team usa

Michael Phelps' last race wasn't so much of a race as it was a formality—the end to the greatest swimming career of all time.

Phelps' big finish was swimming his signature stroke—the butterfly—during the 4x100 meter relay. The men's team swam away with gold, and Phelps cinched his final prize. Michael Phelps now retires with twice as many gold medals as any other Olympian, and 22 medals total.

After swimming, he stepped out of the pool smiling, obviously at peace with his decision to retire on top. A fitting end to a truly incredible athelete.

For the first time in this Olympiad, Team USA has taken the lead in the medal count. With Track & Field getting started there's a good chance we could see this lead expanding.

Today's Italian history lesson is going to have us console the people of the bustling Mediterranean peninsula about their medal count with the knowledge that they were the cultural center of the Western World for the better part of the 13th-16th centuries.

And let's not forget the Holy Roman Empire, the Duomo in Florence and Leaning Tower of Pisa. Good on you, Italians!

The big news today was Team GB going from eleventh to fifth in the span of just thirty minutes, while Team USA tied China in golds, with the overall lead going to China using silvers as the tiebreaker.

Keeping with tradition mentioning Italy every single day in the medal count no matter what, it's worth noting that they took gold in women's team fencing today. Italy now has this accomplishment to go along with Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, defeating the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, and Venetian gondolas.

U.S. archer Khatuna Lorig was the coach who trained Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games", and today she just missed out on a bronze medal in women's individual archery. Good thing that unlike the actual Hunger Games, Lorig isn't guaranteed an untimely death.

"It was close" she said, "What are you going to do?"

DOES THIS MEAN THEY'RE FRIENDS AGAIN?

In a near-record-breaking race, Michael Phelps took away his first Gold Medal in the Games so far, winning the 200m IM in a time of 1:54.27. Lochte had just finished racing the 200m backstroke 30 minutes earlier, and Phelps seized the opportunity. Helluvuh race, boys.

Gabby Douglas just won the Women's Gymnastics Individual All-Around GOLD!

She edged out a heartbroken Victoria Komova by just .259 points for the win. Fellow Russian Aliya Mustafina came in third, with American Aly Raisman coming in fourth.

GETTIT, GIRLS