2012 Olympics Results: Winners and Losers from Day 6

We were treated to some amazing highlights and a few less-than-ideal lowlights on Day 6 of the 2012 Olympic Games. 

Gabby Douglas put on a spectacular display of athleticism, grace and poise to win the women's all-around gold medal, while her teammate, Aly Raisman, failed to medal due to another terrible rule—the second time an American gymnast has been shafted this summer.

These are just two examples of what transpired on the second Thursday of the London Summer Games. 

Winner: Gabby Douglas

Brilliant isn't a bright enough word to describe how good Gabby Douglas was in the women's all-around. 

She ranked No. 1 in both the vault and on the balance beam, the latter being the most gut-wrenchingly difficult of all four disciplines. 

She placed third in the parallel bars and fourth in the floor exercise, winning the all-around by just over one-quarter of a point over Russia's almost equally phenomenal Victoria Komova. 

Leading up to these Games, we all knew that Douglas was capable of performing on this level, but the overriding question was whether or not she could overcome her lack of experience on such a big stage. 

She answered that question with a resounding, "Yes, I can!"

Douglas is now the queen of women's gymnastics, and she'll have young girls all over the United States looking up to her for years to come.

Loser: Gymnastics Officials

Aly Raisman logged the exact same final score as bronze medal winner Aliya Mustafina—a 59.566.

Still, Russia's Mustafina won the bronze, while Raisman was left with nothing but a vacant stare. 

Making matters worse is that Mustafina completely bombed her balance beam routine, scoring an atrocious 13.633—the 18th-ranked total in that category. 

But, because of a terrible tie-breaking rule, Mustafina won the bronze.

According to NBCOlympics.com, this is the rule:

"

Should there be ties in the team finals in London, the lowest apparatus score will be dropped and the remaining scores added. If that doesn't break the tie, additional apparatus scores will be dropped, one at a time, until there is a winner. If no winner emerges, the tie stands.

"

Raisman put together a more consistent all-around performance than her Russian counterpart, yet she lost. That isn't right. Sharing medals isn't a new concept in the Olympics. Many other sports still do it. In boxing, judo and both styles of wrestling—a few sports you may have heard of—two bronze medals are handed out in each weight class every four years. Raisman and Mustafina should have shared this one. 

Winner: Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps continued to show the world why he's the best Olympian of all time with another phenomenal performance in the pool today.

He beat out teammate and rival, Ryan Lochte, in the men's 200-meter individual medley to take home his 16th career gold medal. To put that gaudy number in perspective, the next best gold-medal total by any Olympian (all sports) is nine. 

Phelps' time of 1:54.27 was over six-tenths of a second faster than Lochte, and almost two full seconds faster than third-place Laszlo Cseh of Hungary.

Phelps isn't finished, either. He still has the 100-meter butterfly and the 4x100-meter medley relay left to further cement himself as the greatest Olympian of all time. 

Loser: Ryan Lochte

It may seem a bit harsh to put a guy who just won a silver and bronze on Day 6 in the "losers" column, but Lochte set himself up for this.

Remember, earlier last month in July Lochte talked about his goal of taking down Michael Phelps in these Games, saying, "Honestly, I feel like this is my time. I have definitely put in the work and it’s something that I believe so strong that I know I can make this happen," according to Reuters, via UniversalSports.com.

Not only did Lochte lose to Phelps in the 200-meter IM on Day 6, but he was also defeated by Tyler Clary and Japan's Ryosuke Irie in the 200-meter backstroke.

In hindsight, it would have been better for Lochte to have kept his boasts to himself. By coming out before the competitions and declaring that 2012 was his time, he now has to deal with the consequences of his failed predictions.

Winner: Mexico's Female Archers

Mexico had a phenomenal day in women's archery, as Aida Roman and Mariana Avitia took home the silver and bronze medals. 

It could have been even better, too, as Roman took South Korea's Ki Bo-Bae to a tiebreaker in the final of the women's individual gold-metal match. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Ki's shot struck the closest to the bullseye, winning her the gold for South Korea.

All in all, though, Mexico's women rocked Day 6 of the Summer Games.

Loser: Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki got completely annihilated by Serena Williams on Thursday. She didn't even put up a fight. The final results tell you all you need to know about her efforts, as she lost 0-6, 3-6. 

Throughout the match, Wozniacki only managed seven total winners. Williams, on the other hand, scored 30. 

The former world No. 1 was utterly humiliated.

Wozniacki's failure to put up even the slightest resistance is unacceptable.

Winner: Great Britain

Great Britain followed up a spectacular Day 5 with another beauty on Day 6. In total, they collected six medals—three golds and three silvers.

The men's cycling won gold in the team sprint over France and Germany—breaking the world record in the process (via Sky Sports).

Team GB took both the gold and silver medals in the men's slalom C-2 canoe competition, to the surprise of many. Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott took home the gold medal, while David Florence and Richard Hounslow settled for silver. 

Shotgun specialist Peter Wilson won the gold in the men's double trap, beating out Sweden's Hakan Dahlby and Russia's Vasily Mosin. 

The men's rowing team brought home a silver medal in the lightweight four, and finally, Gemma Gibbons won a silver medal in the woman's judo half heavyweight division.

The host country has put together two massive days in a row, to the delight of their countrymen.

Loser: Chinese Men's Baskeball

As good as China has been throughout the 2012 Summer Games, they have been equally bad in men's basketball.

China lost to Australia by 20 points in their most recent matchup—their third blowout loss in a row. The only team that has played worse than them to this point is Tunisia, but nobody expected anything out of them.

China hasn't been a basketball powerhouse at the Olympics in years past, but they have a long way to go if they have any hope of matching the two-win totals they put up in 2004 and 2008.  

Ever since Yao Ming retired, Chinese basketball has suffered, and it doesn't look like they're getting better anytime soon.

Winner: Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison won the gold medal on Day 6 in the women's half heavyweight judo division, defeating Great Britain's Gemma Gibbons in the final.

The reason she made it on this list is that she is the first American to win a gold medal in judo, according to the Los Angeles Times. Plus, according to Eddie Liddie, the director of high performance for U.S. Judo, via the report:

"

Kayla is the individual that you can cheer for at any time. Class act all the way. With her opponents, with her teammates, with her family...She’s been the darling of our team for a while. Her face has been the face of USA Judo. She came in, she handled it well.

"

It's always special when an athlete breaks down barriers like Harrison did on Thursday, but it's even more special when the people around her laud her personality and character like Liddie does here. 

Loser: Chinese Women's Gymnastics

So, maybe there was something to the uproar about the Chinese "women's" gymnastics team of four years ago. 

After winning the gold in the team all-around competition, winning the gold and bronze in the uneven bars, and placing third in the individual all-around, vault and balance beam in Beijing, China hasn't earned a single medal to this point in London. 

That's what I call a massive disparity. 

Even though China wasn't forced to give up any of their medals from four years ago, they were obviously playing by the rules this time around. As a result, they struggled to compete. 

Follow @JesseReed78