Give these guys a medal: Olympic fourth place finishes

GlobalPost

The Olympics are hard. Really, really hard. And they've only gotten more difficult.

In the 60s, only 80 countries competed, but 204 countries are vying for gold in 2012.  David Mitchell — a bookstore owner in Derbyshire, England — has decided to take matters into his own hands. Mitchell is creating fourth place medals made out of pewter to recognize the increased difficulty.  

He might not be able to send one to every fourth place athlete, though, so GlobalPost is helping out. We've compiled a list of eight athletes who might have gotten fourth, but still deserve a medal.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.