The excitement of seeing the Stanley Cup up close and personal will have barely subsided when a rash of new awards will hit the South Bay. Numerous Olympic athletes with ties to the South Bay have reached the podium at the London Games, creating the possibility for sports fans in the area to catch a glimpse of a gold, silver or bronze medal in a week or two.
Following is a recap of how many of our local athletes have fared across the pond.
Swimming
Ricky Berens of Hermosa Beach swam the third leg to help the United States win gold in the men’s 4×200 freestyle with teammates Conor Dwyer, Charlie Houchin, Ryan Lochte, Matt McLean, Michael Phelps and Davis Tarwater.
Berens also won silver in the men’s 4×100 freestyle with teammates Nathan Adrian, Jimmy Feigen, Matt Grevers, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.
After failing to qualify in the 200 freestyle during the Olympic trails, Berens was awarded a spot to swim in London after Phelps scratched from the event. After reaching the semifinals, Berens missed qualifying for the finals by one spot, just 7/100th of a second behind the eight – and final – qualifier.
Only 24 years of age, Berens unexpectedly announced his retirement from swimming after winning the gold medal.
In the women’s competition, Manhattan Beach resident Rebecca Soni (who happens to be dating Berens) won silver in women’s 100m breaststroke before successfully defending her gold medal in the women’s 200m breaststroke, setting a second world record in as many days (2:19.59).
Soni won her second gold medal of the London Games as a member of the 4×100 medley team. Soni swam the breaststroke, joining teammates Missy Franklin (back), Dana Vollmer (fly) and Allison Schmitt (free) in setting a new world record with a time of 3:52.05.
Women’s Soccer
Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach led the U.S. women’s soccer team to its third consecutive gold medal with a 2-1 win over rival Japan in fron of 80,023 fans at Wembley Stadium Thursday.
With the exception of the gold-medal game, Wambach scored in each contest for the U.S. women’s soccer team, turning her focus to other aspect of the game in the championship match.
 The Americans reached the gold-medal game after Wambach, 32, gave a pep talk to her squad, inspiring the team to a eke out thrilling 4-3 victory over Canada in the semifinals.
After Wambach scored the tying goal, the U.S. pulled out the win in the third – and final – minute of injury time when Alex Morgan scored on a header off a pass from Heather O’Reilly.
Wambach extended her U.S. record with her ninth career Olympic goal – a mark she holds despite missing the Beijing Games with a broken leg – and pushed her international tally to 143, only 16 behind Mia Hamm’s world record.
Redondo Beach native Shannon Boxx suffered a hamstring injury in the opening match and missed much of the tournament, but returned to play in the championship game supplying much needed experience to the U.S. defense.
Men’s Water Polo
Goalkeeper Merrill Moses of Palos Verdes Estates played steady in the net for the Americans whose offense seemed to run out of gas, losing to Croatia 8-2 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday after falling behind 5-0 at halftime.
It was a disappointing finish for the U.S. team which had won silver in 2008. Many of the players gave up international club contracts to train for the London Games.
The U.S. enjoyed a quick start in Olympic competition, but suffered two losses in a row to conclude preliminary action. After losing to Serbia 11-6, the Americans fell to Hungary 11-6. The U.S. has 10 players from its team that lost to Hungary in the gold-medal game in Beijing.
Reserve goalkeeper Chay Lapin, who coaches the South Bay United Water Polo Club at Mira Costa High School, saw action in the final three quarters of last pool play contest after USA jumped out to a large lead in the first quarter, enabling many starters to get some rest.
Women’s Water Polo
Head Coach Adam Krikorian of Manhattan Beach led the U.S. women’s water polo team to a gold medal with a an 8-5 victory over Spain.
The American team won its first gold medal after being favored in the last three Olympics.
The U.S. defeated China 7-6 in the final preliminary game, held off Italy 9-6 in the quarterfinals and overcame a late game-tying goal by Australia to beat the team from down under 11-9 in overtime.
Track and Field
Carmelita Jeter (Gardena, Bishop Montgomery High School) narrowly missed winning a gold medal in the women’s 100m. Her time of 10.78 seconds fell just short of Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who crossed the finish line at 10.75.
Jeter, 32, earned a bronze medal in the 200m with a time of 22:14 and will run in the 4x100m relay on Friday.
Cycling
Born in Redondo Beach, Temecula resident Sarah Hammer became the most decorated female cyclist in U.S. history after winning the silver medals in the team pursuit and the omnium, a combination of six endurance and sprint races held over two days.
