Olympics 2012 Results: Biggest Surprises from Day 9

Day 9 of the 2012 London Olympics provided us with some surprising results, including a beatdown of Roger Federer by Andy Murray in the men's tennis gold-medal match. 

One of the more pleasant surprises of these Games has been Great Britain's dominance over the past five days after getting off to a rather slow start. 

The Brits weren't the only ones making waves, though. With that in mind, let's take a look at Day 9's biggest surprises. 

Roger Federer Goes Down...Hard...To Andy Murray

Andy Murray has died and gone to heaven. Not only did he defeat Roger Federer in the final, but he absolutely crushed him in straight sets.

Murray's return game was on point, negating Federer's serve. He was also the one initiating the action, which is a new phenomenon between these two men. 

Rather than reacting to Federer, Murray forced his game on FedEx instead.  It was a masterful performance that will live on in Great Britain history for ages. Murray was already a British hero, but now, the 25-year-old Scot has entered immortal status. 

McKayla Maroney Takes Silver After Taking a Fall

McKayla Maroney was selected for the U.S. women's gymnastics team for one reason, and one reason only: for her prowess on the vault. 

She is the world's premier vault specialist, and she proved that during the team competition.

Unfortunately, when the bright lights were shining in the individual vault competition, she took an uncharacteristic fall that dropped her from first place to second.

And, though silver medals aren't anything to scoff at, there's no doubt that she will be extremely disappointed with her latest performance.

Chinese Women's Water Polo Team

The Chinese women's water polo team took the Australians to the brink on Day 9, just missing out on a semifinal berth. In the end, the Aussies won via penalty shots after two grueling overtime periods weren't enough to decide the winner. 

The reason this is such a huge surprise—even though the Chinese team lost—is that China has never medaled in the sport. They weren't supposed to be this good. 

The Australians are notoriously proficient at water sports, but they almost lost to a team nobody expected to be a threat.

In the end, it was the extensive experience of the Aussies that saved them in the shootout. But they never saw this one coming, and they're lucky to come away relatively unscathed. 

Great Britain's Gymnasts Take Two Medals on Pommel Horse

Great Britain hasn't been known as a powerhouse in gymnastics since the 1920s.

All that is about to change, and the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

Louis Smith improved upon his bronze-medal showing in the men's pommel horse in 2008 with the silver this time around. Even more surprising was the performance of his teammate, Max Whitlock, who joined him on the podium at third.

Nobody saw this coming. GB is proving to be one of the top nations in these Games, and they've shocked the world with many of their medals, especially in gymnastics.

U.S. Men's Foil Fencing Team Makes Bronze-Medal Match

The United States hasn't produced a medal in men's team foil fencing since 1932, so it was a huge shock when they defeated France in the quarterfinals to earn a chance to compete for a medal in the semis.

Although they were soundly defeated by Italy and then by Germany in the bronze-medal match, the fact that the U.S. was even in the medal picture is quite an accomplishment.

During their broze-medal defeat, only two men were able to gain victories over their opponents: Gerek Meinhardt and Alexander Massailas. Special kudos to those two for their fine efforts.

Tyson Gay Fails to Medal in 100-Meter

Looking at the end results, it's not that hard to believe that Tyson Gay lost out on a medal in the men's 100-meter. Nobody expected Justin Gatlin to better his 9.80-second time from the Olympic trials, but that's just what he did. 

That said, heading into the 2012 Olympics, Gay was believed to be one of the men who was supposed to challenge Usain Bolt for the gold medal. 

Thus, missing out on a medal completely makes this one of the biggest surprises of the day. 

Juan Martin del Potro Beats Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets for Bronze

It wasn't long ago that Novak Djokovic was the undisputed champion of men's tennis. He won three straight majors and was the world No. 1. And then he suddenly became human again.

To be honest, he just hasn't been the same since his grandfather's passing back in April.  Whatever the reasons, Djokovic hasn't looked like himself since then, and the trend continued these Olympic Games. 

After losing to Andy Murray in the semifinals in straight sets, Djokovic was once again easily dispatched in the bronze-medal match against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.

Going into the Olympics, though I didn't expect him to win the gold, there wasn't any way I would have believed the Serbian star would miss the podium entirely.

Shalane Flanagan Finishes in 10th Place in Women's Marathon

Let me say this up front: It would have been an even bigger surprise to see Shalane Flanagan medal in the marathon than it is for her to finish in 10th place.

That said, she was supposed to at least challenge the leaders as America's top hope. As it was, Flanagan didn't come close to the top three women, posting a time that was over two minutes behind the leaders.

Remember, it was only two years ago that Flanagan finished second at the New York City Marathon.

Thus, her finish in this year's Olympics is a supreme disappointment and a big surprise. 

Tatyana Lebedeva Fails to Medal in Women's Triple Jump

Not only did Tatyana Lebedeva fail to medal, but she failed to even contend for a medal. 

It is especially surprising as Levedeva is a three-time medalist in the women's triple jump, having won the silver in 2000 and 2008 and bronze in 2004. 

Perhaps this is simply a case of an athlete getting a bit too old to compete with the young guns, but whatever the reasons for her performance, it was a shock to see her fall by the wayside. 

Christina Loukas' Poor Showing in Women's 3-Meter Springboard

This photo perfectly illustrates why Christina Loukas failed to put up high scores in the women's three-meter springboard competition. 

She couldn't keep her feet together, and that is a major portion of what the judges are looking at. Additionally, both her and U.S. teammate Cassidy Krug routinely over-rotated on their dives and entered the water at extreme angles. 

Loukas' performance in the final led to eighth place—a far cry from the fourth-place finish she posted at the 2011 World Championships. 

All in all, the 2012 Summer Games did not go according to plan for Loukas, and at the age of 26, this could be her last hurrah. 

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