A lot has happened since all eyes were on London, but those two weeks last summer provided an enduring legacy that will last for generations. This weekend is the annual London Diamond League track & field meet. The event has been christened the "Anniversary Games" and is being held at Olympic Stadium with Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and so many of the other stars that electrified the crowd set to compete. In honor of the Anniversary Games, these are my Top 10 moments of the track & field competition at the London Olympics.
10. Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee sweep the decathlon: Eaton set a world record at the Olympic Trials on his home track in Oregon. Hardee was the 2011 world champion. Most people expected the two Americans to go 1-2, but weren't sure of the order. They dominated alright, Eaton taking gold and Hardee silver.
9. Jamaica sweeps the men's 200: The Jamaica-U.S. sprint rivalry was incredibly one-sided in London. In the 200, not only did Usain Bolt defend his title in dominating fashion, Yohan Blake took second and Warren Weir was third in an impressive sweep.
8. The women's 100 hurdles final: Australia's Sally Pearson was one of the most prohibitive favorites in the entire track & field competition. Pearson did win and set an Olympic record, but it was a lot closer than anybody expected. Defending champion Dawn Harper almost pulled the upset, settling for silver to go with her gold in Beijing.
7. The Bahamas upsets the U.S. in the men's 4x400 relay: Can't go without mentioning the prelims, where Manteo Mitchell ran the final 200 meters on a broken leg to help the U.S. qualify. This is one event the Americans always won, and Angelo Taylor had the lead going into the final 100 meters of the anchor leg, but he was caught from behind and the Bahamas notched a stunning victory.
6. Mo Farah completes the 5000-10,000 double: He was already a national hero after winning the 10,000 on that magical night of August 4. Then came the 5000 a week later, when Farah became a full-fledged Olympic legend, sprinting away from the field over the final 100 meters to complete the distance double.
5. Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross finally get their Olympic gold: Felix and Richards-Ross were track & field superstars known more for Olympic heartache than anything else. Well, that finally changed. Richards-Ross got it started when she won the 400, then Felix, the silver medalist in Athens and Beijing, got her resume-completing gold medal in the 200.
4. The U.S. women's 4x100 relay team breaks the world record: One of the oldest world records on the books was the one set by East Germany in the women's 4x100 relay in 1985. After a recent history of botched handoffs and DNFs in major international races, the U.S. was perfect on this night. They dominated the race, and Carmelita Jeter's reaction as she crossed the line and saw the time was priceless.
3. Usain Bolt three-peats again: With apologies to Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali, Usain Bolt is the Greatest of All-time. He confirmed that in London. The 100 was the fastest race in history, and his winning time was faster than his then-world record in Beijing. He then defended his 200 title, leading a Jamaican sweep, before anchoring another world record in the 4x100 relay.
2. Great Britain's Golden Night: In a 45-minute span, the hosts won three gold medals. First it was Mo Farah in the 10,000 meters. Then Greg Rutherford finished off an unlikely victory in the long jump. Finally, Jessica Ennis put an exclamation point on the evening by turning the heptathlon 800 into two victory laps.
1. David Rudisha's world record: If it's possible to steal the spotlight from Usain Bolt, David Rudisha did it. He was the prohibitive favorite in the men's 800 and his goal was to break the world record in London. And he did just that, becoming the first person ever to complete two laps faster than 1:41.00.
I could easily compile a list like this for every sport. The London Olympics were arguably the best ever. And they certainly presented memories that will last a lifetime. My guess is people will still be talking about the London Games when George is king. As they should. Because the 2012 Olympics were, as the national anthem says, "Happy and Glorious."
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