“That’ll probably go down as one of the greatest Olympic games ever,” LeBron James said after Team USA’s thrilling 118-107 victory over Spain earned it the gold medal Sunday.

The moment he received his medal, James reached down, grabbed it and stared at it. He held it inches from his eyes and just gazed at it, transfixed. And when they handed him a bouquet of red roses, he held them to his nose and inhaled two huge breaths, the sweet smell of victory filling his nostrils and lungs.

Carmelo Anthony wiped a tear from his right eye as they raised the American flag above the court and played the U.S. national anthem, and Kobe Bryant sang along as James stood nearby, stone-faced, his right hand on his heart.

Moments earlier, the American players had locked arms and stepped onto the medal podium as one, then raised their arms in unison toward the American fans who had hung a U.S. flag over the railing in the upper deck.

The members of Team USA didn’t just win their gold medals, they earned them against the first opponent that finally gave them a game. They didn’t dominate in the final game; they performed. They didn’t nearly blow it; they closed it out.

During the interviews, Anthony, who along with Wade, James and Carlos Boozer were the only returnees from the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, summed it up: “We were at America’s lowest point in ’04, and to have put USA Basketball back at the top of the world, it couldn’t feel better.”

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

Usain Bolt’s performance in these Olympic games are in my opinion way more impressive than what Michael Phelps did in the pool. He became the first man to win the sprint double since the legendary Carl Lewis won the double at the LA games in 1984. He is the only man to win both events in a single Olympics and set world records in both.

He won 100 metres gold in a world record time of 9.69 seconds.

In the 200m he completed the sprint double in a new world record time of 19.30 seconds. He broke the record set by American Michael Johnson of 19.32 sec set at the Atlanta Games in 1996.

Johnson had this to say following Bolt’s 100m win: “It was the most impressive athletics performance I’ve ever seen in my life,” Johnson said. “I certainly expected him to win. I can’t say I expected him to win that fast or separate himself from the field so much. The fact he could have run even faster shows how great it was. It was an incredible performance.”

Matthias Steiner wins gold in the men’s +105kg category.

Clean & Jerk 258 kg / 568 lbs
Snatch 203 kg / 447 lbs

Matthias Steiner wins gold

His wife died tragically in a car crash in July 2007. Awe inspiring performance from him.