More magic

Some readers answer these questions. Feel free to comment, add your own, join the debate...

1. Best moment
2. Biggest disappointment
3. One to watch for 2012
4. Best sportsman/woman
5. What London can learn from Beijing
6. What London should not do
7. Sport that should be dropped
8. Sport that should be added
9. Dustiest moment
10. Final word

First is Tom:

1. Best moment - Cooke winning the road race, and our first Gold ('always believe in...') It was the promise of what might follow. The worry was that it wouldn't, but follow it did. Emphatically.
2. Biggest disappointment – Britain's male track athletes; inevitable, with hindsight, but ultimately poor.
3. One to watch for 2012 - Me; or maybe the dartists...?
4. Best sportsman/woman – Bolt (but what a supporting cast from Team GB... I shouldn't use the word 'supporting'; we were brilliant. Phelps shmelps... his performance will mean more when running backwards, running sidewards (Bolt in the 100m excluded), and running with arms flailing all over the place over different distances are introduced as medal sports.
5. What London can learn from Beijing – Nothing. Don't be like Beijing; don't even try to copy, or top it. Do it in our own way.
6. What London should not do? Try to present it as a way of demonstrating superiority; make it inclusive.
7. Sport that should be dropped – Several candidates: tennis, football, beach volleyball (as per another commentator, there is a rule in Olympic beach volleyball about the maximum permitted size of the bikinis... surely this is wrong...), taekwondo, handball, basketball (unless they introduce an 'amateur only' rule)
8. Sport that should be added – Rugby sevens... and I'd go for darts
9. Dustiest moment – Michaela Breeze; the German weightlifter guy Steiner; and Reade... she epitomised the new attitude: I want gold or nothing... the British male athletes could learn a thing or two.
10. Final word – A great Olympics, but London 2012 is going to be better, not least because I'm going to be there. A lot.


Now Chris:

1. Best moment – Screaming at the tv as the GB Four overhauled Australia on the line
2. Biggest disappointment – The GB Womens Quad just missing out on gold. Gutted for them. Mens relay team – tw*ts.
3. One to watch for 2012 - Jason Kenny, Adlington obviously. Twakwondo boy.
4. Best sportsman/woman – The Bolt, The Real McHoy.
5. What London can learn from Beijing – Create lots of fanzones for everyone to enjoy.
6. What London should not do? Keep the sports fans away by pandering to corporate requirements
7. Sport that should be dropped – Baseball (already is)
8. Sport that should be added – 2020 creekit, More cycling events, Rugby 7’s
9. Dustiest moment – There’s about 47 of them! Plus the German weightlifter. The Russian and Georgians too.
10. Final word – Bring it on 27th July 2012. I have already registered to volunteer.

Here's my list:

1. Best moment – Nicole Cooke – where was she when they started the final climb into the finish, there she is, she’s gone past them, can she hold on…YES!!!!! What a celebration! Plus “I was born in Keirin”
2. Biggest disappointment – Shanaze crashing out – gutted for her, especially as I’d stayed up (no different to every other night though). The Athletics. My distinctly ambivalent feelings about Christine O winning – I know all the pros back her, but there’s a tiny dark inkling of something which I just can’t shake off about those 3 missed tests and her apparent utter lack of public remorse – stubbornly refusing to give the media (and I daresay the viewers) what they want.
3. One to watch for 2012 - the younger cyclists, male athletes who will hopefully be shamed into doing better.
4. Best sportsman/woman – His Royal Hoyness, his Boltness and his Phelpsness. Isinbaieva working the crowd as she beat her world record by 1 cm on the 3rd attempt.
5. What London can learn from Beijing – let the people in. what Pinsent said – almost word for word my spectators charter; recycle tickets as people leave venues.
6. What London should not do? Charge too much, have too much corp hospitality, bow down before the might of NBC when scheduling the finals.
7. Sport that should be dropped – Some of the many swimming events (unless we’re good at them, obv).
8. Sport that should be added – more cycling for the girls, rugby 7s
9. Dustiest moment – Cooke squeezing the life out of a frightened emma pooley, bryony shaw crying her eyes out, the Italian who won silver in the shooting, the Togolese winning bronze and snapping his oar, “the British are Coming”, but most of all Mathias Steiner, the German Weightlifter who won Gold for his ‘greatest love’ and held his gold medal and her photo rather tearfully on the top step of the podium. Read about it here - but brace yourselves before clicking…
10. Final word – CHRIS HOY for SPOTY & King – though will probably be big nose or Hamilton – if only for shoving the SNP firmly back in their box – “when we get proper investment in Scottish sport, maybe we can start thinking about having a scottish team…I’m a proud Scot and a proud Brit and the Olympics are about the GB”. Plus my own final word on the FiveLive phone-in with the stat about the medal table without medals involving judges – we were 3rd, the russkies 6th!

Magic Moments

Oh yes, time for the traditional magic moments! So many to choose from - where to start? Prepare for minor changes in local atmospheric conditions. In no particular order:

Nicole Cooke - what conditions, what a victory, what a celebration - she'd dropped off the back of the 3 leaders coming around the final bend, and a nation started bricking it. But there was no cause for alarm, as she'd practiced the finish, knew what she was doing, and only blinking won it. She was so pleased - poor old Emma Pooley looked a bit startled as she was hugged that tightly to Nicole's wet chest.

the Amazing comeback in the first round of the badminton from 12-17 down, followed by the tears of Gail Emms when they lost the next game, and she retired.

Togo's unlikely Bronze in the Canoeing, and the oar-snapping celebrations!

The appearance from nowhere of Rebecca Adlington. Very much a case of 'who-she' a mere fortnight ago, now installed as favourite for SPOTY - ahead of Lewis Hamilton & His Royal Hoyness, the Hoyminator, Chris Hoy, the Real McHoy

Michael Phelps - 8 events, 8 golds, 7 WRs. Greatest Swimming Olympian ever. Came really close a couple of times too - notably in the 4x100 relay which the Frogs should have won, but the veteran Jason Lezak swam Alain Bernard down on the final length and pipped him. Unbelievable scenes. Winning by a fraction of a fingertip in the butterfly as well - he sure had his luck!

Usain Bolt. 3 golds, 3 world records. Jogging in the case of the 100m - and beating his chest as he crossed the line, running flat out in the 200m, cruise control in the Relay. Jacques Rogge is so wrong - we LOVED his celebrations.

The reaction of the summarisers to each of these, which the beeb filmed and showed later. Michael Johnson as good as ever, and very magnaminous in losing his 200m WR, having predicted it wouldn't go.

The somewhat emotional reaction of Bryony Shaw to winning bronze in the windsurfing - like Gwyneth Paltrow with genuine emotion, as Adrian Chiles dubbed it afterwards,

Trying to get anything out of Adrian Chiles while he was watching his Croatian mate in the table tennis - Hazel tried to go over to him, he kept waving her away - eventually they left him to it. Professionalism be damned, I'm watching the game.

The Velodrome!! Oh Yes! 10 golds available, 7 won. 3 by the Hoyminator - my man of the games.

Hazel Irvine's terrible, terrible puns - so bad they were ALMOST good. ALMOST.

Eddie Butler's melifluous tones popping up most unexpectedly at the Archery, and on the highlights reel

The very easy on the eye blonde sailors - still world beaters though! All the sailors, especially the salty language on breakfast TV, and madman Rob Walker perched on his dinghy, telling his cameraman what to do, a la Keith Floyd, brimming with and transmitting his enthusiasm for the sport.

Matt Pinsent being sent to the Beach Volleyball against his will, and sardonically going with it - dancing away in the stands. Very funny.

The elder statesman of British Rowing congratulating the winners and consoling the losers. Even had other nations giving him due respect - what an impact Sir Steve has had on his sport.

The medal table controversies - the US media decided to change the way the table is calculated by going on total number, rather than total golds like the rest of us. Coincidentally, this also leaves them top. As would a medal table where medals involving judges are discounted:

1 USA 33 Gold 31 Silver 28 Bronze
2 CHINA 26 Gold 15 Silver 16 Bronze
3 GBR 18 Gold 13 Silver 11 Bronze
4 GERMANY 15 Gold 7 Silver 13 Bronze
5 AUSTRALIA 13 Gold 14 Silver 17 Bronze
6 Russia are relegated to 6th with 11 golds.

One of many great articles about His Royal Hoyness

100 things we learned from the Guardian.

Very funny viral from French comedian doing an Urban Decathlon and Urban Gymnastics.

Guardian writers and their highlights of the games

Boris's speech at the after party...ping pong is coming home

Comedy showjumping at the Modern Pentathlon

Mathias Steiner

Boxing clever

Barring miracles in the marathon, underway as I write, I reckon that's it for the medals now - a paltry 19 GOLD (we've got the power to know...), 13 SILVER (my planet's sweet...), 15 BRONZE (don't know any lyrics). Check out all of them.

The last one was, fittingly, another GOLD, which should have cemented 4th place, but those sneaky Germans may pop past - there are a couple of dodgy events left which may provide medals - the Russkies nipped past with Gold in made up events like sync swimming & rhythmic gymnastics...ANYWAY, James Degale wins a cartoon fight, which had everything - biting, wresting, falling over, windmill arms - not a huge amount of boxing, but I blame the Cuban.

Back in the sitty-downy sports, we got another Bronze in the kayaking, Dr Tim doing the biz again. It was very close at the end, could have been any of them, but it was great to see the 3 of them celebrating together.


Meanwhile, controversy reigned at the Taekwondo. Sarah Stevenson was up against the Chinese Olympic Cah,pion, who had never lost, and lost a tight fight 1-0. However, she had landed a head kick so plum in the dying seconds that the Chinese girl had a fat lip. Somehow, it wasn't seen and the Chinese girl went through. We appealed, and, in scenes unprecedented at Taekwondo, won the appeal! So the result was reversed, and Sarah went into a fight for the Gold match. Needless to say, she didn't have enough time from the result being reversed to prepare properly and lost to the eventual Gold winner. She did, however, pull it out of the bag to win the Bronze. Given that she was injured for the last 2 fights, i was waiting & praying for the stork to come out of the locker, but it stayed in.

And as if that wasn't enough controversy, shortly afterwards, another Cuban was disqualified during an injury time out in the Bronze match for taking too long / not hearing that his time was up. Whatever, he was so furious that he gave the ref a kick in the chops, and was promptly bundled off the mat and out of the arena into a life ban! Naughty John Inverdale spent most of his afternoon while watching the abject performance of the athletes (nothing in either relay, and a tin in the 1500m) looking forward to seeing the footage!

And little Tommy Daley bowed out with an excellent performance, finishing 7th in the final. Considering he had a bit of a shocker on his entries throughout, we were left wondering a little bit about what might have been - but now it's on to 2012 for him. The final did allow us to hear the most gratuitous bit of commentary of the games, from Leon Taylor, as the Aussie nailed his final dive to win the only non-Chinese diving Gold:

"I've never seen anything like it. I invented that dive, and he's just perfected it!"


And while we're on the subject of sh1t commentary, Steve Cram & Mista Fosta - hang your heads in shame. you spent most of the race slagging off Sammy Wanjiru, the eventual winner, for going too quickly, but it WORKED! Hold your fire next time, and don't try and get out of it by saying things like "the high risk strategy, that no one thought would pay off, did". Maybe, just maybe, you boys DON'T know it all! Stick to slagging off UK Athletics, who deserve it - as Brendan has just pointed out, not one Brit male in the top 8 of any middle or long distance race for the first time EVAH!

After the darkness comes the light!

So, I sloped off to bed a bit gutted at 4am, buzzing with the excitement of the BMX, wondering whether that was it on the Gold front - how wrong I was! Tim Brabants, Canoeing legend, we salute you! Listened to the final huddled over a radio at Clapham Junction with my brother. I wish I could say there was a cast of 1000s listening too, but no, just us. Still, great result. And he works as a Doctor in Leeds, which may be of interest to some readers, who look a bit peaky.

Some of today's headlines: Dai Hard (Dai the Splash), Fools Gold (relay & saling). I LOVE the Olympics, and am already feeling withdrawl symptoms, even though there are 3days left.

Then Our Girls put in a great performance in the modern Pentathlon, with Heather Fell winning silver - despite having been working in her local last Friday! She had her funding cut for a while when she was injured so had to work in the bar to keep going. Read more.

Only one of the boxers made it into the finals, James Degale, and proceeded to sing that he was in the Olympic final on the radio - with Nicky Campbell joining in. The other 2 got their bronzes after quite a roughing up in their semis.

One lad who should have got a medal was 17yo Aaron Cook, who looked to my uneducated eye to have been completely robbed in his bronze match. He was unlucky to go out in the last second of his first go, and was so upset that his opponent consoled him, but in the next one the local Chinese lad got a now-to-be-expected hometown decision.


Relay girls messed it up, surprise surprise, and then the Jamaican men took over and smashed the World Record, wiping out that obnoxious team of (possibly) juiced up yanks who won with such arrogance in 1996.

BMX madness

02.13, semi-final 1 - Bloody hell - not looking good for our 18th gold as Shanaze Reade takes a big and painful tumble in first leg of semi and finishes last. looked painful, someone cycled over her ankle, and she was limping badly. She was already miles ahead, but seemed to overcook the fist set of moguls. She is so much faster than the others in the field, don't know if this is creating a heady mix of over-confidence & nerves. Too nervous to go to bed now - until i know one way or the other.

02.33 semi-final 2 - Shanaze is up against it, regardless of whether she gets through. The French veteran who qualified fastest is on fire in the other heat. She got round in this time, in 2nd place, but she was struggling - worried for her. Limping heavily, clearly injured. Currently in 5th, one heat to go, one point outside the finals...it's great stuff though - crashes everywhere, which are obviously better when they don't involve our girl!

Light relief with some street gymnastics.

03.03 semi final 3 - Chausson cruises into final, and is my favourite for Gold at the moment. Shanaze about to go again. Great effort to win that final heat, and book her place in the final, qualifying 3rd. Won't get a great lane draw for final, will need to count on her speed to get out ahead of the others - and take it a bit easier on those bloody bumps...

03.25 Killing time until the final...

Jacques Rogge makes a bit o a dick of himself, criticising the man of the moment for his celebrations as he wins...rather than worrying about this stuff, how about a proper investigation into the age of the Chinese Gymnasts - will this result in the usual cover up?

Meanwhile, we've lavished half a million quid on the relay boys since 2004. That's money well spent then. As Darren Campbell said:“It has to be the coach doesn't it? He has been brought in to do this. It's his job. But why is he here? Why have we done that? We had a team with a great bond, it was special, and that has all gone. I would have looked after the relay team, so why did they have to go outside?”

03.30 The final - what will it be? Tough final, but she looked much more confident in the 3rd semi heat, so let's see...She's in lane 1 for the final - not sure how that's worked out, but never mind. here we go - it's one shot. COME ON! Lot's of former world champs in the field...first into the first corner, but ACC (the French girl) did her on the inside, she chased, then tried to go around the inside on the last bend and CRASHED on the final turn - she was in Silver position and she just went for it, tried to take the French girl on the inside, got it wrong, nothing. Can't really fall off 3 times and expect to win - but she wanted the gold and only the Gold would do. Should she have settled for Silver? They were miles ahead of the others. French 1-2. Bollocks - that was the last nailed on Gold - I think our total may rest at 17. Radio give her top marks for guts and determination, but not much for tactical decision making! Boardman says she lacked the experience. But if she's this good now, bring on 2012!

Good article here -

"I don't train as hard as I've done for a silver medal," the 19-year-old double world champion from Crewe said. "It's all about a gold or nothing. I put absolutely everything into this and the gold was there and it was still open. I've cut my leg, all up there," she said when asked to describe her injuries, gingerly stroking her left calf. "I think maybe I've done something to my hand, I've done something to my sciatic nerve, and I've cut my shoulder. Quite a few things."

Should she get our Ginger for sheer Balls and not settling for silver?? YES!

I tell you what though, if you like your sport fantastically entertaining, gladitatorial, all action, crashes, thrills & spills, then BMX is the sport for you. Great idea to bring it in to the games.

yet another day, yet another GOLD!

And it's GOLD for the sailors, who continue the fine traditon of salty language by swearing on live telly. Exciting race actually, watched it before work.

Silver for Big Phil - he was in the lead twice, first jump being further than anyone else this year, but the eventual winner (and world champ) jumped the further than Phil ever has, and he couldn't pull out a Lifetime Personal Best Jump in his Personal Life EVAH. Great effort - not quite enough - was he overhyped? Did he overhype himself? Number 1 in world going into it, last 3 jumps didn't count - still, no quibbling - he was gutted, but still joins the ranks of legendary Silver medallists - Jacko, Backers, Campbell, Black, Kath Grainger...

The Relay Boys were shite, Pickering running outside his collection zone on the anchor leg. It was wide open too, as the Yanks had dropped the baton in the previous semi. Missed opportuniy there - but the girls made it, and Goldie Sayers broke British Record and set a LPBTPLE in the process - but got tin by less than half a metre. Gutting.


SILVER for Dai the Splash in the 10k marathon - would have been gold if he hadn't been so delirious with exhaustion by the end that he swam the wrong way. Still, the winner was certainly deserving:

Van der Weijden, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2001 and required a stem cell transplant. "I think the leukaemia taught me to think step by step," said the Dutchman afterwards. "When you're lying in a hospital bed feeling so much pain and feeling so tired, you don't want to think about next week or next month, you're only thinking about the next hour.

"You lie in your bed and just wait. It's almost the same strategy I used here: to stay in the pack, be patient and wait for your chance. I'm grateful to everyone who donated money to stem cell research. Maybe I wouldn't be here otherwise."

19.30 - the unbeatable record is broken

Usain Bolt, 22 tomorrow, you are a legend. That was just astonishing to watch - especially as he was running into a headwind. He kept going all the way too, which I suppose is why he broke it - no easing up today. MJ took it very well in the commentary box- but as he said, he still has another one! "I don't wake up every day and think I still have the world record, it's another fine day." - quite a sense of humour - who knew?! You can watch it here if you haven't seen it yet...

And while it's a bit wrong to mention them in the same breath, Tasha Danvers-Smith gets a bronze in the 400m hurdles. Idowu to come tomorrow, as well as Shanaze in the BMX sometime in the middle of tonight...it's all good. The Great Haul of China continues.

More genuine emotion

...over at the Weightlifting, courtesy of Barnesy - the German guy who won, below, is holding a photo of his wife who was killed in a car crash last year. Gulp.

"This is an event that is almost unbearably emotional, in which contestants cram years of intensity into a brief, hour-long drama. And Matthias Steiner, of Germany, played out the great drama of his life yesterday, seizing an opportunity to lift the world above his head and then to sob his heart out for his dead wife, Susann, standing on the stage with her picture in one hand and his gold medal in the other."

Read more here

"Like Gwyneth Paltrow with genuine emotion"

It's a tin for Nick Dempsey who finished 4th, dropping out of the medals on his race, but Windsurfing bronze for Bryony Shaw (and a standy-uppy one), and boy was she happy - sitting in the boat, crying her eyes out, swearing on the telly and everything - brilliant stuff:

"I am just so happy. It was such a hard race and I had such a hard week. It's the best thing in the world. I love my mum and dad so much, they are so supportive. And my boyfriend Greg. My coach Tom is such a legend. I am so forking happy. I just wanted to sail as fast as I could. Well done to the Chinese and Italian girls, they have raced so well this week. I am so happy to be among the medals. It's unreal, I am just so happy."

And as if that wasn't enough, Silver & Bronze for Keri-Ann Payne and Cassie Patten in the 10 km Open Water swimming for ladies - with a bit of fighting and foot pulling at the end from the perfifious Johnny Foreigner (who won)!



Meanwhile, a very funny incident at the Great Wall of China, as described by Dom Joly

Fifteen! Fifteen! It's un-be-lieeeeeeeevable - it's actually SIXTEEN

Bloody Hell! It's a silver in the high Jump for Germaine 'Who he?' Mason. And if that wasn't good enough, Christine Ohuruogu smashes them all in the last 80m, coming back from 5th to win the (dum dum) GOLD!! (always...) - awarded by Seb Coe, no less!

It was a stunning afternoon in the Bird's Nest - total bonus silver for Mason, then the 400m. She had no chance at 300m, but she forced her way through and won by a distance. Sanya Richards back in 3rd, but she was sporting enough afterwards - despite dissing her ever since she won the World Champs without Sanya being there. In fact, none of the World Champ finalists were there. Brilliant stuff, if tinged, as it always will be, by those 3 tests. The athletes in the commentary box are very critical of the critics, of course, but it's such a sticky situation - I can't help thinking that had Christine come out and done the sackcloth and ashes, hairshirt, mea culpas, perhaps people would have been off her back - but she didn't, and they never will be. There's also the issue with her funny sounding name and her colour, of course, which won't help.

Fifteen! Fifteen! It's un-be-lieeeeeeeevable

Note to Seb- you're going to need a bigger Velodrome.

Golds in both sprints, silver in Men's sprint to Jason Kenny who was just in the team for experience! The Hoyminator now has 3 golds, the first time since 1908 and second time EVAH! 4 golds overall in 4 different events. Legendary stuff - now here's a Scot the British public can get behind.

And as for Victoria Pendleton - World Champ in 3 events, only 1 of which in the Olympics, spread out over 3 days - and still she nails it with 100% record.



Felt sorry for Cavendish & Wiggo - brad was clearly knackered, but the other teams ganged up on us as well and we never got away. Was it the right call to put him in for 3 tough events? It's hard to quibble with 7 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. Only one word for it in fact - Magic Wheels.

GOLD - we really are indestructible

I love Laser sailing, me, LOVE IT! Paul Goodison! The Slovenian in second was so pleased that he actually jumped out his laser and pulled Paul into the water to celebrate with him - then when he hit land the team picked him and the boat out of the water and bore him on their shoulders to the boathouse. Great scenes.

It also has to be said that Rob Walker, the BBC sailing reporter, is a legend - so excited / excitable, desperately enthusiastic, almost imploring with the viewer to find the distant boats moving around in some way gripping & exciting, all the while perched on the edge of a dinghy and somehow not falling in.


Medal table wise, could this be the spur for the Aussies to rise from the ashes of Beijing and beat us at London? Australia's Olympic Committee President John Coates has waded in, saying: "Their (GB's) new-found cockiness has got some substance to it. They may well beat us this time but let's use that as the incentive to get the planning right for our high performance and our attack on London 2012."

I liked this comment from an Aussie on the bbc blog as well: "You can try to be nice about medal tables but the fact remains, sport is basically a replacement for war. It's a way for nations to prove their dominance over one another without the drawbacks of death and destruction."

The Poola bashing continues unabated in some sections of the press - Oliver Holt in particular had a bit of a pop at her, while others have referred to her as a self-pitying drama queen & olympic loser who denied a younger female marathon runner the chance to compete...bit harsh!

Meanwhile, Steve Parry gets mistaken for Micky Phelps while carrying round a lifesize model of said Phelpsy around Olympic Park. Very funny.

And in "and finally" stylee, check out the Tuvan throat singers cover version of Mission Impossible at CoverFreak

12 - Count 'em!

GOLD - Team Pursuit, smashing the World Record




Silver - 470s




Plus a Tin for Tweddle by 0.025 (can't find an image suitable for a family blog), which should have been silver but for some dodgy age fiddling going on, and spare a thought for the Brazilian Weight-Lifter...

Another day, another Gold! (always believe in ...)

What a weekend - the most successful sporting weekend EVAH? 17 medals including 8 GOLD (you're indestructible...). Today's haul was impressive - 2 in sailing, where, in thoroughly wet, windy & British conditions, Ainslie decided not to fart around with the Yank and just won the race instead. The photogenic Yngling girls also did their thing, and were interviewed by the equally fragrant Shirley Robertson, who used to crew with them.

The it was over to the rowing lake, where the campest couple of rowers I've ever seen won the double scull, and the Quad & Eight just missed out - particularly gutting for the Quad, who led most of the way until the Chinese took them in the last 200m, just as they had recently at a world cup. It was all too much for them, they were in floods of tears and could barely speak. After a few too many questions, Invers realised it was hopeless and left Steve to console them. 3 silvers for Kath Grainger now -who was pretty inconsolable, as were they all - see the medal picture below. The eight only had themselves to blame - they let the Canadians get away early, and the old rule about the first eight through 500m always winning unfortunately held true.

Cycling duly delivered Gold & Silver, in a bit of an underwhelming final - we had already won silver and gold, just a question of who - though Romero, who won silver in the rowing in Athens, became the first person to win medals in 2 different sports. Stick that in your pipe, Phelpsy. Apparently, back in the day, she wasn't the fastest cyclist in the rowing team when they trained on bikes!

Just when you thought it was all over, the team pursuit boys smash the world record qualifying for the final, and then young Louis Smith - clearly Lewis Hamilton's younger brother - only went and won a blinking bronze on the pommel - the first EVAH British gymnastics medal. Get in there, my son!

Further details of all the medal winners in an amazing weekend, where the confidence was for once justified, found over at the beeb website

The good news was that Germany's Steve Redgrave, Kathrin Boron, didn't get her 5th rowing gold. (Only kidding, Zimbo!)

GOLD


Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson


Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter


Ben Ainslie


Rebecca Romero & Wendy Houvenaghel

SILVER

Alex Partridge, Tom Stallard, Tom Lucy, Richard Egington, Josh West, Alastair Heathcote, Matt Langridge, Colin Smith and cox Acer Nethercot


Kath Grainger, Annie Vernon, Debbie Flood and Frances Houghton = Gutted

BRONZE

Louis Smith

This time, she's a Ginger Medal Winner

Well, all things considered, and certainly after the way it ended in Athens, that was a superb effort from Paula. Commentators said that this was redemption of a kind after Athens. She has said that people remembering her for stopping at Athens, while annoying her, provided motivation for today. She's in floods of tears at the finish, she was running on one leg, and it would have been quicker for her to jog back than stop, she said. Keeping her fingers crossed for 2012 when she will be the same age as today's winner - and she still has unfinished business with the Olympics. She doesn't feel redeemed though.

"I was trying to achieve the impossible because the amount of running I had done wasn’t enough. You can't take short-cuts in the marathon. It's not the end. We still keep fingers crossed for 2012. Maybe the Olympics won't happen for me but how old is Constantina? Maybe my body will hold out. I know in London I will have all that support."

You will certainly have my support after today.

But wait - it's double ginger - Yelling finished, and managed to give Paula a hug before being stretchered away with a suspected cracked rib, following a fall early on. THAT is how tough these marathon runners are. Turns out it was only bruised, but still. Our running wounded - it's enough to make you feel a bit dusty.

Our other entrant, the Japan based Mara Yamauci, did very well to finish 6th, best EVAH for a British woman - though they certainly let the winner get too far ahead and didn't chase her down very effectively, according to Cram and Mista Foster.

Back in the pool, the young individual medley girls team finish 4th, breaking 2 European records in the process - and are gutted, and in tears. That's the right attitude, says Shazza. Certainly bodes well for London, with the oldest only 21. Boys finish 6th.

Oh, and Phelpsy does it! 8 golds in 8 days, 7 in WR time. Sadly for him, Michael Johnson's view is that, after the Lightening Bolt yesterday, it will be a case of Michael Who? I hope he gets the recognition he deserves, because it was a legendary effort, even if the whole "Greatest Olympian" debate is utterly facile.

Blimey - what a day!

Difficult to know where to start after a day like that. First up during normal hours was the rowing - tense stuff. Alan Campbell was first out, but went off too fast according to Martin Cross on the radio, and couldn't live with the pave. Considering how much training he missed with his knee problem, it was a still an massive effort. The double scullers were both fantastic - so unlucky to miss out on silver, Gold in the case of the girls. It was fractions of a second on the line - must be gutting to live with the knowledge that a couple more oar-strokes would have done it. The radio coverage was fantastic though, and made you realise just how delighted and proud the friends and families of these rowers were, regardless of the colour.

Then it was the four, with an enormous weight of expectation on their shoulders - we'd won in Sydney & Athens, so had to do it again here. the problem was, most of the usual suspects were not in the final, which apparently makes it a difficult race to plan for tactically. Anyway, they didn't make it easy for us - being about half a length down on the Aussies for most of the race, fans shouting themselves hoarse at home. i'd given up on them at 1500m - oh me of little faith. They somehow dug deeper than they ever had before, and somehow crept in front in the last 200m to win by a reasonably large margin - certainly compared to the last 2 anyway.

So, the rowers contributed 2 bronze and a GOLD (always believe in your soul etc), and it was time for the velodrome. Which, before long, was ON FIRE! Unlike the rowing though, there was a certain inevitability to it all, superb as it was. Bronze in the points race for Newton, bit of a bonus medal really. Individual Pursuit Gold & Bronze - Gold was expected, Bronze a real bonus medal for young Burke, who was only drafted in to the Individual 24 hours previously. The excitement came in the plain bonkers keirin, spawning the line of the day from Tom (see below). Several laps following some bloke dressed like Cato on a durney, then a 3 lap sprint. In the final, Japanese lad takes it out, but the undefeated Hoy slips past him easily, and Edgar nips in on the final sprint for the line for silver. Fantastic stuff, and the eighth & ninth medals of the day for team GB - the biggest single daily haul since 1908, when 1/3 of the competitors were Brits!

That might of been it from the British, especially as Sotherton predictably failed to win a medal - 3 or 4 personal lifetime bests EVAH, but too flaky in the field events, but the excitement certainly wasn't over. Oh No. Not with the 100m to come. And did it disappoint? Did it 'Eck! The Lightening Bolt (tm every bleeding paper in the English speaking world) may not have started too well, but he just cruised past everyone, and eased up - AGAIN - in the last 20m - this time looking around him and spreading his arms wide and beating his chest and still, STILL, coming home in 9.69. Un-be-fucking-lieeeeeevable, if you'll excuse my french!! But it was an astonishing performance.

THOSE MEDALISTS IN FULL



Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington, Bronze (0.23 from Gold!), Double Scull



Steve Rowbotham and Matt Wells, Bronze, Double Scull



Steve Williams, Tom James, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge, Coxless Four - first time since 1980 we've won without Redgrave or Pinsent!




Chris Newton, Bronze in Points Race



Bradley Wiggins and Steven Burke, Gold & Bronze, Individual Pursuit





"I was born in Keirin" - the Hoyminator & Ross Edgar Gold & Silver in the Keirin





Usain Bolt costs home - an unbelievable race. Still reeling. 9.69 - 9.69 FFS!