
Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
LeBron James, left, and Kobe Bryant watch the men's basketball preliminary round match on Thursday, August 2 in London. Check out Day 5 of competition from Wednesday, August 1. The Games ran through August 12.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Michael Phelps throws his flowers to his sister Hilary Phelps after the medal ceremony in the men's 200-meter individual medley final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Left to right: Italy's Elisa Di Francisca, Arianna Errigo, Ilaria Salvatori and Valentina Vezzali celebrate winning gold during the women's foil final as part of the fencing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Zara Dampney, left, and Shauna Mullin celebrate after a point against Doris Schwaiger and Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria during the women's beach volleyball preliminary match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
The Great Britain hockey team lines up for the national anthem ahead of their preliminary match against Belgium.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Shuang Guo of China competes during the women's sprint track cycling qualifying.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Iceland's center back Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson jumps to shoot during the men's preliminary group A handball match with Sweden.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo reacts to her gold medal win in the women's 100-meter freestyle final swimming event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
LeBron James jumps for two in the first half during the men's basketball preliminary round match against Nigeria. The U.S. team beat Nigeria 156-73, breaking the Olympic record for most points scored in a basketball game.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
United States swimmer Elizabeth Beisel competes in the women's 200-meter backstroke semi-finals swimming event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Spain's Victor Sada scores during the men's basketball preliminary round match between Spain and Britain.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Nate Reinking jumps for a layup in the second half of the men's basketball preliminary round match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Sweden's center back Dalibor Doder, center, vies with Icelandic players during the men's preliminary group A handball match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
A general view of the beach volleyball competition at Horse Guards Parade in London.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Ella Gunson, left, and Anita Punt, center, of New Zealand challenge Rocio Sanchez Moccia, right, of Argentina during the women's hockey preliminary round match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo competes in the women's 100-meter freestyle final swimming event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Michael Phelps swims to win gold in the men's 200-meter individual medley. Phelps won his 20th career Olympic medal and completed a historic third consecutive 200-meter individual medley Olympic victory.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Italy's Vanessa Ferrari competes in the floor exercise in the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Tunisian center Salah Mejri scores during the men's preliminary round group A basketball match against Argentina.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Mizuki Fujii, left, and Reika Kakiiwa, right, of Japan play a shot during their semifinal mixed doubles badminton match against Canada's Michelle Li and Alex Bruce.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Left to right: Italy's Elisa Di Francisca, Arianna Errigo, Valentina Vezzali and Ilaria Salvatori celebrate with their gold medals on the podium of the women's foil final as part of the fencing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Tyler Clary celebrates winning gold in the men's 200-meter backstroke final swimming event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Ryan Lochte competes in the men's 200-meter backstroke final swimming event. Lochte finished with a bronze medal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Brazilian forward Larry Taylor, left, tries to get past Russian center Timofey Mozgov, right, during the men's preliminary round basketball match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Rob Parker, center, competes with Tim Hutten, right, of the United States in the men's water polo preliminary match. The U.S. team won 7-13.
Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Gymnast Gabby Douglas of the United States competes on the balance beam in the women's individual all-around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympics.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Cullen Jones, left, of the United States and Cesar Cielo of Brazil touch the wall at the finish the men's 50-meter freestyle semifinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Australia's Becchara Palmer dives for the ball during the women's beach volleyball preliminary match against Brazil.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Gabby Douglas of the United States performs the floor exercise in the gymnastics women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas, right, embraces teammate Alexandra Raisman after winning the gymnastics women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas competes on the balance beam in the women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Pietro Zucchetti, left, and Gabrio Zandona of Italy compete in the men's 470 sailing in Weymouth, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Gold medalist Etienne Stott of Great Britain celebrates after the medal ceremony for the men's canoe double slalom final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Jaroslav Volf, left, and Ondrej Stepanek of Czech Republic compete during the men's canoe double slalom.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Russia's Timofey Mozgov receives an arm to the head as he looks to shoot against Brazil's Tiago Splitter in the second half of the men's basketball preliminary round match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Chris Hoy celebrates after winning the men's team sprint gold final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
The Danish team competes during the men's 4000-meter team pursuit qualifying round of the track cycling event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
China's Xuerui Li returns a shot against Pui Yin Yip of Hong Kong in their women's singles badminton quarter final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Competition gets underway in the men's star sailing in Weymouth, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Roger Federer of Switzerland serves the ball to John Isner of the United States during the quarter-final of men's singles tennis.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Denmark's Claus Olesen competes in the men's star sailing in Weymouth, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Etienne Stott reacts after winning gold in the men's canoe double slalom final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Sweden's Anton Dahlberg and Sebastian Ostling compete in the men's 470 sailing in Weymouth, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Sophie van Gestel of the Netherlands controls the ball during the women's beach volleyball preliminary phase group E match against Germany's Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Great Britain's Philip Hindes celebrates during men's team sprint track cycling qualifying against Germany.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Canada's Marcus David loses control of his horse, Capital, in the dressage preliminaries.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Tunisian forward Makram Ben Romdhane, right, vies with Argentine forward Luis Scola during the men's preliminary round group A basketball match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Kazakhstan's Gani Zhailauov, left, takes a hit from India's Bhagwan Jai during the men's lght bxing.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Italy's Carlotta Ferlito competes on the balance beam in the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the men's singles tennis quarter-finals.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Romania's Sandra Raluca Izbasa performs on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic of Croatia competes in the men's Finn sailing on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympics.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Australia's Joe Ingles tries to score against China's Wang Zhizhi, left, and Yi Jianlian during a men's basketball preliminary round.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Jin Ma, left, and Chen Xu of China celebrate their victory over Indonesian foes in a mixed-doubles badminton semifinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Naomi van As of the Netherlands hugs teammate Eva de Goede after their team defeated China in a women's field hockey preliminary match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Italy's Valentina Vezzali is exuberant after beating France's Astrid Guyart in the women's foil team fencing semifinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Dorothee Schneider of Germany rides Diva Royal in the dressage grand prix in Greenwich Park in London.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after winning in the women's singles tennis quarterfinals against Angelique Kerber of Germany.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Croatia's Marko Kopljar disappears behind the ball during a men's preliminary handball match between Croatia and Hungary.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov serves during a men's singles table-tennis bronze medal match against Chih-Yuan Chuang of Taiwan.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Mongolia's Tuvshinbayar Naidan celebrates his victory in the men's under 100-kilogram judo event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki serves to Serena Williams of the United States during the women's singles tennis quarterfinals.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Britain's David Florence, left, and teammate Richard Hounslow compete in the men's canoe double semifinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Chih-Yuan Chuang of Taiwan celebrates a point during the men's singles table-tennis bronze medal match against Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Mayra Aguiar of Brazil, in white, and Kayla Harrison of the United States compete in the women's under 78-kilogram judo event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
French centerback Nikola Karabatic, left, vies with a Tunisian opponent during a men's preliminary handball match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Britain's Carl Hester rides Utopia in the dressage grand prix at Greenwich Park in London.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Brazil's Emanuel Rego lands after saving a ball during the men's beach volleyball preliminary phase match against Italy.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Bulgarian volleyball players, from left, Georgi Bratoev, Todor Aleksiev and Nikolay Nikolov wait for the serve in the second set against Australia.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Australian forward Joe Ingles jumps to score during the men's preliminary basketball match between Australia and China.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
France's Laure Manaudou competes in the women's 200-meter backstroke heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Brazil's Mayra Aguiar, in white, and Daria Pogorzelec of Poland compete in the women's under 78-kilogram judo event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Hungary's Richard Bognar fires his rifle in the men's double trap qualification round at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
U.S. swimmer Missy Franklin competes in the women's 200-meter backstroke heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea's Jeong Han shoots during the men's preliminary handball match against Spain.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Britain's Bill Lucas and Sam Townsend appear downcast after finishing the men's double sculls final.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Katelyn Falgowski, right, of the United States goes after the ball with Fiona Boyce of Australia during a women's field hockey preliminary match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South African rowers celebrate after winning the gold medal in the men's lightweight four final A rowing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Switzerland's Dominik Meichtry competes in the men's 100-meter butterfly heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Sizwe Ndlovu of South Africa celebrates after he and his team won the gold in the lightweight men's four final rowing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
The U.S. team competes to win the gold medal in the women's eight final rowing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates after defeating Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the men's singles tennis quarterfinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the men's 100-meter butterfly heat.

olympics 2-19 —
The U.S. rowing team throw Mary Whipple into the water as they celebrate winning gold in the women's eight rowing event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
France's Laure Manaudou competes in the women's 200-meter backstroke heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Britain's Peter Robert Russell Wilson competes in the men's double trap shooting qualification.

day six 22 cm —
Belinda Hocking of Australia competes in the women's 200-meter backstroke heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Dorothee Schneider of Germany competes in the dressage grand prix.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Chinese forward Zhu Fangyu bleeds during a men's preliminary round basketball match between China and Australia.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Italy's Greta Cicolari serves during a beach volleyball preliminary match against Canada.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Australia's Aidan Zingel, left, spikes next to teammate Harrison Peacock during a men's preliminary volleyball match against Bulgaria.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Italy's Marta Menegatti dives for a shot during a beach volleyball preliminary match against Canada.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Bulgarian volleyball players, from left, Georgi Bratoev, Viktor Yosifov and Todor Aleksiev attempt to set during a preliminary match against Australia.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Yong Dae Lee, right, and Jae Sung Chung of South Korea celebrate their win over Indonesian opponents in the men's doubles badminton quarterfinal.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea's Park Mi-hyun casts a shadow on the Olympic Rings during a women's field hockey preliminary match against Japan at the Riverbank Arena.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Shaimaa Elgammal of Egypt watches from the sidelines during a women's foil team fencing round against Great Britain on Thursday.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea, in red, and Japan do battle during the women's field hockey match Thursday.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany serves during a men's table-tennis singles semifinal match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Dimitri Peters of Germany competes in the men's under 100-kilogram judo match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Khatuna Lorig of the United States takes a shot in the women's individual 1/8 elimination archery event.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Mathias Boe, left, and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark celebrate their victory over Taiwan during the semifinal men's doubles badminton match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea's Junggeu Park jumps to shoot during a men's preliminary handball match against Spain.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Competitors dive into the pool at the start of the men's 50-meter freestyle heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea's Hwang Hee-Tae gets treated for an injury during a men's under 100-kilogram judo contest match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Cesar Cielo of Brazil reacts after finishing in the men's 50-meter freestyle heat eight.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Lithuanian forward Darius Songaila, left, tries to score against French center Ronny Turiaf during a men's preliminary round basketball match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Cullen Jones of the United States swims in the men's 50-meter freestyle heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Aleksandar Atanasijevic of Serbia spikes the ball against Denys Kaliberda and Marcus Bohme of Germany.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Katie Ledecky of the United States competes in a women's 800-meter freestyle heat.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
New Zealand's Chris Harris, Sean O'Neill, Jade Uru and Tyson Williams react after finishing the men's four semifinal rowing event in Windsor, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Akane Shibata of Japan takes a shot during the women's hockey preliminary match between South Korea and Japan.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Fans fill the stands for rowing events at Eton Dorney in Windsor, England.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
South Korea's Lee Sung-Jin competes in the women's individual 1/8 archery elimination match at Lord's Cricket Ground.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Dimitri Peters, in white, of Germany and Jevgenijs Borodavko of Latvia compete in the men's under 100-kilogram judo match.

Day 6: The best photos of the Olympics —
Ahmed Al Hatmi of Oman competes in the men's double trap shooting qualification round. Check out photos from Day 7 of the competition from Friday, August 3.