After derailing the United States in the gold-medal match, the Brazilian women's volleyball team launched into a celebration right out of the streets of Rio.

Their exuberance — and that of the Brazilian fans — might not have been fully appreciated by the US team, but it certainly gives us a taste of the party atmosphere we can expect at the 2016 Games.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Great Britain's Mo Farah thrilled capacity crowds at the Olympic Stadium not once, but twice, during the track & field competition. Farah won the 10,000 meters, then completed a rare distance double by taking the 5,000.

Said the Somali-born Farah, 29: ''It's unbelievable. Two gold medals, who would have thought that?''

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Claressa Shields made history at the London Games.

Shields won the first gold medal by a US women's boxer — and the only gold medal for US boxing at the Olympics — by defeating Russia's Nadezda Torlopova in the middleweight final Thursday. The 17-year-old put on a show for the crowd against an opponent nearly twice her age. Now, Shields returns to her hometown of Flint, Mich., as a conquering heroine.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Serena Williams owned the courts at the All England Club during the Olympic tennis competition. Not only did she win gold in singles — demolishing Maria Sharapova in the final — Serena teamed with sister Venus to claim another gold in doubles. A thrilling effort coming on the heels of winning her fifth Wimbledon title.

Serena's only misstep? Celebrating her singles title with the Crip Walk.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Allison Schmitt certainly shouldn't be forgotten among the stars of US swimming. Schmitt totaled five medals — including three golds. And it's how she won that makes her someone to remember.

Schmitt won the women's 200-meter freestyle in an Olympic record. Then, in the 4x200 freestyle relay, she swam the anchor leg, turning a half-second deficit into US gold — and another Olympic record. Finally, as a late replacement for Jessica Hardy, she anchored the US 4x100 medley relay team to gold — and a world record.

Three golds, two Olympic records, one world record. Now that's impressive.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, at just 16, blew away the women’s field in the 400-meter individual medley. How Ye won the first of her two gold medals in London caused quite a stir.

After she swam the final 50 meters faster than men’s 400 IM winner Ryan Lochte, rumors swirled that Ye might be swimming with assistance. Then, the US executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association came right out and said so to the Daily Mail: “Any time someone has looked like superwoman in the history of our sport, they have later been found guilty of doping.”

The IOC defended Ye, saying she passed a drug test after the event, but that isn't likely to quell the controversy — especially after she added a second gold in the 200 IM.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

He called it, and then he won. Star US wrestler Jordan Burroughs predicted he'd capture gold and then made his prophesy a reality, winning the 74-kilogram freestyle final for the Americans' first wrestling gold of the London Games. What's next? Burroughs, a 24-year-old Nebraska grad, says he'll compete at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Hers is one of the most inspiring stories of the London Games: Kayla Harrison, whose childhood judo coach had been jailed for sexually abusing her, won the gold medal she’d aspired to. In doing so, she showed us what a real hero looks like. And, at just 22, Harrison is likely to show us more in the coming years and in 2016 in Rio.

VIDEO: Does Harrison have a future in MMA?

Jessica Ennis made waves with amazing performances at the Olympic Stadium — and with some interesting comments off the track.

Great Britain's Ennis went from national hero to national treasure when she won the heptathlon. In winning, Ennis set a British record with 6,955 points. A day later, however, she pulled out of the 100-meter hurdles — an event she could have medaled in — saying she wanted to eat 'rubbish food' and have a 'few glasses of wine.'

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

There's no doubt that Ryan Lochte had a successful 2012 Olympics. He certainly opened with a bang, defeating rival Michael Phelps to win the 400-meter IM gold — and making waves with his grill in the medal ceremony to enjoy the closing ceremony in London.

By the end of the swimming competition in London, however, Lochte had been overshadowed by Phelps. Lochte's final tally: two golds, two silvers, one bronze and a fourth-place finish — impressive, but undoubtedly shy of what he had predicted would be ''my time.''

MORE: Taking stock of Lochte's legacy in the Phelps era.

It was just the finish that Kerri Walsh Jennings (left) and Misty May-Treanor wanted. The two-time defending Olympic champs made it three in a row, defeating fellow US pair April Ross and Jennifer Kessy to win beach volleyball gold.

And, while May-Treanor plans to retire, Walsh Jennings said she will play in an upcoming FIVB event in Poland with Nicole Branagh. She also said she's thinking about going for a fourth gold in 2016 with a different partner.

MORE: Look back at all of the hot action in the beach volleyball sand.

Andy Murray is the toast of the town after thrilling the All England Club crowd and all of Great Britain with his stunning smackdown of Roger Federer in the men's singles gold-medal match. Murray also teamed with Laura Robson to earn silver in the mixed doubles.

That dominating victory over Federer could be just the thing to help Murray overcome his yips in major finals. US Open favorite, anyone?

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

The 17-year-old Missy Franklin was billed as the future of US swimming ahead of the London Games. The future, as they say, is now. Franklin swam in seven events, won five medals (four of them gold) and set two world records.

Franklin idolizes Michael Phelps and wants to chase his medal record. Two weeks ago, that might have been a ridiculous goal. It’s not anymore.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Unfortunately for Lolo Jones, London 2012 will be remembered more for her tweets and her tears than for her performance on the track. Jones, a gold-medal hopeful and one of the faces of US track & field, finished fourth and failed to medal in the 100-meter hurdles.

Jones had made headlines before her event for a tweet about guns and for her celebrated virginity. She then made more headlines after failing to medal while talking about media who have "ripped her to shreds."

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Capturing bronze with teammate Nick McCrory in the 10-meter platform synchronized diving event was one thing. But winning gold in the 10-meter platform with a dramatic last dive? That made David Boudia a true star — and gave the United States its first diving gold since 2000.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Candace Parker came up huge as the US women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive gold medal. Parker had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the gold-medal rout of France on Saturday.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

“Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius made history in the 2012 Games just by competing. While he did not medal, Pistorius advanced to the semifinals of the 400 meters and then ran with the South African team in the final of the 4x400 relay. ''This week has just been one of the biggest blessings," he said.

Now, Pistorius moves on to the Paralympics, where he will defend his 100, 200 and 400 titles from Beijing and try for four gold medals.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

London was a coming-out party for gymnast Gabby Douglas, who helped the US women win the team all-around gold and then became the first African-American to win gold in the individual all-around competition.

But it wasn't all good cheer for Douglas during the games, as her mom filed for bankruptcy and her hair became a hot-button topic. Through it all, however, Douglas has handled herself with class.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Oribe Peralta and the Mexican team are national heroes. Peralta scored twice — the first goal just 29 seconds into the game — as Mexico upset heavily-favored Brazil 2-1 for its first gold medal in men's soccer. Mexico's previous best showing at the Olympics was at the 1968 Mexico City Games, when the team was beaten in the bronze-medal match 2-0 by Japan.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

The controversy from the 100 meters at the US Olympic trials is all but forgotten for Allyson Felix, who became the first US female track athlete to win three gold medals at an Olympics since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Felix didn't medal in the 100 in London, but she won gold in the 200 — her signature event — and helped the US team win golds in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

And Felix may not be done yet. The 26-year-old said she thinks she has one more Summer Games in her. She said she can "be in the mix" for the 100 in Rio and has "potential" for the 400, too.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

It wasn't quite Dream Team 2.0, but Team USA — led by LeBron James — did defend their Olympic men's basketball title in 2012. James scored 19 points in the gold-medal game victory over Spain and joined Michael Jordan as the only players to win the NBA title, regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold in the same year.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Alex Morgan, the new golden girl of US women's soccer, helped the United States win gold with a 2-1 victory over Japan in the final at Wembley Stadium. The victory gave the US revenge for its loss to Japan in the 2011 World Cup final.

The Americans wouldn't even have been in the gold-medal game without Morgan's splendid game-winner in the semifinals against Canada.

MORE MORGAN: Photos: A star is born.

OK, so he didn't win eight gold medals this time around. But Michael Phelps still led the London Games with six total medals, including four golds. In doing so, he became the Olympics' most decorated athlete ever — with a staggering 22 career medals, 18 of them gold.

What's next for the retired Phelps? Quality time with his model girlfriend and a new sport: golf.

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

Hers is the face that launched a viral meme. McKayla Maroney helped the United States win team gold in women's gymnastics, but it was her "not impressed" reaction after settling for silver in the vault competition that really thrust her into the minds of Olympics fans — and pretty much anyone else on a social-networking site.

Maroney may not have been impressed by her silver, but we were impressed by her at the London Games.

PHOTOS: See what Maroney and the rest of the Fab 5 have been up to.

Three golds to defend. Three golds defended. In his words, Usain Bolt "came here to London to become a legend, and I am a legend."

That he is. Bolt secured his second consecutive three-gold-medal Olympics by repeating as champion in the 100 meters and 200 meters and leading the stellar Jamaican team to a world record in the 4x100 relay.

Will we see a run at a triple triple in 2016? Said Bolt, who turns 26 later this month: "The possibility is there, but it's going to be very hard. . . . I've done all I want to do. I've got no more goals."

PHOTOS: All the stars came out for Sunday's closing ceremony.

The heat was on the world's top athletes at the 2012 Olympics — and boy, did they deliver.

Click through to see 25 compelling athletes and teams from the London Games that are worth remembering . . .