London 2012 Medal Count: Day 13 Events That Will Add to USA Total

The United States had finally vaulted past China in the overall medal count at the end of competition on Wednesday, and there are a few events on Thursday's Day 13 that will help the American athletes build on their lead.

The London Games are closer to the closing ceremony than they are to the opening ceremony, so time is running out for the two Olympic powerhouses to stake their claim as the top country in the 2012 London Olympics.

Most of the main events are an afterthought, but track and field, soccer and water polo provide the US with the perfect opportunity to bring home a haul of medals on Day 13.

We'll elaborate on that here.

Men's Triple Jump

The men's triple jump is comprised of 12 competitors, two of which are American and only one Chinese competitor.

Americans Will Claye and Christian Taylor are two of the favorites to medal in the event, as they boast personal bests of 17.70 and 17.96 meters, respectively.

Taylor's is by far the best in the field, so don't be surprised if he runs away with the gold. Claye isn't too bad either. He has posted the top season best for any competitors in the field.

China's Bin Dong didn't exactly turn heads in the qualifying round, so we could be looking at a two-medal event for the Americans, while China comes up empty-handed.

Women's Soccer

Team USA is set to meet Japan in the gold medal match on Thursday at Wembley Stadium. 

The Americans, led by Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, are out to avenge their loss to Japan in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Pia Sundhage's side has been the top team in this tournament.

Wambach has netted five goals in as many games—just one off the tournament lead. Morgan and Rapinoe have both found the back of the net three times, none more important than the three they combined for in the semifinal match against Canada.

Japan is a great team, but the United States has been the class of this tournament, something they will continue to prove in the gold medal match.

Women's Water Polo

The American women's water polo team will face Spain in the gold medal match in London. The two teams met once before in this tournament, playing to a 9-9 tie that saw Spain come back thanks to three goals in the final three minutes.

American Maggie Steffans has established herself as the most prolific scorers in the tournament, scoring 16 goals on 22 shots to lead the team. Spain's Anni Espar Llaquet leads Spain with 13 goals on 35 shots.

This is going to be a fast-paced, high-scoring contest. Steffans and Llaquet will play a big part, but goalkeepers Betsy Armstrong and Laura Ester Ramos could be the deciding factors on Thursday.

Here are the top five countries in the medal race.

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
United States	34	22	25	81
China	36	22	19	77
Russia	11	19	22	52
Great Britain	22	13	13	48
Germany	7	15	10	32

Here is a link to the full leaderboard.