LONDON – The red uniforms kept coming Wednesday night at the Olympic Stadium. Kept coming in waves, and in blurs. Kept running faster, jumping farther, hitting the finish line first – and second, and third.

At the track, the Stars and Stripes were taken on victory laps by three gold, two silver, and two bronze medalists. A few miles away at Horse Guards Parade, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings helped bring an impromptu Fourth of July celebration to London by winning their third straight gold in beach volleyball. In a matter of 45 minutes, the United States added four gold medals to its tally, which helped the Americans vault past the Chinese and into first place in the overall medal count, 81-77.

Most of the catching up was done at the Olympic Stadium, where each time the medalist wrapped in the American flag had a story to tell. In order:

• Silver in the 400-meter hurdles for Lashinda Demus, the mother of 5-year-old twin boys, who were in the stadium to

Read More »from Allyson Felix headlines a night full of Stars and Stripes as U.S. takes medal-count lead

LONDON – The American men finally had their golden moment at the track-and-field venue Wednesday night when Aries Merritt won the 110-meter hurdles in convincing fashion.

Merritt had American company in earning a medal. Teammate Jason Richardson finished second and Jamaican Hansle Parchment was third. World-record holder and defending Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba pulled up with an apparent leg injury midway through the race.

Merritt has been the world’s fastest hurdler in 2012, and that did not change here in London. He had the fastest time in round one Tuesday morning, then backed it up with the fastest time in the semifinals early Thursday evening. He finished the job later that night. His time of 12.92 seconds was his personal best by 0.01 and the fastest time of the year in the world.

[ Video: China's Liu Xiang experiences heartbreak, then heroic ending in hurdles ]

Merritt's competition was thinned by the shocking injury to Chinese star Liu Xiang, who hit the

Read More »from Aries Merritt wins gold medal for U.S. in men's 110-meter hurdles

LONDON – Allyson Felix is finally an Olympic gold medalist in an individual event.

The longtime star of American sprinting had been denied twice in the 200 meters, finishing second in 2004 and ’08. But Wednesday night in London she overpowered a stacked field and won by .21 seconds. Her winning time was 21.88. Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price was second with 22.09, and American Carmelita Jeter was third with 22.14.

[ Elite Athlete Workouts: U.S. track star Allyson Felix's intense workout ]

It boiled down to another Jamaica-U.S. sprint brawl. The Jamaicans put two women in the final, and the Americans countered with three: Felix, Jeter, and Sanya Richards-Ross (who finished fifth).

In previous sprint showdowns here, Jamaica took first and third in the 100-meter dash while the U.S. was second. In the 400, Americans took gold and bronze.

It was a breakthrough moment for Felix, heralded since 2004 as the next great American sprinter. She has been great for many years, but Olympic

Read More »from Allyson Felix finally breaks through to win gold in the 200m sprint

LONDON – Usain Bolt did what he needed to do and precious little more in the 200-meter semifinals Wednesday night.

Bolt, working on a double-double of the Olympic 100 and 200s from Beijing and London, positioned himself to complete that unprecedented feat on Thursday night in the final. His time of 20.18 won his heat with a minimum of obvious effort, slowing to a jog with about 20 meters left.

[Related: Weather expected to be perfect for Usain Bolt in men's 200]

But he will have serious competition in the final. Countryman Yohan Blake ran a 20.01-second 200 while completely shutting down the jets in the final 20 meters. In fact, he was nearly caught at the line by the onrushing tandem of American Wallace Spearmon (20.02) and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre (20.03). Clearly, Blake can go much faster – his personal best is 19.26, and he upset Bolt in this event in the Jamaican national trials – but the same cannot be said for certain of Spearmon and Lemaitre.

There had been

Read More »from Usain Bolt eases into the 200m finals along with the usual suspects

LONDON – The sight was both pathetic and ennobling, depressing and uplifting.

There was Liu Xiang, his second consecutive Olympics ruined almost immediately by catastrophic injury, hopping toward the finish line on his one good leg. The right one, the one that betrayed him in Beijing four years ago and shockingly again here Tuesday morning, could bear no weight.

So Liu hopped. And an Olympic Stadium crowd of 80,000 that had gasped just moments earlier when the Chinese hero crashed on the very first hurdle of his 110-meter preliminary heat began to applaud.

When Liu hopped to the final hurdle, he put both hands on it and bent over – in pain, dejection, or a combination of the two. That's when Hungarian competitor Balazs Baji came to Liu's side and lifted his arm in the air, the way a boxing referee would acknowledge the winner of a fight.

[ Photos: Liu Xiang’s powerful gesture after injury ]

"I'm so sorry for him, because I respect very much what he's doing and I like

Read More »from Liu Xiang injured again in Olympic qualifying

LONDON – Four years later, the Olympic exchange between Jenn Suhr and her coach was completely different.

Tears of joy. Celebratory hugs. There will be no Internet controversy following this one.

On a blustery, treacherous night for pole vaulting, Suhr endured the swirling wind conditions and prevailed over Russian legend Yelena Isinbayeva – an upset of epic proportion, in the estimation of Suhr's coach and husband, Rick.

"Isinbayeva is the most dominant athlete in any sport, in my opinion," Rick Suhr said of the two-time Olympic champion. "She's that good."

Said Jenn Suhr: "When Yelena is in the field, you know the bar is risen, literally and figuratively."

Amid conditions Isinbayeva described as "terrible," she was only good enough for bronze. Cuban upstart Yarisley Silva won silver. And Suhr, who was Jenn Stuczynski while winning a silver medal in Beijing in 2008, enjoyed the golden moment she missed then.

[ Photos: High-flying pole vaulters ]

Back then, NBC

Read More »from Perfect union: With boost from husband, U.S. pole vaulter Jenn Suhr takes gold in Olympic upset

Felix Sanchez wins gold in the Men's 400m Hurdles (Getty Images)LONDON – Four years after sweeping the podium in the men's 400-meter hurdles, the United States managed only a silver medal in the event on Monday night.

American Michael Tinsley chased but could not catch Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic for gold (47.63 seconds). Javier Culson of Puerto Rico finished third (48.10). Tinsley, a graduate of Jackson State who is competing in his first Olympics, clocked a personal best of 47.91. His veteran teammates did not fare as well.

It was a disappointing result for USA's two-time gold medalist Angelo Taylor, who faded in the stretch and finished fifth in 48.25. Taylor won gold in Beijing in 2008 and in Sydney in 2000. Kerron Clement, the silver medalist in Beijing, was eighth this time around (49.15).

Sanchez extended his winning streak in the event to 44 races. He won this race handily enough that he could afford to stick his tongue out while crossing the finish line.

America's men are still searching for their first gold medal in

Read More »from U.S. wins only silver medal in men's 400 hurdles

LONDON – When Michael Phelps left the swimming pool for the last time, he was carrying two things:

In his right hand was a statue from FINA, the international governing body of swimming. It had been presented to him earlier Sunday night, after winning his 22nd and final Olympic medal – 18 of them gold, including the last one as part of the United States' 400-meter medley relay. The inscription on the trophy declared Phelps, "The Greatest Olympic Athlete of All Time."

In his left hand was an old, dingy orange foam kickboard. Its nickname: "Big O." Phelps has had it forever, dating to when he was just a kid with raw talent and big dreams.

Those two items tell the story of Michael Phelps.

(Getty images)How do you become the most decorated Olympian ever? How do you transform a fringe sport? How do you transport yourself to a pinnacle of achievement and celebrity never before enjoyed by a swimmer?

One grueling, muscle-burning, toughness-building, eyes-on-the-prize practice at a time.

Nothing

Read More »from Michael Phelps completes career with gold, grace and title of 'Greatest Olympic Athlete of All Time'