Usain Bolt celebrates his second consecutive 200m Olympics title. (Getty Images)

1. After defending his 100m crown, Usain Bolt said he wanted to be a legend.  On Thursday night he achieved that goal, beating out his countryman Yohan Blake for the 200m gold. After becoming only the second man to ever repeat in the 100m, Bolt made history by becoming the first 200m champion to defend his title. In doing so he led a Jamaican sweep of the podium, with Blake taking silver and Warren Weir bronze. Bolt has one Beijing title left to defend in the 4x100m relay.

2. Carli Lloyd provided the offense with two goals and Hope Solo unleashed a bevy of incredible saves as the United States women held on to win Olympic gold over Japan, 2-1. The Japanese had upended the world's No. 1 in last summer's World Cup, so this victory was extra sweet for the squad. This was the United States' third straight gold in women's soccer, and their fourth in five Games since the sport was added in 1996.

[ Photos: More of U.S. goalie Hope Solo ]

3. Ashton Eaton set the decathlon world record at the U.S. Olympic trials, and while he didn't quite reach those heights in London, I would guess he'll gladly take the gold medal and traditional title of "world's greatest athlete." Finishing just behind Eaton was fellow American Trey Hardee, meaning Americans went gold-silver in the event for the first time since Milt Campbell and Rafer Johnson at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

4. It was a big day for U.S. women both in the ring and in the pool, as 17-year-old Claressa Shields won boxing gold and the water polo team defeated Spain in the final. Shields is the first American woman to win a boxing medal, defeating Russian Nadezda Torlopova 19-12. It was also the United States' first gold in women's water polo after a silver in Beijing, and the coaching staff joined the players in the pool to celebrate the 8-5 victory. We also need to acknowledge silver medalist Haley Anderson, who missed out on the 10km open water swim gold by a mere 0.4 seconds.

5. Oscar Pistorius was set to take the baton from his South African teammate in their 4x400m qualifying heat, but Ofense Mogatwane became entwined with Kenyan runner Vincent Kiilu and crashed to the track. As Pistorius tried to get to the fallen runner, track officials stopped him, and their team was eliminated. In a surprising reversal, track's international ruling body ruled Mogatwane had been obstructed and let the South Africans advance, continuing Pistorius' London Games for one more day. Mogatwane's injury wasn't the only one during qualifying, as U.S. runner Manteo Mitchell (somehow) finished his section of the relay with a broken leg.

Nathan AdrianOK, we realize swimming ended Saturday and this crush is a little late to the party. But we can't deprive women everywhere the chance to learn more about Nathan Adrian, the new 100-meter freestyle champion who is also considered one of the nicest guys around (and one of the most beloved members of the U.S. swim team -- check out Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte's thrilled reactions when he won the 100m free). The fact that Adrian's also incredibly easy on the eyes is just icing on the cake.

Adrian has come to the world's notice with a trio of amazing performances at these Games. He led off for the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team that won silver, out-touched world champion James "the Missile" Magnussen of Australia for the 100m free title, and then anchored the gold medal-winning medley relay team in Michael Phelps' final swim.

[ Video: See Nathan Adrian's intense Olympic workout ]

But it's his off-field demeanor that has us crushing. Here are four reasons why Adrian is so adorable:

Getty Images

LONDON — Before Maggie Steffens could help the U.S. women's water polo team to its greatest Olympic victory, she had to experience one of its most crushing defeats.

In the 2008 Beijing games, the Americans lost the gold-medal match to the Netherlands by one goal. Steffens was 15 and sitting next to her father, witnessing her older sister Jessica, a defender, look devastated after the defeat.

Carlos Steffens, her father and a former water polo player at Cal, turned to Steffens as the Americans cleared the pool, and conveyed a simple message to his young daughter:

"Now it's your turn. Let's get the gold."

[ Photos: Siblings at the Olympics ]

Four years later, Steffens, now 19, fulfilled the request: She scored five goals in the London Olympics women's water polo gold-medal match, leading the U.S. to an 8-5 victory over Spain and their first gold medal in the event — having earned a medal in each year since the event debuted in Sydney.

Steffens, who will attend Stanford, led all scorers in the tournament with 21 goals.

"Just like the greatest athletes in the world — Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan — she makes everyone else around her better," said coach Adam Krikorian.

Tobin Heath's arm meets ball.

The U.S. won its fourth gold out of five women's soccer tournaments in Olympic history by beating Japan 2-1 in a tense final. U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo (and the crossbar) came up with some absolutely fantastic saves (gif here) to help stave off the almost constant Japan threat on goal, Carli Lloyd scored two great goals and was relentless in midfield, and Alex Morgan was always dangerous in attack and put in great crosses, including the one that led to the match's first goal in the eighth minute.

[ Photos: U.S. women's soccer team takes gold ]

But since we highlighted the Melissa Tancredi head stomp on Lloyd that was missed by the referee in the U.S.'s semifinal against Canada, it's only fair that we also show the handball referee Bibiana Steinhaus missed in the final. An otherwise excellent Tobin Heath accidentally deflected an early Japan free kick from just outside the box with an arm that shouldn't have been where it was and even though the Japanese players immediately protested, there was no call from the referee.

The U.S. was aided by a handball in the box that was called against Canada and led to an equalizing penalty kick from Abby Wambach late in the semifinal. Of course, it's impossible to say how or if the Heath handball being called would've changed the outcome of the final. The way Solo played, she could've saved the ensuing penalty. Japan didn't dwell on the missed call, though. Instead, it stayed focused, remained patient on the ball and kept pressure on the U.S. until the final whistle.

[ Photos: Hope Solo in Action ]

Carli Lloyd added a second goal in the 54th minute with a blast from outside the box. Nine minutes later, Yuki Ogimi put in a rebound to make it 2-1 and ensure the remaining half hour would cause a few ulcers.

Despite Japan maintaining 58 percent of possession and getting off just one shot on target less, the U.S. held on and avenged last year's World Cup loss with some truly clutch performances in front of an Olympic women's football record crowd of 80,203 at Wembley Stadium.

(Getty Images)

The U.S. women's soccer team wore Nike T-shirts with a smug, tacky slogan reading "Greatness Has Been Found" after its gold-medal win over Japan on Thursday. The shirts were roundly panned on Twitter, from critics both foreign and domestic.

[ Photos: U.S. women's soccer team takes gold ]

Members of the team were handed the shirts immediately after their win. This is a ritual common after big victories in American team sports. After the Super Bowl or NCAA basketball title game, for instance, winning teams immediately put on shirts and hats that proclaim them champions.

If it's ever happened at an Olympics, I can't remember. Throw in the phrase "greatness has been found" -- which would be distasteful enough on a team celebrating an SEC championship -- and the whole thing feels completely out of place.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times tweeted, "'Greatness has been found,' but not humility. Gross."

SI.com's Courtney Nguyen agreed. "Put those t-shirts away, USA," she tweeted. "Keep it classy."

Canada's synchronized swim team must have clairvoyant powers. During its first event in the team competition, its soccer-themed routine was a moving, early tribute to the gold-medal winning U.S. soccer team.

(Getty)See the gold on the swimmers' costumes? Looks just like the gold hanging around the necks of the U.S. team.

Nick DelpopoloNo Olympics is complete without certain elements: glorious victories, stunning upsets, heartbreaking losses…

And athletes kicked out of the Games. These Olympics saw the dismissal of several competitors, with the use of performance-enhancing drugs as the main culprit. People were also kicked out for being openly racist, tweeting inappropriate things, purposely trying to lose, and, in the case of one athlete, getting so drunk in public that he looked like he wet himself.

You need to spend 55 seconds watching McKayla Maroney, the U.S. gymnast who was impressed with her silver medal, teaching the former first daughter how to Dougie.

There's so much to take in here. The Fierce Five hanging out with Jenna Bush Hager on a double-decker bus while calmly sipping coffee. Maroney showing off her dance moves without caring that she's on a moving vehicle. When Bush tries the dance, Maroney giving the forceful direction to stand up. Gabby Douglas laughing at the attempt.

Admit it. It's the best 55 seconds of your day, right?