…Success at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
Sorry Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the U.S. Dream Team. You did well but these games belonged to the women of the world.
Especially the U.S.A. women, who brought home 29 of their country’s 46 gold medals. They were responsible for over half of the 104 total medals garnered by U.S. athletes over the two weeks of competition.
Even in sports generally thought of as men’s sports — boxing and freestyle wrestling — American women placed. Claressa Shields won the first ever gold medal in boxing for the American women and Marlen Esparza claimed a bronze in boxing.
Kayla Harrison was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t keep the tears from flowing atop the podium. Harrison won the first ever judo gold medal in Olympic history.
It was the U.S. men’s gymnastic team that was touted as gold medal favorite going into the Olympics. They stumbled and the U.S. women captured the team gold in their competition plus added two individual goal medals. Those included the all-around gymnast gold to Gabby Douglas.
What about the young women in the pool. Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky. Rebecca Soni in the swimming along with others. Then in another pool the U.S. women claimed the gold in water polo.
It was an All-American gold medal match in beach volleyball. The U.S. women won gold in soccer and basketball.
Who can forget the sheer joy of Serena Williams’ dance following her gold-medal victory in women’s singles. She and her sister, Vanessa, won the women’s doubles gold.
It all got started by Kimberly Rhode in women’s skeet shooting. And the American women kept rolling right to the end.
In track and field, the American women were tremendous. Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, DeeDee Trotter and Francena McCorory punctuated the run in track and field with a gold medal in the 4×400-meter race. Felix, Carmeliat Jeter, Bianca Knight and Tianna Madison set a world record in winning the 4×100-meter relay gold.
What role models all of the American women — even those who did not earn a medal — were for the young girls of this country.
No one can deny that the 2012 Summer Games were important to the women of the world. A stadium full of people cheered the first woman track athlete from the Saudi Arabia even when she was last in her heat of the 800 meters. Sarah Attar ran for Saudi Arabia and Wojdan Shaherkani, who became the first Saudi Arabian women ever to compete in the Olympics earlier in judo.
The men were pretty good also but the women had it going on in London.
