In his first Olympics as National Team Director, the Arizona Athletics hall-of-famer led Team USA to its best finish in the pool since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

With all swim events done and everyone toweled off, Team USA leaves London with 31 medals, including 16 gold. That’s 11 more gold medals than the next closest competitor, China.They also exit the pool with nine silver and six bronze medals hanging around their neck.

The 1984 USA Swim team was as dominant a force ever to squeeze into Speedos. USA wracked up 34 total medals, including 21 gold – 17 more than runner-up Canada.

They also won 13 silver medals and no bronze. That’s correct, 34 medals, none of them bronze.

Where the similiarities between the Los Angeles and London squads gets interesting is medal differential. The ’84 team bested Australia by 22 total medals. The London swimmers paddle away with 21 total medals than No. 2 China.

Busch served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2004 Greek and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. But he gained his notoriety as head coach of the University of Arizona.

In Tucson, Busch spent 22 years building an American Swimming Coaches Association-hall of fame portfolio that boasts NCAA (six times), Pac-10 (11), USA Swimming and United States Olympic Committee coach of the year honors.

It certainly helped having familiar talent in London. All told, swimmers with ties to Busch at Arizona or his Tuscon Ford Dealers Aquatics club team earned four gold medals and two silver.

The pool is now closed and covered until the 2016 Rio Games. That’s gives Busch and company four years to figure out how to overtake the 1984 Los Angeles team.

MEDAL PERFORMANCES BY SWIMMERS WITH TIES TO BUSCH AT THE LONDON GAMES

Alyssa Anderson – Gold: 4X200 Freestyle Relay

Matt Grevers – Gold: 100-meter Backstroke

Matt Grevers – Gold: 4X100 Medley Relay

Matt Grevers – Silver: 4X100 Freestyle Relay

Nick Thoman – Silver: 100 Backstroke

Nick Thoman – Gold: 4X100 Medley Relay

Wildcat alum Simon Burnett, center, at the British Gas Swim Championships in March. Al Bello – Getty Images

There’s a reason why many Olympic athletes cry after winning a gold medal. There’s a reason why they bawl when they come up short.

There’s power in realizing a dream; and devastation upon seeing your life’s dedication dashed by mere fractions of a second.

For Simon Burnett, the latter proved true on Monday in a pool some 45 miles east of his hometown.

For the University of Arizona alum, his career is now over.

Burnett, 29, called it a career on Tuesday, leaving a wake that won’t soon be forgotten on either side of the pond – or pool, depending on how far you’d like to stretch the metaphor.

Representing Great Britain in pool over the last 10yrs has been an honour & a privilege. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to deliver today.

— Simon Burnett (@TheSimonBurnett) July 29, 2012

Instead of going out as a champ, Burnett and the UK men’s 4X100 freestyle relay team fell shy of advancing to the finals on Monday. France eventually won the gold medal, followed by the Michael Phelps/Ryan Lochte-led United States.

The Tetsworth, United Kingdom native made a career swimming the 200 m freestyle. He first took to the water’s of international competition 12 years ago and swam to his Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Burnett joined the Wildcats in the spring of 2003 and went on to win an NCAA title in the 200 freestyle as a freshman, earning All-American nods in six events. He duplicated the NCAA championship in the 200 free two years later. As a senior in 2006, Burnett set the NCAA record in the same event, the fastest time ever in a short course yard pool.

The UA inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame last November, in a class that consisted of fellow swimmers Lyndon Ferris, Marshi Smith and legendary Wildcat head coach Frank Busch, USA Swim’s National Team Director, who was on hand to witness the final race of Burnett’s career.

Even in defeat, Burnett still displayed why he’s a champion in the eyes of many in both Tucson and Tetsworth — and beyond.

The Old Pueblo resident and Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatic swimmer set a new Olympic record on Monday with a 52.16 second time in the 100m backstroke. The previous mark held by American Aaron Peirsol had stood since the 2008 Olympics.

It’s the fifth Olympic medal in Grever’s career, joining in his trophy case two golds and a silver from relay races. Grevers claimed a silver medal in the same event in the 2008 Beijing games.

Grevers’ gold medal (for the time being) gives Team USA 17 medals, tied for most with China.

All-American Wildcat Nick Thoman also earned a silver medal on Monday in London. Thoman touched the wall split seconds behind Grevers with a time of 52.92. It’s the first individual medal ever for Thoman, who entered the race as the fifth seed,  on the international stage.

According to Arizona Athletics, Thoman’s medal means the University of Arizona keeps its streak of medaling in the summer Olympics going. A Wildcat has stood atop the podium in every Olympics since 1968.

Stay tuned, it’s highly likely the Wildcats aren’t done accumulating medals.

SWIMMERS WITH TUCSON TIES IN THE OLYMPICS

Clark Burckle, seen here competing in the U.S. Olympic trials, is one of 10 Wildcats vying for gold in the pools at the London Games.

Alyssa Anderson – 800 freestyle relay (UA)

Jean Basson – 800 freestyle relay (South Africa/UA)

Clark Burckle – 200 breaststroke (UA)

Simon Burnett – 400 freestyle relay (Great Britain/UA)

Matt Grevers – 100 backstroke, 400 freestyle relay (TFDA)

Caitlin Leverenz – 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley (Sahuaro High School)

Nicolas Oliveira – 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay (Brazil/UA)

Roland Schoeman – 50 freestyle (South Africa/UA)

Nimrod Shapira - 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly (Israel/UA)

Albert Subirats – 100 butterfly (Venezuela/UA)

Nick Thoman – 100 backstroke (UA)

Darian Townsend – 200 individual medley (South Africa/UA)