Olympic Medal Count 2012: Nations Guaranteed to Win Gold on Final Day

Only hours remain in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, but many nations are just as focused as ever on adding to their medal counts.

While plenty of tight competition is a given, some countries will still be guaranteed gold on the final day. Here are three that fall into that category as well as the current medal count.

Medal Count as of Sunday, August 12 at 7:45 a.m.

OLYMPIC MEDAL TRACKER
	United States  Total: 102	44	29	29
	China  Total: 87	38	27	27
	Russia  Total: 78	21	25	32
	Great Britain  Total: 62	28	15	19
	Germany  Total: 44	11	19	14
Full Table and Medal Results »

3. Russia

Ivan Drago would be proud.

Russian Egor Mekhontsev is a heavy favorite to win gold in the men’s light heavyweight final over Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan. Mekhontsev already boasts three gold medals—one in the World Amateur Championships and two in the European Amateur Championships—as well as one bronze.

If he somehow, someway loses, Russia also has wrestler Abdusalam Gadisov who’s favored to win the men's 96-kilogram freestyle.

2. Kenya

Kenya’s reputation as a long-distance juggernaut hangs in the balance with the marathon set to take place on Saturday. It will ultimately come down to the Kenya vs. Ethiopia, but the Kenyans have a significant edge.

Kenya boasts Wilson Kipsang, the prohibitive favorite to win the competition. He’s the most recent victor of the London Marathon. However, if Kipsang can’t make it back-to-back in the city, according to Bovada, two out of the next three runners most likely to win gold are also Kenyan.

1. USA

Team USA and Spain reached the gold-medal game in completely different fashions.

The U.S. destroyed everyone, minus Lithuania, which includes a 26-point beatdown of Argentina in the semifinals. Spain lost twice in the Group Stage and only defeated Russia by eight on Friday.

The Gasol brothers made the Spaniards a popular pick to upset the Americans and win the gold medal, but that isn’t happening. For Spain to shock the world, it’d have to be the perfect storm—a streaking Spanish club colliding with an inconsistent Team USA.

It just so happens that the U.S. is the squad that’s hot and Spain is shaky.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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