Olympic Medal Count 2012 Chart: United States the Top Nation, Can They Keep the Lead Over China?

Ashton Eaton (C) of the U.S. with gold, Trey Hardee (L) of the U.S. with silver and Cuba's Leonel Suarez with bronze pose with their medals for the men's decathlon event at the London 2012 Olympic Games in London at the Olympic Stadium August 10, 2012. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

The Olympic Medal Count 2012 is heating up and the United States was in a tight race with China for the top position and as of today, Friday Aug. 10, the U.S. is in the lead and seems set to remain there till the Olympics 2012 come to an end this Sunday.

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For the first time since the 2012 London Olympics began Team USA opened up a sizable lead over China in the all-important 2012 Olympic medal count chart, taking a 10-medal lead in the overall count and going up two gold medals while they were at it. The U.S. has 93 medals in total, a 12 medal lead over the China which currently has 81.

In terms of gold medals - which matters most - the U.S. still has the lead with 41 medals, 4 more than its closest rival China. Great Britain is in third place with 25 gold medals, Russia has 15 and South Korea is fifth with 12 gold medals.

Olympic Medal Count 2012 Chart: 

Olympic Medal Count 2012 Chart

This is due to another excellent set of American performances in track and field, including the gold and silver medals in the decathlon on Thursday. The U.S. women's soccer team also took the gold medal after defeating Japan 2-1 in the final round. Carli Lloyd scored in the eighth and 54th minutes for the Americans, who lost to the Japanese in penalty kicks at last year's World Cup final. The U.S. team has won three consecutive Olympic titles and four of five since women's soccer was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

US Women's Take Gold: USA Defeats Japan 2-1

The United States also won its first gold medal in women's water polo, getting five goals from Maggie Steffens and a sterling performance from goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong to cruise to an 8-5 win over Spain.

U.S. middleweight Claressa Shields also got a gold medal in women's boxing division with a 19-12 victory over Russia's Nadezda Torlopova. 

Click here for an updated Olympic Medal Count 2012 Chart from NBC Olympics.

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