The Countries Ahead in the 2012 Social-ympics Medal Count

As the London Olympics near the closing ceremonies, we started wondering about how the first "Social-ympics" have turned out.  There have certainly been some embarrassing social media fouls in the Olympic  athlete's village. We all love to hear about the bonehead moves high-profile figures pull on social media, but we were wondering which countries place on the medal podium based on their overall social media presence during the London 2012 Olympics. Here are our medal winners for best in social media:

Gold: United States of America

In a close battle with China when it comes to medal count, Team USA is dominating the social media race with more than 15 billion social mentions and counting. Led by the swimmer Michael Phelps with almost 700,000 social mentions as the most decorated Olympian of all time and Gabby Douglas, the first African-American to become the all-around gold medalist gymnast, who garnered 175,000 social mentions, Team USA is showing up and showing out while at the Olympics.

Silver: Great Britain

The host country for these Olympics did not disappoint, with 3 million social mentions (though we would like to point out they are still a far second to Team USA). Diver Tom Daley leads the charge with the most social mentions of any athlete,  while cyclist Bradley Wiggins helps the cause by gaining more than 154, 000 followers on Twitter. Glimpses of royalty with Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry in attendance at various events also has the Twitter-verse chattering.

Bronze: China

Currently a serious contender in the overall medal count, China must also be included as one of the top in social media during these Olympics. Led by hurdler Liu Xiang and swimmer Sun Yang, China puts itself in serious consideration for social media gold as well. From social media being banned during the Beijing Olympics to these "Social-lympics" and their continued dominance in the medal race, China's social presence can only change for the better.