Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Ezekiel Kemboi: "The Peacock"
(CBS/AP) Kenyan steeplechase winner Ezekiel Kemboi celebrated his gold medal with a hip-swiveling, arm-shaking peacock dance for 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium.
Eight years after winning at the Athens Olympics, the two-time world champion won his second Olympic title in 8 minutes, 18.56 seconds.
"The dance was a spontaneous thing," Kemboi said. "It was a bit of fun."
It's not the first time the Kenyan has displayed some creative footwork after a race. Last year after winning the world steeplechase title in South Korea, he also broke out some dance moves.
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Claressa Shields: "The jig-and-fist-bump combo"
At the ExCel center, U.S. boxing champ Claressa Shields broke into a combination jig-and-fist-bump when she took gold in one of the first-ever Olympic women's boxing contests.
Shields also showed some creative footwork in the ring during the gold-medal bout. The shuffle-stepping middleweight from Flint, Michigan ducked one punch, deftly leaned away from another, and stuck her tongue out at her Russian opponent.
Shields had her hand over her heart on the medal podium when she abruptly burst into laughter, her head snapping back almost as if she had just been punched in the face.
That's a feeling her opponents in the first Olympic women's boxing tournament know quite well.
Only they're not laughing.
"I'm surprised I didn't cry," Shields said. "I was sweating, though."
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Serena Williams: "Crip Walk"
Tennis star Serena Williams celebrated Olympic gold with a "Crip Walk" — a fancy-footwork dance that originated with the Los Angeles street gang and later spread around the world.
Her sister Venus, sitting in the stands, looked delighted. Wimbledon, the very proper home of the All-England Lawn Tennis Association, had never seen anything like it, and a few commentators were not amused.
"It was just me," the U.S. medalist said later. "I love to dance."
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
U.S. women's soccer team: "Cartwheels"
Williams wasn't the only champ to raise a few eyebrows. The gold-winning U.S. women's soccer team capped its victories with cartwheels, front flips and a team rendition of the "worm" — sometimes even in the middle of a game.
"I wouldn't like it if our team did that," said New Zealand coach Tony Readings. "We try to work on scoring goals. We haven't got time to work on celebrations."
His team lost to the Americans 2-0.
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Robert Harting: "The Incredible Hulk"
German discus thrower Robert Harting's response to winning gold was not a dance so much as a force of nature.
The 280-pound behemoth roared, ripped his shirt to shreds like the Incredible Hulk, grabbed a German flag, ran a lap of the track over the hurdles — not too shabby, either, for such a big guy — and then tried to wrench one of the burning torches from the Olympic cauldron.
The cauldron remained intact.
His evening went downhill from there. The next morning Harting tweeted: "`Puuh i just got robbed while I did some work to please athletic fans! I lost all my accredition (sic) for Olympic Village! — no entrance."
Maybe he could just bring a photo. The man is hard to miss.
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Usain Bolt: "The Lightning Bolt"
But in his celebrations as on the track, Usain Bolt is in a class by himself.
The Jamaican sprinter's trademark lightning bolt — arm stretched to the sky as if he's about to shoot an arrow — has taken over Olympic Park. Exuberant visitors were seen replicating the pose thousands of times as they poured out of Olympic Stadium after Bolt won the 200 meters Thursday night for his second gold of these games.
Police officers in Bobby helmets, firefighters — even London Mayor Boris Johnson, who certainly lacks the sprinter's svelte physique — have all joined in.
Bolt himself shook up his celebration routine after the 200 meters. The self-proclaimed living legend glided across the finish line, placed an index finger to his lips in a silent reproach to those who had doubted him, then dropped to the track and did some push-ups.
The crowd went wild.
Top Olympic athlete victory celebrations
Misty May-Treanor: "Running Man"
Winning a third straight gold medal in beach volleyball touched off a wild celebration for Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor. The queens of beach hugged and laughed with each other before stepping to the top of the podium to collect their medals.
May-Treanor even got to do some dancing on the big stage after missing out on Dancing With the Stars because of a torn Achilles tendon. She busted out a funky "Running Man" dance all the way across the court as the crowd erupted.
"I just had to get out there and let it out," May-Treanor said.