Olympic Medal Count 2012: Contenders USA Needs to Come Through to Beat China
The United States pulled back into the overall medal lead on Day 12 of the 2012 Olympics as they lead China 81 to 77.ย
Both of these powerhouse countries have plenty of gold medal favorites left to compete, which means the race for the overall medal crown is going to come down to which borderline medal contenders can come through with some hardware.
If these next three athletes come through, the U.S. will be in great shape.ย
Check outย B/R's Standings and Medal Winners Trackerย here, and view the totals following Day 11 below.ย
Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi,ย Men's Marathonย
The marathon is not typically an event the U.S. looks towards to help them boost their medal count, but they have a legitimate shot at doing so this year.
Ryan Hall has a personal best of 2 minutes, 04.58 seconds, which is certainly good enough to put him in the medal mix.
Hall is not the American's only threat here either. Meb Keflezighi won silver in this event in the 2004 Games. He is now 36, but he ran a personal best this past November, so age hasn't exactly slowed him down yet.
He appears to be healthy and ready to go, and when that happens, he performs.
Kelsey Campbell, Women's Freestyle 55 kg
Kelsey Campbell is in a tough weightclass, and she is no where close to being the favorite, but she won't be afraid of being the underdog.
After dropping down a weightclass, she pulled one off to win the U.S. Olympic Trials by beating 2011 U.S. Team Trials champ Helen Maroulis.
She is also not aย stranger to winning. She was twice a national collegiate champion, and inย 2011 she won the Pan American Games gold medal, Mongolian Open, and Poland Open.
All of that said, it would be a major upset if she or anyone else beside Japan's Saori Yoshida won this gold. Yoshida is a individual dynasty. Since 2002, she is the only person in this weightclass to take gold at the World Championships or the Olympics gold.
Campbell will also have to deal with last year's World Championship silver medalist and two-time Olympic medalist Tonya Verbeek of Canada. She is going to have her work cut out for her, but Campbell is on a nice roll at this weight, and she has serious potential to exceed expectations.ย
Galen Rupp, Men's 5,000 Meters
Galen Rupp has already had a great trip to London. He took the silver in the 10,000-meter race to win the U.S. its first medal in that since 1964.
Now he turns his attention to going half that distance in the 5,000. He won this race at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
On August 9, Sports.williamhill.com has Rupp's odds at 14/1 to win gold. That is the fifth lowest odds on the board. The favorite is Mo Farah, who Rupp narrowly lost to in the 10,000.ย
This is yet another race where the U.S. has not medaled since 1964.
Rupp can change that. He is going to have to run the race of his life to medal, but the way he is going it wouldn't be a shock to see him jog out of this event with his second medal.
London Olympics Medal Count - At the End of Day 12
 |  |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | United Statesย Total: 81 | 34 | 22 | 25 |
 | Chinaย Total: 76 | 35 | 22 | 19 |
 | Russiaย Total: 52 | 11 | 19 | 22 |
 | Great Britainย Total: 48 | 22 | 13 | 13 |
 | Germanyย Total: 32 | 7 | 15 | 10 |
 | Japanย Total: 31 | 4 | 13 | 14 |
 | Franceย Total: 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
 | Australiaย Total: 26 | 5 | 12 | 9 |
 | South Koreaย Total: 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
 | Italyย Total: 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
 | Netherlandsย Total: 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
 | Canadaย Total: 14/td> | 1 | 4 | 9 |
 | Hungaryย Total: 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
 | New Zealandย Total: 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
 | Brazilย Total: 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
 | Belarusย Total: 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
 | Ukraineย Total: 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
 | Romaniaย Total: 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
 | Denmarkย Total: 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
 | Kazakhstanย Total: 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
 | Iranย Total: 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
 | Polandย Total: 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
 | Cubaย Total: 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
 | Spainย Total: 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
 | Swedenย Total: 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
 | Jamaicaย Total: 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
 | Czech Republicย Total: 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
 | North Koreaย Total: 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
 | Kenyaย Total: 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
 | Mexicoย Total: 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
 | Colombiaย Total: 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
 | South Africaย Total: 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
 | Croatiaย Total: 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
 | Ethiopiaย Total: 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 | Sloveniaย Total: 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 | Azerbaijanย Total: 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | Indiaย Total: 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 | Slovakiaย Total: 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 | Switzerlandย Total: 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
 | Georgiaย Total: 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 | Norwayย Total: 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 | Belgiumย Total: 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | Armeniaย Total: 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | Mongoliaย Total: 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 | Dominican Republicย Total: 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 | Lithuaniaย Total: 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | Egyptย Total: 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
 | Serbiaย Total: 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | Indonesiaย Total: 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | Tunisiaย Total: 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | Thailandย Total: 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | Estoniaย Total: 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | Greeceย Total: 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 | Singaporeย Total: 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 | Qatarย Total: 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 | Moldovaย Total: 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 | Grenadaย Total: 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 | Algeriaย Total: 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 | Venezuelaย Total: 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 | Guatemalaย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Finlandย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Chinese Taipeiย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Cyprusย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Portugalย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Malaysiaย Total: 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | Hong Kongย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Trinidad and Tobagoย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Turkeyย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Moroccoย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Irelandย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Argentinaย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Tajikistanย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Saudi Arabiaย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Kuwaitย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Puerto Ricoย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | Uzbekistanย Total: 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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