London 2012 Medal Count: Big Day 11 Gives China Serious Edge over America

The battle between the United States and China for overall medal supremacy at the 2012 London Olympics took a substantial turn on Day 11.

The Chinese continued to win medals in a wide assortment of events and have now jumped out to a sizable lead with five days remaining. They won nine more to give themselves 73 total medals, with 34 golds. American is at 70 with 30 golds.

With China beating the U.S. almost every step of the way early on, the general American sentiment was that the red, white and blue would run away with the overall medal title once track and field began.

It hasn’t happen yet. In fact, China broke a Day 10 tie with their performance on Day 11.

They won medals in cycling, table tennis, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. They won in a wide variety of events while the Americans are faltering.

Gymnastics stands out, as China got gold medal performances from Feng Zhe in the parallel bars and Deng Linlin in the balance beam. American men Danell Leyva and Jonathan Horton were shut out. 

While the women’s gymnastics team captured the hearts of America with their gold medal-winning performance in the team all-around final, they only captured five overall. This was their lowest total since 2000 after notching eight in Beijing and six in Athens.

In diving, Russian Ilya Zakharov’s 3-meter springboard was the only thing standing between China and their bid to sweep the diving events. They still ended up winning silver and bronze and have now registered five gold’s and six overall medals in the event.  

Troy Dumais of the U.S. finished fifth as America has been denied gold while only collecting three overall medals.

Or how about the United States' goose egg in trampoline while the Chinese have earned four medals? These are examples of the lack of diversity the Americans have had in London.

Sure, the U.S. is going to land gold and silver in women’s beach volleyball and are the overwhelming favorites to land gold in men’s and women’s basketball…but that’s only a few events.

What happened to the men’s boxing team? They are one of the biggest embarrassments of the Olympics with not a single competitor able to land a medal.

With plenty of track and field to go I’m not here to pronounce the overall medal race a done deal, but it’s concerning to see China winning this late into the Games.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has to put a greater emphasis on some of the niche sports in the Olympics and give them incentive to dedicate the time necessary to become great.

The 2012 Olympics are far from over, but it’s not a stretch to call them a minor disappointment for a country that will not settle for anything less than being the best.

China has caught up, and it’s time for America to adjust accordingly. 

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