It was deja vu all over again for goalie Hope Solo and her teammates from the U.S. women's soccer team on Friday when they appeared on TODAY the morning after a gold medal victory, just as they had four years ago in Beijing. But this time their smiles were fueled only by the euphoria of victory.

That was in contrast to the morning after they beat Brazil in Beijing, when, according to what Solo admitted to ESPN the Magazine, she and some other players were still tipsy from the previous evening's revels when they appeared on TODAY.

On Friday, Matt Lauer asked Solo if he would also be reading about this interview after the fact, but she assured him that the perma-grins on their faces were all natural.

“We are well-hydrated this morning,’’ she joked.

On Thursday Solo was part of an all-around sterling effort in front of 80,203 fans at Wembley Stadium that resulted in a 2-1 win over Japan for the team's third gold medal in the last three Olympics. She made several acrobatic saves, including stopping a 2-on-1 breakaway by smacking away a point-blank shot with both hands in the 83rd minute to preserve a thrilling win.

“I think my heart was in my throat as well,’’ Solo said. “You train so hard as a goalkeeper, you train day in and day out to make those saves, and then you never know if you’re going to have your moment. You never know when the game is going to ask you to make that save, so I had to make it in one game this tournament, in the final game in the 83rd minute.’’

Solo had powerful emotions about the game, but she was able to rein them in to focus.

"I actually was crying on the back of the bus going to the game,'' Solo told Savannah Guthrie in a later segment on TODAY Friday. "(I was) crying for the gratitude I have for this kind of opportunity to fulfill my dreams.''

She also shook off a flare-up earlier in the games when she made headlines after tweeting some critical comments about NBC commentator and former U.S. soccer team member Brandi Chastain.

"There's always controversy,'' Solo told Guthrie. "I think a lot of things are made out to be more than they really are or what is necessary. I have opinions about commentary and other things as well. Everybody can have an opinion.''

In addition to Solo, midfielder Carli Lloyd was another hero as she scored both goals against Japan, four years after she scored the winning goal in overtime to beat Brazil.

“I was counting down the minutes from 70 on,’’ Lloyd said about the pressure-packed game. “I think it’s all in the mind, so whatever you visually prepare comes true.’’

“I think that more than anything, this was just a complete team win,’’ forward Abby Wambach said. “Carli, she comes on, plays a lot of minutes in this tournament - every single player from the first to the last. I just can’t be more proud of this group of people.’’

Now that the Americans have made it three in a row, the focus turns to 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. A backbone of the team throughout its remarkable run in the last 12 years has been veteran defender Christie Rampone. Her teammates jokingly bowed to her on TODAY before making their bid to get her to return for another four years. A mother of two from Point Pleasant, N.J., Rampone, 37, did not rule out the possibility of Rio.

“They keep trying to convince me,’’ Rampone said amid chants of “Four more years!” by her teammates. “I do have it in me, but we’ll see.’’

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TODAY's complete London Olympic coverage

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US Alexandra Raisman competes in the Floor Exercise final at the London 2012 Olympic Games Artistic Gymnastics competition, on London, Aug. 7.

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Alexandra Raisman of the United States competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on Aug. 7, 2012 in London, England.

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Alexandra Raisman of the U.S. competes in the women's gymnastics floor exercise final in the North Greenwich Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games on Aug. 7.

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Alexandra Raisman of the United States competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on Aug. 7, in London, England.

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A young US supporter waves a flag after the women' s floor exercise gymnastics final on Aug. 7.

AP reports -- Aly Raisman finished the Olympics in style.

The U.S. captain matched Gabby Douglas in gold medals, winning the title on floor exercise Tuesday. Add in the bronze on balance beam from earlier in the day, and she becomes the most decorated of the Fierce Five.

Good thing Raisman had such a big day because the rest of the Americans came up empty-handed. Douglas had another rough day, finishing seventh on balance beam after a fall. World champion Jordyn Wieber, voted most likely to leave the Olympics with the biggest haul, was seventh on floor and finishes without any individual medals.

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Alexandra Raisman of the United States competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on Aug. 7.

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Alexandra Raisman of the United States hugs coach Mihai Brestyan after winning the gold medal for the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on Aug. 7, in London, England.

Rolf Vennenbernd / EPA

Alexandra Raisman of the US celebrates with her gold medal in the women's floor exercise at the London 2012 Olympic Games Artistic Gymnastics, on Aug. 7.

Slideshow: Olympic Emotional Moments

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Venus and Serena Williams of the U.S. hold their gold medals during the presentation ceremony for the women's doubles tennis.

Today and tonight, during final-event leaps, heaves and sprints in the hurdles, pole vault, and gym, athletes will be competing for, living and dying for ... silver. 

Not second place, mind you. But, technically, as the winners' national anthems ring out this evening, each grinning champion will be wearing, nuzzling or even kissing carefully dressed-up medallions made almost completely out of sterling silver. 

Those cherished, sacrifice-four-years-of-your-life-to-achieve, historic golds? Oh, there's gold on there -- as a thin plating meant to cloak the 92.5 percent of the first-place prize that's comprised of silver. 

London 2012 organizers have proudly, purposely produced the heaviest gold meals in Olympic history -- each tipping the scales at 400 grams, or twice the heft of the golds handed out during the 2008 Beijing Games. But they are hardly the most valuable Olympic medals ever.

Due to that flashy gold coating, totaling 6 grams -- worth $302 in today's market -- and the remaining 394 grams of sterling silver -- valued at $318 -- the winning coins would fetch about $620 if melted down as pure metals, according to Lear Capital, a precious metals company in Los Angeles.

It's true: the London golds aren't worth their weight in gold. 

"The London (organizers), they made this coin larger than any other Olympics ever have. But you can make a gold coin fairly large if you’re just going to plate whatever’s underneath it with gold," said Kevin DeMeritt, founder of Lear Capital. "So it’s a beautiful coin .... But most of the coin is silver which really doesn’t add up to a whole lot when silver is $26 an ounce and gold is $1,600 an ounce."

Lear has crunched the metal/medal math, comparing the London golds with the top prizes doled out at Barcelona in 1992 (which would be worth $484 today), at Stockholm in 1912, the last Games during which gold medals were all-gold ($1,207 today) and at Paris in 1900 ($2,667 today). 

Now, don't feel a bit bad for athletes like Michael Phelps, who owns 18 career golds, or for the collective 2012 American team which together has scooped up 28 top medals as of Monday morning.

For starters, most of those hard-fought keepsakes will continue to gain value as sports collectables, should any ever choose to sell them. U.S. Olympic hockey player Mark Wells, a member of the famous 1980 squad, earned $310,700 for his gold medal when it was auctioned two years ago. 

Along with their neck-worn medals, American Olympians also earn honorariums from the U.S. Olympic Committee to reward their achievements: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. And there's now a bill, introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio R-Fla., to waive the taxes that Olympic athletes must pay on those gratuities. 

All the compensation and potential tax-cuts aside, each London gold medal still remains worth about a third as much as an autographed pair of LeBron James' kicks, $1,729.

And in future games, those top medals may become even less precious, DeMeritt predicted. 

Take, for example, the Russians, hosts of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"Who knows?" DeMeritt said. "Maybe they'll just use copper (worth $3.35 a pound) and then plate it with gold." 

As worldwide media reported Tuesday that Michael Phelps had just become the most decorated Olympian ever, he was busy giving a quick heads-up to a group who still had no idea — his own teammates.

Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens, who swam second and third, respectively, after Ryan Lochte started the 4x200 freestyle relay race that would give Phelps the record, told Matt Lauer on TODAY Wednesday they were in the dark about Phelps' imminent achievement. 

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know about the 19 medals,’’ Berens said. “(Phelps) told us after the race. He huddled us all together and he said, ‘Just want you guys to know I just broke the medal record.’’

“I had no idea until he huddled us up after, and he got pretty emotional about it,’’ Dwyer said. “We were just going out there trying to get him as big a lead as possible.’’

The medal record was previously held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. The win Tuesday also marked a repeat for the Americans, who won the gold in that same relay in 2008. Phelps, Lochte and Berens were part of that Beijing team, while Dwyer is a first-time Olympian.

 “There’s always a lot of pressure at the Olympics,’’ Berens said. “This is when all eyes are on swimming, especially on Michael Phelps and what he’s doing, so to repeat with the competition so much greater than it was in 2008 is incredible.’’

“It was something special, especially with Michael breaking the record and making history,’’ Dwyer said. “It was a blast to be on the relay, and it’s easy with these three guys being so good. It takes a lot of pressure off.’’

Once Team USA brought home the win, it was time for a pig-out. After the race, Berens tweeted, “Finally!!!! The end of season celebration dinner! mcdonalds!! Yes all for me!” He included a picture of a tray loaded with a Big Mac, two quarter pounders, two cartons of fries, six McNuggets and a milk shake. Dwyer got in on the action, too, as they obliterated their diets together.

“We put so much pressure on this meet,’’ Berens said. “We sacrifice so much for the Olympic Games and we eat so healthy and try to do everything right. It’s just our time to just relax. That McDonald’s sitting in the dining hall has just been calling our name in the last two weeks.’’

The two continued to ignore their diet on TODAY Wednesday when they piled down British cheeses prepared by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.

TODAY

Olympic swimming gold medalists Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens chow down on some British cheese prepared by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis on TODAY Wednesday.

It's been a hectic time for Berens, who has spent more time with that McDonald’s tray than with his girlfriend, fellow U.S. swimmer Rebecca Soni. With a silver in the 100-meter breaststroke under her belt, Soni will race Thursday in the 200 breaststroke. Saturday, she'll swim the 4x100 medley relay. 

“I’ve seen her for a total of like 30 seconds,’’ Berens said.

This might be the final Olympics for Berens, 24. “I got a lot to think about,’’ he said. “It’s a hard place to be in. I would love to go out on top the way I did at this Olympic Games, but I’m also still very young. I probably haven’t taken more than two weeks off of swimming since high school and this is my chance to really take a break and relax.’’

Read More:

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Missy Franklin's mom: 'She's always been smiling'

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US swimmer Missy Franklin carries a national flag from the podium after receiving her gold medal after winning the women's 100m backstroke final swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 30, in London.

Toby Melville / Reuters

Missy Franklin of the U.S., who took first place, starts in the women's 100m backstroke final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre, on July 30.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

United States' Missy Franklin competes in the women's 100-meter backstroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 30.

Michael Sohn / AP

United States' Missy Franklin listens to the national anthem after receiving her gold medal for the women's 100-meter backstroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 30.

AP reports -- Michael Phelps has yet to win a gold medal, and Ryan Lochte's star is fading. So along came Missy Franklin to restore American swim hopes with a gutty performance at the Olympics on Monday night.

Coming back less than 14 minutes after swimming a semifinal heat, the Colorado teenager won the first gold medal of what figures to be a dazzling career, rallying to win the 100-meter backstroke.

"Indescribable," the 17-year-old Franklin said. "I still can't believe that happened. I don't even know what to think. I saw my parents' reaction on the screen and I just started bawling. I can't even think right now."

Continue reading.

Related links:

• Slideshow: London 2012: Emotional moments
• Slideshow: The city of London
• Slideshow: Olympic torch carries the flame to London 2012
• Slideshow: Venues for London 2012 Olympic Games

Mark J. Terrill / AP

United States' Missy Franklin, left, leads in the women's 100-meter backstroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 30.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

United States' Missy Franklin reacts after winning gold in the women's 100-meter backstroke swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, on July 30.

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Gold medalist Missy Franklin of the US celebrates with her gold medal on the podium after winning the women's 100m backstroke swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 30, in London.

If you want to know the goal of Olympic wrestler Jordan Burroughs this summer in London, you don’t even have to ask him – just go to his Twitter page.

The reigning world freestyle champion and favorite to win the gold in the 74-kilogram weight class goes by the Twitter handle @alliseeisgold; his Twitter page shows him standing in front of an American flag. At 13,700 followers and counting, he is hoping to have plenty more fans hop on the bandwagon as the American wrestling team's best hope to reach the top of the podium this summer.

“It was always my dream to be an Olympian, (and win) an Olympic gold medal,’’ Burroughs said on TODAY Friday. “Starting off as a kid, it’s hard to realize those dreams at such a young age, but now I’m big, strong, healthy, and I can be a gold medalist soon.’’

Burroughs, 23, is a former University of Nebraska star from Winslow Township, N.J., who started wrestling as a kid when he weighed only 45 pounds. From those humble beginnings, he went on to become a state champion in 2006 at 135 pounds and then won an NCAA title in 2009 as a junior at Nebraska.

A year later, he tore two knee ligaments that ended a 44-match winning streak. But then he roared back as a fifth-year senior after a medical redshirt to win the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler in 2011.

Last month, Burroughs earned his spot on the Olympic team after opponent Andrew Howe defaulted during their bout because of a knee injury. Many wrestlers struggle with the transition from the collegiate wrestling style to the different freestyle wrestling of international competitions, but Burroughs has made the switch seamlessly. He was the only American wrestler to win gold in the World Championships in Istanbul this past September, and then added a gold medal in the Pan-American Games.  

“I was successful at a number of levels, I feel as good as I’ve ever felt in my career, and it was an easy transition for me,’’ he said Friday. “I feel good, I’m ready to go in London, and I’m just practicing hard right now.’’

The United States has won a gold medal in each of the last two Olympics, and Burroughs is the clear favorite to be the one to make it three in a row this summer. He said he is up to the challenge.

“I’m just getting mentally focused,’’ he told TODAY. “I’m really prepared right now. It’s been a number of years that I’ve been training for this event, so it’s a huge opportunity to me, a lifestyle changer for winning the gold medal. Right now I’m just focused on the task at hand and going out there and wrestling hard.’’

Burroughs' TODAY interview took place outdoors on Rockefeller Plaza against the backdrop of a large, clamorous crowd waiting excitedly for R&B superstar Chris Brown to perform.

“I wish I’d get to meet him,’’ Burroughs joked. “I don’t know if I’m famous enough yet.’’

If he lives up to his Twitter handle, setting up an introduction should be no problem.

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