Olympic Medal Count 2012: Power Ranking Top Nations' Performances Heisman-Style

The 2012 London Olympic Games are now officially over, but which country had the most dominating performance?

That question depends on how you choose to measure the Olympic Games. Sure, the purpose isn't just to win but to take part. However, they also keep medal counts for a reason. The two most popular measuring sticks are total medals and total gold medals.

I believe the best measure is in the middle.

Winning a bronze medal shouldn't be worth as much as winning a gold medal. Likewise, winning three gold medals is less impressive than winning 20 silver.

Let's take a page from the way the Heisman Trophy votes are tallied in college football to measure countries in the Olympic Games. Instead of first, second and third place votes we will use the medals and award three points for gold, two for silver and one for bronze.

This way, there is more weight for winning gold but total medals can add up as well.

Here are the top 10 countries from the 2012 Olympic Games.

10. Italy: 53 Points

Italy won eight gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals in the 2012 Olympic Games. Their strongest event was fencing, where they won seven medals, including three gold.

9. South Korea: 62 Points

South Korea won 62 total medals including 13 gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals. Although they had the fifth-most gold medals of any country in the games, they didn't win enough silver and bronze medals to rank higher at the end.

Their strongest efforts came in shooting, where they won three gold medals and two silver. They were also strong in archery, winning three gold medals and a bronze.

8. Autstralia: 65 Points

Australia won seven gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze medals in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Swimming was their most dominant event. They won 10 medals in the pool, including one gold, six silver and three bronze. They won their most gold medals in sailing, with three.

7. Japan: 66 Points

Japan won seven gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Japan did most of its damage wrestling, winning four gold medals and two bronze. They won the majority of their overall medals in the swimming pool, winning three silver and eight bronze medals.

6. France: 67 Points

France barely edged Japan and Australia in the rankings by one and two points, respectively. The French tallied 11 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals during the Olympic Games in London.

The French also had a dominant performance in the swimming pool, winning four gold, two silver and one bronze medal. They also won seven total medals in judo, including two gold.

5. Germany: 85 Points

Germany won 44 total medals, including 11 gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.

Their best performances came in track and field, where they won one gold, four silver and three bronze medals. They also were dominant in the canoe/kayak events, winning three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

The German Field Hockey team was also very impressive, as they won gold in London.

4. Great Britain: 140 Points

Great Britain had a lot of high hopes as the host country for the 2012 Olympic Games. They were extraordinary in both hosting as well as the performance of their athletes.

Great Britain won 65 total medals including 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals.They won at least one gold medal in 13 different events. Mo Farah, Sir Chris Hoy and Andy Murray were among the athletes that won gold medals for Great Britain.

They were most dominant in cycling, winning an amazing seven gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

3. Russia: 155 Points

Russia comes in third in the ranking of countries in the 2012 Olympic Games. They had a total of 82 medals, including 24 gold and 25 silver. Their 33 bronze medals were the most bronze medals of any country.

Russia's most successful event was track and field where they won eight gold, four silver and six bronze medals. They also won 11 medals in wrestling, including four gold, two silver and five bronze medals.

Gymnastics was probably their most disappointing event, winning only one gold medal.

2. China: 190 Points

China was dominant, as can be expected, in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. They didn't repeat their 100-medal performance from Beijing, but had an impressive 87 total medals including 28 gold, 27 silver and 22 bronze.

Diving was their most dominant event, winning six gold, three silver and a bronze medal. They also won 10 medals in swimming, eight medals in badminton and eight medals in gymnastics.

The Chinese won at least one gold medal in 13 events.

1. United States: 225

The United States of America was by far the most dominant country in the 2012 Olympic Games. They finished with the most gold medals, the most silver medals and 35 points ahead of the second-place Chinese.

Although the Americans didn't match their 110 medals from Beijing in 2008, their 104 total medals was still incredible. Team USA won 46 gold, 29 silver and 29 bronze medals. They were led by their women, who won 29 gold, 14 silver and 15 bronze medals.

The United States was most dominant in the pool and on the track, where they won a combined 60 medals.

They won 16 gold, nine silver and six bronze medals in swimming led by Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Allison Schmitt and Ryan Lochte. Phelps' six medals were enough to make him the most decorated Olympic athlete in history, winning 22 career medals.

On the track, Team USA won nine gold, 13 silver and seven bronze medals led by Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix, who each won three medals.

Among other memories for Team USA will include Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings ending their remarkable run together, USA basketball continuing to show its dominance on the world, women's soccer winning gold over Japan and of course the remarkable performance of Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney winning gold in gymnastics.