Team USA continued their dominance in the pool on Friday which helped push the USA ahead of China in total gold medals won. USA passed China for the first time on Thursday in the overall medal count but the two nations remained tied in the gold medal count. That changed on Friday when the US surged to 21 golds, a one-medal advantage over the Chinese. In the overall count, however, China close the gap from three to just one.
A big reason for the push ahead in the gold medal count was the success of USA in the pool. Michael Phelps captured gold in the 100m fly, almost certainly his final individual event in Olympic competition. While he winds down his career, we could be seeing the start of the next great American swimmer in Bethesda's Katie Ledecky, who came out of nowhere to pull away in the 800m freestyle to win gold handily.
Here's a more complete look at the medal count:
- United States, 43 (21 gold, 10 silver, 12 bronze)
- China, 42 (20, 13, 9)
- Russia, 23 (3, 12, 8)
- Great Britain, 17 (8, 6, 8)
- Japan, 17 (2, 8, 11)
For a complete schedule of events and dates medals will be awarded, visit NBC Sports' official Olympic website. For complete coverage from the 2012 London Olympics, keep checking this StoryStream and visit SB Nation's Olympics hub.