London Olympics 2012 Closing Cermony -- Videos

The London Olympics closed with a tuneful and star-studded celebration Sunday night that highlighted the city and its people, music and culture.
Sixteen days after the queen (not really) leapt from a helicopter over Olympic Stadium and Paul McCartney led the crowd in a singalong to open the games, the party was back on in front of 80,000 people.
"Let us in let us in!" the British rower Anna Watkins tweeted as the athletes waited to enter the stadium in the first hour.
You could hardly blame the gold medalist.
The Who headlined the ceremony, but weren't the only big-name talent in the building.
Sharing the bill were The Kinks' Ray Davies, Annie Lennox, the Pet Shop Boys, surviving members of Queen, the Spice Girls, George Michael, Fatboy Slim and Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye. The comedians Russell Brand and Eric Idle had parts.
All the hallmarks of a closing ceremony were there, including set pieces and pyrotechnics and a Summer Games handoff to the first South American city ever to host an Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.
Athletes entered as a group instead of country by country like in the opening ceremony and the spectacle ran shorter than the one that kicked off London's record-setting third Olympics hosting gig on July 27.
That ceremony played out in the shadow of Beijing's standard-setter four years ago, and stood up just fine. But while it highlighted accomplishments of key British figures and the British people, the closing ceremony paid homage to London and all its quirks.
A day in the life of the city from early-morning rush hour to sunset was dramatized by the physical theater group Stomp playing iconic London landmarks like they were instruments above a set covered in newspaper print.
An actor playing Winston Churchill popped out of Big Ben like a jack-in-the- box and gestured toward the royal box. Queen Elizabeth wasn't in attendance, but Prince Henry sat next to IOC president Jacques Rogge, who presided over his last Olympics.
"You have showed the world the best of British hospitality," Rogge later told the crowd. "These were a happy and glorious games."
The ceremony was a concert.
Davies performed the anthemic Kinks song "Waterloo Sunset" -- an ode to London that proved perfectly wistful.
"Dirty old river, must you keep rolling/Flowing into the night," the song begins. "People so busy, makes me feel dizzy/Taxi light shines so bright."
It goes on: "But I don't need no friends/As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset I am in paradise."
Later, a choir sang John Lennon's "Imagine" as 101 puzzle fragments formed a likeness of the late singer-songwriter on the stadium floor.

U.S. Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Team Win Gold

Tianna Madison, 200-meter champion Allyson Felix and Bianca Knight gave the U.S. a big lead heading into the anchor leg by Jeter, who already owned a silver medal from the 100 and a bronze from the 200 in London.

Their final time cut more than a half-second off the old record of 41.37 run by East Germany in 1985.

Jamaica won the silver medal Friday in a national record of 41.41 seconds, with 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kerron Stewart bringing the baton around.

The bronze went to the Ukraine in 42.04.

With Knight approaching for the final handoff, Jeter took nine strides, reached her hand back and took a perfect exchange. Jeter was staring at the clock as she covered the final 10 meters and used the stick in her left hand to make sure everyone else also had their eyes trained on the bright orange numbers on the trackside clock.

Afterward, the quartet of champions paused to watch a replay of their record performance on the scoreboard at 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium. When Jeter was shown crossing the finish line, Knight punched the air.

The perfect trip around the track ended a string of disappointments for the U.S. in the event. At Beijing four years ago, the Americans didn't even reach the final because Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams bobbled the last exchange in the semifinals.

That marked the first time since 1948 that the U.S. wasn't involved in the women's 4x100 medal race at the Summer Games.

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Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix have been battling head-to-head throughout the 2012 Olympics, but on Friday the two best American runners were able to put their substantial talents together in leading the United States to a gold medal in the women's 4x100-meter relay race in world record time, finishing in 40.82 seconds. The team blew past the previous record of 41.35, set by East Germany in 1985.

Jeter has the overall medal lead on Felix at these Games, winning a silver in the 100-meter dash and bronze in the 200 meters. She added a third to that collection thanks to Team USA's impressive run today.

What Felix has lacked in overall success—which is a relative term since she now has two medals—she has made up for in wins. Unlike Jeter, she already had a gold medal to wrap around her neck thanks to a victory in the 200-meter race on Wednesday.

Team USA entered the race as one of the favorites to medal, especially after posting the fastest time in qualifying at 41.64 seconds. That was nearly seven-tenths of a second better than Trinidad and Tobago in the first heat.

Granted, there are a lot of teams that will pull up late as long as they know they qualified for the finals, but that is still an impressive margin of victory under any circumstances.

This is sweet redemption for the Americans. Four years ago, Team USA didn't even make it to the finals of this event after being disqualified in the first round.

All it took was four years, and a new collection of talent, but the United States was able to find itself with a medal in the 4x100-meter relay once again.

1 United States 40.82
2 Jamaica 41.41
3 Ukraine 42.04
4 Nigeria 42.64
5 Germany 42.67
6 Netherlands 42.70
7 Brazil 42.91
8 Trinidad and Tobago DNF

Allyson Felix Wins Gold In 200M

Denied twice on the world's biggest stage, Felix won the Olympic gold medal she's been yearning for, taking the 200 meters Wednesday night to fill in the last, and biggest, hole in her otherwise stellar resume.

Felix won the race in 21.88 seconds, topping Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won the 100 four nights earlier, by .21 seconds. American Carmelita Jeter added bronze to go with her silver in the 100 meters.

One more spot back was Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who defeated Felix in the Athens and Beijing Games and was trying to become the first woman to win the same individual track and field event in three consecutive Olympics.

Instead, the Americans were the ones celebrating three straight.

Felix's win was quickly followed by Aries Merritt's victory in the 110 hurdles and Brittney Reese's long jump title.

Felix won easily, leaving nothing to chance - or a coin flip - as she burst ahead of Fraser-Pryce with 40 meters to go.

Michael Phelps Finishes London Olympics Program With Gold In 4x100-Meter Medley Relay

Swimming the butterfly leg for the U.S. team in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay, Phelps has completed his program at the London Olympics -- and his swimming career -- with yet another gold medal. That makes 18 gold and 22 total medals over four career trips to the Olympics, including a pair of unprecedented individual three-peats. Having accomplished more than any other Olympian in history, the 27-year-old from Maryland is ready to walk away.

"I told myself I never want to swim when I'm 30," Phelps told reporters after his final race, making it clear that he won't be back in the pool for the 2016 Olympics. "No offense to those people who are 30, but that was something I always said to myself, and that would be in three years. I just don't want to swim for those three years."

Entering the London Olympics, the U.S. had never lost the 4x100-meter medley relay. The American team swam in the fourth lane after recording the fastest qualifying time (3:32.65). Turning over the team after that performance, the swimmers representing the U.S. in the final were among the most impressive of the London Games. Phelps swam the fly leg and was joined by Matt Grevers (who had won gold in backstroke), Nathan Adrian (who won gold in freestyle) and Brendan Hansen (who won bronze in the breaststroke). Not surprisingly, this star-studded quartet captured the gold medal, finishing in 3:29.35.

Leading off with the backstroke, Grevers staked the U.S. team to an early lead. Swimming second, Hansen swam the breaststroke but surrendered the lead to the Japanese team. The U.S. trailed only briefly, however, as Phelps grabbed first place back. In the anchor leg, Adrian extended the lead that Phelps' delivered. According to Swimming World, this was a "textile best" time for the men's 4x100-meter medley relay.

Oscar Pistorius Reaches Men's 400-Meter Semifinals

Oscar Pistorius, a 25-year-old South African and probably the most celebrated track athlete at the Games this side of Usain Bolt, made his much-anticipated Olympic debut a resounding success Saturday morning, when Pistorius, the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics, ran his 400-meter heat in 45.44 to advance to Sunday night's semifinals.
Announced to the Olympic Stadium crowd by both his name and nickname ("The Blade Runner"), Pistorius received a massive ovation from the 80,000 fans, and then ran a blistering lap around the red track, every step of it on his J-shaped carbon-fiber prostheses.
"It was just an amazing experience," Pistorius told hundreds of waiting reporters from around the world. "It's moments like this when you step back and say, 'Wow, I've been blessed by the Lord.'"
Pistorius' time was his second fastest of the year, and enabled him to finish second in his heat. He was the 16th fastest of the 24 qualifiers for the semifinals.
"It just show me my coaching staff has done a great job getting me to peak at the right time," Pistorius said.

Born without a fibula in both legs, Pistorius has been a world-class runner for several years, having qualified for the world championships last year and making it to the semifinals. Track's international governing body barred him from running against able-bodied competition early in 2008, arguing that his lightweight prostheses actually gave him a competitive advantage. The decision was overturned in May, 2008 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that there was no credible evidence to indicated Pistorius had an unfair advantage.
Pistorius was officially named to the South African Olympic team one month ago. He will run in the 4 x 400 relay, as well.
"He motivates all of us," said Bryshon Nellum, the U.S.'s top qualifier for the semis, with a time of 45.23. "For him to continue to run against people with legs, it's unbelievable."
With a day to prepare for the Olympic semifinals, Pistorius, who was smiling so much he said his cheeks were beginning to hurt, apologized and said he had to go.