent success in swimming overall has shifted the balance of power a bit. Team USA has dominated for so long that the potential complacency could hurt them.
USA’s Valiant Effort
Gold-Medal Winning Events: Men's Skeet Shooting, Men's 100-m Backstroke, Women's 100-m Backstroke, Women's 100-m Butterfly, Women's Skeet Shooting, Men's 400-m Individual Medley
What It Means
Team USA is always a favorite to walk away from the Olympics with the most gold medals, but China has developed a real stranglehold on many sports.
America has to overcome.
While swimming has been their biggest event, Team USA’s biggest stars, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, haven’t been nearly as successful as they were in 2008. There is still time, though.
With track and field yet to get underway and plenty of events in every sport, the Americans are not going down without a fight. China will likely win more gold medals than Team USA, but it will be closer than anyone could imagine.
 |  |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | China Total: 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 |
 | United States Total: 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
 | France Total: 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
 | North Korea Total: 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
 | Italy Total: 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
For full medal results, check out Bleacher Report’s official leaderboard.
Check back for more on the 2012 Summer Olympics as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s Olympics page to get your fill of the best athletes the world has to offer.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
