clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2012 London Olympics Recap: Team USA Collects 5 Medals On Day 1

Saturday was a full day of action at the 2012 London Olympics, and after Day 1 of the Games the United States currently sits in third in the medal count. China leads things with six medals, four gold and two bronze, followed by Italy with two gold, two silver and one bronze. Team USA has collected one gold, two silver and two bronze.

One of the biggest stories on the day was Ryan Lochte's performance in the Men's 400m Individual Medley event. Lochte dominated the field, including rival Michael Phelps, on the way to picking up the gold medal, currently the only one won by an American. Phelps finished fourth, failing to win a medal in an event for the first time since the 2000 Sydney games. It breaks a streak of 16 medals in 16 events, 14 gold and two bronze. Phelps will have a chance to redeem himself when the two men face off again in the 200m Individual Medley.

The Men's Archery team came incredibly close to winning Team USA's second gold, losing to Italy in the Gold Medal match by a single point. Jacob Wukie, Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski had to settle for the Silver Medal. The other Silver Medal for Team USA went to Elizabeth Beisel, who won the Women's 400m Individual Medley event. Former Cal Golden Bear Natalie Coughlin raced a strong leg in one of the qualifying heats for the Women's 4x100 Freestyle Relay, qualifying her for the Bronze Medal won by the final lineup of Missy Franklin, Lia Neal, Allison Schmitt and another former Golden Bear, Jessica Hardy. It was Coughlin's 12th Olympic Medal, tying a record held by Jenny Thompson for the most Olympic medals won by an American female. The other Bronze Medal of the day went to Peter Vanderkaay in the Men's 400m Freestyle swimming event.

It was quite the day for Golden Bears, as Dana Vollmer advanced to the finals of the Women's 100m Butterfly event and set an Olympic record in her heat. Not all of them did as well, though: Caitlin Leverenz came in sixth in the Women's 400m Individual Medley.

The US Women's Soccer team was in action, picking up a 3-0 win over Columbia with Megan Rapinoe, from the Sacramento area, scoring one of the goals. The Women's Basketball team showcased their skill with an 81-56 victory over Croatia. In Beach Volleyball, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings advanced over Australia on the Women's side, and Jake Gibbs and Sean Rosenthal beat South Africa on the Men's side. The US Women's Volleyball team was in action against Korea, and they picked up a 3-1 win.

A complete listing of Saturday's events can be found here. For a complete tally of the medals won, use SI.com's Medal Tracker.

Stick with this StoryStream for more coverage of local athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games. For complete coverage of the London Games, check out SB Nation's Olympics hub.