Here comes day 11, which means a new live blog. Head over here for that one. And thanks for reading this one.
And if you’re just waking up, staring bleary-eyed into your ‘portable’ or telefon-Handy – here’s some of day 10’s top tales from the Olympic Stadium in Rio:
In the women’s hockey Great Britain has continued their fine form, after five wins from five in the group stage they’ve beaten Spain 3-1 in the quarter-finals, with goals to Georgie Twigg, Helen Richardson-Walsh and Lily Owsley.
GB now face New Zealand, who accounted for trans-Tasman rivals Australia 4-2, in the semi-final. With both the men’s and women’s teams going out at the quarter-final stage, it’s been Australia’s worst Olympics in hockey for 32 years. Expect an inquest or a royal commission into that.
Meanwhile, Germany has ended the promising run from the United States, edging their encounter 2-1, and setting up an all-European semi-final clash with the Netherlands. The world’s top-ranked side overcame world no2 Argentina in a pulsating 3-2 match, with the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 gold medallists just two games away from an historic three-peat.
Final group results as well in the men’s volleyball: a bit of an upset as Canada beat the previously undefeated Italy 3-1, with wins for Brazil (3-1 over France) and United States (3-0 over Mexico), to see Italy, Canada, United States and Brazil through to the knockouts.
Slightly more lopsided results in group B as Argentina, Russia and Poland all put their opponents to the sword 3-0 to finish with four wins and one loss (Russia losing to Argentina, Argentina to Poland, and Poland to Russia – how very equitable).
Iran were the fourth to sneak through that group but now face the much-fancied Italians in the quarter-finals.
We have another Olympic proposal. This one – I think it’s the third athlete question-popping of the Games so far – came from British race walker Tom Bosworth, who asked partner Harry Dineley for his hand. It was a yes. And on Copacabana beach, too
They were young and they had each other/Who could ask for more? (And yes, I did have to google the Barry Manilow lyrics.)
He said YES!!! pic.twitter.com/roXsw7oq8f
— Tom Bosworth (@TomBosworth) August 15, 2016
So, some event news you may have missed amid a night of drama and excellence on the track.
In the men’s basketball the final group B round robin games have been played, and the quarter-final pairings are now known.
The world’s second-best ranked team, Spain, defeated Argentina 92-73; and hosts Brazil beat Nigeria 86-69, but it wasn’t enough for them to go through, after Croatia upset Lithuania 90-81.
All four teams from Group B finished with three wins and two losses – a remarkably even outcome – and it’s bad news for Boomers fans: they’ve ended up with world no3 Lithuania.
Australia are, however, on the other side of the draw from the all-conquering Team USA who have been thrown sacrificial victims Argentina (no slouches themselves).
Two all-European affairs round out the quarters as France faces Spain and Croatia and Serbia lock horns in what could prove quite a tasty Balkan derby.
Here’s how the leaderboard is shaping up at the close of day 10, with Team USA still in an impressive lead. But oh look: here’s Team GB still pluckily clinging on in second place, ahead of China.
Keep scrolling, Australian readers: they’re there, still in ninth position.
#Olympics medal table at the end of day 10: #USA 1st, #GBR 2nd, #CHN 3rd https://t.co/bpuxciBbDA pic.twitter.com/ZEVosKrlof
— Claire Phipps (@Claire_Phipps) August 16, 2016
In the – very – late-night men’s beach volleyball, Cuba have gone out to Russia, but only just. The Russian pair took it two sets to one, 22-20, 22-24, 18-16.
Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui – already a national hero for her hilarious “Whoooaah! I was so fast!” post-race interview – has had another candid moment, telling state broadcaster CCTV that she’d felt unable to give her all in the women’s 4x100m medley relay because she had her period.
As Tom Phillips reports from Beijing:
Chinese sports fans used social media to praise Fu for breaking the silence surrounding the menstrual cycles of female athletes. Many said they had not realised it was possible for a woman to swim during her period.
Eight decades after tampons first went on sale in the United States, a deep-rooted cultural resistance and inadequate sex education in China are blamed for the fact that only 2% of Chinese women use them, according to one recent study.
Falling across the line to take the women’s 400m was not part of the plan, Shaunae Miller has told reporters:
I’ve never done it before. I have cuts and bruises, a few burns. It hurts.
What was in my mind was I had to get a gold medal. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground.
Former Olympic champion Michael Johnson didn’t see anything wrong with her unconventional win:
Shaunae Miller unbelievable effort diving for the finish line to take the 400,one of the best moments of the Games so far! Amazing race!
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) August 16, 2016
Shaunae Miller's dive was to recover from falling. Sprinters know the quickest way across the line is a well timed lean. Trust me on that.
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) August 16, 2016
France’s Renaud Lavillenie was – and not without good reason – unhappy with boos from the crowd as he took on his Brazilian rival in the men’s pole vault final.
Comparisons to Nazi Germany feel a bit de trop, though:
Renaud LAVILLENIE (FRA): "In 1936 the crowd was against Jesse Owens. We've not see this since. We have to deal with it." #AT #pv #silver
— Olympic News Service (@ONS_Rio2016) August 16, 2016
For those of you clamouring for an Australian athletes update, it’s been a decent session. Former discus world champion Dani Samuels has braved torrential rain – her first attempt slipping aimlessly from her hand – to throw a solid 64.46m effort to qualify second from her group.
Meanwhile in the 400m hurdles heats, Lauren Wells has endured a nervous wait after getting pipped by 0.02 for the automatic qualifying places, but has snuck through on time into the semi-finals.
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A sobbing Shaunae Miller is talking about her victory in the 400m final – and that dive-to-the-floor finish:
I don’t know what happened … my legs started to get a little heavy … I just wanted it so bad.
Allyson Felix – who came second, although she was the first to cross the line on her feet – won’t be drawn on the finish:
It was just hard … I gave it all I had tonight.
Confirmation, then, in the men’s pole vault final:
- Brazil’s Thiago Braz Da Silva gets gold with 6.03m.
- Silver goes to 2012 winner Renaud Lavillenie of France (5.98m).
- The USA’s Sam Kendricks wins bronze (5.85m).
Brazil right now:
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Brazil's Thiago Braz Da Silva wins gold in men's pole vault!
The stadium – quite rightly – is off-the-scale jubilant and Braz looks overwhelmed.
It’s Brazil’s first men’s athletics gold since 1984; he took the Olympic record; he tore to pieces his own personal best.
And it’s five minutes to midnight. What an end to day 10!
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Lavillenie has to go higher if he wants that gold medal. He can’t, though. And Braz gets the gold!
Braz tries again for 6.03m and HE DOES IT.
Extraordinary. The crowd is very much awake.
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Lavillenie again for the 6.03. And it’s the same as his first attempt: agonisingly close and then down comes the bar. We’re still talking men’s pole vaulting, by the way.
Now it’s the turn of Brazil’s Thiago Braz Da Silva. The crowd is not going home.
He tries for 6.03m but he’s nowhere near.
The crowd would very much like home hero Thiago Braz Da Silva to top that. But it looks as if Lavillenie is first going to have a try at 6.03m. Why not, eh?
But he didn’t quite do it. This is surprisingly tense, and also late: close to midnight in Rio.
Here comes France’s Renaud Lavillenie again. He’s looking to clear 5.98m. And HE IS OVER. That was some pole vaulting right there, breaking his own Olympic record.
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Pole vaulting still (why go anywhere else) and Team USA’s Sam Kendricks goes for 5.93m. He does not make it. But it looks as if the bronze medal is his.
And now Brazil’s Thiago Braz Da Silva takes second place – so far – in the pole vault. The crowd is damp but happy.
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This is Claire Phipps in Sydney, taking up the live blog reins and wondering whether Guardian style is dove or dived. Whatever Shaunae Miller did to get across the line, she is now the 400m champion.
Back in the pole vaulting, France’s Renaud Lavillenie just cleared 5.93m, which is officially very high.
Here’s the re-run of the 110m men’s hurdles that’s taking place because of the incredible rain earlier. This is all about time: there are four places up for grabs and the runners must beat the time of 13.66 to get through.
Deuce Carter of Jamaica, who was disqualified for a hurdling violation in his initial rain soaked race, advances because he ran a re-run time of 13.51, if that makes sense. He’s the only runner in the field to take advantage of this unique second chance.
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Meanwhile, Thiago Braz da Silva is making the home crowd roar in the men’s ploe vault final, clearing 5.75m. World record holder Renaud Lavillenie is the current leader, clearing 5.85m with ease.
Shaunae Miller is the women's 400m Olympic champion!
What an absolute stunner - Felix is denied in a dramatic finish where the Bahamas runner dove across the finish line with a winning time of 49.44. Felix gets that seventh medal but is denied a fifth gold with a time of 49.51. Shericka Jackson wins the bronze.
It’s one of the most memorable finishes in modern times, a spectacle of epic proportions!
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Wow - incredible women's 400m finish!
Shaunae Miller dives across the finish line fighting off a late surge from Felix. Who has the gold?
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Here comes the women’s 400m final, where Allyson Felix is looking to make history. Here’s the field in lane order:
Olha Zemlyak: Ukraine
Libania Grenot: Italy
Phyllis Francis: United States
Allyson Felix: United States
Shericka Jackson: Jamaica
Natasha Hastings: United States
Shaunae Miller: Bahamas
Stephenie Ann McPherson: Jamaica
With a gold, Felix becomes the first woman to win five gold medals. If she can win any medal she will become the most decorated woman in track and field history.
So Rudisha, facing all kinds of pressure at home and within the sport to repeat wins the men’s 800m, an emphatic victory that puts him in elite Olympic company. The Kenyan takes a lap of honour around the Olympic Stadium. His immaculate first 200m only got stronger as he went.
Clayton’s bronze is the first 800m medal for an American since the 1976 Montreal Games.
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David Rudisha defends his 800m men's title!
The Kenyan controls the race, and is dominant with a time of 1:42.15, the fastest time since he set the WR in London.
Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi takes the silver.
Clayton Murphy storms in late and comes up with a bronze as American’s everywhere chant we’re number three!
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Coming up imminently, the 800m final. Here’s the field listed in lane order :
Clayton Murphy: United States
Marcin Lewandowski: Poland
David Rudisha: Kenya
Pierre-Ambroise Bosse: France
Alfred Kipketer: Kenya
Taoufik Makhloufi: Algeria
Boris Berian: United States
Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich: Kenya
If we’re juding the field on personal stories, Clayton, 21, is up there: he came to Rio all the way from a pig farm in Ohio.
Meanwhile, this is Rudisha’s chance to double up as Olympic champ, winning gold last time out in London. He also is the reigning world champ and world record holder, being the first person to run under 1:41 for the event.
I like Kipketer to beat Rudisha again - Kipketer won their last match-up at the Kenyan trials.
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The final women’s 400m hurdles heat is history. Eilidh Doyle, who made the semis in London four years ago, is on top here for Team GB, while Sage Watson of Canada and Ukrain’s Olena Kolesnychenko also book their place in the semis tomorrow.
There are eight women who qualify on time, including Sydney McLaughlin of the USA who sneaks in to the semis field.
Shamier Little, the world silver medalist, didn’t advance to the semis at the US trials, and Dalilah Muhammad ran the race of her life to get to Rio. She put together the fastest time in three years in Eugene with a finish of 52.88, so it’s all eyes on her.
And she delivers! Muhammad tops the field in heat five of the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 55.33. Canada’s Noelle Montcalm and Anna Titimets of the Ukraine also go through. There’s one heat left!
Checking in on the the men’s Pole Vault final: reigning world champion Shawn Barber of Canada, who used a pole to cross a creek on his family farm (true story) is up, looking to clear 5.5m and does so easily.
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Dane Sara Petersen is tops in heat four of the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 55.20. Wendel Nel of South Africa and Poland’s Emilia Ankiewicw also qualify for the semis.
Canada currently have a 2-1 advantage over Italy in the men’s volleyball. The Italians may be taking their foot off the gas since they’re atop pool “a”, but that would be an upset regardless and Canada need a win to try and make the quarters.
That quarterfinals women’s hockey match between Argentina and the Dutch is done and dusted with the Netherlands moving on thanks to a 3-2 victory. Awaiting the orange are arch rivals Germany, while New Zealand and Great Britain will face off in the other semi. Both matches will take place on Wednesday.
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Heat three of the women’s 100m hurdles has come and gone. Team USA hurdler Ashley Spencer and Jamaican Leah Nugent are through with times of 55.12 and 55.66. So is Ukraine’s Viktoriya Tkachuk, who also books her place in the semis.
Think we forgot about men’s handball? Argentina are taking on Qatar with the Argies down 5-3, early.
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More from the women’s 400m hurdles: heat two sees Canada’s Chanice Chase take a spill before getting up and finishing the race. Joanna Linkiewicz of Poland is through with a top time of 56.07, followed by Janieve Russell of Jamaica, who has the second fastest time this year besides American Dalilah Muhammad, Puerto Rico’s Grace Claxton and Tia-Adana Belle of Barbados.
In front of a sparse but enthusiastic crowd in the Olympic Stadium, American sprinter Justin Gatlin picked up his silver medal from the previous night’s 100m. There were many boos in the throng when his name was introduced. They were soon drowned out (bad rain pun given the weather) by the roar for gold medal winner Usain Bolt.
In other action on the still-wet track, three US hurdlers - Ronnie Ash, Devon Allen and Jeff Porter - qualified for the semifinals. Ash wound up with the second-best time of the group with a 13:31, just behind Jamaica’s Omar McLeod
The women’s 400m hurdlers are out for the first heat and Jamaica’s Ristananna Tracey is top with a time of 54.88, followed by the decorated Zuzana Hejnova, who is running just her second race this year. Italy’s Ayomide Folorunso finishes third. Sydney McLaughlin of the US, just 17 and considered something of a future star, finished fifth and will need help to reach the next round.
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Now that it is significantly drier, the men’s pole vaulters are back - Michael Balner of the Czech Republic makes his first attempt and clears at 5.50m.
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The 2012 gold medalist, Sandra Perković makes the cut to get to the women’s discus throw final in clutch fashion, delivering a 64.81m toss on her last effort after failing in her two first attempts.
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Just before Usain Bolt was picking up his 100m gold medal I was speaking to the IAAF, the governing body of athletics, aboutthe strange Olympic schedule, which has caused very long days for multieventers and us poor hacks (the morning session starts at9.30amand then evening one starts at8.30pm, much later than usual), and also led to complaints from Bolt and Justin Gatlin about the short turnaround from semi-finals to the 100m final last night. The IAAF man had sympathy for both points but said it wasn’t their fault. “The IAAF’s original timetable of April 2014 had evening sessions earlier,” he said. “This was changed following requests from the Local Organising Committee Rio 2016 and broadcasting to have finals in the morning sessions and a later start in the evening. It is important to work with organisers to produce schedules which meet their requirements which is what we have tried to achieve in this case.
“Specifically with regard to the time allowed between the semi-final and final of the 100m, this has been the same in past Games where there was a world record (Atlanta). However there has been a longer gap in more recent Games and we’ll of course take the athletes views on board, in fact we will actively seek them at every major championships.”
Usain Bolt gets his gold
The crowd applaud Usain Bolt on the podium and he applauds back. The world’s fastest human said yesterday that ‘I knew from the semifinals that I would’ve won’ and the proof is before us all. Bolt celebrates his third title in front of the semi-sparse crowd in Rio.
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The rain has gone from torrential to light drizzle and we’re back in play at the athletics, where Britain’s Andrew Pozzi has qualified for the semi-finals after finishing second in the 110m hurdles. He was joined by the Brazilian Joao Viktor de Olivieira, who aquaplaned across the line to qualify in fourth, much to the delight of the sparse crowd. Meanwhile the stadium announcer says that because of the “abysmal conditions earlier” those hurdlers in the early heats, who ran in the torrential rain, will get another chance to qualify for the semi-finals later tonight. How late? That is the question those of us getting rained on again can’t wait to find out.
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In the next men’s 110m hurdles heat, American Ronnie Ash is through with a time of 13.31, followed by Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, Lawrence Clarke of GBR - who is out to improve on his fourth place finish in London four years ago - and Brazilian Eder Antonio Souza.
New rules for the men’s 110m hurdles: the recent weather was so bad at the Olympic Stadium that those who ran in the two rain affected heats will run a race later tonight, with those with the best times being considered for the semis. So there’s an unexpected possible get out of jail card for those runners frustrated by the conditions earlier.
Men’s 110m hurdles: Konstadinos Douvalidis of Greece and Devon Allen of the US, - he is also American football wide receiver at Oregon - cross first at 13.41. Gregor Traber of Germany and Yordan O’Farrill make out the top four to progress into the semis.
Heat four of the men’s 110m hurdles starts and stops: Wilhem Belocian of France is out after a false start. The 21-year-old bites his lip as he exits, knowing that he is out of the Olympics: it’s obviously a sad moment for the hurdler from Guadeloupe.
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Dimitri Bascou wins heat three of the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.31, with Britain’s Andrew Pozzi finishing in 13.50 with Jamaica’s Andrew Riley third at 13.52.
Hometown hero Joao Vitor de Oliveira belly flops into the quarterfinals, literally, on this soaking and apparently slippery track with a 13.63 time.
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The rain has quieted and the athletes are back on the track. We’ll resume with the third heat of the men’s 110m hurdles. Jamaican Andrew Riley doesn’t seem convinced that the track is ready but it’s not his call and this is going to happen.
Thank you, great to be here.
As you’ve heard, the athletes have run for shelter at the Olympic Stadium. Not so however at the women’s field hockey quarterfinals between the Netherlands and Argentina. They’re happy to bash it about in the rain, especially for a shot at the Germans in the semis. Right now the Dutch are up 2-0 with under six minutes remaining in the second.
Ok, guys. I’m off. Here’s the great David Lengel to take over. Have a great evening!
So, the wind has died down at the athletics, and been replaced by torrential rain. Fun fact about the Olympic Stadium: it’s one of those grounds where the roof has been ingeniously designed to offer no protection whatsoever against the weather. The pole vault has been postponed, but the men’s 110m hurdles heats are still running. No. Now they’ve been postponed too. A little too late for the Jamaican champ Deuce Carter, who swam his heat in 14.30sec.
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Some more on the weather. The rain has taken over and athletes wait inside the stadium, looking to stay focused.
Everyone is really struggling now out here. The women’s discus really can’t get a hold on the apparatus and Men’s Pole Vault HAS BEEN DELAYED.
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Men’s basketball: Spain beat Argentina 92-73. They will face France in the QF. Argentina will have to wait. Heat 2 hurdles now in really tough conditions.
Men’s 110m Hurdles - Heat 1: Omar McLeod from Jamaica wins it. USA’s Jeff Porter second. By the way, it is pouring down now at the stadium and Men’s Pole Vault has to wait.
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Men’s Pole Vault. The wind has calmed down and here come the competitors. A huge cheer for France’s Renaud Lavillenie, the man to beat. A bigger roar for Thiago Braz da Silva from Brazil. Also coming out are the Men’s 110m Hurdle runners as they get ready for the preliminaries. It’s not windy but wet, that’s for sure.
Men’s Basketball: We are halfway through the fourth quarter and Spain are dominating, leading Argentina 73-59 with 7:50 left in the game.
We have started Track and Field with Women’s Discus. As qualifying begins, we also have a few medal ceremonies with Wayne Van Niekerk celebrating his 400m WR run and Caterine Ibarguen’s Triple Jump title. This one is special as it becomes Colombia’s first ever gold in Athletics.
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I’m only embedding one tweet tonight. And it’s this one.
This is how I’m running errands from now on. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/gYPtG9T1ao
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 15, 2016
Men’s basketball: Spain are still ahead as they lead 63-42 with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
Athletics start soon with Women’s Discus qualifiers. After that it’s the first final of the night with Men’s Pole Vault. As of now it should still go on. This should be a tight affair but the favorite remains Renaud Lavillenie from France. The reigning Olympic champion won in London in 2012 by jumping 5.97m. The American, Sam Kendricks, came close to that as he jumped a 5.93 earlier this year.
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Here’s the tragic story from an earlier tweet by Daniel Harris.
Guys, Team GB need their sleep.
Boxing Men’s Heavy (91kg) - We have a champion and it’s Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko over Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan.
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Spain may have lost in hockey but they’re having a better time in men’s basketball against Argentina as they lead 43-29 with three minutes left in the second quarter. There is a GREAT atmosphere at the arena as both sets of fans are singing their hearts out.
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As they romp into the semi-final 3-1 on Wednesday after beating the Spaniards, the British team will be hoping to improve on their London 2012 performance, when a 3-1 win over New Zealand secured them the bronze medal and ended a 20-year Olympic medal drought for the women’s team. The performance in London matched Great Britain’s best ever Olympic performance, as they also claimed bronze at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
Women’s hockey: It’s all over. Team GB are through to the semi-finals.
Women’s hockey: Spain keep piling on the pressure with four penalty corners but fail to capitalize. It remains 3-1 with three minutes remaining. Team GB are holding on with everything they have.
So, you may have heard that it’s just a little windy in Rio today, with gusts being clocked at 40 knots out in Guanabara Bay. The sailing and diving competitions have already been disrupted. But no word, yet, on what this will mean for the evening’s athletics, and particularly the men’s pole vault final. We’ve just been reminded by the stadium announcer that “it’s always possible that events may be postponed or cancelled” and I wonder whether this may be the case tonight. Pole vaulting is perilous enough anyway, but in this weather it could be utter carnage. So there are a lot of anxious French fans and journalists milling around, waiting to see whether the famous Renaud Lavillenie will be able to become the first man in 60 years to defend his Olympic title.
Women’s hockey: Spain have scored a goal and it’s now 3-1. Shaky now for Team GB as there’s still seven minutes left in the last period.
Men’s basketball: Spain need to beat Argentina in order to advance. The silver medallists from the last two Olympic Games have done extremely well to come back from being 0-2 with two straight wins but need this win tonight. Argentina are 3-1, tied with Lithuania in Group B. A lot of talent in this one.
Anna Meares’ rivalry with Victoria Pendleton was one of the highlights of London 2012, so perhaps it was fitting the already-retired British “queen of cycling” was present to witness what might turn out to be Meares’ final race earlier tonight. “She’s so kind and she’s been so wonderful for me,” Meares said, after the two embraced following the Australian’s 10th place in the individual spring, which ended the defence of her title – won so memorably against Pendleton four years ago. Meares will now take a couple of weeks to decide on her future after what she described as “a brutal race”. Full story here.
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Hello everyone, good to be here. We have some great stuff coming up including the Men’s Pole Vault Final and Men’s 800m Final. Women’s 400m Final will end the evening in Athletics. An update on Women’s hockey: Team GB still lead 3-0 with less than two minutes to go in the third.
Anyhow, youse have all been great; yerman Luis Miguel Echegary will see you through the next little bit, where the wonderful David Rudisha awaits. Here’s an interview I did with him a little while ago...
“You want it more than me,” is what Simone Biles told the press about her five gold bid. What a superb woman she is.
Great Britain now lead Spain 3-0 in their hockey quarter-final.
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Who was the first person to bite a medal? Viviani is doing it now. I suppose you’d have to.
Those of you in the UK will want to peruse Cavendish - Cav’s - silver medal ride (we are mates after all). You can do that here.
Yuliya Stepanova is “certain” that athletes at the Games are doping. Read about it here.
“None of the riders coming through the mixed zone seem to be registering a protest. Denmark’s Hansen, who came third, was unperturbed. ‘Shit happens,’ he said. So silver seems to be in the bag.”
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Trott is so good, says Chris Hoy, because she has options - she can go from the front because of her stamina, or leave it to the last minute because she’s got the sprint speed.
Trott is absolutely nails! She stomps all over D'Hoore on the final lap, punching the air and pointing at the crowd! she is loving it!
Not once in that sprint was Trott in trouble. She leads D’Hoore in the standings by eight points, and Hammer by ten points.
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Kirsten Wild goes and Hammer attacks ... but Trott and D’Hore respond, and Hammer is pipped on the line! Two left!
Were down to five riders now, and Laura Trott, the leader, is looking strong, but Sarah Hammer is trouble - as she has been for much of this race. But Annette Edmonson goes!
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The women’s omnium pursuit is well underway now, and Anette Edmondson is at the back... but she hangs on, and Liu Xiaolin goes, then Laurie Berthong.
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Apparently, Cavendish said off-mic but not off-mic “they’d be straight on for Brad, wouldn’t they?” when kept waiting for his interview by the BBC. Surprised he even does them, given his pathological hatred of fame.
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“”Ok. This will be brief. Thank you to colleagues around me at the cycling for explaining what the bloody hell was going on there at the cycling. Sort of got it by the last 20 laps. What a clever chap that Cavendish is. Personally, I’d go flat out around in the inside lane all the way around. Probably not the way to do it. How on earth do they compute all the information they need? Still reckon it would be even more interesting if they had shopping baskets... full of milk. No spillage.”
Mark Cavendish finishes second in the omnium, but result unconfirmed. He caused a crash mid-points race and looks worried.
— Barry Glendenning (@bglendenning) August 15, 2016
“Britain’s women have had an excellent start to their quarter-final hockey match tonight, going 2-0 up on Spain at the end of the first of four quarters. Georgie Twigg scored her first goal of the tournament, prompting jokes about Twigg making the most of the forest fire that dumped ash on the pitch this afternoon. Captain Helen Richardson-Walsh scored the second. Our gals are hoping to improve on their 2012 performance, when they won bronze.”
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“I don’t think so, I’m tired,” says Cavendish of Tokyo - “but I said that eight years ago and people at home get sick of me.”
Cavendish blames his riding out of the lines in the elimination - it’s usually his strongest event, he says. He says he’s happy, but he doesn’t quite look it.
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Cavendish looks disappointed, but the reality is that he wasn’t quite strong enough to compete with Viviani.
Viviani is riding around the track bawling his face off, as well he might. The combination of emotion and exhaustion is quite spectacular.
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Elia Viviani is Olympic omnium champion!
Cavendish of GB is second, Lasse Hansen, the defending champion is third - and what an effort did he put in trying to win.
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Cavendish takes the final point! He wins silver!
The bell goes again, and Cavendish is chasing Hansen for a point - Viviani has gone, and takes five, with Cavendish taking the final point over Hansen! And then some riders break - if they get away, then Cavendish will secure silver.
Cavendish has to settled for three points in the next sprint, Viviani taking one, and again Hansen tries to break - he must have a lot of faith in his conditioning, because he’s worked a lot harder than the rest.
GB have taken the lead in the hockey, Georgina Twigg with the goal.
25 laps to go! It’s building!
Hansen gets two points on the next sprint, Viviani gabbing another as well, and they try a break - Hansen in particular is constantly hinting at a break to punish the others.
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If Hansen and Cavendish are level on points at the end, the silver medal goes to whoever does better in the final sprint. As for the gold, it looks a lot like being Vivani’s.
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Cavendish takes five points, Viviani three - and he looks knacked. Cavendish and Hansen are level, and the top three break away!
Gaviria attacks, and he’s in fifth overall - but he can’t get away, and the bell goes for the next sprint.
Boudat takes five points and Viviani takes three, but a group are ahead now, the big dogs but not Cavendish - that could be bad news for him. But the group catch up.
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Boudat goes and Cavendish goes with him - a good choice to go with to gain a lap - but Cavendish decides against it.
Elsewhere in Hio, GB and Spain are about to begin their women’s hockey quarter-final.
“This omnium business is nuts. Like live blogging the M25,” tweets the Guardian’s Richard Adams.
Luckily it removes the responsibility for intense hilarity.
Cavendish thinks about stealing a lap, but no one good comes with him. Boardman reckons that if Cavedish is going to try for gold, he needs to make a break, not try and win sprints - and he wins the next sprint! Viviani is second, Gaviria third. Cavendish is now three points behind Hansen, who is second overall.
Hansen wins the next sprint, Cavendish second, and Hoy is surprised that his mucker hasn’t nailed the sprints - he'd expect him to be coming down from the outside, so wonders if he’s keeping power in reserve to gain a lap.
“”I know cycling has wheel turns; now it has heel turns too. That did not look at all ‘accidental’” tweets Hubert O’Hearn. It was, but it’s nice - I think the rules prevent me from listing my favourite, most easily done typos - but one involves shots, ideally that hit people in the face, and the other cricket shots square and behind the wicket on the off side.
And the next sprint begins, Boudat, Gavira, Viviani, Cavendish the order.
Cavendish goes! He wants to force the issue now, but no one can stay with him!
So off we go again, and those riders who’ve put effort in - Hansen in particular - have had a little chill. Not good news for Cavendish, with Viviani also given time to recover.
Here’s more on El Shahaby of Egypt being sent home for refusing to shake the hand of Israel’s Or Sasson.
The race has been neutralised
So they ride round relaxing.
In the meantime, Gaviria closes, but then there’s another sprint - Cavendish takes three points. Chris Hoy agrees that it was Cavendish’s fault, but it was unintentional. He may get a warning, while Park Sang Hoon is still out of the race- the other man to get clattered was Glenn O’Shea.
Cavendish had made a break, and Viviani came to go throuh by on the inside, so Cavendish cut him off. It did not look good, and might cause him later aggravation.
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Viviani hits the deck! A collision involving Cavendish!
Two more men go down in the pile-up!
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Hansen gains a lap, joining the main group and pushing Cavendish into the bronze medal position, as the mayham continues. I can only imagine what those who came up with this did to themselves in the process.
Hansen, Cavendish, Boudat, Viviani is the order at the fourth sprint - Viviani leads by 16 points.
Hansen grabs top points from the third sprint and Viviani hustles another single for himself. Hansen has half a lap on the field, and they respond.
Kennett of NZ has now nudged Hansen of Denmark off the podium - and Chris Hoy concedes that Viviani is looking ominous.
GB modelled this race to see if they could spot trends and early breaks tend not to succeed - but Gaviria will take the first points. And if he can get a lap ahead, he’ll overtake Cavendish.
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Right, final event of the men’s omnium. It’s going to be frantic. 160 laps of the of the track, off a rolling start, BANG!
“Olympic officials say an Egyptian judo athlete has been reprimanded and sent home after refusing to shake his Israeli opponent’s hand.
The International Olympic Committee said Islam El Shehaby received a ‘severe reprimand’ following his first-round heavyweight bout loss to Or Sasson last Friday.
When Sasson extended his hand, El Shehaby backed away, shaking his head. The referee called the 34-year-old El Shehaby back to the mat and obliged to him to bow; he gave a quick nod and was loudly booed as he exited.
The IOC said the Egyptian’s conduct ‘was contrary to the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic values.’ It also said the Egyptian Olympic Committe ‘strongly condemned’ El Shehaby’s actions ‘and has sent him home.’
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Apparently, Rory McIlroy relented and watched the final of the golf - according to Justin Rose. With some regret, I shouldn’t wonder. Read more here.
Usain Bolt is aiming for a world record as well as a gold in the 200m. Read more here.
Terrible news, I'm afraid.
BREAKING: German Olympic team says canoe slalom coach Stefan Henze has died from injuries sustained in last week's car crash.
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 15, 2016
3:25.024 for Laura Trott! She wins the individual pursuit!
That will be ill received by Sarah Hammer, whose banker this was. What a brilliant ride! Trott goes into the lead overall!
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Trott takes the bell, she’s still got the fastest time...
And Trott is going like the absolute clappers, staying on the black line and overtaking Sharakova! She’s going to cane her PB by the look of things.
And off they go - Trott, and Tatsiana Sharakova of Belarus, who leads. But she’s not a pursuer - pursuiter? - which could be useful for Trott if she can get into the same straight towards the end.
3:26.998 for Hammer, fastest by more than three seconds, and D’hoore is second fastest; what has Laura Trott got?
Hammer is pacing now and takes the bell with the fastest time so far. She’s going to go into the lead.
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“There’s a huge fire raging on the hill behind the hockey pitch where the GB ladies will shortly take on Spain in their quarter final match at 6pm local time. The air is murky with smoke and there are flutters of ash landing on the pitch, thanks to a fairly assertive breeze. I accidentally ate a bit trying to find the press tribunes and look forward to spending the two and a half hour bus trip back to Copacabana smelling like a bonfire. I haven’t played hockey since school but these do not feel like optimal conditions.”
Huge fire raging on the hill above where Team GB's women play hockey tonight. Smoke, debris in air #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/pmycthslxD
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) August 15, 2016
Sarah Hammer and Jolien D’Hoore, 4th and 3rd respectively, are underway. Hammer, who usually goes out hard, is not as well up as might have been expected.
in the 3m springboard prelims, Jack Law, GB’s first diving gold medalist, was struggling, but has now nailed an 88.40 dive, and he now lies 8th, with the top 18 to qualify. Freddie Woodward is in 9th, and the semi-final and final are tomorrow.
A Brazilian judge has ordered the arrest of four executives at THG Sports hospitality company. Read more here.
In the men’s team table-tennis final, Japan now lead Germany 2-1.
And Diederiksen sets the fastest time, 3:30.264. Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish is warming up, in a baseball hat with “GREAT BRITAIN” written from front to back across the middle. It is disgraceful. But, on the plus side, Cavendish is an articulate and thoughtful talker - “it means something to suffer that much,” he said of the Tour de France. They are not of this world, his ilk.
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Diederiksen, 7th overall, is hunting down Berton, 8th overall, and she’s nearly caught her. This is going to be a fast time.
“Lovely seeing Pendleton and Meares chatting trackside. And Trott hammering out in the warm up. The baton being handed over....”
That’s just the way it is. But, crap half-puns aside, yes it was. Meares-Pendleton was fierce.
Kirsten Wild, 9th overall, is now fastest - 3:31.941.
Sweden lead Brazil 6-2 in their handball group game - that’s still in the first ha
Brazil are through the semis of the men’s beach volley, having beaten USA 2-1. But they were given a serious examination there, and the crowd are showing their appreciation.
Allison Beveridge now leads the omnium pursuit with 3:36.938.
Meares and Pendleton are now both crying, while the studio speculate that she’ll hang about for a Commonwealth games in her home state.
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She’s now chatting to Victoria Pendleton at the track - “it’s good to see they’re talking and not fighting, for a change,” says Chris Hoy.
Anna Meares says she's going to spend a week deciding whether or not to retire.
She feels “heavy”, she says, and also she’s “posed a very strong figure for girls and women to look up to”.
In the beach volley, USA have levelled things at 1-1, but trail 4-6 in the third set.
The early riders are those lower down in the standings, so there’s not much to report as yet. Sakura Tsukagoshi of Japan leads, her time 3:46.842.
So the individual pursuit of the women’s omnium is off - Laura Trott is defending her title.
In the beach volleyball, Brazil are beating USA 1-0, but are 11-16 down in the second set - that’s a quarter-final.
Women's beam: Sanne Wevers wins gold for Netherlands! Laurie Hernandez takes silver, Simone Biles bronze!
A brilliant performance from Wevers, and Biles’ bid for a record five gold medals is over - for this Olympics, at least.
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Chris Hoy reckons Cavendish can still win.
Mark Cavendish finishes second in the omnium flying lap
The standings now:
Elia Viviani Italy 178
Mark Cavendish GB 162
Lasse Norman Hansen Denmark 152
Dylan Kennet NZ 150
Thomas Boudet France 150
Elia Viviani, in the lead overall, beats Cavendish’s time by -1.333 - he’s second in this round.
Back at the gymnastics, the French have put in an appeal, and we’re still waiting for Flavia Saraiva’s marks. Apparently, this could take some time, but it seems inconceivable that Sanne Wevers hasn’t won gold.
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Out next is Thomas Boudat of France, in second place overall, level on points with Cavendish - and he’s well off the pace, all over the track. His 13.272 is eighth fastest, so he will trail Mark cavendish going into the final round.
He’s absolutely powering away, and clocks 12.793! That’s the second fastest so far!
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Lasse Hansen finishes in 12.832, the second fastest so far, and he’s fourth overall. And now Mark cavendish comes out, third overall....
Her dismount with double pike is good, but that routine won’t get her a medal they don’t think.
Flavia Saraiva of brazil is out last and she starts well, but then wobbles after a somersault and has to put hands down. Surely Wevers must be safe!
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14.6 for Boyer, into fourth - Wevers is good for at least a silver.
Kennett’s time will be pretty tricky to beat, reckon our commentary team.
Dylan Kennet of NZ, eighth overal, takes almost half a second off the lead! 12.506 is now the leading time.
Marine Boyor does a lovely side flip, doesn’t quite land it perfectly, but its so ridiculously difficult it’s apparently not too much of a problem. Her dismount is very lithe, and she lands it well too.
15.333 for Hernandez! That’s only enough for second! Wevers is still in front, with only two more to go! This is an enormous turn up!
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Hernandez is chewing her lips, Sanne is trying not to...
She loses her footing slightly, but recovers well, does two rahted somersaults and flicks, lands well, and Siomne Biles is bigging her up hard.
14.000 for Ponor. That’s enough for fourth. Here comes Lauren Hernandez.
In the omnium, none of the big dawgs have gone out yet, but Gael Suter of Switzerland leads with 12.981.
Wobble on the beam from Catalina Ponor - and big step back on her double pike dismount.
Wevers is bouncing! 15.466! She’s miles ahead! And no gold for Biles!
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Meanwhile, the flying lap of the men’s omnium is just getting underway.
Then she pauses, a full twisting gaynor - a kid of leap off and spin backwards. That might be enough for the lead!
Sanne Wevers of Netherlands is up, and she, says Christine Still, is a potential champion. And she stats beautifully.
14.733 for Biles - enough for the lead, but unlikely to be enough for gold!
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“Not long now until the evening’s cycling entertainment begins in the velodrome. Laura Trottt and Mark Cavendish are in action for Team GB, with both occupying medal positions after one and four of their respective disciplines in the omnium. Trott finished second in the scratch race this morning, while Cav was sixth in the kilometre time trial to maintain his overnight position in third. He’s 14 points ofd the lead and has everything to pedal for with the flying lap and potentially lucrative points race to come.
With Becky James and Katy Marchant having qualified for tomorrow’s quarter-finals of the women’s sprint this morning, the placings of 9th through to 12th will be decided this afternoon. A fairly insignificant news, you might say and normally you’d be right, but defending champion Anna Meares finds herself slumming it along the also-rans having failed to qualify for the last eight. The Australian will leave Rio with a bronze from the keirin, her sixth Olympic medal in all. Whether or not this will be the 32-year-old great’s last hurrah in an Olympic velodrome remains to be seen.”
“Don’t know if this is a regular occurrence in Rio but some sort of Monday Madness seems to be in play on the roads. I’ve just passed my second big shunt of the day - the first in a tunnel, this one fouling up traffic for half a mile on the major highway between the Olympic Stadium and Barra. The bus I’m on just had two close shaves, one with a taxi and one with another bus, the pair of them charging alongside each other and refusing to give ground. It was like bullfighting on wheels. Perhaps drivers are getting too much into the competitive spirit of the Olympics?”
She recovers well, then flicks to backward somersault, then another, then the dismount with a step back. But that might be the end of the bid for five golds - though a good routine will be required from someone else.
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Her squat-spin is great, then a front somersault with half-turn. Silly. Flick into layout, then another - and she falls! She just manages to hang onto the beam, but that will be a deduction!
And here comes Simone!
13.400 for Onyshko.
The beam in ten centimetres wide, by the way, just wider than a phone. Just think about that for a second.
Isabela Onyshko unfortunately falls off the beam, one split in particular absolutely ridiculous. We’ve not been shown what she got, but Simone Biles is marking out her landings - her dismount is too complex to see the floor clearly.
“Some interesting stats from the US today. Sports broadcasters are often criticised for ignoring female athletes but so far this Olympics, NBC has devoted 58.5% of its coverage to events involving women. That doesn’t quite make up for the inequality in nearly every other sports broadcast but it’s perhaps exposes the old argument that people won’t tune in to watch women’s sport. There are a few reasons NBC has decided to go down this road - women’s gymnastics is always a huge draw, particularly this year with the brilliant Simone Biles, while American women have excelled in the pool. Then there’s the viewers themselves: NBC says 55% of its audience for the Olympics is female.”
Updated
So Fan Yilin starts, and looks nervous - she’s a bit shaky on some of her landings, but does some very nice gear at the same time. Her landing isn’t perfect - she takes a step to the side - and gets 14.500.
Here are our competitors:
Fan Yilin - China
Isabela Onyshko - Canada
Simone Biles - United States
Sanne Wevers - Netherlands
Cătălina Ponor - Romania
Laurie Hernandez - United States
Marine Boyer - France
Flávia Saraiva - Brazil
“Prepare to hold your breath and be amazed,” says the announcer.
Right, beam time.
While-u-wait: here’s what to look for in Simone Biles’s beam routine. It’s actually far form her best routine, and Laurie Hernandez will give her a serious fight for the gold.
In the now-blue water - whatever will we talk about now? - the men’s 3m springboard prelim is underway. Freddie Woodward of Team GB is 6th, and Mike Hixon of Team USA is joint-10th. Chao He of Chia leads.
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So, coming up, we have the final of the women’s beam - that’s in precisely ten minutes. And around the time it finishes, we’ve got the flying lap of the men’s omnium.
In the men’s team table-tennis, Germany lead Japan 1-0.
In the men’s basketball, Brazil lead Nigeria 58-52; France’s men lead Denmark 17-16 in the handball.
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If you’ve ever ridden a bike, you’ll know that saddle soreness is a nause. Here’s how Team GB have addressed things.
REALLY heavy cable camera hurts 2 women in Olympic Park. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/N7FK2CBUAZ
— snap: BreakPointBR (@BreakPointBR) August 15, 2016
Ri Se-gwang of North Korea wins gold in the men's vault!
Denis Ablyazin of Russia takes silver, and Kenzo Shirai of Japan the bronze.
Updated
15.516 is his average, which means...
A two-and-a-half twist, following a handspring - 6.2 difficulty, but a big step on landing. Enough for a medal, not enough for gold, say the experts...
A sideways flip onto the vault, then some somersaults - but with quite a big step forward and low chest. He gets 15.600, so not at all bad. Can he snaffle gold with his second effort?
Just outside the medals, reckon the chaps - his arms don’t get out with sufficient authority to ease the landing; 15.316 is his average, putting him equal fourth. One man still to go, and it’s Denis Ablyazin, the second highest qualifier...
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Verniaiev gets 15.4 for his first vault, then produces a triple twist. He hops to the side on landing, but it’s not bad at all.
Next up is Oleg Verniaiev, silver medalists in the all-around - he’s slight to be a vaulter, apparently, but nails a double-front with half-turn. “Almost perfect,” says Dan Keatings.
And in comes Gonzalez for the final vault of his career, handspring onto the vault, some twists, and a not especially great landing. He finishes with an average of 15.137.
Tomas Gonzalez of Chile is up next, and he supplies some backwards somersaults for 15.375, and the commentators extol the ridiculous quality of these nutters.
Here comes another vault of 6.4 standard, and oh really! This is nifty, and might just get him first place - a double twist into back somersault, and he somehow spots the landing. That could well be first - and it is! 15.776, to give an average of 15.691.
A double somersault but with pike, into a twist, and the landing isn’t bad - a step back. He gets 15.616.
15.449 overall, that’s good enough for second place. Ri Se Gwan up next...
And this is very, very good - a 6.2 difficulty, really they should all start at infinity. He does a handspring onto the board, then three twists, and that could be the lead...
On comes Marian Dragolescu of Romania for a double somersault and twist - it’s worth 15.266, the second highest score for an individual vault.
15.066 for Shirai, an average of 15.449! He goes into the lead.
Updated
He backs it up with a two-and-a-half twist, relatively low difficulty, but it’s “clean”, as I they say.
Kenzo Shirai tries something expansive - a handspring into a cartwheel into a three-and-a-half twist - and he lands it! The Shirai! Amazing, and he likes it! 15.833, pretty, pretty good.
Radivilov gets an average of 15.133.
Oooh, this isn’t perfect - he does two straight somersaults and takes a big step back, but, on the other hand, he has also made history.
He gets 14.933.
Looks like it was feet, so he won’t get a zero .. my days, the height he got off the vault.
Here comes Radivilov, the difficulty 7 - a handspring with three front somersaults. There is excitement - the extra turn is due to to the height he gets, and apparently he’s been landing them ... but he lands on his bum ... I think ... but did he get his feet down first?
Competitors usually take their strongest vault, so this one will have to be good ... and it is, a triple twist. 15.4, to give an average of 15.316.
Nikita Nagornyy must just have usurped Kumar Sangakkara as owner of sport’s best double letter. He does a double somersault into a twist, and takes quite a big step forward on landing - he gets 15.233.
Ihor Radivilov is going for a triple front, which has never been seen before - he’s up second.
Right, we’re just shy of the men’s vault final, which will be spectacular. Our line-up is as follows:
Nikita Nagornyy - Russia
Ihor Radivilov - Ukraine
Kenzō Shirai - Japan
Marian Drăgulescu - Romania
Ri Se-gwang - North Korea
Tomás González - Chile
Oleg Verniaiev - Ukraine
Denis Ablyazin - Russia
15.766! Zanetti gets silver for Brazil! Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece wins gold in the men's rings!
Denis Ablyazin of Russia gets bronze.
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Bronze, reckon the commentary box...
And then whoops as he nails his crucifix - you can hear his coach shouting, he absolutely smokes his landing, and he thinks he’s got it!
And here comes Arthur Zanetti! The arena goes mad, and then falls silent. You can hear the silence.
Radivilov scores 15.466, so he lies fourth. The commentary box thought it better than that, but concede their view is not as good.
Next to make us layfolk feel crushing inferiority is Igor Radivilov of Ukraine, a late entrant after a withdrawal. And he’s making the most of it, doing a decent job of the basics and then taking a double twist dismount off the absolute set. Well played, sir.
Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues goes next, and he flats through a lovely routine including his own move, a kind of forward press now known as the Rodrigues. You have to submit it to the officials, and provided they like it, they let you perform it and name it after you. He scores 15.233, which puts him in fifth spot.
15.600 for Liu Yang, and he’s in third, as predicted.
Liu Yang was doing superbly well, but took to long over it all, tiring by the end and stalling in the final two element before dismount. That will cost him a medal, you’d think.
“A valiant effort from Team USA and their women’s field hockey team was sadly not enough for a spot in the semi-finals. After trailing 2-0 for most of the match, the Americans got one back thanks to a smart free-kick in the last period. What followed was relentless pressure but a tough German defensive unit managed to hold on. They will now face the winner of Argentina and the Netherlands.
Despite the loss, Team USA can be extremely proud of their Rio performances as they defeated some tough opponents on their way to the quarter finals, including Argentina and Australia.”
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Ablyazin is especially superb when said in a Geordie accent, and he’s delighted with 15.700 - it puts him into second place.
The magnificently-named Denis Ablyazin goes next, and takes a step back on dismount - that does not incur as severe a deduction as a step forwards, as it does not evidence a lack of power.
Dennis Gossens of Belgium scores 14.933.
Oooh, nice: a profile of Max Whitlock, which you can read here.
Updated
Germany have beaten USA 2-1 in the women’s hockey quarter.
And that’s more like it! 6.8 for difficulty, 9.2 for execution, a total of 16.000. That’l be hard to beat, our commentators assure me, and is the highest score so far on that apparatus.
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Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece produces what looks like a better routine - he’s the world champ, and nailed his basics.
You Hao scores 7 for difficulty and 8.4 for execution, a total of 15.400. Not bad, not brilliant.
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“Cycling home and was overtaken on MK redway by a youth on a moped,” tweets Steve Pye. “Naturally tutted before pretending I was in the Keirin.”
Similarly, I held a perfect crucifix position for two seconds on the bar above my Tube carriage door.
So here’s You Hao of China, who, it turns out, is incredibly strong. He’s holding the strength elements for the necessary two seconds, but his arms weren’t quite straight in the handstand; waster. His dismount was nice, but he didn’t quite nail the landing.
Anyway, the rings await - and a ridiculous amount of noise, when Arthur Zanetti, Brazil’s defending champion, shakes his thang.
In the 49er FX race for women - the seventh - Sarah Steyaert and Aude Compan of France lead, followed by Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth of GB with Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil in third.
USA have puled a goal back in yon hockey. Game on...
Wondering why Team GB have been so successful? Owen Gibson explains.
“Women’s field hockey: USA holding on as they are heavily relying on Briggs to make some outstanding saves in goal. They need something to happen offensively, however, as they still trail 2-0 halfway through the fourth period.”
Looking ahead, our next big event is the men’s rings final - that starts in a mere seven minutes, and the line-up is as follows:
You Hao - China
Eleftherios Petrounias - Greece
Dennis Goossens - Belgium
Denis Ablyazin - Russia
Liu Yang - China
Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues - France
Ihor Radivilov - Ukraine
Arthur Zanetti - Brazil
In women’s hockey, Germany lead USA 2-0 in their quarter-final, with just seven minutes to go.
“Looking at the photo of Charlotte Dujardin competing, it seems as though the only people watching the competition are the judges and those operating the cameras,” emails Rhys Hale. “Unless there’s a huge stand behind full of people behind the photographer of course...”
There were people there, but it wasn’t rammed. On which point, the IOC should be insisting the organising committee arrange for unsold tickets to be distributed at Rio schools.
BBC are showing us the dressage medal ceremony; whatever happened to dissolving the winner’s performance into the flag or their face, while the anthem plays? A sad loss.
And for UK-types only: Justin Rose and Mo Farah reflect; and Sophie Hitchon discusses her hammer bronze.
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To begin with, here are five Team GB winners that you may have missed.
Evening, afternoon and morning all - rev me up, rev me up, my little buttercup. Any thoughts, suggestions or classic lyrics, send them to daniel.harris.casual@theguardian.com or @DanielHarris.
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Werth has won eight Olympic medals with that silver, which is stunning in itself, but the headlines go to Dujardin. Speaking to BBC she says: “It means the absolute world to me. I felt a huge amount of pressure and expectation. It could be the last ride on Valegro, there’s talk of retirement for him … I’m just so, so happy. [Valegro] has been unbeatable … I could be greedy, he still loves his job, but I want people to remember him at the top.”
And on that exciting note, it’s time for me to pass the baton to Daniel Harris, who will take you through the next five and a bit hours.
Charlotte Dujardin has won gold in the individual dressage competition at the Rio Olympics, repeating her triumph at the London Games in 2012 and going one better than the silver medal earned in the team event.
Dujardin scored 93.857% overall to force Germany’s Isabell Werth into silver medal position and earn Great Britain’s 16th gold medal in Brazil. Another German rider, Kristina Broring-Sprehe, took the bronze medal.
Full story below:
Charlotte Dujardin wins gold in the dressage freestyle
Werth’s effort is good but just not good enough. She scores 89.071% which is only good enough for silver and it’s gold for Great Britain’s Dujardin on the 14-year-old Valegro.
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USA’s Laura Graves is the penultimate competitor in the dressage aboard Verdades. Her score – 85.196% – is enough for third. But the crowd are airing their grievances yet again. Now it’s time for Isabell Werth on Weihegold Old – can she knock Dujardin off gold? It would take something exceptional.
My earlier semi-joke about the struggle to find new and interesting ways to describe people cycling in anti-clockwise circles after five consecutive days in the velodrome has prompted a flurry of indignation below the line. Apparently it means I hate cycling and don’t want to be in Rio. I can assure those determined to misinterpret (wilfully or otherwise) everything they read in an effort to get upset that nothing could be further from the truth. Anyway, here is a schedule of the evening’s fun, which begins at 4pm local time (8pm BST). Apologies in advance for any upset or fury it prompts.
- Men’s omnium flying lap (4pm)
- Women’s sprint race for 9th-12th places (4.26pm)
- Women’s omnium 3km individual pursuit (4.30pm)
- Men’s omnium 40km points race (5.23pm)
- Women’s omnium elimination race (6.17pm)
- Men’s omnium victory ceremony (6.35pm)
Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez has a routine that combines classical music with Jon Bon Jovi but he can only score 83.553%. It’s met by boos from the crowd but the Spaniard looks happy. That puts him into third with two competitors to go. Djudardin’s mark has been retrospectively changed to 93.857%.
Boos around the arena as Lopez Jurado scores low despite crowd-pleasing twiddles. Huge credit to the judges. No one's a fan of that
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 15, 2016
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Germany’s Dorothee Schneider can only move into third with her routine on Showtime. It knocks Carl Hester down to fourth but Dujardin and Valegro remains in gold position place with three more to go.
Bad news for Team USA in the women’s hockey. Germany lead 2-0 thanks to goals from Marie Mavers and Lisa Altenburg.
Charlotte Dujardin, in tears at the end of her routine with Valegro, has scored 93.928%. What a result. Will that be enough for gold? There are still four more to go …
Updated
Dujardin midway through. Nailing this. But it's tight. Needs an immaculate finish.
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 15, 2016
We have a new leader in the dressage: Germany’s Kristina Broring-Sprehe has scored 87.142, putting here five points clear of Carl Hester in second. Dujardin is next up, the 14th of 18 to compete.
USA’s women’s hockey team have taken to the field against Germany in their quarter-final. Five minutes in, it remains scoreless.
There’s no rest for Usain Bolt. He is immediately thinking about the 200m – not just winning it, but also setting a new WR. “This is one of the biggest things,” he said this morning. “I really want [the] 200m world record. If I can get a good rest after the semi-finals, there’s a possibility I could. When it comes to the 200m I’m much more confident. The 100m is always the hardest one for me.”
Emotional scenes as Britain’s Muhammad Ali is knocked out of the boxing. The 20-year-old is in tears and says he feels he has let people down after losing to Yoel Segundo Finol on points in the flyweight prelims. It’s been an emotional day in the ring so far, following Taylor’s heartbreaking reaction to her defeat in the women’s lightweight earlier.
Don’t get too down, British readers. Here are some reasons behind the country’s success from Owen Gibson, including the National Lottery and team spirit.
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With six to go in the dressage, including Laura Graves of the US and Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester still leads but Sweden’s Tinne Wilhelmsson has climbed to second thanks to a score of 81.535 on Don Auriello.
It’s day five in the velodrome. Day five of trying to dream up new and imaginative ways to describe people in lycra riding around in anti-clockwise circles. I won’t lie, it’s a struggle. Even if they just rode around in clockwise circles for the day it would be a talking point, a radical departure ... something new to get one’s teeth into.
Anyway, enough fatigue-induced gibberish: after a fairly brief morning session, here’s the skinny: Becky James and Katy Marchant are both through to the semi-finals of the women’s sprint, having successfully negotiated their way through the last eight. Meanwhile in the men’s omnium, Mark Cavendish finished sixth overall in the one kilometre time trial and remains in the bronze medal position. It’s tight as a drum up there after four of the six events. Italy’s Elia Viviani leads with 140 points, followed by the Frenchman Thomas Boudet and Mark Cavendish on 126 each. Behind them, the defending champion Lasse Hansen from Denmark and world champion Fernando Rendon Gaviria are locked together on 118 points. That event will conclude this evening, so fingers crossed for a Cav podium finish because I’m so mentally worn down after 11 straight days of Olympics that if he snaps at me in the mixed zone I think I’ll just burst into tears.
The women’s omnium began this morning and defending champion Laura Trott got off to a great start, finishing second in the 10km scratch race. The queen of the elimination race, try to watch her at 6.17pm local time (10.17pm BST). If you’re not familiar with the elimination, you’re in for a real treat. It’s bonkers.
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The full story on the dramatic open water swimming race, where Muller is disqualified after finishing second.
Some movement in the dressage, too, where Carl Hester, aboard Nip Tuck, leads with a score of 82.482. The Netherlands’ Hans Peter Minderhoud sits second on 80.571, while USA’s Steffen Peters has been bumped down to third. They are about halfway through the field.
In the final round, Sophie Hitchon has thrown a new PB of 74.54 – it’s actually a British record – and moves her into the bronze medal position. She is overjoyed, pumping her first and heading straight to her delighted coach to celebrate. Lovely scenes.
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Hammer update: Wlodarczyk’s latest throw isn’t good enough to break her new WR but would have broken her previous one.
Ruth Jebet wins women's 3,000m steeplechase
We’ve just missed out on another world record here at the Olympic Stadium – Ruth Jebet finishing only 0.94 seconds outside Gulnara Galkina’s Beijing Olympics time in the women’s steeplechase after a brilliant race, leading from front. A tired stutter on the final hurdle cost her the record - but strangely, she seemed entirely unaware of her time, never looking at the clock on the final straight. Is she going to regret that? Probably not. She’s an Olympic champion.
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Muller has been disqualified in the open water swimming
Having touched the board before Bruni to win silver, the French competitor has been disqualified on review because she was judged to have obstructed the Italian. That moves Bruni to silver and Poliana Okimoto is upgraded to bronze, delighted the Brazilians that had gathered at Fort Copacabana.
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Ireland's boxing woe
Having picked up a gold, a silver and two bronze at London 2012, Rio has been a very different story for Ireland’s boxers. First middleweight Michael O’Reilly was sent home after failing a drug test, then medal contender Paddy Barnes had a shock defeat in the first round of the light-fly category. Now Katie Taylor, invincible at lightweight four years ago and considered Ireland’s best hope of gold, has gone out at the quarter-final stage to Finland’s Mira Potkonen. This succession of failures will doubtless be blamed on the loss of head coach Billy Walsh to the US team last autumn, which caused a huge furore. Walsh said he had not wanted to leave but was left hugely unimpressed by the efforts of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association to retain him.
Anita Wlodarczyk, the Polish legend of women’s hammer, isn’t doing badly here. She punched the air after her first effort, a strong 76.35. On her second, she was leaping up and down in joy before the hammer had even reached the apex of its flight - it came down past the 80m line and set a new Olympic record. How do you better that? You set a new world record – 82.29m – with your next throw, then go off for a little celebratory run. Apparently she ate nine boiled eggs for breakfast. I might try that instead of the nutella pancake tomorrow.
A white hot atmosphere at the Deodora Olympic park for the final morning of the dressage, the air thick with tension, anxiety, dinner jazz. Fiona bigwood has already gone for Team GB. She’s in fifth currently. The American Stefan Peter on Legolas 92 is an early leader. Although this is in effect the phoney war before the big guns arrive, with Charlotte Dujardin, very much the Bolt of her sport, still to come. The German Charlotte Werth, Dujardin’s main gold threat, rides last. A sensational finish is on the cards here. And remember this is freestyle, the most expressive and unbound of all the dressage forms. Freestyle may have troubled the purists at first but it really has rebooted the sport since it first appeared in Atlanta. Anything can happen in this game. Forget what you know. We’re though the looking glass, horse and rider free to move with the spirit, to explore the imagination. You may remember the film Point Break where Patrick Swayze’s band of thrill-seeking surfers travel the world robbing banks and searching, beneath it all, for the ultimate wave, the ultimate thrill. That’s freestyle dressage: the ultimate ride.
World record in the women's hammer
Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk has thrown it 82.29m. Wow.
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A major shock in the boxing ring as Katie Taylor compounds a horrible campaign for Ireland’s highly-rated team by losing on a countback to Finland’s Mira Potkonen.
Marcus Evans and Chris Langridge have defeated the fancied Japanese duo Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakaw 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) to reach the men’s badminton semi-finals. They will face China’s Nan Zhang and Haifeng Fu. Their compatriots Biao Chai and Wei Hong have also reached the last four. The final quarter-final sees South Korea take on Malaysia – they are midway through the opening game.
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Open water swimming result
Van Rouwendaal wins gold. Muller comes back for second in a battle to touch the finishing board with Bruni, the French swimmer getting in less than a second before the Italian – which is mighty close in a race of almost two hours.
Van Rouwendaal is pulling clear with about 150m to go in the open water swimming. It is looking like gold for the Netherlands.
After four of the six events in the omnium, the leaderboard: 1 Elia Viviani (It) 140; 2= T Boudat (Fr), M Cavendish (GB) 126.
The view from Brazil
POLICE INTERCEPTED MARATHON PROTESTERS
Anti-government protesters carrying placards twice attempted to disrupt the women’s marathon, but were foiled by police, according to Globo. Gold medal winner Jemima Sumgong saw them approach but said she was reassured that security guards held them back. Such incidents bring back memories of the 2004 Olympic marathon which Brazilian runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima was leading until he was grabbed by an Irish priest. He ended up with bronze. More peaceful demonstrations were apparent at several other points along the route where people carried banners reading “Fora Temer” (Interim president Michel Temer out!)
ANOTHER BUS STONED
A rapid transit bus was reportedly attacked on Sunday at 2.30pm near Curicica, roughly the same place where a bus carrying journalists was stoned last Tuesday. No-one was hurt and few media have reported the incident (most likely because no foreign reporters were on board). The incident comes despite promises by the army to beef up security after the previous attack.
SUPER-ISH TUESDAY FOR BRAZIL?
Brazil is assured of a medal in women’s beach volleyball after two doubles teams made it into the semi-finals, which take place on Tuesday. That is shaping up to be a decent day for the host as it also features boxer Robson Conceiçao in the featherweight final, the women’s football team in the semi-final and the women’s volleyball team, (which has yet to lose a set) in a quarter final against China. The men’s football team, meanwhile, play on Wednesday. After the strong performance at the weekend against Colombia, Neymar is once again in favour, prompting revised memes about fan fickleness.
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Mark Cavendish has been through the omnium time trial and sets the fourth fastest time. Nobody looks like catching Kennett, though.
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Allison Brock has scored 76.1604 and GB’s Fiona Bigwood 76.018 in the dressage. Neither of those scores will threaten the medals.
The time trial in the men’s omnium is underway too. New Zealand’s Dylan Kennett is only 0.2sec off Chris Hoy’s world record. Very impressive and that will bump him nicely up the table and into medal contention.
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Through the third split in the swimming marathon, Van Rouwendaal has taken a four second lead over Rachele Bruni, Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto is in third. It’s all much of a muchness, though. Thirty seconds separates first from 20th. They have about 25mins to go.
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The dressage has started. Steffen Peters is the early leader, setting an early benchmark of 79.393. Anna Kasprzak is second.
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Some drama in the final heat of the women’s 200m – Veroncia Campbell-Brown, perhaps the most experienced runner in the field, has crossed over her lane after coming round the bend, moving from shadow in to sun. Her time was too slow for qualification anyway. “I really don’t know what happened. It’s funny, you know, I don’t understand it,” Campbell-Brown says before the BBC interviewer breaks the news to her that she is not going to progress. “Excuse me?” comes the response. That’s harsh – she misses out by 0.1. Edidiong Odiong won the heat in 22.74, Semoy Hackett is second.
In the open water swimming, through halfway France’s Aurelie Müller leads Sharon Van Rouwendaal of Netherlands and Hungary’s Eva Risztov by two seconds.
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Tori Bowie, in the outside lane, drives to win heat eight. Murielle Ahoure runs her SB for second. The rest are quite some way behind.
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The seventh heat is a lot tighter. Ivet Lalova-Collio of Bulgaria wins in 22.61, Ella Nelson of Australia is second in 22.66. Britain’s Jodie Williams runs 22.69 for third and that should be enough for a fastest loser spot.
Heat six of the women’s 200m is won by Deajah Stevens of Team USA and Nercely Soto runs a SB of 22.89 for second.
Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare takes heat five, followed in by Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who has put her eggs in one basket by focusing solely on this event.
There have not been any surprises in the 200m so far, though Elaine Thompson, the 100m champion, was only second in heat four. The Jamaican hasn’t exerted herself but it’s still a quick time. Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, fourth in the 100m, crosses the line first.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye has won the third heat of the 200m, Simone Facey of Jamaica follows up in second.
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USA’s Will Claye gets going in the triple jump qualification with a baseball cap on backwards. He leads with 16.43 for a few seconds until China’s Bin Dong jumps 17.10m.
USA’s Jenna Prandini finishes well ahead of the pack in the second heat, with Germany’s Lisa Mayer in second.
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“I feel better than before. I’m happy with this one, it’s a good start,” a happy Schippers says on BBC. “I tried to sleep early, I slept good and that’s important to have a good rest. I feel good. After the 100m, I came here for a medal. My body is very good, I know I can run the 200m very good.” Nataliya Pohrebnyak of Ukraine has qualified automatically in second.
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Schippers is through with any issue, easing up before the finish and looking either side. 22.51sec is a pretty good time and there is plenty more to come from the former heptathlete.
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The first round of the women’s 200m is getting underway. There will be nine heats, with Dafne Schippers the one to watch in the opener. She struggled in the 100m final but this is her stronger event.
Off to dressage for the big one, The Freestyle. The day dressage takes the red pill. Forget what you know. We're through the looking glass
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 15, 2016
What’s the story behind Great Britain’s success? Money has played a huge role. On average, each medal at the Rio Olympics has cost £5.5m – and while some sports have received significant fund, others have had their completely cut.
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They are off in the women’s 10km open water swim – and it looks choppy to say the least. Suffice to say, it is not an event for the faint-hearted.
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The IAAF have commented on Russia’s Darya Kilshina being cleared to compete in the long jump. “We instigated a review process following new evidence presented to us. The outcome we reached to revoke Darya Klishina’s exceptional eligibility was not upheld by CAS despite the information received from McLaren and she is therefore eligible to compete in Rio.”
Never mind the green water at the diving pool. If there is one Olympic event which requires a strong stomach it is the women’s open water swimming, just setting off now in the sea off Copacabana Beach. Let’s just say the water quality tests over the past year have not been entirely positive – one study a year ago reckoned the incidence of viruses from sewage in Rio’s waters was up to 1.7m times higher than would be considered a concern in the United States or Europe. Dr Valerie Harwood, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, said her advice to visitors was “Don’t put your head under water.” Not much chance of that when you have to swim 10km for your country on a Monday morning. With the original starting pontoon having been washed away, a serious test of character looms.
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Some Paralympics news
IPC suspended Brazilian discus thrower Luciano Dos Santos Pereira for 4 years for an anti doping violation. Will miss #Rio2016 #Paralympics
— Ade Adedoyin (@ade_adedoyin) August 15, 2016
And Chinese news
Breaking: #CHN swimmer Chen Xinyi, 4th placed in #Rio2016 100m butter, tested positive at Rio Games: China authority pic.twitter.com/ymN2uDkJds
— Team China (@XHSports) August 12, 2016
(Should have gone for margarine)
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There was so much talk about Great Britain climbing to second in the medals table last night, it seems a good time to flag up where they would stand in a table judged per capita.
Boffins at http://www.medalspercapita.com/ have been keeping track and Grenada, with a population of 106,825, lead despite winning only one medal. Australia are ninth, Great Britain 16th, and the real medals table leaders, USA, are way down in 35th.
Hello! We are still watching highlights of last night’s action here, but what a brilliant schedule we have in store today. Five medals to be won on the track and in the field! Three medal bouts in the boxing ring! Gymnastics finals! Prizes in sailing, weightlifting and wrestling! But the first medal event of the day, getting underway about 45 minutes from now, comes in the women’s marathon swimming race.
Isn’t calling long distance swimming a marathon slightly odd seeing as it’s not over 42km and has nothing to do with the Greek town?
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Snazzy interactive No2 of the day … and this one really is a belter.
And with that I’m going to hand over the baton to Alan Smith who’ll take you through the early action on day 10 in Rio. Cheerio!
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Mark Cavendish is up and about in Rio and has had this to say about his performance in the first three races of the six-pronged omnium.
Could've been better, but not too disappointed to sit in 3rd coming into day2 of the Omnium. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/YtMzGtQAmh
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) August 15, 2016
After failing to defend his Olympic title Greg Rutherford’s Rio 2016 has gone from bad to worse …
Greg Rutherford has hit out after thieves in Rio stole a mobile phone containing pictures of his young son.
The Team GB long jumper tweeted that the phone, containing pictures of his 10-month-old son Milo, had been taken on Sunday.
The London 2012 gold medallist, who took a disappointing bronze at the weekend, became the latest Olympic athlete to be targeted by criminals during the Brazil games.
He said: “The ultimate downer from this champs is having my phone stolen. Just for the pics and videos of Milo.”
A reminder that the action begins at 12:30pm today with men’s and women’s badminton doubles. Great Britain’s Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis are up at 1pm which also marks the start of the sprint canoeing men’s 1,000m heats and the women’s 10km open water swimming race.
Oooosh! (For UK eyes only).
Amusing …
More now on the rather sad tale of the US gymnast Gabby Douglas, who, lest we forget, had her name up in lights after team and all-around gold medals at London 2012.
And right on cue, here’s some more information on Lewis Clive …
@gerard_meagher This seems to be an interesting blog entry about Clive Lewis, rowing partner of Hugh Edwards https://t.co/p923BvWmAa
— Justin Horton (@ejhchess) August 15, 2016
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I’ve had an email from Gavin Jamieson with some more info on Hugh “Jumbo” Edwards…
It was my wife’s grandfather, Hugh ‘Jumbo’ Edwards, that won two Olympic gold medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. These were in the rowing, for the coxless pairs and the 4s. These two gold medals were won on the same day in an hour, on August 13. I do believe that with Max Whitlock winning his two gold medals in gymnastics yesterday (almost exactly 84 years to the day!) he becomes the first GB athlete to win those consecutive golds on the same day since Hugh Edwards. I’ve not seen it reported on at all – which is not too surprising as the story of Jumbo’s exploits in 1932 are not well known, he is a lot more renowned for his coaching of Oxford in the 1950s and 60s.
Here is a very short biography and his exploits as a Wing Commander in World War II and rowing through a minefield to save his life.
Jumbo’s story is astounding, and his two gold medals (Britain only won 4 events in 1932) were not reported on back home – other than a brief mention beside the cricket results. His rowing certainly saved his life after a U-boat shot down his Liberator, and his partner in the coxless pairs, Lewis Clive, ended up getting killed in the Spanish Civil War.
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Here’s a story all about Great Britain being second in the medals table – with the disclaimer for US readers that Great Britain are still actually third in the American version of the medals table …
Quite a few in the comments section are asking for a bit more coverage of Wayde van Nierkerk’s world record run in the 400m final. So here you go …
Wayde van Niekerk is a special, special athlete, the first ever to have run under 10 seconds for the 100m, 20 seconds for 200m and 44 for 400m. Now make that last a damn-near sub-43.
In front of a boisterous Rio crowd, Van Niekerk broke the first men’s track and field world record of these Games with a blistering, barely believable 43.03sec from the unlikely position of lane eight, destroying the two previous Olympic champions in the process.
Michael Johnson’s towering mark of 43.18sec had stood since 1999 and rarely been seriously challenged. Van Niekerk had kept his powder drier than most in qualifying here, thus is draw in lane eight, but when the gun went he rocketed from the blocks.
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You can share your experiences, photos and videos by clicking on the ‘Contribute’ button or via our form. Just remember not to take photos inside the stadiums. You can also get in contact with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact+44(0)7867825056.
Here’s an excellent bit of trivia re: Brits who have won two gold medals on the same day at the Olympics. Thanks Gavin!
@gerard_meagher Thanks. Edwards was my wife's grandfather & his 2 gold medals were won in 1 hour & almost 84 years to the day Max won his!
— Gavin Jamieson (@gmbjamieson) August 15, 2016
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I promised you an Olympic brain teaser, so an Olympic brain teaser you shall get.
News now of a second proposal of the Rio 2016 Olympics …
Time for a look at the medals table where Great Britain are second and have genuine gold medal hopes today in the shape of Keri-Anne Payne in the 10km open water swimming and Charlotte Dujardin in the dressage.
It is important to bear in mind however that Great Britain are above China in this medals table as in the UK it’s done according to how many golds they have won and if that’s level how many silvers etc.
Readers in the US for example would expect to see China above GB as they have more medals in total.
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Let’s have a cycling update shall we – prompted by Jess Varnish’s decidedly uncontroversial appearance on BBC Breakfast. Jason Kenny won his fifth Olympic gold medal. He’ll probably win a sixth in the keirin. He’s 28. He might end up with nine in Tokyo.
Mark Cavendish is currently third at the halfway point of the omnium, following up a solid scratch race and a remarkable individual pursuit with a frustrating elimination race. I’ve just seen the replay of that, Cav’s face was one of thunder. He’s well placed for a medal though – not least because his pursuit performance bodes well for the kilo and the flying lap.
And finally Bradley Wiggins has had his say on the aforementioned controversy involving Varnish and Shane Sutton.
A post for UK readers sat at their desks delaying the inevitable before starting work at 9am … read all about Super Sunday!
Ok, who am I kidding? Of course there are going to be loads more posts about Bolt. Here’s a video for everyone to enjoy.
Here’s another angle of Usain Bolt’s cheeky smile to the cameras with poor ol’ CJ Ujah of Great Britain providing a bit of contrast.
And, last Usain Bolt entry for a while I promise, but have a read of the Jamaican sprint king conducting his Olympic orchestra by Andy Bull.
Did you ever doubt it? He didn’t. Before the race began Usain Bolt said that the only question in his head was whether he should take it easy in the 100m final so he could spare himself for the longer sprints next week. He has his heart set, you see, on trying to break the 19 second barrier in the 200m. The big worry, Bolt explained, wasn’t that this plan might make him vulnerable to his fellow competitors, but rather that it may upset his public. “Should I run the 100m just to win and save my energy for the 200m?” he explained. “If I shut it down in the 100, will people be happy? I don’t know.” He shouldn’t have worried. They love him what ever he does. And no one much minded that his time of 9.81sec was his slowest in an Olympic final, and short of his own superhuman standards.
As Bolt said, “it wasn’t a perfect race, but the fact is that I won, and that’s what we’re all here for.” The sad thing was the Olympic Stadium wasn’t actually full. There were some conspicuous blue blotches of empty seats in the ends behind the bends, even after Bolt himself had urged his Twitter followers to buy up tickets. But it was as close to capacity as it is going to get. By six o’clock, when the hills surrounding Engenho de Dentro, were backlit brilliant red by the sunset, the queue already wound round two sides of the stadium. More fans were pouring off every train and bus out from downtown. Once they were in, they roared their appreciation for each little thing he did, giving ovations to every wink and wag of his finger.
Every gold rush needs a spark right? And Great Britain’s yesterday was undoubtedly Max Whitlock. Before his floor exercise gold Great Britain had never won a gymnastics gold medal, an hour or two later they had two after his pommel horse victory.
Whitlock has been crowned as, among numerous other things, the first Brit to win two gold medals in the same day since the three-day eventer Richard Meade at Munich 1972. But … I have a feeling that Meade was crowned individual and team gold medallist simultaneously (I can’t be sure though, a bit before my time). Can anyone set me right? And if so, do we go back to Hugh Edwards in 1932 for the last Brit to win two golds at different times on the same day?
Answers in the comments section below are most appreciated – I’ll reward you all with an Olympic brain-teaser shortly …
I mentioned Wayde van Nierkerk’s scarcely believable 400m world record from lane EIGHT! Here’s more on that. It was a genuinely jaw-dropping moment, and of course that means he faced some difficult questions afterwards.
I’ll continue to bring you up to speed with all of yesterday’s goings on – but why not have a watch of this video as well. (For UK eyes only I’m afraid).
Yesterday has of course already been dubbed Super Sunday by the British press – Sensational Sunday if its a news outlet prone to a bit of, erm, sensationalism – so let’s catch up the feats of Team GB shall we? Starting with Kevin Mitchell on Andy Murray, the two-times Wimbledon champion and now two-times Olympic gold medallist.
Andy Murray was tired and emotional – in the old fashioned sense – after becoming the first player in the history of tennis at the Olympics to win back-to-back gold medals in Rio on Sunday night.
He beat the determined but ultimately exhausted Argentinian Juan Martín Del Potro in a tick over four hours, recovering from a mid-match wander to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in front of an audience of nearly 10,000 fans who more closely resembled a football crowd.
Before heading to catch a late-night plane on the way to the Cincinnati Masters, where he is due to play this week before the US Open in a fortnight, he spoke of the draining effort of the match and the pride he took in creating tennis history.
And he wondered whether his young daughter, Sophia, might even be vaguely interested in his achievement when he eventually gets around to telling her.
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I’ll do my utmost not to linger on Usain Bolt for too long, not least because Wayde van Niekerk’s 400m world record was probably the standout performance of the night, but take a bow Cameron Spencer for capturing this unforgettable image during the semi-finals.
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Hello world! Let’s kick things off with a snazzy interactive shall we? Today we have Usain Bolt’s historic 100m victory. Enjoy!
Day 10 briefing
Well. What a day – and night – that was. Catch up with it all here in the briefing then stay strapped in for the live blog to take you all the way through day 10 in Rio.
The big picture
Can you be struck by lightning three times? The men’s 100m field certainly was as Usain Bolt lolloped home in 9.81 seconds – a bit slow, sure, but who’s counting that when we’re counting gold medals? Bolt now has three successive Olympic golds in the 100m, an unrivalled feat by an unparalleled athlete. He beat crowd non-favourite Justin Gatlin into second; Canada’s Andre De Grasse was third. So relaxed was Bolt he had time to tweet as he crossed the finish line:
Jamaica Stand Up!!!
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 15, 2016
This for you my people
He’ll be pacing himself, too, for the 200m final on Thursday and 4x100m relay on Friday. After all, as he told reporters after his win: “I’m getting older.” Bolt is 29.
Bolt’s win crowned a packed night of proper Olympic stories: Team GB’s Andy Murray triumphed over Argentina’s Juan Martín Del Potro after a torturous four-set match (7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5) to duplicate his 2012 men’s tennis singles gold; South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk tore away with Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the men’s 400m final – and from lane eight too.
You should also know:
- Russia’s sole athlete Darya Klishina cleared to compete after appeal.
- Paralympic Games: countries still waiting for vital travel grants.
- Two Rio show jumpers disqualified for overuse of whip and spurs.
Picture of the day
Andy Murray (“I’m so tired”) at the moment of – a very hard-fought – victory.
Team GB roundup
Second place in the medals table, you say? A stonking day for Team GB nabbed five more gold medals – two of them belonging to Britain’s best ever gymnast, Max Whitlock, who triumphed on the floor and the pommel – and three silvers. The fact that two of those silver winners – Callum Skinner in the men’s sprint cycling, and Louis Smith in the pommel horse final – came second to British teammates is worth a couple of bonus smug points.
Nick Dempsey, in the windsurfing, claimed his silver behind Dorian van Rijsselberghe of the Netherlands – both medals assured before the RS:X final even began. His son, Dempsey reported, had told him: “It’s OK, Daddy, you’ve got two silvers now, which is the same as one gold.” And you can’t argue with maths.
Jason Kenny bested Skinner with ease to take the men’s sprint gold. He now has five Olympic golds, plus another track whirl in the keirin on day 11. A gold there would bring him to Sir Chris Hoy levels of Olympic-ness and add his name to the list of surely-Sirs alongside Murray and Mo Farah.
And Justin Rose is Britain’s first Olympic champion in golf since 1904. I mean, he’s the only Olympic champion in golf since 1904 but today’s briefing is all about the hyperbole.
Looking ahead to day 10, and Christine Ohuruogu won’t feature in tonight’s 400m finals, having failed to move up from the semis. Mark Cavendish lies third with three events left in the cycling omnium, and Charlotte Dujardin will hope to make it gold for the second Olympics in a row by making her horse do weird things really well in the individual dressage.
Team USA roundup
Just the two golds on day nine, and if you were a betting person you wouldn’t have bothered with either of them, for your reward would have been in buttons. America’s Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat America’s Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram 6-7, 6-1, 10-7 in the mixed tennis doubles finals, divvying up the gold and silver as they did so.
And gymnast-of-gymnasts Simone Biles took gold in the women’s vault, the nailed-on certainty of the result bouncing her opponent Hong Un-jong, of North Korea, into attempting a move even Biles can’t do: a triple-twisting yurchenko. Hong couldn’t do it either, as it turned out. A 15.966 and Biles somersaulted away with her third Rio gold. Teammate Madison Kocian won silver in the uneven bars.
It was silver too for US 100m hope Justin Gatlin, who was roundly booed as he entered the stadium. From the start he had the edge over Usain Bolt – but it’s the end that counts. And by then, Bolt was up, up and away.
- Ryan Lochte reveals details of gunpoint robbery by Rio gang posing as police.
- Gabby Douglas ‘heartbroken’ as online abuse targets gymnast, mother says.
- Men’s basketball: USA 100-97 France.
Australia team roundup
A day to forget, although I’m just about to remind you of it. No medals won and the men’s hockey team are out of the Games, bettered by the Netherlands 4-0 in the quarter-finals. The men’s water polo team are on their way home too, fifth in their group and waving goodbye to a quarter-finals place.
Matthew Glaetzer finished a frustrating fourth in the men’s sprint final in the velodrome, and Anna Meares survived a scare to scrape into the last eight of the women’s sprint.
On the running track it was Games-over for Annelise Rubie and Morgan Mitchell, losing in the women’s 400m semifinals; and for Linden Hall, Zoe Buckman and Jenny Blundell, who did not make the women’s 1,500m final. A little lift – a 2.29m one – came from Brandon Starc, who qualified for the men’s high jump final on Wednesday. And another one courtesy of the Boomers, finishing second behind the US in the men’s basketball standings and now off to the giddy heights of the quarter-finals.
It’s not as if the athletes can even head to the beach to unwind: they’re now banned after dark from Ipanema, Copacabana and the others that aren’t in songs, after US swimmers were robbed.
Diary
All times below are local to Rio: here’s the full timetable tweaked for wherever you are. Or add four hours for UK, add 13 hours for eastern Australia; subtract one hour for east-coast US and four for west coast.
There are 17 golds waiting for necks to dangle round today.
- First up is equestrian, where Britain’s London 2012 champion Charlotte Dujardin will be hoping for a repeat in the individual dressage from 10am.
- Back on track with cycling and the final three events of the men’s omnium: time trial at 10.21, flying lap at 4pm, and points race at 5.23pm. Team GB’s Mark Cavendish is currently in bronze-medal position. The women’s omnium also begins, with the scratch race at 10.59am.
- Five finals in the athletics: the women’s hammer throw at 10:40am; the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at 11:15; men’s pole vault at 8.35pm; the men’s 800m – with Kenya’s David Rudisha to one to watch – at 10.25pm; and the women’s 400m rounding off the evening at 10.45pm. Team USA’s Allyson Felix is the one to beat.
- Three finals in the gymnastics: in the men’s rings at 2pm; the men’s vault at 2.54pm; and oh look, here’s Simone Biles in the women’s balance beam at 3.46pm.
- You thought the swimming was over but no: it’s moved to open water. At 9am it’s the women’s 10km marathon. British hopes rest on Keri-Anne Payne.
- There’s also synchronised swimming, with the duets technical routine spinning into action at 11am.
- Sailing finals in the women’s laser radial at 1.05pm. The men’s laser follows at 2.05pm, with Australia’s Tom Burton guaranteed a medal finish. Alison Young and Nick Thompson race for Team GB.
- Team GB gold medal-winning diver Jack Laugher is back for the men’s 3m springboard preliminaries at 3.15pm.
- It’s the men’s boxing heavyweight final at 7.15pm. Russia’s Evgeny Tischchenko takes on Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan.
- At 7pm, it’s the medals decider in the men’s 105kg weightlifting.
- And two Greco-Roman wrestling gold bouts: men’s 85kg and the men’s 130kg.
Underdog of the day
No runner had ever won a 400m final from lane eight. No South African athlete had won an Olympic track gold since 1928. And then Wayde van Niekerk did it on night nine in 43.03, beating Michael Johnson’s 1999 world record time. (Johnson graciously labelled it “a joy and a surprise”.)
It was South Africa’s first gold in Rio, too, just to add the cherry to the top of the cake.
Ace of the day
Told by the BBC’s John Inverdale that he was the first person to win two Olympic gold medals for tennis, Andy Murray realised the presenter was forgetting the existence of women, telling him:
Venus and Serena have won four each.
Tweet of the day
A Canadian MP enjoys some misplaced limelight:
Thanks for the implausible congrats on #Olympic cycling gold, but the credit goes to my infinitely more talented UK namesake @JasonKenny107.
— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) August 14, 2016
If today were a movie …
It would be Bolt. Of course we all know he doesn’t really have super-powers, but it’s a pretty convincing display of out-of-this-worldliness all the same.
And another thing
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After his gold medal race, windsurfer Dorian van Rijsselberghe climbed on the boat from where our royal family were watching the race and was hugged by the king & queen and the princesses. Comment by NBC sports in the US: "Rijsselberghe gets hugged by his wife".
Big compliment for the queen actually, considering that she's twice Dorian's age...