From American Manteo Mitchell running with a broken leg to Germany’s Matthias Steiner being felled by a falling weight, TIME looks at the Olympic competitors’ most memorable injuries and mishaps.
Britain’s Olympian Capital: Why Yorkshire Produces So Many Winners
There’s one boast the county of Yorkshire can confidently make: it’s a veritable Olympic champion factory
The World’s Greatest Athlete Wins Gold in London. And So Does Usain Bolt. Is Decathlete Ashton Eaton Really Better than Bolt?
The decathlon deserve more attention. But does it deserve the “world’s greatest athlete” honorific?
Gracious Losers: Japan’s Women Celebrate Silver in a Soccer Rematch with the U.S.
Despite a stream of tears in the minutes after the match ended, the Japanese team soon acted as if they had won silver, not lost the gold
The U.S. Women’s Team Is Golden Again in Soccer
“Fans deserve a great final,” Abby Wambach said before the U.S. women’s soccer team’s gold-medal match against Japan. And they got one, with the U.S. avenging last year’s World Cup loss to the same Japan team
Olympic Women’s Boxing Has Its First Champions, and a Generation of Girls Have New Role Models
One by one they shadow-boxed their way into the darkened Excel Arena, spotlights trained on them as if they were heavyweight champions of the world. Six contenders, fighting their way to three history-making gold medals. All the …
The Sights and Sounds of the Olympics
With the London Games almost at an end, fans reflect upon inspirational moments and their favorite athletes
Olympic Homophobia: Why Are There So Few Openly Gay Athletes?
In the high-profile world of Olympic competition, only a small (but growing) number of gay athletes have publicly acknowledged their sexual orientation.
Wonder Women
Why the London Games were a barrier breaker for female athletes
Olympic Beauty Statements: Bold, Beautiful and Downright Bizarre
From Ryan Locthe’s patriotic grill to Venus Williams’s colorful ponytail, TIME looks at the competitors’ most memorable style choices.