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!