Huge Night For The U.S. In London

Huge Night For The U.S. In London, Four golds in 45 minutes help put America back on top of China in the medal count. Allyson Felix headlines a night full of Stars and Stripes as U.S. takes medal-count lead, The red uniforms kept coming Wednesday night at the Olympic Stadium. Kept coming in waves, and in blurs. Kept running faster, jumping farther, hitting the finish line first – and second, and third.

At the track, the Stars and Stripes were taken on victory laps by three gold, two silver, and two bronze medalists. A few miles away at Horse Guards Parade, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings helped bring an impromptu Fourth of July celebration to London by winning their third straight gold in beach volleyball. In a matter of 45 minutes, the United States added four gold medals to its tally, which helped the Americans vault past the Chinese and into first place in the overall medal count, 81-77.

Most of the catching up was done at the Olympic Stadium, where each time the medalist wrapped in the American flag had a story to tell. In order:

Silver in the 400-meter hurdles for Lashinda Demus, the mother of 5-year-old twin boys, who were in the stadium to see it happen.

Gold in the 200 meters for Allyson Felix, the Chosen One who finally won an individual event to fulfill more than eight years of prophecy.

Bronze in the 200 for Carmelita Jeter, the dual-sprint medalist from California, who became the first American female to medal in the 100 and 200 in the same Olympics since Florence Griffith-Joyner 24 years ago.

Gold in the 100 hurdles for Aries Merritt, the Georgian who became a hurdler by “ghetto jumping” a fence one day before track practice as a freshman in high school.

Silver in the hurdles for Jason Richardson, the dreadlocked Texan who spent most of 2010 sleeping on a friend’s couch in Los Angeles as he tried to establish himself as an elite competitor.

Gold in the long jump for Brittney Reese, the long jumper from Gulfport, Mississippi, who dedicated her medal to Hurricane Katrina victims in her native Gulf Coast.

Bronze in the long jump for Janay DeLoach, the military brat from Alaska who earned her medal by all of a centimeter.