Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

U.S. Olympic 400m sprint gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross takes a picture with U.S. President Barack Obama as the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams visit the White House in Washington, on Sept. 14.

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

US President Barack Obama greets US Olympians on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Sept. 14, during ceremony to honor the 2012 US Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams, including swimmer Michael Phelps, gather on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 14, in Washington, DC. The U.S. team brought home 104 medals, 46 of them gold medals, from the games in London.

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AP reports -- President Barack Obama tells U.S. Olympians and Paralympians they are the "portrait of what this country is all about" as he, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama salute their achievements at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

The Obamas and Biden saluted the U.S. teams at a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

At the Olympics, the U.S. won 104 medals, 46 of them gold, their highest total at an Olympics not held in the United States.

Read more.

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• Thousands pack the streets of London for a final farewell to the Olympics
• Splish splash! Synchronized swimmers rule the pool
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• A moment of true sportsmanship, as Japan consoles a defeated France
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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. Paralympic swimmer Brad Snyder as first lady Michelle Obama welcomes members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House in Washington, o Sept. 14.

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

US President Barack Obama speaks as First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden look on during a ceremony to honor the 2012 US Olympic and Paralympic teams on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Sept. 14.

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

US First Lady Michelle Obama holds President Barack Obama's hand as she speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Sept. 14 during ceremony to honor the 2012 US Olympic and Paralympic teams.

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Julian Finney / Getty Images

Fireworks light up the stadium during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on September 9, 2012.

Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

Performers with flame throwers burn the grass in the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony.

Hannah Johnston / Getty Images

Singer Rihanna performs during the closing ceremony.

Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images

Swimmer Ellie Simmonds of Great Britain, right, who won four medals during the Games, enjoys the atmosphere with fellow Team GB Paralympians during the closing ceremony.

Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images

Jay-Z performs with Coldplay during the closing ceremony. The stars were paid a nominal one pound ($1.60) to play.

Hannah Johnston / Getty Images

Circus artists enter the stadium from the air.

The Associated Press reports — Farewell, London. Good luck matching that, Rio.

 Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z rocked the Olympic Stadium on Sunday night to give the biggest-ever Paralympic Games a rousing send-off, wrapping up an unforgettable summer of sports in Britain.

 The three-hour party at the packed 80,000-seat arena in east London gave the world a chance to celebrate 11 days of Paralympic competition that have shifted perceptions and shattered stereotypes about the disabled.

 "In this country, we will never think of sport the same way and we will never think of disability the same way," said Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London organizing committee. "The Paralympians have lifted the cloud of limitation." Read the full story. 

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• Look back at the best images from the opening ceremony
• London 2012's legacy under the spotlight
• Race car driver who cheated death wins 3 medals
• More images from the Paralympic Games on PhotoBlog

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Kerim Okten / EPA

Blind Brazilian runner Terezinha Guilhermina and her guide Guilherme Soares de Santana react after crossing the finish line to win the Women's 100m T11 final at the Paralympic Games in London on Wednesday night. 

Blind or partially-sighted athletes are permitted to use a guide runner in Paralympic races, but the guide is never permitted to cross the finish line before the blind runner. At the 2012 Games, guides became eligible for medals for the first time.

 Video: Team USA guns for Oscar Pistorius in 100m showdown

24 hours earlier Guilhermina's bid for 400m glory was derailed when Soares de Santana tripped on the home straight, a moment captured in a series of heartbreaking images published on PhotoBlog.

But their despair was replaced by joy as Guilhermina took the 100m gold in a world record time of 12.01 seconds, adding to the 200m title she won on Sunday.

Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters

Kerim Okten / EPA

Julian Finney / Getty Images

Julian Finney / Getty Images

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• Nightly News: Representing Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games
• 'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage
• More images from the Paralympic Games on PhotoBlog

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Julian Finney / Getty Images

Terezinha Guilhermina of Brazil runs as her guide Guilherme Soares de Santana lies on the track after he fell in the Women's 400m - T12 Final on day 6 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on Sept. 4, in London, England.

Julian Finney / Getty Images

Assia El Hannouni of France wins gold in the Women's 400m - T12 Final on day 6 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on Sept. 4, in London, England.

Christopher Lee / Getty Images

Terezinha Guilhermina of Brazil and her guide Guilherme Soares de Santana lie on the track after falling in the Women's 400m - T12 Final on day 6 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on Sept. 4, in London, England.

Leon Neal / AFP - Getty Images

Brazil's Terezhina Guilhermina and her guide Guilherme Soares de Santana console each other after Soares de Santana fell just ahead of the finish line of the women's 400m T12 final at the Paralympic Games at the Olympic Park in east London, England on Sept. 4.

Update, September 6th: The night after these pictures were taken Terezinha Guilhermina and Guilherme Soares de Santana returned to the track, and this time their race had a much happier ending. Find out what happened when they competed in the 100m final.

Related content:

• Video: Team USA guns for Oscar Pistorius in 100m showdown 
• Oscar Pistorius sorry for timing, not content, of angry outburst at Paralympics
• Iraq vet: 'Now it's time to win' at Paralympics
• Ex-Marine Angela Madsen on her journey from homelessness to Paralympics
• Nightly News: Representing Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games
• 'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage
• More images from the Paralympic Games on PhotoBlog

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Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

China's Liu Fuliang competes in the Men's Long Jump F46 classification final at the Olympic Stadium during the London 2012 Paralympic Games on September 3, 2012.

China's Liu Fuliang took gold in the Men's Long Jump F46 classification final at the Paralympic Games with a jump of 7.15 meters on Monday.

Glyn Kirk / AFP - Getty Images

US athlete Tobi Fawehinmi takes part in the men's long jump F46 final. He finished tenth.

Glyn Kirk / AFP - Getty Images

France's Arnaud Assoumani, who took silver, competes in the men's long jump F46 final.

Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

Malaysia's Eryanto Bahtiar competes in the Men's Long Jump F46 classification final. He finished in seventh place.

Related content:

• Oscar Pistorius sorry for timing, not content, of angry outburst at Paralympics
• Iraq vet: 'Now it's time to win' at Paralympics
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• Nightly News: Representing Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games
• 'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage
• More images from the Paralympic Games on PhotoBlog

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Kyodo News via AP

People pack the central intersection of Tokyo's Ginza shopping district as Japanese Olympic medalists and athletes who competed in the London Games aboard double-decker buses parade through the main street Monday, Aug. 20.

Jiji Press / AFP - Getty Images

Japan's women's badminton doubles silver medallists Mizuki Fujii, left, and Reika Kakiiwa, wave to the crowds from an open-top bus during a parade for Japan's 2012 London Olympic Games medallists in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on Aug. 20.

The Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) held the first ever Olympic medallists parade hoping it will boost the city's bid to host the 2020 Summer Games.   

Reuters reports: Japan's Olympic medallists brought downtown Tokyo to a standstill on Monday in an open-top bus victory parade witnessed by around 500,000 flag and fan-waving supporters.

The convoy of five buses caused gridlock as fans and shoppers in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district help celebrate Japan's record haul of 38 medals (seven gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze) at the London Olympics. Full story.

More photos from the Olympics on PhotoBlog

Mike Blake / Reuters

U.S. decathlete Ashton Eaton celebrates as he clears 5.30 meters in the decathlon pole vault at the U.S. Olympic Athletics Trials in Eugene, Ore., June 23.

In the decathlon, Ashton Eaton was ahead of a world-record pace for two events. His shot put throw of 46 feet, 7 3/4 inches slowed him down, but he still led two-time world champion Trey Hardee by 205 points with six events to go.

Eaton, an Oregon native, looked very much at home in the steady rain that swamped Hayward Field for the first of this 10-day event, during which up to 120 spots on the U.S. Olympic team will be awarded.

Read the full story from nbcolympics.com

Related story: Bryan Clay fails to make team

Matt Slocum / AP

Ashton Eaton and Curtis Beach react after the 1500m during the decathlon competition at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, June 23, in Eugene, Ore. Eaton finished the decathlon with a new world record.

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Toby Melville / Reuters

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

An Olympic torch is auctioned on eBay.

Crowds lined the streets of a small town in south west England on Monday as a locally-organized torch relay race was run ahead of the official Olympic parade.

Several enterprising locals took to the streets of Hatherleigh wielding their own homemade versions of the much-heralded torch.

Olympic torch lit by sun's rays at birthplace of Games

Some 8,000 runners are participating in the official torch relay, which will cover over 8,000 miles throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next ten weeks. 

The historic ritual only started Saturday, but by Sunday there were already several torches being auctioned on eBay with offers in excess of $170,000. 

Related content:

• Video: Countdown to the Olympic Games
• Slideshow: When the Olympics is your neighbor
• Full Olympic coverage on NBCOlympics.com

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Orestis Panagiotou / EPA

Actress Ino Menegaki, in the role of the High Priestess, lights the torch of the Olympic Flame in front of Hera Temple in Ancient Olympia, Greece, on May 10, 2012.

The Associated Press reports — The flame that will burn during the London Games was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics on Thursday, heralding the start of a torch relay that will culminate with the opening ceremony on July 27.

Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a high priestess, stood before the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera, and after an invocation to Apollo, the ancient Greeks' Sun God, used a mirror to focus the sun's rays and light a torch.

The triangular torch is designed to highlight the fact that London is hosting the Olympics for the third time. It also staged the games in 1908 and 1948.

Under bright sunny skies there was no need for the backup flame that was used during the final rehearsal for the Olympic torch lighting a day earlier. Read the full story.

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• Five facts about the London 2012 torch
• Video: Countdown to the Olympic Games
• Slideshow: When the Olympics is your neighbor
• Full Olympic coverage on NBCOlympics.com

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Orestis Panagiotou / EPA

The flame will make a 1,800-mile journey through Greece using 490 torchbearers.

John Kolesidis / Reuters

Ino Menegaki holds up the cauldron with the Olympic flame during the torch lighting ceremony.

John Kolesidis / Reuters

Alexander Loukos, center, a British boxer of Greek descent, runs with the Olympic flame during the torch relay at the site of ancient Olympia on May 10, 2012. The torch will be handed to London organizers on May 17 in Athens' Panathiaic Stadium, where the first modern games were held in 1896.

Slideshow: Venues for 2012 London Olympic Games

Oda / Getty Images

From Wimbledon to Wembley Stadium to The Dome, a look at the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Launch slideshow

Peter Morrison / AP

The Global Rainbow is projected into the night sky from Scrabo Tower, in Newtownards, Northern Ireland on March 16.

Peter Morrison / AP

The Global Rainbow is projected into the night sky from Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, Northern Ireland.

The large scale outdoor laser projection known as the Global Rainbow was visible across the night sky in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The event signals 100 days to go until the opening of the London 2012 Festival which is a 12-week festival of arts running parallel to the Olympic Games taking place in London. The installation was created by New York artist Yvette Mattern

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