2012 Olympics Results: Winners & Losers from Day 8

Serena Williams made winning look easy on Day 8 of the 2012 Olympic Games, and she headlines our panel of winners. 

Maria Sharapova, on the other hand, looked pathetic in her attempt to fend off Williams in the women's tennis final. She's one of today's losers. 

There was much more happening around London than tennis, though, and as such, we have an entire slideshow dedicated to the winners and losers of Day 8 from the 2012 Summer Games. 

Winner: Serena Williams

Serena Williams put together one masterful performance after another at Wimbledon during these Games. She capped off her magnificent run with a resounding victory over Russia's Maria Sharapova.

She won the final match in just under one hour, losing just one set in the process. 

Part of her dominance throughout the tournament stemmed from her serves, and she nailed 10 aces in her final match against Sharapova. 

You're not going to see another performance like this one from Williams for years to come. She was a god amongst mortals during her 2012 Olympic run, and her final match was a virtuoso performance.

Loser: Maria Sharapova

Never has a silver medal looked so dross. 

Maria Sharapova's final match at the 2012 Summer Games was unbelievably anti-climactic. If any woman had a chance to stop the steamroller that was Serena Williams, it was supposed to be her. 

Alas, it wasn't even close. 

Sharapova, and all the other women in this tournament, were but a stepping stone for Williams. 

Winner: Russian Men's Basketball

I was impressed when the men's basketball team from the Russian Federation was able to beat Brazil by one point a couple of days ago. 

Now, I'm more than impressed.

The Russians did it again on Day 8, beating one of the best teams in the world in Spain. They won the game by three points, taking advantage of a missed free throw by Pau Gasol in the waning moments to seal the game with two final free throws from Vitaliy Fridzon. 

Now, they are the only team left in the tournament besides Team USA who has yet to lose. They now have the inside track to face Team USA in the gold-medal game, as long as they continue their winning ways. 

Not only are the Russians one of the biggest winners from Day 8, but this team is putting together one of the most surprising runs in these Games. 

Loser: Spanish Men's Basketball

Losing one game at the last second isn't normally a legitimate reason for putting a team on a "biggest losers" list, but after Spain barely held off Great Britain in their previous game, they deserve to be here.

Spain lost on Saturday to Russia by three points. They should have won this game, but they blew an 18-point lead and lost in the final seconds. 

Leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games, Spain was widely considered to be the team that had the best chance to challenge Team USA in men's basketball.

They have three of the best big men in the tournament: Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka. They also have a talented backcourt that is stocked with NBA talent. Additionally, this team almost beat Team USA four years ago in the gold-medal game.

All of that means nothing at this point. They haven't come close to showing the same kind of spunk and determination—let alone excellent play—that got them to that point four years ago.

Winner: Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius, aka "Blade Runner," is moving on to the semifinals in the men's 400-meter after posting an impressive time of 45.44 seconds in Round 1 on Saturday—his best time of this season.

Pistorius had both of his legs removed at the tender age of 11 months, due to a birth defect. He never let it slow him down, though, and his story is an inspiration to amputees world wide. 

His prosthetic legs on the track are what has given Pistorius his nickname, and it fits him to perfection. Blade Runner may not win a medal, given his time compared to the top runners in the world during the heats, but he's going to be one of the biggest winners of these Games, nevertheless. 

Loser: Beezie Madden and Via Volo

Beezie Madden was considered by many to be one of the favorites to medal in the individual show jumping equestrian competition, according to the AP. 

That isn't going to happen, and you aren't going to believe the reason why.

Her horse, Via Volo, refused to jump a fence on two separate occasions on Saturday, and Madden has been eliminated from the individual competition. 

After the race, Madden spoke about it, via the AP report:

"

It was all going well and she was jumping amazing, then she started fighting me quite a bit and all our good work went wrong. She hasn't done a lot of shows recently and I think she became a bit too impressed with the whole place.

"

Stupid horse. 

Winner: Jessica Ennis

Great Britain's Jessica Ennis pulled off a phenomenal feat in front of her home crowd on Saturday, winning the gold medal in the women's heptathlon. 

Her first showing in the grueling event should have clued us in, as Ennis broke a world heptathlon record in the 100-meter hurdles. By the end of the day on Friday, she was in the lead. 

She kept pulling ahead on the second day of the event, and Ennis' 800-meter run to finish off the event seemed like more of a victory lap than a normal race. 

Ennis was brilliant throughout, and her performance in the women's heptathlon was one of the best we've seen so far in these Olympic Games. 

Loser: St. Kitts and Nevis Team Officials

According to the Daily Mail, St. Kitts and Nevis' sprinter Kim Collins has been cut by team officials from the Olympic team...for visiting his wife/coach in a London hotel.

That's just wrong.

Kim Collins, via Twitter:

"

This can't be right. Olympic number 5 and no Kim Collins.

— kim collins (@kimcollins100m) August 4, 2012"

"

For those who saw me run in Mexico. That's the last time I represent my country.

— kim collins (@kimcollins100m) August 4, 2012"

"

Even men in prison get their wives to visit.

— kim collins (@kimcollins100m) August 4, 2012"

I will refrain from saying everything that's on my mind about this, but I will say that I sympathize with Collins on this score. 

Winner: Ilya Ilyin

Ilya Ilyin crushed his competition and smashed the world record in the process on Saturday in the men's 94-kilogram weightlifting event. 

Ilyin was matched by Russia's Alexandr Ivanov in the snatch portion of the competition, as both men lifted 185 kg. But, he completely outclassed everyone in the competition in the clean and jerk portion, powering 233 kg—seven kilograms over the next-best contestant.

Ilyin is only 24 years old, too. He still has room to improve as he enters the prime of his life.

Loser: Ethiopian Long-Distance Runners

After taking home gold medals in each of the last four Olympics in a row, Ethiopia was finally subdued in the 2012 Games.

Kenenisa Bekele, the gold-medal winner the past two times, didn't even podium this year. His younger brother, Tariku Bekele, was only able to win the bronze.

This was a stunning result, folks—especially when you consider that it wasn't another African nation like Kenya that overtook the Ethiopians. African nations have been dominating this event for the past few decades. 

Instead, what we saw was a Great Britain and and American in the top two spots, as Mo Farah took the gold, and Galen Rupp took home the silver. 

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