Olympic Results 2012: British Finally Beginning to Fulfill Medal Potential

The 2012 London Games have been kind to China and the United States so far, but the host nation had struggled to find the podium. On Day Six, Great Britain found it repeatedly.

Great Britain got on the board early with a silver medal in the men's lightweight four rowing competition. The performance nearly was golden, but South Africa edged the Britons by 0.25 seconds.

That was only the beginning for the host nation.

With a total score of 188, Peter Wilson shot his way to gold in the men's double trap event.

Wilson led the competition after the qualifying round with a score of 143. Silver medalist Hakan Sahlby was behind after shooting a 137 in the qualifying round, but posted an outstanding 49 in the final round. However, Wilson shot a 45 and that was good enough to win gold by two.

Great Britain dominated the men's C-2 final. The team of Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott paddled their way to the gold medal, and countrymen David Florence and Richard Hounslow grabbed silver.

Baillie and Stott were the slowest qualifiers out of the semi-finals, but were able to post a time of 106.41 in the first run of the medal round. No other team were able to top that time the rest of the event.

A disappointed Hounslow spoke with Reuters but was able to see the silver lining to finishing second.

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"We lost it on the final paddle to the line to be honest," Hounslow told reporters. "But at least we get to stand on the podium and hear the British national anthem."

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In the men's cycling team sprint event the Britons got another gold. They pedaled to a new world record of 42.600. France, their gold medal final competition, could only manage a 43.013.

In one of the more emotional performances of the day, Gemma Gibbons advanced to the gold medal match in women's 78kg judo.

After winning her semi-final, she looked upwards and whispered, “I love you mom.” Gibbons' mother passed away in 2004 after a battle with leukemia. Eight years later her daughter utilized her skills in the sport of judo to reach the finals and go for gold.

Gibbons lost the gold medal match, but a silver medal is quite the reward for an impressive performance in the tournament.

The six medals Great Britain won on Day Six lifted their total to 15 overall. Enough to put the host nation in the top five for overall medals.

As the Games progress, the Britons will try to continue their strong Olympic showing. They will have several opportunities to medal in the coming days, but it is up to the talent to feed off of the home crowd's energy. By the time the closing ceremonies come, we will hear Great Britain's national anthem many more times.