The Most Stacked Olympic Teams in Recent Memory
The Summer Olympics are just a few weeks away now, so it's time to start thinking about how fans are going to enjoy one of the most anticipated sporting events that only comes around every four years.
And because there's nothing like comparing performances, I figured it'd be cool to take a look at some of the most stacked Olympic teams over the past 12 years or so.
Whether it was a team that stormed to a gold medal at one Olympics or a nation that has dominated a specific sport over the past few Games, here's a recap of the best Olympic teams in recent memory.
Russian Wrestling
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Unlike a few other teams on this list, the Russian wrestling team makes the cut because they have a history of dominating the sport over the past Olympics.
A traditional power, Russia has captured a total of 22 medals over the past two Summer Games, including 10 golds during that same span.
Unfortunately, following an insane brawl over a spot on the national team for this year's Olympics, one of nation's best has ceded his position to head to Rio, and the entire Russian Olympic team is in disarray amid doping scandals and boycotts.
Still, we're talking about history, and Russia has been the predominant force in Olympic wrestling.
2008 USA Men's 4x100-Meter Freestyle Relay
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Led by eventual Olympic record-setting medal winner Michael Phelps, the 2008 USA men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team was about as great a compilation of swimmers ever assembled.
The squad relied on its anchor, Jason Lezak, to help Phelps keep his hope alive for a record medal count in a single Olympics—and Phelps' raucous reaction on the deck is an image that lives on in U.S. Olympic lore.
In addition to the gold medal, this group set two world records in the event, setting one in a prelim race and the other in the gold-medal race to inch out the victory over France.
2012 USA Women's Gymnastics
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Aptly coined The Fierce Five, the U.S. women's gymnastics team accomplished something as a group that no previous squad could—winning a team and individual gold medal.
Consisting of Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross, the team collected the gold medal as a team—joining the '96 squad as the only other U.S. team to do so—knocking off favorites like China and Russia to do so.
The team did tremendous things, but Douglas stood out the most, as she captured the first individual all-around gold medal in U.S. gymnastics history. That makes this an all-time great team.
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2012 Chinese Diving
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Much like the aforementioned Russian wrestling team, the Chinese diving squad has separated itself from the pack to become the presumptive favorites entering the Olympics.
Over the past two Games, the Chinese have won a total of 21 medals, 13 of which have been gold. For perspective, no other nation has collected more than one gold medal, further proving how dominant China has been.
The 2012 team included women's diver Chen Ruolin, who won two golds in both of her events, becoming the first diver to claim all the gold in women's platform in Olympic history.
2012 USA Women's Soccer
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After having to wait until 1996 for women's soccer to be included in the Olympics, the U.S. women's national team has taken advantage since its inclusion, winning gold in all but one of those Games, 2000, where they captured silver.
While some of the great teams were assembled years ago, featuring Mia Hamm and others who helped set the foundation for women's soccer in the U.S., the 2012 team might have been the best of all.
Netting 16 goals and allowing just six on their way to a perfect 6-0 tournament record, the U.S. women's team won gold going away, beating Japan 2-1 in the final match.
This year's squad will try to become the first Women's World Cup champ to win a gold medal the following year, so that's something exciting to watch for.
2008 USA Women's Basketball
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The U.S. women's hoops team has long dominated their sport, winning each of the past five gold medals at the Olympics and entering this year's Games as the favorites to win it all again.
And while the team has obviously had tremendous talent each time, the 2008 squad was, without a doubt, one of the best the world has ever seen.
Going a perfect 5-0 in Group B play and outscoring their opponents 491-276, the U.S. women made their way to the gold-medal game with an average margin of victory of over 39 points—then went out and blew out the previously undefeated Australian team by 27 to take home the gold medal.
All-time greats like Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson and Tamika Catchings mixed with a group of young stars to bury their competition in historic fashion.
U.S. Women's Beach Volleyball
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There might not be a more dominant duo in Olympic history than Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, who took over the sport of beach volleyball in epic fashion.
Competing together from 2004 to 2012, the two have won an unprecedented three straight Olympic gold medals, etching their names in history as the best ever in their sport.
While May-Treanor retired following the '12 Games, Walsh Jennings has paired with former silver medalist April Ross this year to try to earn a fourth straight first-place finish.
2012 USA Men's Basketball
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Not quite the second-coming of the 1992 Dream Team, the roster that represented the USA in London 20 years later was still about as good as it gets—and, quite possibly, could've given that '92 squad a run for its money if time machines were a thing.
Boasting future Hall of Famers and some of the biggest hoops stars on the planet like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, among others, this team won the gold medal with a perfect 8-0 record, disposing of teams by an average of 32 points per game.
Their toughest test came in a five-point win over Lithuania in Group A play, but other than that, these boys were unstoppable.
2004 Argentina Men's Soccer
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Want to know the definition of dominant? Look no further than the 2004 Argentina men's soccer team, who proved to be one of the best squads to ever grace the pitch at the Olympics.
After running through Group C play by going a perfect 3-0 and averaging victories of 3-0, the team didn't slow down as it approached the knockout rounds.
Humiliating Costa Rica 4-0 in the quarterfinals, beating Italy 3-0 in the semifinals and snagging a 1-0 victory over Paraguay to win gold, Argentina was about as perfect as a team can get, allowing no goals while netting 17 of their own to capture its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
2004 U.S. Women's Softball Team
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There are All-Star teams, and then there's the 2004 U.S. women's softball team, which became the bullies of the Olympics that year by absolutely obliterating its competition.
Led by standout pitcher Jennie Finch, the team tallied a perfect 9-0 record as they, get this, allowed one single run during the entire competition—which didn't occur until the team's 5-1 victory in the gold-medal game against Australia.
Outscoring their opponents 51-1 as they stormed to the gold, it's no surprise that Sports Illustrated dubbed this squad the "Real Dream Team" on one of its covers.
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