Both "The Washington Post" and "USA Today" have run stories about those athletes who have the unfortunate distinction of coming in fourth, in some cases milli-seconds away from winning a medal; the companion part to this entry on male Olympic athletes who finished fourth can be found at our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time"
http://www.politcscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com
David Mitchell, a bookshop owner in England, actually made unofficial fourth place medals for these athletes who include the likes of Turkish women's weightlifter Sibel Simsek.
Here are four other female athletes who came in fourth at the 2012 London Olympics:
1) Karen Cockburn, 31, Canada, trampoline, (pictured third in order)_ In London, Cockburn competed in her fourth Olympics. She had won a silver and bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and followed it up with a silver at the 2008 Olympics. But, this time, she was edged out of a bronze medal by Chinese trampoline gymnast Hu Wenna. But, gold went to Cockburn's Canadian teammate Rosie MacLeennan, and it was Canada's only gold medal at the summer games.
2) Lolo Jones, 30, USA, track and field (100-meter hurdles, pictured last)). At the 2012 Olympics, the 400-meter hurdles proved to be an agonizingly close race both for Jones and Nevin Yanit, 26, of Turkey, who finished fifth even though she and Jones both finished the race in 12.58 seconds. Sally Pearson of Australia won the race in 12.35 seconds. Jones was stand-out at LSU where she won three NCAA titles, and she has won gold in two world championships. One unique aspect of her personal life is that she told HBO earlier this year that she was a virgin, yet she posed semi-nude for "ESPN the Magazine" in 2009. Jones was hoping to rebound from a disappointing 2008 Olympics.
3) Aliya Garayeva, 24, Azerbaijan, rhythmic gymnastics (top image). In London, the rhythmic gymnastics competition was dominated by women from former Soviet Republics. Garayeva improved from her sixth place finish at the 2008 Olympics, but that was not enough to get the bronze medal which went to Liubou Charkashyna of Belarus.
4) Kaliese Spencer, 25, Jamaica, track and field (400-meter hurdles). Jamaica rocked the 2012 London Olympics with 12 medals, including three gold medals from the incredible sprinter Usain Bolt. But, Spencer, an impressive athlete in her own right, was unable to pass Zuzana Hejnova or the Czech Republic who came in third.
http://www.karencokcburn.ca/
http://www.gymcan.org
http://www.olympic.ca
http://www.radio-canada.ca
http://www.runlolorun.com
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