The Olympic cauldron burns following the opening ceremonies to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick) (AP2012)
Day 5 gave China a one-medal edge on the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics medal count. Chinese domination of table tennis and weightlifting has helped cancel out American brilliance in the water.
China went 1-2 in both women's table tennis and men's 77kg weightlifting, scoring four of its seven medals on the day from just two events. The Chinese also got their fourth gold medal in diving on Wednesday.
The U.S. surged back to just one medal off the Chinese pace with another fantastic day in swimming. Nathan Adrian won another U.S. gold in a thrilling 100m freestyle, and the U.S. women's 4x200 freestyle relay team set an Olympic record en route to America's 18th medal in swimming.
To put that in perspective: the United States has more medals in swimming than any nation but China or the U.S. has in the entire Olympics.
And with Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, and Rebecca Soni all qualifying well for Thursday finals, that total's likely to break 20 by the end of Day 6.
Here's a more complete look at the medal count:
- China, 30 (17 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze)
- United States, 29 (12, 8, 9)
- Japan, 17 (2, 4, 11)
- France, 13 (5, 3, 5)
- Germany, 13 (3, 8, 2)
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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