Has Nashville ever experienced such a short span of high-level sports achievement as the 2012 boys of summer?

One challenge might have come from two summer Olympics games, in 1960 and 1964, featuring Ed Temple’s TSU Tigerbelles, led by the likes of gold medalists Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus, Edith McGuire, Madeline Manning and Ralph Boston.

“It was an exciting summer. A whole lot was achieved this year. That Little League team was outstanding,” says Temple, the former Tennessee State Tigerbelles women’s track and field coach, who served as coach of the U.S. Olympic track team in both 1960 and ’64 and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in July.

“Nashville’s done very well this summer, no two ways about it,” says Middle Tennessee State track and field coach Dean Hayes, a former U.S. Olympics assistant coach. “There have been some really good team and individual performances.”

Another comparison might be the 1994-95 college basketball season when so many area men’s and women’s teams (Vanderbilt, TSU, Belmont and Lipscomb) advanced to postseason play that one national publication suggested Music City should be renamed Hoops City.