London 2012 United States: Most Disappointing Americans at Olympic Games

For all the glory that Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin and Gabby Douglas have brought to the United States this summer at the 2012 London Olympics, there have been an equal amount of disappointments at the Games for the Stars and Stripes. 

Although they are all Olympians and surely gave their best efforts this summer, they fell short of their ultimate goals in the end, and must be dubbed the most disappointing Americans at the Games.

Let's take a look at which Yankees underachieved in 2012.

Lolo Jones

By far the single most disappointing athlete at the 2012 Olympic Games, Lolo Jones competed in one event and failed to medal despite countless hype. Jones finished fourth in the women's 100-meter hurdles on Tuesday, four years after finishing seventh because of a late stumble on the second-to-last hurdle in Beijing.

Jones' intriguing backstory made her a larger-than-life character in the lead up to the Summer Games, but her underachievement on the track only builds on the disappointment she experienced in 2008. It's safe to say she is one of the most overrated U.S. Olympians in recent memory after her London failure, and that a return in 2016 looks bleak. 

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser

The defending men's beach volleyball gold medalists coming into the Games failed to even win a single set in the knockout rounds in 2012. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, who dominated the competition in Beijing, lost 2-0 to a pair of Italians in the Round of 16. The Italian team would go on to lose in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Rogers and Dalhausser were both four years older this year, but they had looked solid through the preliminary rounds leading up to the monumental upset at Horse Guards Parade. For the gold medalists to not even make it to the medal rounds in London is utterly head-scratching. 

Ryan Lochte

It's more than fair to say that Ryan Lochte underachieved at the 2012 Games this summer. Lochte won a team gold and an individual gold in the pool in London, but finished fourth in the men's 200-meter freestyle final, and settled for silver and bronze in two other individual events.

Looking back, Lochte was incredibly over-hyped coming into the Games. His poor anchor leg for the United States men in the 4x100 freestyle relay cost them gold as France blew by the veteran swimmer to push the Americans down to silver. 

It certainly didn't help Lochte that Michael Phelps returned to GOAT form towards the end of the Games, snagging gold medals as if they grew on trees in London. Lochte heads home knowing that he could have done better as one of the more highly-anticipated athletes coming into the Olympics. 

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