Bryan Bedder, Adam Pretty, Nick Laham/Getty Images; AKM-GSI Last night's closing ceremonies in London brought a triumphant end to the 2012 Summer Olympics.
As the world's nations came together as one to witness the fine spirit of sporting competition, Olympians kicked up some pretty unusual friendships (not to mention late-night hookups) when they weren't going for the gold.
E! News looks back at some of the more memorable, if unlikeliest, BFFs that surfaced these last two weeks.
1. Kate Middleton and the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team: The Duchess of Cambridge waved the Union Jack aplenty for Team G.B., but when push came to shove, she cheered the U.S. women's gymnastics squad better known as the Fierce Five—Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and McKayla "Not Impressed" Maroney—after they won the gold medal. The royal was so impressed, she met with the ladies as well.
2. Prince Harry and Laura Trott: Harry and the 20-year-old British world cycling champ got chummy at a women's beach volleyball match, where they watched Brazil take the bronze medal against China. The pair were clearly just pals, however, as Trott ended up scoring a smooch from fellow cyclist Jason Kenny after the prince took off.
3. Lil Wayne and Ryan Lochte: It must be a grill thing. To get himself pumped up before his races, swimmer Ryan Lochte liked to put on some tunes by Lil Wayne, both of whom are known for sporting dental bling. After word got out about the former's appreciation for hip-hop, the rapper tweeted, "Much luv to Ryan Lochte and the USA Swim team!!!!" To which Lochte replied in kind, then invited him to go skateboarding. The athlete later ended up taking in a U.S. men's basketball team match against Argentina with another rapper friend, Ludacris.
4. Ryan Lochte and the Single Ladies of London: Team USA's most eligible bachelor couldn't resist celebrating his Olympic triumphs by plunging into the London party scene with some unidentified lady friends. The 28-year-old was snapped dancing with a bevy of babes, including this redhead at the Chinawhites nightclub last Sunday, heating up the dance floor and downing $800 tequila. No word if he did the breast stroke.
5. Kobe Bryant and Stephanie Rice: The L.A. Lakers superstar had plenty of time outside of hoops to catch a lot of Olympic action. But after turning up at the velodrome for a cycling event last Tuesday accompanied by Aussie swimmer Stephanie Rice, tabloids went wild speculating about a romance. Fat chance, considering Bryant brought his wife and kids to the games. Rice subsequently tweeted a picture of some shoes he signed for her and wrote, "Thanks Kobe."
7. Beyoncé and Gabby Douglas: Following her gold-medal victory in the women's all-around competition, making her the first African-American ever to win in that event, Douglas got a big shout-out on Beyoncé's blog. The R&B diva wrote about how much of a "thrill" it was to watch her and thanked her "for inspiring all of us!" Awww. She wasn't the only one to send kudos Douglas' way. Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber joined in the praise as well.
8. Michelle Obama and the U.S. Men's Basketball Team: Team USA made a huge fan out of the first lady, who made sure to hug each and every one of them after their rousing opening-round win against France two weeks ago. We guess lady luck rubbed off on them, 'cause the boys brought home the gold this weekend.