My Favorites from the 2012 Olympics

As the Olympics wrap up, it's time to look back on the athletes that truly made themselves famous from this year's games. We all have our favorites, but here are the athletes I'll remember most and believe we'll hear from a lot between now and Rio in 2016.

10. McKayla Maroney, gymnastics

Maroney's sense of humor has turned a negative into a positive.

The gold that she helped her team win was great, and her individual silver in the vault was nice, albeit disappointing for her. However, her scowl at the medal ceremony made her famous. "McKayla is not impressed" has become an internet sensation. Her great sense of humor about it, however, has made her a big winner.
After first seeing her upset expression, some may have labeled her a poor sport who would just pout over being mocked on the internet. Not even close to the truth. McKayla has embraced and owned her scowl, and I fully expect her to cash in on it. Look for several commercials with her not being impressed with products very soon.

9. Allyson Felix, track
After settling for silver in 2004 and 2008, Felix finally broke through for gold in the 200 meters. At age 26, it was probably her last chance to do so. Throw in a couple of golds in relays, and she is now a highly marketable face in track and field.

8. Destinee Hooker, volleyball
People chuckled at her name, but then they saw her play. She was dominant for Team USA, and she finished as the second-leading scorer in the Olympics. While the silver medal may have been a disappointment for her and her team, Hooker made her mark. The 24-year old is likely to be the face of USA volleyball for at least the next four years.

Pistorius was an amazing story by just showing up in London.

7. Oscar Pistorius, track
He didn't get a medal, but he didn't need to. A double amputee running in the Olympics? What an inspiration. The image of him running in the 400 will last forever. He'll be able to use his now worldwide fame to inspire countless others who have disabilities, and even those who don't.

6. Michael Phelps, swimming
Did he dominate like he did in 2008? No, but no one really expected him to. He did, however, have a more impressive showing than fellow American and rival Ryan Lochte (who wasn't bad. He just wasn't Phelps). By the time the Games were done, Phelps had two more individual gold medals, six medals overall, and he had cemented his legacy as the certainly the greatest swimmer of all time and arguably the greatest Olympian. Rowdy Gaines said it best when he said, "Gosh I'm gonna miss this man." We all are.

5. Gabby Douglas, gymnastics
Gymnasts have so much pressure because most of them only have one shot at a medal. In a sport in which 20 is "old," Douglas capitalized on her opportunity. She now will forever be mentioned with Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, and Nastia Liukin as American all-around gold medalists. She's a winner no matter how she styles her hair.

4. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, beach volleyball

Misty and Kerri cemented their place in Olympic history.

Can you even name another beach volleyball team off the top of your head? Since it became an Olympic sport in 2004, these two have owned it. They've captured gold all three times, and their humble attitudes and great relationships with the fans have made them immensely popular. Misty and Kerri cemented their legacy in this relatively new sport (at least to the Olympics). They will be the standard by which all future teams in the sport are measured.

3. Missy Franklin, swimming
There were a lot of female swimmers to choose from: Dana Vollmer, Rebecca Soni and Allison Schmitt all had great showings. Franklin, however, was a breakout star as a teenager. Relatively unknown a month ago to those who don't follow swimming (so, most of us), Franklin is now a household name. She swam in seven events and came home with four golds (including sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke golds) and a bronze. She did it at age 17. While it remains unclear if she'll cash in on her fame by turning pro now or swim in college first, it's extremely likely we see her in at least two more Olympics.

The new face of USA soccer.

2. Alex Morgan, women's soccer
Two years ago, it would have seemed impossible that any athlete could have surpassed Hope Solo as the most popular soccer player in America. You could argue that Morgan has done it, and it's not because of her good looks, either. It's also not because Solo has lost any popularity. Morgan's popularity has just skyrocketed.
Anyone who watched the World Cup and these Games knows that she is the spark plug to the USA offense now. If she's not scoring goals herself, she's causing havoc and creating room for others to do so. Her header to defeat Canada (her third in six Olympic matches) was one of the signature moments of the Olympics.
Abby Wambach has been the leader and top goal scorer for a while, but Morgan is now ready to assume the role of leader and star player. By the time the next World Cup rolls around, I fully expect that she'll carry the title of best player in the world, and people may even start comparing her to the legendary Mia Hamm.

1. Usain Bolt, track

Cocky? Sure, but Usain Bolt backs it up. Every time.

While I'd love to put an American at the top of this list, there's no denying that Bolt stole the show. He dominated his sport unlike any other athlete. While Carl Lewis has questions about Jamaican drug testing, right now there is no proof. So, I just sat back and enjoyed Bolt's dominance. He is without question the fastest man in the world. He breaks world records while running half speed the last ten meters. I'm just curious what else he could do. He says he wants to play soccer. Not sure if he'd make Manchester United like he wants, but I'd watch.

There are several other great stories I left out: Nathan Adrian (gold in men's 100 free), Katie Ledecky (gold in 800 free at age 15), and hometown star Jessica Ennis (heptathalon gold) to name a few. It just shows how jam-packed the Olympics are with amazing stories.

I've really enjoyed these Olympics, and now these athletes can go out and capitalize on their new found (or reaffirmed) fame. They've earned it.

All photos courtesy Getty Images.