Olympic Standings 2012: Most Surprising Performances from Small Countries

As expected, the United States and China lead the medal count, but a few countries are happy just to be included in the medal count at all.

These three countries in particular have surprisingly managed to rack up multiple medals with some truly impressive performances.

North Korea

North Korea might not be renowned for its world-class athletes, but that conception might change after its impressive performance in the London Games.

Like Kazakhstan, North Korea is doing most of its work in the weight lifting events. Ryang Chun-Hwa, Om Yun-Chol, Rim Jong Sim and Kim Un-Guk all won medals in weight lifting, with Om, Rim and Kim winning gold.

The North Koreans have also won a gold medal in judo, courtesy of An Kum-Ae. 

Unfortunately, these performances are being used as propaganda by the new regime of Kim Jong-Un.

On the flip side, North Korea is a country desperately in need of good news, so any victory they achieve is a major one for the struggling country.

Cuba

Clearly, Cuba can develop some excellent fighters, as the country has won three medals in judo.

Impressively, Idalis Ortiz won gold in the women's 78+ kg weight class.

Leuris Pupo also posted an impressive performance, winning gold in the men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol event.

Their medals are rounded out by a bronze in weight lifting from Ivan Cambar.

For such a small country, Cuba had a large delegation and is taking advantage of its numbers with a solid performance.

Kazakhstan

There must be something in the water at Kazakhstan because it is producing the strongest group of athletes in the entire world.

Kazakhstan's domination of the weight lifting events has been nothing short of astounding.

To quickly recap, Zulfiya Chinshanlo won gold in the women's 53 kg bracket, Maiya Maneza won gold in the 63 kg group, Svetlana Podobedova won in the 73 kg bracket, and Ilya Ilin won in the men's 94 kg weight group.

This, combined with a gold in cycling from Alexander Vinokourov, has given Kazakhstan its highest total of gold medals in history.

Even more impressive are world records from Ilin and Chinshanlo in their weight classes.

Kazakhstan's impressive performance is surprising and exciting for the developing country. Look for Kazakhstan to rack up even more medals as the weight lifting events continue.