Top two golden tweets: Barack Obama, Justin Bieber generate most retweets on Twitter for 2012

CLEVELAND - A three-word tweet signifying another milestone for President Barack Obama and Justin Bieber saying goodbye to a fan were the top two tweets of 2012, according to Twitter.

On Nov. 6, 2012, Barack Obama was re-elected as President of the United States. But before giving his victory speech, Obama marked the win on Twitter by tweeting: "Four more years."

Within hours, the tweet simultaneously became the most retweeted of 2012 -- and the most retweeted ever, sent by people in more than 200 countries around the world. In all, it generated 810,000+ retweets and 300,000+ favorites.

Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber took the No. 2 spot for the year when he tweeted out: "RIP Avalanna. i love you."

Suffering from a rare form of brain cancer, Avalanna Routh, 6, was a big Justin Bieber fan, and the pop star had grown close to her during her illness. When she died in September, Bieber paid tribute to her in the Sept. 26 tweet. Some 220,000+ Beliebers retweeted his message and 100,000+ fans favorited his tribute.

A trio of other tweets get the honorable mention slots. They include a furious message from a Green Bay Packer, an uplifting tweet from Team Great Britain and a marriage announcement from a Japanese actor.

Furious over replacement ref call

Trailing the Seahawks, Seattle's quarterback launched a bomb into the end zone and it would appear the ball was caught by Green Bay Packers safety M.D. Jennings. On his way down, Seattle's Golden Tate got his hands on the ball and the replacement refs ruled it a Seattle touchdown. Game over. Packers lose.

Obviously upset over the replacement refs and their bad call, Green Bay offensive lineman TJ Lang tweeted this message on Sept. 24: “F*** it NFL.. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.”

That call generated 1+ million tweets as players and fans flocked to Twitter to grouse about the decision. TJ’s tweet became the most retweeted of the night -- and of the NFL season overall.

Team Great Britain congratulates its athletes

For the first time since 1948, the Summer Olympics returned to London. British athletes performed very well, taking home more medals than expected. Fans followed Team GB's every move, joining in at the close of the Olympic Games to show their support for #OurGreatestTeam.

“29 gold, 17 silver, 19 bronze - We finished 3rd in medal table after most successful Olympics for 104 years #OurGreatestTeam RT your support.”

And tens of thousands of people did: 67,000+ retweets and 5,000+ favorites.

Anime fans salute wedding

When actor Kouichi Yamadera announced on Twitter that he registered for marriage with actress Rie Tanaka, it became the most retweeted message from Japan this year. Why? Both are prominent Japanese voice actors, famous for many of their anime roles.

"…I would like to announce here: I, Koichi Yamadera, have married Ms. Rie Tanaka … I am really happy to have met such a great partner and have our lives come together. We made up our minds to respect each other, help each other and build a home full of smiles…"

The June 17 tweet generated 68,000 retweets and was favorited 6,000 times.

What tweet(s) do you remember most from 2012? Tell us in a comment below.