Olympics 2012 Results: Biggest Surprises from Day 13

Day 13 at the 2012 Olympics proved to be no different than every other day in London so far; it was full of surprising results. 

One of the biggest surprises of the day comes from the world of women's basketball, as Australia pushed USA to the brink. Sure, the Americans won the game, but the Aussies kept it close until the bitter end. 

One of the world's premier marathon swimmers failed to make it to the podium, a 17-year-old woman boxer won a gold medal, and there was some interesting action out on the track. 

Thursday was an example of how unpredictable sports can be. But isn't that why we all love to watch in the first place?

Claressa Shields Wins Gold Medal in Women's Boxing

Claressa Shields, at the tender age of 17, earned the sole gold medal for Team USA's boxing coalition at the 2012 Olympic Games. 

The U.S. men failed to bring home a single medal in 2012—the first time that's ever happened. 

Heading into the Games, there was no denying the incredible talent Shields brings to the table—she was certainly one of the featured boxers—but nobody saw her gold-medal performance coming. 

She defeated three women who were much older and more experienced than her to achieve this accomplishment—the last being the No. 2-ranked boxer of these Games, Russia's Nadezda Torlopova. 

The future of women's boxing in the USA is bright indeed. 

U.S. Women Fail to Qualify for Final in Women's 10-Meter Platform

Brittany Viola and Katie Bell finished in 15th and 16th place, respectively, in the women's 10-meter platform semifinals. There were 18 total divers in the semifinal, and 12 of them moved on to the final. 

This is a disappointing result, especially for Viola, who finished in 10th place in the 2011 World Aquatic Championships. Neither diver was expected to really come close to a medal, but Viola was certainly expected to move into the final round. 

All's not lost, though. At least these two young women can say they've competed in the Olympics. Not many of us can make the same claim. 

Pandelela Rinong Pamg Wins Bronze Medal in Women's 10-Meter Platform

Malaysia isn't known for being an Olympic powerhouse. In fact, before today, it had only won five total Olympic medals—all of which came in the high-profile sport of badminton.

Pandelela Rinong Pamg's bronze medal in the women's 10-meter individual platform competition is a true watershed moment for her nation. 

It's also a big surprise, as Pamg beat out a handful of experienced Olympic divers to do it. 

Women's 10,000-Meter Swimming Marathon

There were two big surprises that came from this one race. 

First off, Great Britain's Keri-Anne Payne failed to finish in the top three. Payne was the reigning world champion, silver medalist in 2008 and favorite to win the open-water event, according to The Telegraph. She missed out on the podium by four-tenths of a second. 

The second big surprise of the day in this event was the incredible swim America's Haley Anderson put together. She finished just four-tenths of a second behind Hungarian swimmer Eva Risztov to earn the silver medal. 

She's the first American swimmer to win a medal in this event, according to The New York Times. 

Even more stunning than the fact that she medaled was how she did it. Anderson overtook Payne and Martina Grimaldi of Italy in the final 1,000 meters to finish the grueling race in 1 hour, 57 minutes and 38.6 seconds. 

Men's 4x400-Meter Relay

Let's just start by saying that things got a bit complicated today out on the track for the men's 4x400-meter relay. 

The Kenyan and South African teams were involved in a crash in the second leg of the race. Both teams were unable to finish, meaning that one of the highest-profile athletes of these Games, Oscar Pistorius, wouldn't be able to continue competing. 

South Africa appealed the ruling, though, and won the impending review. According to The New York Times, officials watched the video of the incident and ruled that the Kenyan runner, Vincent Mumo Kiilu, had obstructed his South African rival, Ofentse Mogawane. 

Referees can't advance a team that hasn't finished a race, though, and so, the South African team appealed to a jury of appeal, according to the report. That jury then made the ruling official, and South Africa will be competing in the final on Friday, Aug. 10. 

That means that we'll all be treated to one more race from Pistorius, one of the most inspirational athletes of the 2012 Olympic Games. 

What a roller coaster of emotions!

Jamaica Fails to Qualify for Final

As if we needed any more drama in this event, the Jamaican team failed to advance to the final.

This is a huge shock, as they were one of the top teams heading into the Olympics. The reason for this surprising result is that Jamaica chose to use Jermaine Gonzales, even though he was nursing a sore hamstring. 

That decision turned out to be a costly one, as Gonzales pulled up lame in his leg of the race.

Australia Pushes Team USA to the Brink in Women's Basketball

Australia gave USA's women's basketball team the biggest scare it's had in a long time. At halftime, the score was 47-43 in favor of the Aussies, and the U.S. only led by six at the start of the fourth quarter. 

In the end, the Americans won the game and increased their winning streak to 40 games. They relied on tough defense to power them through the second half and ended up winning by 13 points. 

That said, the way the Australians kept things close until the bitter end was one of the biggest surprises of Day 13. 

Special shout out to two Australian players, Liz Cambage and Lauren Jackson, who were the two catalysts for their team's superb effort against the Americans.

Jamaican Sprinters Finish 1,2,3 in Men's 200-Meter Final

OK, so it's no surprise that Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake finished one and two in the men's 200-meter final. 

It is a massive surprise, however, that Warren Weir was the third man to finish this race. He beat out American Wallace Spearmon by six-hundredths of a second to give Jamaica the trifecta on the podium for this race. 

Weir's time of 19.84 seconds was easily his personal best, and it couldn't have come at a better time for him.

Bolt and Blake were the stars of the show, though, as both of them posted their best times of the season. Blake truly challenged Bolt in the final 50 meters, but Bolt would not be denied. 

Manteo Mitchell Finishes Leg of 4x400 Relay on Broken Leg

The heart of these athletes never fails to amaze me.

Manteo Mitchell apparently broke his leg midway through his leg of the men's 4x400-meter relay semifinals, according to a press release from USA Track and Field. 

He first injured the leg three days prior to this race, and while he was pounding the track, in his own words, via the press release:

"

I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100-meter mark it felt weird. I was thinking I just didn’t feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.

I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I’m pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg.

"

Whoa. That is one of the most incredible stories you're going to read about this year. 

It's absolutely shocking that Mitchell was able to finish his leg of the race, and his courage and utter determination allowed his team to move on to the final.

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