Right, that’s about all I’ve got for you. We’re pulling down the curtains on day eight of these Rio Games, but before you know it – here’s day nine!
Follow all the action here, live, during a day that finishes with, guess who – a certain Jamaican and a certain short running race. Yes please.
And at the Riocentro for boxing, in the big boys’ category (or men’s super heavy 91kg+ for the purists) Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko has ended the campaign of Azerbaijan’s Mahammadrasul Majidov setting up a quarter final clash with Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba.
What’s this got to do with me, says you, British Olympics observer? Well, if you’ve been following Joe Joyce’s progress you’ll know that should he get past his next opponent, Uzbek Bakhodir Jalolov, then a showdown with one of these aforementioned gents awaits. The plot thickens.
A few recent results from the badminton-drome, as British pair Heather Olver and Lauren Smith recorded their first win in the women’s doubles event.
They edge Hong Kong pair Ying Suet Tse and Lok Yan Poon in a tight three set tussle, but will unfortunately still miss out on a spot in the quarter finals.
The tournament has also ended for Australian mixed doubles pair Robin Middleton and Leanne Choo, after they succumbed to Thai pairing Bodin Isara and Savitree Amitrapai.
An excellent piece from Andy Bull here detailing Mo Farah’s remarkable 10,000m victory. It’s brutally hard to win a race like this at the best of times, let alone after you’ve hit the deck and had to scramble back halfway through.
And if you missed the day’s field hockey action, in the women’s competition New Zealand have ended China’s tournament, with a 3-0 final group stage victory.
The result left China fifth with the top four in each pool going through. By finishing second New Zealand have set up a fresh chapter of an ancient grudge match, as they face trans-Tasman rivals Australia in the quarter finals.
The Hockeyroos – as they’re affectionately, and perhaps, unoriginally known – started the Games poorly, losing their opening two group games to Great Britain and the United States, but are coming off three straight wins.
Great Britain and the Netherlands remain the only two unbeaten sides thus far and face Spain and Argentina respectively in the knockouts.
Incidentally, there’s been 53 Olympic records set at these Games thus far including 19 world records.
Day eight saw USA’s Ryan Murphy finally cracked compatriot Aaron Peirsol’s long-standing 100m backstroke record. It’s been one of the world’s great markers – in fact Peirsol has only NOT held that particular record for one week during the past twelve years.
Remarkable stuff, and congratulations to Murphy.
So to recap the overall medal tally, four more gold on day eight see United States continue to stretch their lead at the top over China, who failed to add to their tally of gold. Great Britain continue their storming Games with gold on the track, in the velodrome and at the final day of rowing.
Amuse yourself by scrolling through the 200+ nations on the drop down menu and see who’s won what for whom.
For example, no medals for Pakistan or Serbia yet, but the Uzbeks have three bronze.
A huge result also in the volleyball (of the non-beach flavour), where Italy has continued it’s dominant form in the group stage by sweeping aside hosts, and world no1 ranked side, Brazil, 3-1.
The home team won the first set, 25-23, but were playing catch-up thereafter. Italy remain the only unbeaten team going into the final group stage games, and could face whoever finishes fourth from either Russia or Iran, who face off in group B’s remaining round-robin encounter.
And on a night of stunning performances by truly incredible Olympians, who could go past this cat.
Michael Phelps, once again the headline act on a dramatic night – the last, in fact – from the pool at Rio.
Five gold medals for the Games, 23 in all. You’d have to go back to Sydney 2000 to find a medley relay winning team that didn’t contain Michael Phelps.
Farewell, sweet prince.
We spoke earlier of the ‘Super Saturday’ three-peat attempt, with Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford once again all in action, but here’s a really lovely write-up from my colleague, Sean Ingle.
Will all three be back for Tokyo 2020? Spoler alert: I don’t reckon.
What a remarkable battle that proved to be between Ennis-Hill and the young Belgian Nafissatou Thiam though.
And it’s finished in emphatic fashion over at the beach volleyball – US duo Dalhausser and Lucena have beaten their Austrian rivals in straight sets, 21-14, 21-15.
They’ve only dropped one set all tournament and now complete the quarter final pairings as one of only four teams yet to lose.
They’ll face Brazilian 2015 world champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt, which by all reports should prove an absolute cracker.
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Let’s talk handball, is a phrase that often leaps to mind – and we’ve just finished up at the Arena do Futuro, where Argentina have notched their first victory of the Games edging Tunisia, 23-21.
A great showing by the Federicos – Pizarro and Fernandez – with seven and five goals respectively. And before you shout, wait, what about Federico Vieyra, well he got two goals as well.
61% of Argentina’s scoring shots coming from a Federico therefore – is that an Olympic record? First with the key stats, us at the Guardian.
It sets up an intriguing winner-takes-all battle in the final group game between Argentina and Qatar, as they seek to follow France, Denmark and Croatia into the knockout rounds from group A.
At the basketball, a slight surprise in the last game of the evening – Nigeria have shaken up men’s group B with their first win of the Games over more-fancied Croatia.
The Europeans led 28-21 at quarter time but a powerful second stanza saw the Africans storm into the lead. They then refused to relinquish their advantage, running out 90-76 winners.
It sets Nigeria on a collision course with hosts Brazil – whoever wins their last round game could sneak into the top four and qualify for the knockouts. One to watch.
Going back to the athletics, you might remember the part long jumper Greg Rutherford played four years ago during ‘Super Saturday’ when British athletes blitzed their home Games. Rutherford, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill were all looking for a Rio ‘three-peat’ and while the distance running star powered home for gold and the heptathlete bagged silver, it was a disappointing outcome, apparently, for the long-limbed bronze medalllist.
And staying on the sand, in the men’s round of 16 it’s currently 1-0 for US duo Philip Dalhausser and Nicolas Lucena, who have just taken the first set 21-14 against their Austrian opponents, Robin Seidl and Alexander Huber.
Dalhausser, you might recall, is also a previous gold medallist in the event – he’ll be hoping to repeat the magic with new teammate Lucena.
At the beach volleyball, in the women’s round of 16 Australian duo Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden have made it four wins from four, as they came back from a set down to defeat Polish duo Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska, 2-1.
Their reward for such a strong start to the Games? A quarter final bout with favourites USA’s April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings. Yikes.
For those of you not familiar with Walsh Jennings, you might remember her as the gold medal winner from London. And Beijing. And Athens.
Hi all. Just catching our collective breath here in the Australian office after a massive few hours in swimming and athletics, led by the indomitable Michael Phelps and Mo Farah.
Scenes at the football too as local boys Brazil survive a hack-fest with continental rivals Colombia – so much pressure on the slender shoulders of Neymar Jnr, but after some disappointing performances in the group stage the hosts appear back on track.
To recap, Brazil face surprise winners Honduras in the semi final, with Germany and Nigeria to contest the other semi.
But - the action isn’t over in Rio just yet. At last check there’s still live badminton, basketball, volleyball (beach and hall varieties), handball and table tennis taking place. We’ll endeavour to get round the venues for you as best we can.
I’m going to hand over the liveblog to Richard Parkin. He will take you from here.
Michaels Phelps now has 23 gold medals. He says he’s done and sports fans tend to get surly when athletes retire and un-retire. But I don’t think anyone would be upset if Phelps changed his mind and came back again for 2020 to go for even more gold. Over to Richard.
Final: Brazil 2-0 Colombia
Brazil now moves on to play Honduras in the semifinals. As you can imagine, the crowd is quite pleased.
Nigeria and Germany are set in the other semi.
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So that was @TeamGB Swimming's BEST EVER #OLYMPICS since 1908!!
— British Swimming (@britishswimming) August 14, 2016
AWESOME week of action from our team of 26 in Rio! pic.twitter.com/rsFPTe8w6Y
Brazil 2-0 Colombia, 84:00 2nd half
That should do it. Luan scores on a beautiful twisting shot after Neymar finds him open right in front, 25 yards away. Brazil is six minutes and stoppage time from moving on to the semis.
We already know that Michael Phelps has the most Olympic medals in history. But in this Olympics alone, he would be 17th on the medal list against all other nations.
Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 75:10 2nd half
Under 15 minutes left. Colombia will have to start attacking. Or, as Hope Solo would say: “not play like cowards.”
One final reminder ... if you want updates on tonight’s Track and Field action, Tom Lutz has a liveblog dedicated to that here.
The last night in the pool turned out pretty much the same as every other night in the Olympic pool for the past decade … with everyone talking about Michael Phelps. By helping the United States to gold in the 4x100 medley relay he now has 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold. It is a record that will surely never be beaten.
Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 65:05 2nd half
Play hasn’t been as rough as the first half. Colombia’s keeper just made a nice save off of a header from a Neymar free kick.
Michael Phelps on winning his 23rd (and last?) gold:
“I was more emotional after this relay than I was last time. I’m just ready for something different. My swimming career might be over, but it’s time do something else.”
But Ryan Murphy, who set the backstroke record, said: “It was an honor to swim in Michael’s last race. Although I don’t think it really was.” He laughed, but he was serious.
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USA (and Michael Phelps) wins Men's 4x100m Medley Relay
Great Britain gets Silver and Australia takes the Bronze.
Michael Phelps now has 23 career golds, and 28 total medals.
The U.S. set a new Olympic record.
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USA back in the lead thanks to Phelps. USA has a 0.50 second lead with 100m left. Freestyle.
Michael Phelps is now in the pool. Great Britain in first. Let’s see if Phelps can close.
USA is in first through the breaststroke. Ryan Murphy set a world record to open. It counts because it started the relay. USA has a huge 1.7-second lead.
The Men’s 4x100 Medley Relay is underway. They begin with the backstroke.
This is Michael Phelps’ 63rd career Olympics race and 30th Olympic final. He will be swimming the fly, so he will be third in the relay.
Next up is the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay AKA Michael Phelps’ final race.
Here are the lane assignments:
Lane 1: Brazil
Lane 2: China
Lane 3: Japan
Lane 4: Great Britain
Lane 5: United States
Lane 6: Australia
Lane 7: Russia
Lane 8: Germany
The relay gold for the United States gives Simone Manuel four medals in her first Olympics. It was also a big night for Denmark’s Pernille Blume, who won Gold earlier in the 50m Freestyle and then anchored Denmark to Silver in the relay.
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United States wins Gold in the Women's 4x100m Individual Medley Relay
Australia comes back strong behind Cate Campbell in the freestyle to get the Silver and Denmark takes Bronze.
With 100m left, the United States is in first. All that’s left now is the freestyle. Then the medal stand.
Denmark second, Russia third.
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Russia is now in first halfway through the medley relay. The next stroke is the butterfly.
Denmark is winning through the backstroke. The next stroke is the breaststroke. Very tight through the first 100m.
The Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay is underway. The first leg is the backstroke.
The teams are about to come out for the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final. The U.S. women are the heavy favorite and it would be a big upset if they don’t take the gold.
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End of the first half: Brazil 1-0 Colombia
Mercifully, the first half is over. They’ll now head to their respective locker rooms and come up with new strategies for fouling each other.
Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 45:00/3:50 stoppage time
We have another collision and stoppage in play. There have now been 21 fouls in the match and the first half isn’t over yet.
Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 44:50 1st half
It’s getting ugly. Colombia’s Wilmar Barrios was just given a yellow card for knocking Neymar to the ground away from the ball. Play is back underway ... until the next card, at least.
Five minutes of stoppage time has been added.
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Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 42:00 1st half
Strong words are being exchanged after Neymar took down Colombia’s Andres Roa with a hard tackle from behind. Play is finally back underway after about five minutes of arguing.
The third of tonight’s four swimming events starts in approximately 10 minutes: Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final.
Lane 1: Italy
Lane 2: Australia
Lane 3: Denmark
Lane 4: United States
Lane 5: Canada
Lane 6: Russia
Lane 7: China
Lane 8: Great Britain
Brazil 1-0 Colombia, 32:00 1st half
The local favorites took the lead on a goal by Neymar 12 minutes into the match.
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Ryan Cochrane of Canada, who took Silver in the 1500m Freestyle in London, finished sixth tonight. He was 15 seconds behind Paltrinieri.
Connor Jaeger of the U.S. set an American 1500m record at 14:39.48 in winning Silver.
Gregorio Paltrinieri wins Gold in Men's 1500m Freestyle
Paltrinieri earns the first Italian gold ever in this event. His winning time: 14:34.57 -- just off the world record time. Connor Jaeger of the U.S. gets Silver. And Paltrinieri’s Italian teammate, Gabriele Detti took the Bronze.
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Paltrinieri in 1st with 100m left.
He has now fallen behind world record pace, but is way ahead of the competition. Jaeger in second and Detti now in third.
Paltrinieri still ahead of world record pace with 200m left!
The American duo is still in second and third, but Jaeger is now in third. Detti of Italy making a push in 4th place.
Denmark’s Pernille Blume was so happy she was at a loss for words after winning the 50m Freestyle Final.
Probably even happier than she was here:
— Pernille Blume (@Pernille_blume) April 22, 2015
Nearing the halfway point in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final.
Lane 1: Ryan Cochrane, Canada
Lane 2: Gabriele Detti, Italy
Lane 3: Jordan Wilimovsky, United States - Currently in 2nd place.
Lane 4: Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy - Still in first place, right at world record pace.
Lane 5: Connor Jaeger, United States - Currently in 3rd place.
Lane 6: Mack Horton, Australia
Lane 7: Damien Joly, France
Lane 8: Henrik Christiansen, Norway
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Well, it’s heartbreak again for Australia’s Campbell sisters, who have missed out on medals again in the 50m freestyle, their final event of the Rio swimming schedule. Cate Campbell finished fifth in a time of 24.15, while sister Bronte faded at the finish to end up seventh in 24.42.
“It wasn’t my best but it’s fair to say this week hasn’t been my best,” Cate Campbell said after the race. “The world got to witness possibly the biggest choke in Olympic history a couple of nights ago. It hurts, but you know, maybe I’ll stick around for another four years.”
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Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri has the lead so far in the 1500m in Lane 4. They are 200m into the race. We’ve got a long way to go.
Denmark’s Blume on winning Gold:
“I don’t believe I can describe it. I’m so shocked. I’m so happy.”
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The Men’s 1500m Freestyle is now set to begin.
Canada’s Ryan Cochrane got Silver in London and is in Lane 1.
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Pernille Blume of Denmark wins Gold in the Women's 50m Freestyle Final
The Silver goes to USA’s Manuel and Bronze to Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus. It was extremely close across the board ... as 50m races tend to be.
Blume gives Denmark its first gold in this event.
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The Women’s 50m Freestyle Final is underway!
Brazil and Colombia are underway in their Men’s Football Quarterfinal. Of course, Brazil will have huge advantage thanks to the crowd. And having Neymar will help, too.
Although Neymar hasn’t had the best luck against Colombia of late. In his last match against them, he was sent off and then got a four-game suspension. And the time before that he was stretchered off with an injury in the World Cup.
Cate and Bronte Campbell of Australia are both in the 50m Freestyle Final. They will be plenty motivated after failing to medal in Thursday night’s 100m Freestyle Final. Cate Campbell said she was very disappointed to not take the medal stand:
“Oh, well, that hurt. Not as much as it’s hurting right now, but you know I have still got the 50 to go. I have always said that I didn’t need a gold medal to have self worth. That’s being put to the test at the moment.”
She also said she plans to take a different emotional approach to tonight’s race than she did to the 50m Final:
“I think I just went (in with) too much emotional energy in the lead-up and even in that race. I let my head get ahead of me and it’s not something I should do and something that I’ve been working on hard to not to, but maybe I’ve still got another four years left in me. It’s always hard, when you’re in form coming into an event, it’s hard not to think about outcomes. I think I just let my imagination run away with me a little bit. This was an Olympic final, I should have stepped up and performed better but that’s the way the chips fell.”
Just another friendly reminder: if you want to focus on tonight’s Track and Field events, we have a liveblog dedicated to that here.
Eight laps to go and the Kenyans are pushing the pace. They can’t shake Farah though - it’s the fastest lap of the night - around 63 seconds.
Swimming will be underway in just over 10 minutes.
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Great Britain’s Francesca Halsall is also swimming in the 50m Freestyle Final and the 4x100m Medley Relay Final. She has a lot on the line tonight: her skin.
Halsall has a British lion tattooed on her foot and has long planned on adding the Olympic rings in inky tribute on her skin. “I’m going to do it,” she promises with a last throaty chuckle, “but only if I win that Olympic medal. It would be good to make it gold before I get that tattoo.”
Manuel will have approximately 46 minutes between her two events this evening: the 50m Freestyle Final and the 4x100m Medley Relay Final.
Simone Manuel of the United States is swimming in two of tonight’s four finals. She made history on Thursday night when she became the first African-American woman to win gold in swimming. She tied for first in the 100m Freestyle with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, as both upset Australia’s Cate Campbell.
With a gold in hand, Manuel appears relaxed heading into tonight’s swims.
Two more races left here in Rio! 50 free and 4x100 medley relay!! Last one, fast one! GO USA!! ❤️🇺🇸💙 pic.twitter.com/tukU4jttmj
— Simone Manuel (@simone_manuel) August 13, 2016
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Tonight’s swimming begins three minutes after the top of the hour with the Women’s 50m Freestyle Final.
Here are the eight competitors and their lane assignments:
Lane 1: Etiene Medeiros, Brazil
Lane 2: Bronte Campbell, Australia
Lane 3: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands -- The defending champion from London 2012.
Lane 4: Pernille Blume, Denmark
Lane 5: Cate Campbell, Australia
Lane 6: Francesca Halsall, Great Britain
Lane 7: Simone Manuel, United States
Lane 8: Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Belarus
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Michael Phelps’ final swim is tonight, as we’ve all heard countless times by now. Yet Phelps also was said to be done after London 2012. And teammate Ryan Lochte said that he believes Phelps will be back for 2020. So there’s plenty of skepticism.
But Phelps did a Facebook Live session earlier today and claimed again that he’s done after tonight.
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Glad to be here for the evening session. There are four swimming golds to be awarded tonight in the final swimming events of Rio (open water swimming events excluded).
If you want to focus on the evening’s track and field festivities, head on over to Tom Lutz’s liveblog that is focused on all the events at the Olympic Stadium. We’ll focus on mainly swimming for the evening.
Please feel free to e-mail me at dj.gallo.casual@theguardian.com or tweet @DJGalloEtc.
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I’m going to hand over to my colleague DJ Gallo in a moment, who’ll take you through the evening’s swimming, where Michael Phelps says goodbye to the Olympics – unless he surprises us all by coming back in Tokyo. Thanks for reading, and well done to Monica Puig and Puerto Rico. Over to DJ.
Honduras have beaten South Korea 1-0, and they’re into the semi-finals – possibly to face hosts Brazil. The Koreans are upset that more stoppage time wasn’t added on, and Son Heung-min of Tottenham, the captain, is bawling at the officials.
Brazil kick off against Colombia in an hour or so.
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En route from the velodrome back to Guardian Towers (Copacabana Bureau), the coach passes a beach where some Brazilians are playing a game of beach volleyball in almost complete darkness. The only illumination they have comes from a nearby beach bar, and dimly lights about one half of the court.
Decidedly tight deadlines meant I wasn’t able to contribute as much as I’d have liked to the live blog tonight, but it was another smashing day’s entertainment in the velodrome.
The GB women’s team pursuit riders smithereened the Americans in the final, setting their sixth consecutive world record in six Olympic races spread across two sets of Games. A margin of victory of just over – or was it under; I can’t remember off the top of my head – two seconds might not seem like much but it is a huge margin in elite track cycling. Elsewhere, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner teed up an all-British final in the men’s sprint, guaranteeing Team GB another two medals.
Finally, teardrop helmets off to Becky James, who came with a late, late surge around the outside to win silver in the women’s keirin. Between serious injury and a cancer scare, the Welsh cyclist was off her bike and the track for 18 months over the past two years or so and has endured some very dark times.
She’d shown signs of a return to form in the world championships, winning a bronze and has improved on that in the Olympics. She goes again in the women’s sprint. Question: did Gary Lineker present Match of the Day in his pants?
Iran's Sohrab Moradi wins weightlifting gold!
Another weightlifting gold for Iran after Moradi lifted a combined 403kg to win the -94kg category. Vadzim Straltsou of Belarus was second, and Aurimas Didzbalis of Lithuania won bronze.
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Venus Williams tumbled out early in the women’s singles and the women’s doubles, but she’s guaranteed at least a silver medal at these Rio Games after she and Rajeev Ram beat Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna of India in the mixed semi-finals.
“With Serena, I expect to win I’ve got to be honest,” Venus said. “We had no idea how we were going to play together,” she said of her partnership with Ram, “so the emotion is almost even bigger because ... you don’t know what to expect. It’s a wild feeling.”
Williams and Ram face the other US pair, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock, in Sunday’s final.
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Honduras, the only Concacaf team left in the men’s football, are leading South Korea 1-0 after an hour. The winner of this game will play Brazil or Colombia in the last four; Germany will play Nigeria in the other semi-final. Honduras, by the way, have never won an Olympic medal of any color.
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Mónica Puig has just seen off Angelique Kerber in the women’s singles to capture Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold medal.
The world No34 squandered three match points – the third on a netcord winner – before the Australian Open champion sent a forehand wide to seal the 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory in 2hr 9min. Puig tossed her racket aside, mouthed “Oh my God!” before coming to the net for the handshake and crumbling into tears of joy. It’s perhaps the most shocking result in the women’s game since Roberta Vinci’s upset of Serena Williams in last year’s US Open semi-finals: Puig had won only one career title before this week and has only once made it past the first week at a major (a run to the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2013).
Now she is Olympic singles gold medalist – a class that includes Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and both Williams sisters. Puerto Rico had been second on the all-time list of most Summer Olympics medals without a gold – eight before tonight, mostly in boxing – behind the Philippines (10). No longer.
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A result in the men’s volleyball: USA beat France in four sets. Brazil, France and USA now have six points, behind Italy, who have nine.
Of course, it’s worth remembering that the Puerto Rican Gigi Fernandez won two tennis golds, in women’s doubles, in 1992 and 1996, but she was competing for USA. No athlete representing Puerto Rico, which sent its first team to the Olympics in 1948, has ever won gold. Until now!
So many tears from Puig! Smiles, too, but the emotion on display is in stark contrast to her businesslike performance in that final. A superb victory: 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 over the No2-seeded Kerber.
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As an Olympic champion, Puig, just 22, is in good company: she joins as illustrious list including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justin Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport and Steffi Graf. Now we’ll listen to La Borinqueña, Puerto Rico’s anthem, for the first time ever at the Olympics.
Monica Puig, fighting back tears, gives her thoughts:
“I’m in complete disbelief, complete shock. I honestly don’t what to say, I’m so excited. I just told myself to step up there and be aggressive. I just kept as positive as I could and I wanted it really bad.
“It’s always tough, there’s a lot of anxiety, but I knew what the main goal was and I just can’t believe it.
“I just wanted to tell Puerto Rico that this is for them. They’re going through some tough times right now and I just love where I come from.”
What a victory!
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Monica Puig wins Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold!
What a match, and what a final game! Puig was down 0-40, came back to set up two match points, and on the second, Kerber got a lucky net cord which dropped just over! Then Kerber had the advantage, couldn’t make it count, and Puig finally put the match to bed. Amazing! Kerber is beaten, and Monica Puig makes history!
Kerber gets points on the board in the final set, and Monica Puig, who leads 5-1, is going to have to serve to win Olympic gold.
In the women’s hockey, Great Britain maintained their unbeaten record with a 2-1 win over Pool B rivals USA. Alex Danson scored the winner four minutes from time, her goal coming just after Sophie Bray had equalized Michelle Vittese’s strike.
Britain finished top of Pool B with five wins out of five, and could now face Spain in Monday’s last quarter-final.
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Puig now leads 5-0 in the third! One game from gold, and history for Puerto Rico.
Puig, improbably, is 4-0 up in the third set! Can Kerber answer back?
A result from the men’s heavyweight boxing: Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan beat Erislandy Savon of Cuba in their semi-final. So Levit will take on Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko in the final, while Savon and Rustam Tulaganov of Uzbekistan take home bronze medals.
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And if you prefer to concentrate on track and field, Tom Lutz’s blog is now live:
This women’s tennis final is really watchable. Puig is 2-0 ahead in the third, but she’s at deuce. Kerber not giving up by any means.
Incidentally, hasn’t the swimming in Rio been outstanding? So many wonderful moments to cherish: from Phelps and Ledecky’s unreal dominance, Simone Manuel’s shock gold, Penny Oleksiak winning at age 16, the rivalry between Mack Horton and Sun Yang, Sarah Sjostrom, Yulia Efemova and Lilly King, Kyle Chalmers’ win for Australia, Chad le Clos’s shadowboxing … it’s been really great to watch. And speaking of great, you must read this on Katie Ledecky: can she really get any better?
In the pool, we’ve got four finals this evening – and we’re saying goodbye to Michael Phelps. Phelps will swim in the 4x100m medley relay in what will be his last race of a career – because, despite what Ryan Lochte says, Phelps insists he won’t be swimming at Tokyo 2020. There’s also the women’s 50m freestyle final, the men’s 1500m freestyle final, and the women’s 4x100m medley relay – and then we’re done with Olympic swimming for another four years.
We’re going to a deciding set in the tennis: Kerber took the second 6-4. It’s up for grabs!
Thanks Niall! Yep, it’s a big night on the track, and in the pool – and we’ll have all the action for you as it happens. My esteemed colleague Tom Lutz will be bringing you a special, dedicated track and field blog, and we’ll be concentrating here on tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, boxing and weightlifting. Plenty of gold to be won, and will Puerto Rico be celebrating its first ever Olympic gold medal? Maybe, but Angelique Kerber is serving for the second set at 5-4.
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Russia have sealed gold in the women’s sabre team final, defeating Ukraine amid emotional scenes. That’s as good a point as any to hand over to Tim Hill, who will guide you towards a big night of athletics and swimming. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
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In the women’s tennis final, Monica Puig has broken back, and we’re level at 4-4! Puig is potentially two games from victory, but world No2 Kerber surely won’t give up that easily.
Michelle Vittese has given USA the lead against Team GB in the women’s hockey, while Russia are edging towards gold in the fencing – their sixth gold of the Games.
Summary
A quick rundown of what’s been happening over the last few hours:
- Team GB took gold in the women’s team pursuit, beating the US in world-record time
- Andy Murray beat Kei Nishikori, and Juan Martín del Potro defeated Rafael Nadal, in the men’s tennis semi-finals
- Becky James won silver in the keirin just two years after cancer treatment, while Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner will battle for gold in the men’s sprint
- Justin Rose leads Henrik Stenson by one shot ahead of the final men’s golf round
- Away from the field of play, Russia’s only track and field athlete in Rio has been banned by the IAAF, and some (but not all) of the green pool water is going to be replaced
In the hockey, it’s half time, and still goalless between Great Britain and the US. Ukraine have closed the gap a little in the fencing final – it’s 25-17 to Russia in the sixth rotation.
A couple of earlier results that were missed in the cycling/tennis excitement: Britain’s Grace Reid qualified for the women’s 3m springboard final in 11th place. China’s Shi Tingmao and He Zi finished first and second. And in men’s handball, hosts Brazil kept their qualification hopes alive after drawing – improbable score alert! – 27-27 with Egypt.
Jason Kenny joins Callum Skinner in the men's sprint final!
It will be an all-British battle for gold tomorrow, after Jason Kenny finds a way past Denis Dmitriev. Kenny has to lead out, and they almost come to a standstill in the tentative early stages, before upping the pace as the final lap approaches. Dmitriev waits, and waits, and finds himself in a straight race with Jason Kenny, and loses.
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Australian Olympic history was achieved in that women’s keirin final earlier, with Anna Meares taking bronze to become the country’s most decorated Olympic cyclist. She now has six Olympic medals after finishing behind Elise Ligtlee and Rebecca James. She was fourth in the women’s sprint earlier in the night and summed up her approach succinctly after taking out her medal: “You don’t come here for tea and biscuits.”
Kerber returns to the court and, as is so often the way in tennis, races to 0-40 on Puig’s serve, and breaks to take command of the second set. Back at the velodrome, Becky James has picked up her silver medal. Jason Kenny is set to end the session shortly with the final leg of his semi-final against Dmitriev.
“A quick service announcement for Matt Thomas on the island of Korcula” says Hrvoje Bulic. “I know Croatian folk dancing can be addictive, but if he can just flip the channel to HRT2, he’ll find 15 straight hours of Olympic coverage.” I think Matt had started to enjoy it, to be honest.
Russia take a healthy early lead in the fencing, winning the first rotation 10-4. Here’s more from the golf, which has been quietly bubbling away over the first three days. It’s all set for Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson to battle for gold tomorrow:
Kerber is receiving treatment from her trainer – it looks like a shoulder or upper back problem. It could be playing on her mind more after that first set, with the world No2 outplayed by the world No34. Kerber has gone for a medical time out, leaving Puig to warm up in front of a noisy crowd.
Callum Skinner reaches the men’s sprint final! The Scottish rider picked up a gold in the team event, and is first to book his place in tomorrow’s final – and secure at least a silver.
In the women’s tennis final, Monica Puig breaks Angelique Kerber at 5-4, and takes the first set! She’s one set away from a piece of history...
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Russia and Ukraine’s fencers are out for the women’s sabre team final; a contest that could be more politically charged than this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The fencing arena has to be among the best in Rio; it makes it look like Tron has become an Olympic sport.
In the hockey, it’s 0-0 after the first quarter. It’s not a sport packed with goals, it seems. Britain have come closest, firing a penalty corner wide a few moments ago.
Jason Kenny is in the last chance saloon; one more loss and his gold medal bid is over. Dmitriev leads him out in the traditionally slow opening stages; Kenny makes a move on the back straight, and has enough to take the second leg by half a wheel. It’s going to a decider!
According to Helen Pidd, the gold-medal winning team made sure that reserve rider Ciara Horne wa included in pictures. A contrast, shall we say, with the situation within the men’s team.
Puig has banished her early nerves, and now leads 4-3 after holding serve to love. Still on serve though, with a lively atmosphere around the court – it seems most of the Puerto Rico Olympic team have come to support her against Kerber.
A couple of contests worth watching in the next half-hour: in women’s hockey, there’s another GB v USA battle, this time for top spot in Group B, and a favourable quarter-final draw. There’s also a gold up for grabs in fencing, with Russia facing Ukraine in the women’s team sabre final.
Time for the women’s team pursuit medal ceremony, with Team GB about to be handed their hard-earned golds. They beat a fearsome US team by over two seconds, in one of the best performances in any event at these Games.
In the second semi-final, Callum Skinner keeps Matt Glaetzer at bay to take a 1-0 lead. He’s looking good for the final, but can Jason Kenny join him?
The women’s tennis final has begun, with Monica Puig hoping to become Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medallist. She got off to a bad start against the favourite, Angelique Kerber, losing her first service game, but has broken straight back. 1-1 in the first set.
A surprise in the men’s sprint semi-finals, as Jason Kenny loses his first run to Denis Dmitriev. Kenny watched and waited, but found himself outgunned by the Russian around the final bend.
The US women’s sabre team won the bronze medal by beating Italy 45-30. The US, which led for much of the duel was boosted by two excellent performances from Ibtihaj Muhammad, who has received a great deal of attention these Olympics for being the first American woman to compete while wearing a hijab.
This is the second bronze the US has won in the event which debuted in the 2008 Olympic but was not included in 2012. The Americans lost their semifinal match earlier in the day.
It’s been agreed that green-grey, cloudy water may rob the synchronised swimming of its elegant charm. The pool will be drained and refilled before it begins, although the diving pool will stay the same:
Elis Ligtlee takes gold, silver for Becky James in the women's keirin!
More medals for GB at the velodrome, with James tearing through on the final bend to pip Anna Meares for silver – but Dutch rider Ligtlee held on to win gold by a wheel!
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Ligtlee leads from Voinova with Vogel threatening... here comes James with a late burst...
Jostling for position, with Voinova in front as the derny pulls to one side... James is at the back with two laps to go...
It’s time for the women’s keirin final – featuring Becky James and Anna Meares, alongside Kristina Vogel, Elis Ligtlee, Anastasia Voinova and Lyubov Shulika. They are currently being towed around the track by the derny bike.
Over to Matt Thomas for an update from the Croatian Folk Dancing:
“No obvious doping scandals thus far – although the lads with cowbells strapped to their knees look too spritely to be powered entirely naturally. At the half way stage I would call it for the feathered hats over the modified lederhosen brigade.”
Thanks, Matt. In the football, Nigeria are heading for a semi-final with Germany; they lead Denmark 2-0, with none other than Jon Obi Mikel opening the scoring.
A few words from Laura Trott: “To do it alongside these three girls, is incredible. The feeling we got going round, was like this machine finally coming together”. This is Trott’s third Olympic gold medal, making her Britain’s most decorated female Olympian; she could make it four in the omnium.
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Here’s our on-the-gun report from that fantastic Team GB win for Barker, Rowsell-Shand, Archibald and Trott; the team nobody is calling the BRAT Pack.
Del Potro joins Murray in the men's tennis final
While that drama was unfolding, Del Potro set up two match points with a thumping serve, and took victory at the second time of asking. He slumps to the floor, overcome with emotion. It’ll be the comeback king against the defending champion, Andy Murray, in Sunday’s final.
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Gold medal and a new world record for Team GB in the women's team pursuit!
They do it with something to spare, and set a world record to boot. That wasn’t as close as it might have been; Team GB were imperious.
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Team GB stay together longer, but Rowsell drops off with two laps to go. Their lead is huge though – 2.7 seconds...
Big gaps at the back of the American team, with Team GB holding together... the gap is down to 0.6 seconds, but Kelly Catlin has fallen away from the US team!
Trott leads the way as GB open a lead of one second at the halfway mark... Joanna Rowsell is struggling slightly...
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GB 0.3 seconds behind, but ahead of their world record pace... and they are moving ahead after 1750m...
The final of the women’s team pursuit is under way... Barker takes over from Trott, with the US shading it after 1km...
A quick word for British badminton pair Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge – they’re into the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles, despite being ranked only 22nd in the world. I mean, obviously that’s still very good... but they’ve outperformed their ranking, let’s say.
“Gabriele Rossetti won a gold medal? Pure poetry in motion...” Matt Dony is here all week.
It’s time for the women’s team pursuit, where Canada and New Zealand are fighting for bronze. It’s Canada who take it, fourth beating third to take the medal. Next up will be the small matter of Great Britain v USA for gold...
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Del Potro surges ahead in the tie-break, breaking Nadal and backing it up with two big serves for a 3-0 lead! Nadal takes the next on serve, and lashes a cross-court winner home for 3-2. Del Potro to serve before the changeover, and he takes a 4-2 lead. Three points from a guaranteed Olympic medal...
“Did you ask Matt Thomas who’s winning? Are there PED scandals in Croatian folk dancing? Enquiring minds want to know!” demands Hubert O’Hearn. We wait for further news...
Nadal faces more break points, but battles through, and Del Potro is now serving to stay in the game. A big test of nerve, but one he passes. It’s tie-break time!
In the diving, Grace Reid is struggling somewhat, over-rotating on her fourth dive and putting herself in danger of missing out on the final.
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Matt Thomas has been in touch to inform us that over on Korcula island in Croatia, they are showing traditional folk dancing instead of the Olympics. I’ll never criticise an awkward BBC ident again.
Joining Kenny and Skinner in the sprint semi-finals are Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer and Denis Dimitriev of Russia. Dimitriev beat Gregory Baugé after an almighty tussle, with plenty of shoulder-to-shoulder needle. He will face Kenny in the semi-final, with Glaetzer racing Skinner.
From looking down and out, Rafa Nadal races to 0-40 – and whips a passing shot down the line to break straight back! The crowd goes wild.
More medals have been handed out: in an all-Czech women’s double match, Lucia Safarova and Barbora Strycova have beaten Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka to take the bronze medal. In the men’s trampoline, Belarus’ Uladzislau Hancharou took gold, ahead of Chinese pair Dong Dong and Lei Gao.
News just in: Australia’s Anna Meares will be allowed to defend her Olympic keirin title after the judges decided she hadn’t elbowed Hong Kong rider Wai Sze Lee, who hit the deck with two laps to run. She goes into the final joint favourite with Germany’s Kristina Vogel, who won the world championship event earlier this year and easily won her heat.
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Troubling news from Owen Gibson that Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova’s data has been hacked, forcing her to relocate.
Here’s Jon Watts on Argentina’s epic basketball victory over Brazil, which finally ended in the second overtime:
Wow. The basketball game between Brazil and Argentina, which just finished was one of the most exciting games of any sport I have ever seen and I’m a neutral just watching on TV. Gawd know what it must have been like to be inside the stadium, which was noisy and packed with mostly home supporters, but also a big Argentinian contingent.
In regular time, the the lead went back and forth until Argentina scored with a three pointer with just a few seconds on the clock to make it 85-85. Then overtime ended 91-91. Finally at the end of second overtime, Brazil succumbed 111-107. Argentinian fans went wild. Brazilians utterly dejected. But no shame in losing like that. What a performance by both teams.
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Nadal slumps to 0-40 at 4-4, but is saved by a fortunate net cord. He goes just long on the next point, and Del Potro will serve for a place in the final!
Jason Kenny races into the men’s sprint semi-finals, notching a 2-0 win over Constable with consummate ease. He’s joined by Callum Skinner, who keeps Xu Chao of China at a safe distance throughout.
The judges are earnestly reviewing footage of that second round heat of the women’s keirin, which saw Hong Kong rider Wai Sze Lee hit the deck. The replays made it look as though Australia’s Anna Meares, who won the heat ahead of Team GB’s Becky James, may have knocked Lee with her elbow in the penultimate lap. Could Meares, the defending Olympic champion, face disqualification?
In the women’s 3m springboard, Shi Tingmao of China has a lead that’s much healthier than the water colour after the first two rounds. Britain’s Grace Reid is in sixth. Nadal and Del Potro are locked together in the third set; the Spaniard leads 4-3, still on serve.
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Team GB’s Becky James has easily made it through to the women’s keirin finals after her second round heat. Just qualifying for the Olympics was an enormous achievement for the 24-year-old from Abergavenny. She was viewed as the natural successor to Victoria Pendleton after becoming world champion in the keirin and individual sprint in 2013, but followed it with an appalling 2014, which featured cervical cancer treatment, shoulder surgery and crippling knee problems. James crossed the line second to Australia’s Anna Meares, having led in the final two laps.
Here’s more from Owen Gibson on the news that Russia’s only track and field representative has been banned from the Games:
We’ve just had our first fall in the velodrome in this session, with Colombia’s Martha Bayona Pineda crashing heavily in the women’s keirin second round. The reigning world champion, Kristina Vogel was the comfortable winner of that heat, going through to the next stage along with the Dutch rider Elis Ligtlee and Anastasiia Voinova of Russia. Team GB’s Becky James will go up against Victoria Pendleton’s old nemesis Anna Meares in the next heat. James won bronze in the event at the track world championships earlier this year, behind Vogel and Meares.
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The first women’s keirin semi-final has finished, but not without incident; China’s Zhong Tianshi and Colombia’s Martha Bayona collided, allowing Germany’s Kristina Vogel to win, followed by Netherlands’ Elis Ligtlee and Russia’s Anastasia Voinova.
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Brazil and Argentina can’t be separated – it’s 95-all after the first period of overtime! Argentina had a half chance, but missed by an inch as time expired.
Elsewhere, the 3m women’s springboard semi final is under way. Team GB’s Grace Reid has made a strong start, and is currently second... OK, OK. The water. It’s more grey than green tonight, and very murky indeed. Not pleasant.
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Business has resumed at the velodrome, where Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner have won their first quarter-final races. Should they get through, one of them at leas, is guaranteed a medal and it could be an all British final. We’ve had one before, when Chris Hoy beat Kenny in Beijing and may have had one four years ago if the UCI or IOC or somebody hadn’t restricted countries to one entrant each. Interestingly, as Jason Kenny was taking on Constable, from Australia, his bride-to-be Laura Trott was sitting in her cabin, head bowed getting ready for the women’s team pursuit finals.
Gold for Italy!
A result from the men’s skeet shooting – Italy’s Gabriele Rossetti took gold, a day after compatriot Diana Bacosi won the women’s event. Marcus Svensson of Sweden took silver. Kuwaiti shooter Adbullah Al-Rashidi took the bronze medal; his first medal at his sixth Olympics. This time, he’s competing for Independent Olympic Athletes, as Kuwait are banned from taking part.
Here’s our own Jonathan Watts on Rio crowds, and the basketball, where empty seats are not a problem:
I went to the Olympic Boulevard in Rio’s port area yesterday to ask locals what they thought. From my very unscientific sample of half a dozen people, the most common answer was that tickets are too expensive for most locals. The cheapest Olympics tickets are 40Rs (a little under £10) which are mostly for sports that are little known in Brazil such as hockey and rugby.
That is a lot for people earning the minimum wage of 880Rs (about £200), especially when you add the cost of transport to the mostly distant venues. Other answers were that people were opposed to the Olympics on political grounds or that they were not interested in most of the sports.
On the subject of ticket give-aways not happening, this may have something to do with a judge’s ruling earlier this year that the Rio government must not hand out tickets in a municipal election year because it might influence votes. I have been trying to get confirmation from Rio2016 but no response yet.
Finally, it is important to note that this is not just Brazil’s fault. As my colleague Owen Gibson notes part of the problem is that authorised re-sellers (many of whom are based overseas) have not been able to shift tickets. In that case, the empty seats might be caused by the Zika epidemic, crime and other negative stories about Rio in the run-up to the Games.
On a separate note, I’m now watching the last two minutes of a cracking basketball game between regional rivals Brazil and Argentina. Just three points in it. The crowd are going crazy. Can’t see an empty seat.
Nadal is cooking in the third set, pushing Del Potro on his serve and geeing up the largely pro-Rafa crowd. He bags a break point, but the Argentinian isn’t giving up yet, and grinds out a service hold. 1-1 in the third.
Del Potro’s determination is contagious; his compatriots have sunk a three-pointer to tie their match with Brazil, with three seconds left. High drama at the Youth Arena.
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Justin Rose recovers on the 18th, and he’s now two shots clear of Henrik Stenson, who is still out on the course. All set for a fantastic final round. Elsewhere, there’s drama in the basketball – the Brazil v Argentina game is poised at 83-82 to the hosts, with seconds remaining...
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Thanks, Dan. If dinner-eating ever gets in the Games, I fancy my chances. We are off to the velodrome now for a busy night of cycling, starting with the men’s sprint quarter-finals. In the first, there’s a spell of cat-and-mouse between Jason Kenny and young Australian Pat Constable, before Kenny accelerates to take a 1-0 lead (it’s a best-of-three).
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It’s bad news for Chris and Gabby Adcock. Despite having three match points in the second game, the British husband and wife duo won’t be replicating their Commonwealth gold, having lost 18-21, 27-25, 21-9 to Poland. I’m not the biggest badminton expert in the world, but that feels like a shock.
Justin Rose is clinging desperately to his lead in the golf. That’s not an update, but it is an excuse to post this, which no doubt makes every fan of the sport happy.
#USSeniorOpen This man leads. #MAJ pic.twitter.com/FpThp99lkw
— Ken Brown...⛳️ (@KenBrownGolf) August 13, 2016
And with that, it’s back to Niall, who has eaten his dinner in double quick time. Cheers.
An email! And a warm welcome to Gary Naylor 2.0 Simon McMahon:
“Evening Dan. I’m not sure who you’re Rory-fering to when you say some golfers haven’t exactly embraced the Olympic spirit, but I agree that Rose would be a worthy winner. And as much as I adore Andy Murray (and I adore him A LOT), I’m kinda willing Del Potro into the tennis final.”
You know I’m in exactly the same boat: I feel that if he had even 50% of the consistency of this era’s big four then Del Potrol would have four or five slams to his name. He might have an Olympic gold, yet, as he’s just taken the second set against Nadal. That one’s all square at 5-7, 6-4.
Meanwhile a wobble from Rose, who has missed the green badly on the 18th. He leads Stenson by a shot.
Breaking Russia news
The only Russian track and field athlete due to compete at the Rio Olympics is understood to have been banned by the sport’s governing body on the eve of competition.
The long jumper Darya Klishina was the only Russian athlete to receive special dispensation from the IAAF to compete after the rest of the country’s track and field team was banned in the wake of the state sponsored doping scandal documented by two Wada independent reports. The IAAF had said that any athlete who could prove they were untainted by the Russian system could be cleared to compete, with only Klishina passing the test out of a possible team of 69 athletes.
However, it is understood that on the eve of competition the IAAF has received new information that has led to her exceptional eligibility status being revoked. Klishina is understood to be challenging the decision at CAS.
After the International Olympic Committee ruled that individual federations should rule on the eligibility of their athletes, and various Russians challenged their bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a total of 268 athletes were cleared to compete.
It’s all a little bit quiet at this very moment. There’s little, baby – nothing, going on.
OK that’s a little bit disingenuous, but it’s been stuck in my head all day. Del Potro is about to serve for the second set against Nadal.
Chris and Gaby Adcock have missed three match points in the badminton against Poland and will now go to a deciding game.
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In the golf, the in-form Henrik Stenson has a birdie putt on 16 to draw level with leader Justin Rose on -12. But it breaks left just millimetres more than he expected, rolling agonisingly wide. It’d be lovely if Rose could win the gold – he’s really taken to this event, unlike some.
In the Men’s Skeet Ulrich Shooting, 21-year-old Gabriele Rossetti has picked up gold for Italy.
Evening/afternoon/morning/whatever time it is where you are, folks. The cricket bloke off the OBO – no, not Smyth, you’re not that lucky – here to guide you through the next 20-30 minutes or so while Niall takes a well-earned break.
You can get me on dan.lucas@theguardian.com or @DanLucas86 on Twitter, if you want to tell me what a bad job I’m doing your thoughts on the things that are going on. I’ll appreciate your company.
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Bad news for Nathan Bailey in the trampoline qualification – he’s been pushed out of the top eight, and won’t make the final.
On that bombshell, I’m going to hand over to my esteemed colleague, Dan Lucas, for a few moments.
Del Potro has rallied early in the second set to break Nadal, and has just held his serve to lead 3-1 in the second set. He’s not finished yet.
In other news, Games organisers, having sat and waited for the problem to just sort itself out, are going to drain and refill the diving pool, which has been emerald green since Tuesday.
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A bit of potential breaking news – according to Reuters, quoting a source: Russia’s sole track and field competitor at the Rio Olympics, Darya Klishina, has been suspended from the Games, and has lodged an appeal with the Cas. That’s not confirmed elsewhere just yet, but we’ll have more as we get it.
Nathan Bailey is on his second run, or bounce if you prefer, in the trampoline. Can he seal a place in the final later in the day? It’s a clean, well executed routine, and he’s all smiles. He stands a good chance of making the final – he’s sixth, with eight final places, and four competitors to go.
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The Hispanic diaspora is a wide-ranging and wonderful phenomenon. Who do the Portuguese-speaking Brazilians want to win when Spain play Argentina? I can tell you from my eyrie in the press seats at the second semi-final of the tennis, that Rafael Nadal has more friends in the crowd than does Juan Martin del Potro, from just down the road in Buenos Aires. The Spaniard just won the first set and, abandoning all press box etiquette, hacks all around last the plot completely.
Nothing so gauche with the Brits, of course... although colleagues did allow themselves a quiet fist pump when Andy Murray pulled off a miraculous backhand winner down the line on the penultimate point to beat Kei Nishikori in the first semi-final. The Scot is in great form, and will start favourite in Sunday’s final, no matter who is opponent is. At the moment, it looks like Rafa, no?
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Here’s Owen Gibson, a man so Olympian he even shares initials with the Games, on Usain Bolt’s big entrance in Rio:
Looking at my Big Book O’Handwritten And Highlighted Notes, I see the women’s keirin and women’s team pursuit will be decided today. Welsh sprinter Becky James represents Team GB in the former, while Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell-Shand and two from Elinor Barker, Katie Archibald and Ciara Horne will line up in the latter. The Brits didn’t have a dog in the women’s team sprint fight, but have won the only other golds on offer so far. Last night’s team pursuit final was one of the most thrilling sporting events it’s ever been my pleasure to attend and you can read an updated version of my report with fresh quotes from the mixed zone here. Bradley Wiggins spoke at great length after the race and was as entertaining as ever. If I get a chance later on, or more likely tomorrow morning, I’ll transcribe the whole thing and have it stuck up on the website somewhere.
Thanks for your thoughts on Rio’s empty seats fiasco. Plenty of valid reasons – political upheaval and economic issues in Brazil, Zika, the infrastructure in Rio – painting an unhappy picture overall. This, from Joanna Drzewieniecki in Peru, is something I hadn’t considered:
“Brazil has never been an Olympic power and thus its population have never been that interested in the Olympics. The Olympics are very much a foreign event. In great contrast to China, Brazilians never felt that the Olympics were a way to shine and be recognised on the international stage.”
Nadal takes the first set 7-5! After battling to save his serve, he pounces as nerves strike Del Petro, breaking to move within a set of the final.
Over at the picturesque golf course, Justin Rose has been reeled in by Fraser and the in-form Henrik Stenson – all three are on ten under par. Bubba Watson is the current clubhouse leader, on six under par – five behind Rose.
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Nadal v Del Potro turning into a punishing slugfest on a warm afternoon – Nadal holds onto his serve despite some bruising forehands from his opponent. 6-5 in the first set, but Murray will be delighted with this.
The women’s final will follow this match – and it features Monica Puig, who could claim Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold. The Caribbean US territory won two medals at London 2012, a silver in wrestling, and bronze on the track. Every other medal has come in the boxing ring.
Our Rio-themed sport picture of the day is a corker – and there’s a lot to like in this day seven gallery.
It’s finished Germany 4-0 Portugal in the football. A final against Brazil appears likely, and would not be unwelcome. On the trampoline, Nathan Bailey delivers a solid, if unspectacular routine. He should squeak into the final, performing as well as looking like Greg Rutherford.
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If you’re in the UK, and want to see Andy Murray firing into the men’s final, click here.
Here’s Barry Glendenning on the one British track cyclist not having much fun in Rio – Mark Cavendish:
Cav returns to action on Sunday, but there’s a big day still to come in the velodrome. The men’s sprint quarter-finals, featuring Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner, are at 4pm, followed swiftly by the women’s keirin. Then, at around 5pm, Teams GB and USA, who exchanged world records in qualifiers, will face off in the women’s team pursuit.
Nadal has wrestled back the initiative from Del Potro, the slowish court working to his advantage as he breaks back, to love, for 3-3. Interesting crowd dynamic: big Argentinian contingent, home fans backing Nadal. Over in Brasilia, a smooth finish from Davie Selke makes it 3-0 to Germany.
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Justin Rose has been flying today, and now leads the men’s golf tournament by two shots. He began the day four shots off the lead; a medal for Rose would be fitting, after he was prepared to back Olympic golf when so many of his colleagues weren’t.
“Empty seats are so sad to see, but it’s way out of the locals’ bracket” tweets Guy Hornsby, while Gary Smith adds:
“It’s a huge irony of these games that the massive divide between rich and poor means that they simply do not dare to attempt any sort of outreach initiative, like giving away tickets to kids from the favelas.”
What’s interesting is that, according to early reports, they had planned to do just that – but I’m not sure if it has actually happened. It certainly hasn’t at the Olympic Stadium.
Plenty going on – Matthias Ginter has put Germany 2-0 up against Portugal, while the men’s trampoline qualifiers, featuring Britain’s Nathan Bailey and the USA’s Logan Dooley, are under way. Finally, there’s a grudge match for the hosts, with Brazil v Argentina in, er, the basketball. It’s level early on.
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Bronze for Petra Kvitova! She needs a few stabs at it, dropping three match points on serve before getting the job done. In the men’s semi-final, Del Potro has his forehand firing early, and breaks Nadal in the opening game.
Here’s Kevin Mitchell’s report from Andy Murray’s quickfire victory.
Nadal and Del Potro are out warming up, while Petra Kvitova is closing in on a bronze medal – she leads Madison Keys 5-1 in the third.
Sailing continues at Guanabara Bay, and Great Britain’s Giles Scott continues to excel in the Finn class; he’s won the seventh race of ten, and comfortably leads the overall points race.
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“So hugely disappointed with the empty seats here. It’s like an off day drizzly Sunday at Gateshead!” says Jeremy Dresner. “This is the Rio Olympics! If I would have known there would be so many seats I would have planned travel years ago and got my bum on one of those wet empties out there”
Thoughts on the poor attendances, and anything else Games-related, are welcome. Email niall.mcveigh@theguardian.com, tweet @niallmcveigh.
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Netherlands have beaten Germany 2-0 in Group A of the women’s hockey tournament. That seals top spot for the Dutch; Great Britain and USA meet in a top-of-the-table Group B game at 6pm.
It’s been a tough day for Ireland in the boxing – Brendan Irvine lost his flyweight bout with Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov, and Steven Donnelly fell one round short of the medals, losing to Morocco’s Mohammed Rabii in the welterweight quarter-finals. There are still two Irish boxers left in contention – Michael Conlon and Katie Taylor.
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And here’s what’s happening right now: in the women’s bronze medal match, Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova are locked at one set all. The final, between Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig and Germany’s Angelique Kerber, is coming up at around 7pm Rio time.
It’s the third day of the golf, with Justin Rose leading Marcus Fraser by one shot, halfway through their rounds. In the boxing ring, the men’s super heavyweight, won by Anthony Joshua in 2012, is getting started.
It’s also men’s quarter finals day in the football, and as I write, Serge Gnabry has given Germany the lead against Portugal. Later on, there’s Nigeria v Denmark, South Korea v Honduras and Brazil v Colombia.
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Thanks, Gerard. Hello, everyone! Here’s a quick round-up of what’s been happening:
- There were more medals for Team GB at Lago, with the men’s eight taking gold, and the women’s eight coming second to the US
- Usain Bolt has made a leisurely first appearance at the Games, strolling through his 100m heat
- Christine Ohuruogu also rolled through her heat, progressing in the women’s 400m
- Andy Murray has just sealed his place in the men’s tennis final, against Rafa Nadal or Juan Martín del Potro
And that strikes me as the perfect note on which to bring my stint on this blog to an end. I’ll be handing over to Niall McVeigh now who’ll be taking you through the afternoon and evening’s action. Cheerio!
Woof! That’s one of the best points of tennis I’ve seen in a long while! And it eventually goes to Murray after a prodded backhand down the line. Match point No3 … and that’s the match as Nishikori nets his return! Murray is through to another Olympic final, needless to say he’s pretty happy about it, and he’ll face either Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin del Potro for gold.
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Nishikori is going to make Murray win this – a thumping inside-out forehand makes it 15-15 after the Brit won the opening point. Nishikori nets a forehand for 30-15 though and when he sends another long it’s match point. Two of them to be precise.
He’ll need the second one – Murray nets a backhand volley – and he’ll need to earn at least one more after Nishikori levels at deuce.
Ooof!
Justin GATLIN (USA) on Lilly KING (USA), who has spoken out against him: "I don't even know who Lilly KING is." #AT #M100m
— Olympic News Service (@ONS_Rio2016) August 13, 2016
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Back to the tennis court though because Murray leads Nishikori 5-3 in the second set. The Japanese has held his serve for 4-5 but Murray will now serve for a place in another Olympic final.
A gold medal to bring you up to date with – Germany’s Christian Reitz has won gold the men’s 25m rapid pistol competition …
Who fancies a look at the medals table?
Andy Murray has all but guaranteed himself at least a silver medal – he’s a set and a break up in his men’s singles final against Kei Nishikori. Murray is about to serve at 4-3 to the good in the second set.
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Now then, I mentioned that Thiam is a stronger javelin thrower and a weaker 800m runner than Ennis-Hill … and I have some personal bests for you.
Thiam’s best javelin effort is 52.62m while over 800m her quickest is 2:17.28.
Ennis-Hill’s javelin best is 48.33m while her 800m best is 2:07.81.
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And here’s a story for you from the women’s 400m heats, when Christine Ohuruogu made serene progress into the semi-finals.
The stars of the Rio 2016 Olympics bar none …
There’s a bit of a lull in the athletics stadium and the velodrome so now seems like a suitable time to hop over to the hockey arena …
It’s women’s action and the Netherlands lead Germany 1-0 with just under six minutes remaining in the second period.
Fans with typewriters de nos jours …
Usual Bolt inspired scrum in the mixed zone. When I'm in charge, any "journalists" taking a selfie with him in background will be banned.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 13, 2016
Justin Rose has nosed in front on the golf course, he’s moved to -10, one shot ahead of Australia’s Marcus Fraser.
So, the 100m heats are over – all the big guns are through and they all did so at a pretty pedestrian pace. It looks pretty windy out there and I do remember the London 2012 track was made out of moondust and unicorn sweat or something along those lines but they do strike me as slow times.
Anywho, Justin Gatlin was the fastest at 10.01, Bolt fourth fastest at 10.07.
The Brits, well, CJ Ujah is through having clocked 10.13 – James Dasaolu and James Ellington are now free to focus on the relays … (or maybe 200m).
Murray wraps up the first set in 32 minutes, allowing Nishikori just the one game. He blitzed FabFog and Johnson liked this before getting dragged into a dog fight. Will he make it a hat-trick of struggles?
In the heptathlon, Jessica Ennis-Hill has lost her lead!
It’s still incredibly close but after a leap of 6.58m, Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam is in the overall lead after five of the seven events. Thiam has 5,018 points to Ennis-Hill’s 5,013 while Katarina Johnson-Thompson is in third on 4967. Wowsers. Javelin and 800m to come. Thiam is strong in the javelin not so much the 800m and vice versa for Ennis-Hill.
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Usain Bolt takes to the track, he’s going through his usual routine – needless to say the crowd are lapping it up. James Dasaolu is also in this heat as is Richard Thompson, second to Bolt in the Beijing 2008 final.
Here we go … a tiny bit sluggish from Bolt at the start but he cruises to victory in 10.07. Dasaolu was in fourth with 10.18 – we’ll wait and see.
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This is the view from my office today, as Murray and Nishikori get to it in the first semi-final. Muzza has dragged us through a couple of hedges to get here after blistering starts against FabFog and Steve Johnson, but going with serve at 2-1 and no dramas, as they say in Kurri Kurri (check it on the map). Murray was too stubborn for Kei in the Davis Cup, and the Japanese maestro had a tough quarter-final against “Come On” Monfils yesterday. Murray might have “too much legs” for him. Second semi is fascinating: can Rafa - the 2008 champ who missed London and has thus never lost a singles match at the Olympics - beat Delpo, the Novak destroyer? Not sure. Three sets should tell us. Enjoy
In heat six, Yohan ‘the beast’ Blake (remember him) takes victory easily enough, crossing the line in 10.11. James Ellington is fifth in 10.29 and that may very well be that for the Brit.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson cannot improve on her first jump of 6.51m, and Jessica Ennis-Hill is unable to do better than her opening effort of 6.34m. A big leap there and it could have been very hard for anyone else to come back …
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Andy Murray has secured an early break in his men’s singles semi-final with Kei Nishikori – he’s 3-1 ahead and serving for a 4-1 lead.
Heat five goes to Ivory Coast’s Ben Youssef Meite after a slightly tentative run from the USA’s Trayvon Bromell. Gatlin remains the fastest but no one has ducked under 10 seconds yet …
The US women’s saber team lost to Russia in Saturday afternoon’s semi-final duel. The final score was 45-42 The American team trailed for most of the time, falling back 20-12 and 30-25 at times before Ibtihaj Muhammad the Muslim fencer from New Jersey who is the first American woman to compete at an Olympics in a hijab led a frantic comeback giving the US a brief 35-34 lead. But Russia’s Sofya Velikaya outscored American Dagmara Woziak 6-0, providing the boost Russia needed to hold off a late US charge.
The US will compete in the bronze medal match at 5pm Brazil time.
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Usain Bolt is in the warmup area. The action on the track is taking a back seat …
Golf! Golf! Golf! Another hole in one on the golf course! This time from South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl. Australia’s Marcus Fraser still leads but he’s dropped to -9 and Great Britain’s Justin Rose, who hit the first hole in one, is in second, one shot back. They’re both through about four holes of their third round.
Canada’s very-highly rated Andre De Grasse takes victory in his heat but perhaps more noteworthy is that Jimmy Vicaut, the Frenchman who has run 9.86 this season, was down in fourth and faces an anxious wait.
China’s Zhenye Xie takes victory in the third 100m heat in a personal best of 10.08. Moving swiftly on, Nickel Ashmeade of Jamaica was second so he goes through as well.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson meanwhile has fouled her second attempt in the long jump while Jessica Ennis-Hill has failed to improve on her first with her second.
Update: Emily Diamond has revealed she had food poisoning so perhaps we can cut her some slack for an indifferent performance in the women’s 400m heats. She qualified eventually as a fastest loser. “At one stage I didn’t think I was even going to make it onto the start line, so the fact that I made it on to the start line and even ran sub-52 has made me really happy,” she said.
No boos for Justin Gatlin, the bogeyman of last year’s world championships in Beijing, ahead of his 100m heat. Quite loud cheers actually, with a Stars and Stripes fluttering behind him as he lined up. Given the “pool Cold War” narrative of last week, will be interesting to see how he and other American sprinters who have served bans are treated this week. He qualifies smoothly in 10.01 seconds.
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Confirmation that Christoph Harting has won discus gold, taking on the mantel from his brother and London 2012 champion Robert.
The standard for food in the Olympic village has come under serious criticism from the head of the Russian delegation in Rio – who is also frustrated by the lack of metal forks and spoons. “The food situation is, to put it gently, bad,” Igor Kazikov told R-Sport. “There is no variety in the dishes. And at first there were normal, metal forks and spoons, but it seems they’ve run out, and now we’re getting disposable ones.”
Some British athletes have expressed similar concerns about the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and the quality of meat on offer to the Guardian in private. However Kazikov, a senior figure in the Russian Olympic Committee, has made his feelings public, adding: “You would think, considering it’s a southern country, there should be fruit. But in the cafeteria, there are very few, and it’s always the same ones over and over.”
Gatlin goes in heat two now – and the American takes it in 10.01. He didn’t ease off until the last few metres but it was all very contained.
News of Jessica Ennis-Hill in the long jump now – her first jump was 6.34, very solid and room for improvement after taking off well behind the board.
Here’s a video for you … if you’re watching from the UK.
In the first 100m heat, Great Britain’s CJ Ujah is up … so is Marvin Bracy of the USA. But it’s Kemarley Brown who takes it in 10.13 – Ujah is second, in the same time, and also goes through. Bracy will have to wait and see.
Gatlin is in heat two, Bolt goes in heat seven at 12:42.
Midday in Rio and that means Usain Bolt will be taking to the track shortly as KJT and JEH continue their heptathlon tussle in the sand pit.
Tennis is due to get under way soon too – Andy Murray faces Kei Nishikori in the men’s semis while Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys lock horns for bronze.
Scenes in the men’s discus! Christoph Harting, younger brother of Robert of course, has just produced a personal best with his final throw to move into the lead!
In the women’s heptathlon, the long jump has started and Katarina Johnson-Thompson has a legal jump! That’ll be a relief after what happened in Beijing last year. It’s a decent one as well, 6.51m.
Staying with athletics and with the 400m heats coming to an end, it’s Phyllis Francis of the USA who goes through fastest. Great Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu and Allyson Felix of the USA are both also safely through. Emily Diamond, who has been ill recently, creeps through as a fastest loser.
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A touching/farcical (delete according to your levels of fussiness about what constitutes acceptable in elite championships) moment in the women’s 400m heats as the 19-year-old Somali athlete Maryan Muse trailed the field by roughly a third of the track, finishing to warm applause. There might be the usual tedious calls for higher standards but these moments of humanity are a part of the Olympic narrative and serve as a reminder that not all nations have the resources to join the cult of high performance.
Less deserving of sympathy were a couple of the British entrants, who’s access to infrastructure, coaching and some of the highest funding in the sport allow for fewer excuses. While Christine Ohuruogu and Natasha Davies cruised through, Seren Bundy-Davies trailed in last in her heat in an execrable time of 53.63, fully two and a half second’s below her seasons best. Unless she has illness or injury to plead, that is unacceptable. Her compatriot Emily Diamond ran faster in 51.76 but still failed to qualify automatically, trailing in fourth.
And it’s another world record for Team GB’s team pursuit women! 4.12.152 seconds for Trott, Barker, Rowsell-Shand and Archibald. That’s a full .130 of a second quicker than the American record, which stood for five minutes. While a fantastic achievement it’s not quite as remarkable as it might sound — this is the first Olympics when the women are competing as a quartet rather than a trio, and so the records are all very new.
We’ll be back to the athletics track very shortly but as the rowing has now concluded, a brief look at the medals table shows that Great Britain have finished at its summit with five medals in total with three gold and two silvers. It is however, down on UK Sport’s target of six to eight and below the nine (including four golds) won in London. The absence of any bronze medals probably tells the story a bit – when GB were good, they were very good, when they were bad, they weren’t at the races.
New World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont (you may remember him as the England captain or, alternatively, from 1980s editions of Question of Sport) has been waxing lyrical about the return of rugby to the Olympics for the first time since 1924. Despite sometimes patchy crowds, unsurprising given the lack of rugby tradition in Brazil, it has been one of the undoubted hits of the Games so far. Fiji’s post match celebrations are among the most replayed moments on the big screens that show highlights between sessions and it would be extraordinary if it did not become a permanent fixture beyond Tokyo 2020. “It has been an honour to be back on sport’s greatest stage and we are incredibly proud of our superb men’s and women’s players,” said Beaumont. “Over six exciting days of rugby, they have showcased the very best of our sport and its character-building values, demonstrating why we believe it is a perfect fit for the Olympic Games.”
Here’s more on the USA’s historic women’s eight gold medal.
Great Britain have their women's team pursuit world record back!
Great Britain are cruising here – Canada have dropped down to three riders with 1,000m to go. GB’s coach Paul Manning, for the first time wants to see a bit more – the three remaining duly oblige … and Great Britain have their world record back, clocking 4:12.252.
It’s be Great Britain v USA for gold – that will be some race at 5:14pm while Canada will face Australia for bronze.
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Britain’s women’s team pursuiters broke the world record in Rio’s velodrome in qualifiers on Friday night, bolting around the track in 4.13.260. They (Laura Trott, Elinor Barker, Joanna Rowswell-Shand and Katie Archibald) had less than 48 hours to bask in that glory before Team USA came along and smashed their record, posting a time of 4.12.282 seconds. Team USA dominated their match with Australia so profoundly that they almost caught the Aussies, whose Olympic preparation was derailed by a horrible crash in the velodrome earlier in the week.
How will Great Britain respond to that? Well firstly they’ll want to book their place in the gold medal match, and I’d say they’d quite like their world record back. Canada are no slouches though …
USA set new women's team pursuit world record
Back to the velodrome, where the USA are up against Australia in their women’s team pursuit first round match. The USA, the current world champions, are comfortably ahead – finishing with a time of 4:12.282. A new world record, breaking that which was set by Great Britain in qualifying!
And so, those eight, plus one, in full:
Scott Durant, Tom Ransley, Andrew Triggs Hodge, Matt Gotrel, Peter Reed, Paul Bennett, Matt Langrdige, Will Satch … and Phelan Hill.
Gary Herbert would no doubt admit that he lost himself a little there on BBC comms there – “they’re exchanging punches but it’s only Great Britain throwing punches” was one of my favourites, but at least he creates excitement.
Here’s the report of Great Britain’s success.
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GREAT BRITAIN WIN MEN'S EIGHT GOLD!
Great Britain are closing in on victory, they’re not going to be caught – Germany have closed the gap but not to more than half a length. From gun to tape, that was impressive from Great Britain! Bronze to the Netherlands.
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The Netherlands are going well, but Great Britain’s lead is sizeable. The USA have gone and it looks like Germany are racing the Netherlands for silver with 500m to go.
Great Britain are stretching their lead. At the halfway mark they’re ahead by almost a length.
Great Britain have taken up the early lead. Germany are a close second. If boats had noses, Great Britain’s would just be ahead after 500m.
Time for the final rowing event of the Rio 2016 Olympics now – the men’s eight final. Great Britain, bronze medallists in London, boast Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge in their boat, but Germany should be very competitive as well. It may be a shootout between the two. And it should be a belter …
That rowing eight win means a lot for US rowing fans. The women’s eight have a proud tradition in the event, winning gold in 2012, 2008 and silver in 2004 – in fact they have now won 11 straight world and Olympic titles. The rowing eight has also been given huge publicity with the release of the book, The Boys in the Boat which told the story of the men’s eight at the 1936 Olympics.
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Heat four of the women’s 400m and Natasha Hastings along with the ever fast-finishing Christine Ohuruogu take the first two places to book their spots in the semi-finals. Both looked comfortable.
In the velodrome it’s the women’s team pursuit first round heats – they’re called first round heats but they will effectively decide who races for gold. Great Britain go against Canada in the fourth and final heat.
The USA’s Phyllis Francis eases home in heat three of the women’s 400m. Meanwhile, in the men’s discus, Poland’s Piotr Malachowski leads Germany’s Christoph Harting after two rounds with a best throw of 67.32.
That’s a first ever Olympic medal for Great Britain in the women’s eight – and they’re delighted. All eight – well nine, include the cox Zoe De Toledo, deserve the credit but a particular word of praise for Fran Houghton, who, like Katherine Grainger, is competing at her fifth Olympics.
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The USA win women's eight gold!
Gold goes to the USA by a distance, here come the Romanians into the battle for silver, Great Britain are just about holding them at bay – and they’ve just done it! It says photo finish but I’m calling silver.
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With 500m to go it’s the USA in front, they’re flying, but it’s very close behind them. Great Britain, dare I say it, are looking good for silver …
Back to the rowing and the USA have responded. The Netherlands are looking good on the far side as well. It’s incredibly tight.
Allyson Felix strolls, and I do mean strolls, to victory in her 400m heat. It looks like GB’s Seren Bundy-Davis will be focusing on the relay from here on in … she was last.
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Canada, who won the repechage, are going particularly well early on and are in front. The USA aren’t doing so well. Great Britain, in second, are solid.
It’s the women’s eight final now – Great Britain have never won a medal in this race, they may well do here but the USA are the favs …
Helen Pidd and I arrived at the velodrome shortly after racing started and it looks like we’re the last one here. Well, not quite, but there’s a big crowd in for the morning session, which is great to see. There are no medals up for grabs before lunch, but the women’s team pursuit finals and women’s keirin final are on at 4.53pm (8.53PM BST) and 5.33pm (9.53pm BST) respectively. They may well be a little later as the organisers inevitably fall behind what seems to be a ridiculously tight schedule due to unavoidable delays caused by crashes, false starts and the general tardiness of people in general.
Anyway, Becky James is through to the women’s keirin second round, while Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner are both through to the quarter-finals of the men’s sprint. Kenny won at his leisure, but Skinner - toi my untrained eye - seemed to leave it very, very late against Patrick Constable. From my position just a little to the right of the finish line, I was certain he’d lost. The women’s keirin repechages are on at the moment and I have a preview of Mark Cavendish’s assault on the omnium to write, so I’ll bid thee good day for an hour or so ... unless anything particularly extraordinary happens, of course.
In other completely irrelevant news, I seriously over-clubbed on the clothes front this morning - it was raining and windy when I crawled out of my pit and I’m now sitting on a chair in the press box with a hoodie I shouldn’t have brought hanging on the back of my chair and jeans I wish were shorts clinging to my legs.
Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson cruises home in the first 400m heat in 51.36 seconds. Allyson Felix and Great Britain’s Seren Bundy-Davies are in heat two.
It’s the women’s eight final very shortly on the rowing lake while on the athletics track the women’s 400m, featuring Allyson Felix and Christine Ohuruogu are just beginning.
In the women’s single scull, gold has gone to Kimberley Brennan of Australia! The USA’s Genevra Stone take silver and Jinji Duan seals bronze.
Incredible scenes in the women’s 3000m steeplechase heats as Etenesh Diro of Ethiopia loses her shoe with two laps to go, tries to put it back on, hurls it away in disgust and runs the rest of the race with one bare foot. The crowd go wild. She leaps a series of increasingly agonising jumps, then collapses over the line in seventh. Diro looks like she’s in utter agony, but huge cheers around the stadium as she sits in tears on the track. What courage that took. She’s being helped off the track now, her foot completely shredded, Olympics sadly over.
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The women’s 3,000m steeplechase heats have finished … Ruth Jebet of Bahrain was the fastest through, followed by Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech. Great Britain’s Lennie Waite didn’t have the best of times … she was 17th and rank last in her heat.
Inverdale finally gets his man. Not before, during pictures of Damir Martin flat on his back, utterly exhausted and requiring medical attention, announcing, “he’s drinking water so he’s fine”. So says Dr John.
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Back in the velodrome we’ve had the rest of the men’s sprint first-round matches. Joining Kenny, Skinner and Glaetzer in the next round are Russia’s Denis Dmitriev, France’s Gregory Bauge and Joachim Eilers of Germany. There will be two more qualifiers via the repechage.
Hahahaha! Incredible. John Inverdale’s oafishness knows no bounds. He’s just grabbed Mahe Drysdale for a chat, before he had spoken to the Kiwi press and that’s a big no no. Inverdale was swiftly reprimanded by Steve Redgrave who ushered Drysdale over to the New Zealand hacks.
The Olympic stadium is a different place today. Two-thirds full with huge queues outside, yellow Brazil football shirts all around and a proper crackle of excitement around the place. the old Nilton Santos is a beautiful stadium in the sun too, with that lovely swooping roof keeping most of it in shade. Worth noting the empty bit you’re likely to see beyond the finish line is the one spot in the glaring sun and hence emptied out. Three reasons for this I’d guess: Saturday, Sun, Bolt. The last of these is probably the main one, with the Olympics main stage headline key note all-round chief Luke Skywalker act scheduled to go in Heat seven of the 100m first round, with Justin Gatlin’s Darth Vader act in heat two. Also coming up, the middle act of that gripping heptathlon and the women’s 400m heats. Lovely day here. It looks like the Olympics out there.
Scrap that! Martin has actually been given silver! That’s harsh, they were both awarded the same time but gold for Drysdale, silver Martin.
Dead heat in the men's single sculls final!
It’s a photo finish in the men’s single sculls – New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale, the 2012 Olympic champion, appeared to have it wrapped up but Croatia’s Damir Martin steps on the gas in the closing stages! Oooh that’s close … it’s a dead heat! James Cracknell, on BBC comms, wants a re-row. Not going to happen unfortunately, gold goes to Drysdale AND Martin!
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Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer, the world silver medallist, is up against Germany’s Maximillian Levy now. Neither want to take the lead so both are crawling around the track … now they pick it up and Glaetzer storms past Levy, who can’t catch the Australian.
What a difference at day makes. Sun is out, Bolt is running, it's Saturday morning and there's a pleasing buzz around the Olympic Stadium.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 13, 2016
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Great Britain’s Callum Skinner faces Australia’s Patrick Constable now … Constable goes to the front and looks like he might hold on … ooosh, that was close, Skinner digs deep and just gets there for the narrowest of wins.
So here goes Jason Kenny against Colombia’s Fabian Hernando Puerta Zapata, both are indulging in a spot of cat and mouse now. Puerta Zapata makes an early break but Kenny just has too much speed and the defending champion comes over the top to win his first round heat and reach the quarter-finals.
Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner will be up and running in the men’s sprint shortly while on the rowing lake it’s both the men’s and women’s single sculls finals to kick things off.
Back to the velodrome and Becky James has clinched victory in heat three of the keirin. She’ll be very pleased with that.
News from Lagoa this morning that explains Alan Campbell’s failure to qualify for the final of the men’s single sculls yesterday - the Northern Irishman has been poorly for two days, suffering from headaches and dizziness, and doctors have told him to withdraw from today’s B final. He’s the second member of the rowing squad to fall ill in this regatta – Graeme Thomas, stroke in the men’s quadruple scull, had to fly home within a day of arriving with what Sir David Tanner, performance director, described as a “very nasty viral illness”.
After yesterday’s two-golds-in-15-minutes here, Britain have hopes of repeating the trick in the men’s and women’s eights today – with 18 athletes involved in those races 40% of the rowing squad will be competing this morning. It doesn’t leave many to pack up the boats.
Ouch! Nasty looking crash in heat two of the women’s keirin. Riders from New Zealand, France and Spain hit the deck. Those to advance are Wai Sze Lei and Tianshi Zhong, those to go to ground were New Zealand’s Olivia Podmore, Virginie Cueff and Tania Calvo Barbero, all of whom seem to be OK thankfully.
It does mean there will be a few running repairs to the track so slight delay before the third heat.
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Interesting …
Mosquito watch: Having forgotten to use protective spray on the very wet morning of the road cycling time trials on Tuesday, I got absolutely monstered on both legs from knee to ankle, I did a stock-take of mosquito bites as I was applying my soothing balm this morning. The score is currently Mozzies 17-0 Baz ... the bastards. My shins look like I’ve been tortured by somebody burning me with lit cigarettes. Weirdly, none of my colleagues who were at the time trials seem to have been affected despite a couple telling me they hadn’t bothered with spray either. Bah!
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First sight of a derny bike – you know the Olympics is really in full swing when you see one of thoses – and the six riders are slowly but surely picking up the pace behind it.
The derny is away and the race is properly under way. China’s Jinje Gong has the lead at the bell but Anna Meares sweeps past. Kristina Vogel shows some serious pace to brush off a slight bump and come over the top and nicks the win from Meares. Both go straight into the second round.
USA have survived a fightback from Poland in the women’s team sabre, squeezing past their opponents 45-43 to reach the semi-finals. There they will play Russia, it’s fair to say there’s a little history in that one. Italy play Ukraine in the other match-up. The semis start in around 90 minutes (11.30am Rio time).
USA feature one of the most talked about athletes at the Olympics, Ibtihaj Muhammad. At a time of Donald Trump, she is a positive symbol for many - a proud American representing her country in a hijab. You can read more on her story here:
To the velodrome! Where we will be under way with the women’s keirin heats. Becky James goes in heat three for Great Britain. Heat one will be lively with both Kristina Vogel of Germany and Anna Meares of Australia.
Also, ‘key-rin’ or ‘care-rin’?
Not good news …
Uh oh... The pontoon for the start of the open water swimming broke loose in big surf last night #rio2016 pic.twitter.com/CRTcM5rZxQ
— Damian McIver (@mciver_d) August 13, 2016
A little bit of wishful thinking here …
Shouldn't 400 m be considered the flagship even of the athletics. It is the single most competitive event in all the sports (ask Borlee brothers!). After all it is the event where Kenya and Jamaica go head - to - head. I am hoping for Rudisha vs. Bolt in Tokyo 2020...
Excuse any typos as I’m typing from a moving bus en route from Copacabana to the velodrome, a journey of anything between 40 and 90 minutes depending on traffic. Hopefully it’ll be quick on the weekend. It’s a 10am start today, with both morning and afternoon sessions scheduled.
Looking at my Big Book O’Handwritten And Highlighted Notes, I see the women’s keirin and women’s team pursuit will be decided today. Welsh sprinter Becky James represents Team GB in the former, while Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell-Shand and two from Elinor Barker, Katie Archibald and Ciara Horne will line up in the latter. The Brits didn’t have a dog in the women’s team sprint fight, but have won the only other golds on offer so far.
Last night’s team pursuit final was one of the most thrilling sporting events it’s ever been my pleasure to attend and you can read an updated version of my report with fresh quotes from the mixed zone here. Bradley Wiggins spoke at great length after the race and was as entertaining as ever. If I get a chance later on, or more likely tomorrow morning, I’ll transcribe the whole thing and have it stuck up on the website somewhere.
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The first medal interest of the day will be down at the rowing lake but it’s the athletics arena that will soon be commanding attention. The 100m preliminaries (already by least favourite word to type) are set to start soon, and the heats, which means our first sighting of Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin and the British contingent, begin not too long after. Around midday.
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The BBC have just showed a replay of the men’s team pursuit final. I would not disagree with anyone who found the Wiggins hysteria a little nauseating if entirely inevitable but his last two digs on the front were just unbelievable. As Geraint Thomas pointed out on Twitter last night, Ed Clancy and Steven Burke deserve huge amounts of credit, as does Owain Doull, but Wiggins dragged them over the line. It’s a shame the quality of the race, and the racing by GB, has been a bit overshadowed.
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Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, has been in contact with his daily digest of stories commanding attention in the Brazilian media …
FIVE DEAD IN TWO DAYS IN POLICE vs TRAFFICKERS BATTLE
In addition to the soldier Helio mourned yesterday, four people have died in gun battles between gangs and security forces, according to El Pais. They quote a local activist who says “this always happens during big events”. I wonder how many of those killed were bystanders.
MARTA MISSES BUT STILL LOVED
Brazil women’s team’s fraught passage into semi-final is main sports topic this middle saturday. Marta missed her penalty in the shoot-out, butcolumnists and social networks are in a forgiving mood, pointing out that Zico, Socrates and Messi did the same.
NEYMAR FITNESS TEST
After more treatment on his sprained ankle, Neymar will have tests this morning to decide if he is fit for the game against nemesis Colombia. Coach Micale seems determined to shoehorn him in the side regardless. “We need him to be ready to play,” he said in a press conference on Friday. Brazil’s talisman was given the red card during the 0-1 loss to Colombia in the Copa America last year.In 2014, of course, he was injured in the game against the same nation and took no further part in the World Cup. Without him, Brazil didn’t do that well. By the way, Germany are still in the current competition and play Portugal today. Wouldn’t a rematch be fun?
GERMAN CANOEING COACH IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
Stefan Henze, who won silver in 2004, is between life and death, according to doctors, after his taxi crashed in Barra. He might have been in better condition if Rio’s emergency teams were better equipped. Because there was no neurosurgeon nearby he had to be transferred. Extra quotes an unnamed doctor saying that is the reality of Rio de Janeiro. It’s absurd.
END OF JUDO AND (PROBABLY) BRAZIL’S HOPES OF TOP 10 FINISH
Brazil had been relying on podium finish in almost every category of judo to achieve its goal of a top ten finish in the medal table, but won only one gold and two bronzes.
TEMER MARKED 3 MONTHS IN GOVERNMENT ON FRIDAY
LULA EXPECTED TO BE INDICTED OVER PETROBRAS SCANDAL AFTER OLYMPICS
The former president is already due to stand trial over claims he obstructed justice. Next he could face charges of heading the Petrobras scandal,claims Epoca.
Much obliged Jonathan.
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It’s just gone 9am in Rio and that means that a couple of sports have begun for the day. Fencing wise the women’s sabre team quarter-finals are up and running and China are facing Spain in the women’s water polo preliminaries.
Super Saturday then. Can Great Britain do it again and win three gold medals in track and field? And indeed six overall? Or why stop at six? On top of Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford there are two genuine chances on the rowing lake (although the women’s eight would do extremely well to beat USA), two in the velodrome and two in the pool (even if those a little bit more optimistic).
OK, perhaps I’m getting a bit ahead of myself and all eight medals is unlikely, Great Britain are not Michael Phelps after all. But it must be pointed out that Great Britain, at this stage anyway, have largely avoided the drop-off that tends to affect Olympic host nations. Just look at what happened to Australia for example. Yes, Great Britain did pinch a number of their best coaches but whether you agree with UK Sport’s funding policy or not, it certainly gets results.
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Here’s a reminder of how things are poised in the men’s golf – it’s Australia’s Marcus Fraser who still leads at 10 under with Belgium’s Thomas Pieters one shot behind and Henrik Stenson continuing his rich vein of form at eight under. Justin Rose leads the way for Great Britain at six under.
The empty seats at the athletics, and indeed at a number of other events, is similarly another bone of contention. And Gary does make a valid point …
@gerard_meagher Re London 2012 tennis, just look at the state of the "crowd" here https://t.co/Fyyu3kiWuN
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) August 13, 2016
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Hope Solo’s “bunch of cowards” comment – directed at Sweden after the USA crashed out of the women’s football competition – has caused quite a stir. Here are a couple of pieces to sink your teeth into.
Athletics now and Sonia O’Sullivan, the Irish former long-distance runner who won 5,000 silver at Sydney 2000, reacted to Almaz Ayana’s world record breaking performance in the 10,000m with more than a hint of caution when commentating for the Irish broadcaster RTE.
I’m not jumping out of my seat because I still... I don’t know, you kind of question it yourself as well and you think, ‘how can you do that?’ Is it 23 years of knowing more training, having better athletes? How do you have an athlete who can break the world record so easily like that? And she didn’t look very tired afterwards.”
The first pairing are out on the golf course – it’s Singo Katayama of Japan and France’s Julien Quesne. As it’s the third round, we’re in reverse order so a little while yet until the leaders are out.
There’s also some badminton action, both men’s and women’s doubles preliminaries.
Idle thought occurred as packing to head for the tennis – which organisers insist is a sellout, despite visual evidence strongly to the contrary: why not fill those empty seats by giving tickets to kids from the favelas? Can you imagine what an impression that would leave on some of them? Can you imagine what a thrill they might have had watching Thomaz Bellucci flirt with the impossible on Friday when, for a time, he looked like beating the might Rafa? Can you imagine the tales they could tell when they went home?
The Olympics are supposed to be, in large part, about dreaming, about thinking the impossible. That’s why a lot of athletes are here in the first place. Andy Murray chose to come, not for the money or the ranking points – coz there ain’t any – but the glory and the chance to win medals for Great Britain. He says it all the time: it’s not so much about him, as the team.
That spirit should spread beyond the competition arenas. The kids in the favelas deserve to be part of the Olympics.
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I’m sorry to say that’s me done. It’s been a splendid way to spend a Saturday morning though. Thanks for your company. I’ll be back with you for another graveyard shift in a couple of days from now. Over to Gerard Meagher. Enjoy your Super Saturday.
Excellent intel from D Russell on the email on Olympians who’ve competed in two events at the same Games, a topic of interest a couple hours back. I’ll post it all:
“There are a number of athletes who have entered multiple disciplines at the same Olympiad. Johnny Wiesmuller (of USA and Tarzan fame) won golds for swimming and water-polo in 1924. Brit Paul Radmilovic won gold in water-polo at the 1908 games. Due to illness, he was drafted into the GB 4x200 metre relay which they duly won.
Perhaps the award for most multiple events would go to the German, Carl Schuhmann, who took part in the 1908 games. Not content with winning team golds in two events at the gymnastics and an individual gold in the vault, he entered and won the wrestling competition. He also too part in the weightlifting, triple-jump, long-jump, and shot putt during the same games.
The most unusual multi-eventer was probably Walter Winans, (US) who won silver for shooting and gold for sculpture at the 1912 Olympics.”
Shooting and sculpture: together at last. Reminds me of the great tale about former England cricket captain AE Stoddart. What a lad he was. For my own club of Hampstead, no less. More his club than mine though, let’s be real.
Look, seeing as I’ve ventured into cricket... if you fancy that as well be sure to join Vithushan Ehantharajah in another tab across the road in the over-by-over as England continue in the field against Pakistan at The Oval. He’s ever so funny.
I just caught a replay of Greg Rutherford’s qualification for the long jump final. Blimey, nearly botched it didn’t he? “Sorry mum and dad, I do apologise,” he said to the BBC with a bit of a smile. Impressive fella.
If you’re just getting here then I’d suggest you get up to speed by reading the daily briefing. That’ll tell you all you need about yesterday, and a nice little primer for what to look out for on day eight. Then, keep this open on your screen as well to track events as it happens. Very handy. And you can tailor it to the country you want to follow. Even better.
One more Phelpsy piece before we really get stuck into the day ahead. And an excellent one, by Les Carpenter in Rio. About how the Baltimore Boy is considerably happier than the robot who dominated previous Games. Quite a lot in here, and well worth it.
Soon he will walk away with the last of his medals dangling around his neck. He steps into fatherhood and into a great unknown: what do you do when you have won more medals than anybody ever and have to start again at something else? Nothing will ever compare to the rush of these races, of the roar of the crowd and the constant affirmation that he – yes he – was the best in the world over and over again. Now he talks about fatherhood and baby outfits and the thrill of knowing his son has seen him swim even if the child has no idea what he is seeing.
Neglected to give this a spin when going through the day that was. North Korea’s Rim Jong Sim won their first gold of the Games, in the weightlifting. She said her first thought was how happy it would make her country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. I’m a bit disappointed he isn’t here competing on the golf course given his old man certainly had skills to pay the bills in the discipline.
We’re 15 minutes away from the start of Super Saturday! It begins on the golf course, with the third round of the men’s golf. Then a spot of badminton, before the first medals of the day are decided in the regatta at about half two British time. Not long after that it’s the one athletics final on this afternoon session: the men’s discuss. Then the day goes wild. Whether it’s the pool, the velo, the track, the boxing ring, the tennis court - there medals being given out everywhere. Weightlifting, shooting, fencing and trampolining as well. What a day.
Study the program. Sort your day around it. If there was ever time to settle into a long shift in front of the telly today is it. And of course, stick with us on the blog throughout.
Michael Phelps didn’t win. Like man biting dog, it’s the unexpected that produces the most interesting headlines. But he was kind of okay with it. Here’s Andy Bull’s piece on Phelps’ final individual Olympic swim. The winner was Joseph Schooling, a Singaporean who had his photo taken with Phelps as a kid. Nice stuff.
“They came to the country club that I trained at,” Schooling said. It was early in the morning, and he was working on an essay. “Everyone just rushed up and was like “it’s Michael Phelps! It’s Michael Phelps!’ and I really wanted a picture.”
Is it a bit odd that no Brit has won more than eight medals, by the way? This probably feeds into the swimming-has-too-many-medals narrative, doesn’t it? As an Australian, I curiously enough don’t subscribe to that view. Bring on the the 25m sidestroke. Less is more? No. More is more.
In case you missed it in the rolling news cycle that gathers pace by the hour at an event like this, Sir Wiggo became Great Britain’s most successful Olympian overnight. Here’s a video of him holding medals through the years, from Sydney to Rio.
This starts off a bit sad but ends up quite lovely. Australian walker Dane Bird-Smith picked up bronze in 20km walk, but his Dad - an Olympian himself from 1984 - missed the medal ceremony as the local police locked him up!
“Just classic Dad really,” said the medal winner. What a great quote.
Excited about Mo later on? The loudest stadium I’ve ever experienced.
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Really enjoying these interactive deep dives. See here how GB won the team pursuit last night: metre by metre. Most impressive work by Carlo Zapponi and Feilding Cage.
On the stadium woes, Gary Naylor has tweeted us: “Surely the reason there are empty seats is that the tickets are too expensive or too difficult for sports fans to get hold of?”
That may very well be the case. And if it is, that’s an indictment. I know it’s more sophisticated in 2016 than throwing the gates open. But there has to be a middle ground. Let’s hope for full stands tonight.
By the way, Gary - a regular on these pages - has penned a beautiful little piece overnight on why The Oval - where England are currently hosting Pakistan in the cricket - is basically better than Lord’s. And he’s spot on. Indeed, I’m off there after I’m finished here. To work, admittedly. But it’ll be glorious.
One for the Australians: Sun Yang didn’t qualify for the 1500m final and won’t get to defend his title, while rival Mack Horton will be there after finishing second in his heat. Yang says he was ill.
Let’s turn the clock back to the guy who won the 1500m on the corresponding day in the schedule 20 years ago (!): Kieren Perkins. After sneaking into the team and then the final he produced the most ridiculous performance to blow away the field. Also one of the most memorable pieces of commentary of my lifetime from the great Dennis Cometti:
“This is one of the great swims of all time. Kieran Perkins: forget the time, this is all about courage. Savour the moment Australia. About 15 metres to swim, this is rare gold, the best kind of gold!”
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“Speed golf - who wouldn’t want to watch Usain Bolt on a links?,” suggests Craig McEwan on the email. This is better than the violent alternatives. I want to see some synchronised Greco Roman. Oil me up.
Craig also thanked us for our overnight coverage. It’s our pleasure.
It’s also a pleasure to flick through this lovely little compendium of the best 20 moments of week one, curated by Caroline Davies.
Plenty to pick through here. Probably Simone Davies for mine - she’s a bloody genius. Ping me your thoughts, but not as obvious as what I just said then. What made you giggle? Or cringe? Or cry?
Hope Solo had a real, old fashioned gallop after the USA were punted from the women’s football by Sweden.
She said:
“I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down, I’m very proud of this team. And I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not win today, I strongly, firmly believe that.”
For the little it’s worth, Solo tried to clean up the initial comment by saying what she meant was in a physical game Sweden played the long ball. Riiiiiight.
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Clare Pearson has dropped us a line, and I thank her for it.
“I have a question and a suggestion”
This sounds fun...
“Question: Can one athlete compete in different sports in the same Olympics? For example, rowing and athletics.”
Surely someone has the skinny on this? What I will note is that I interviewed two international cricketers this week with Olympic links. Suzie Bates was a NZ hoops player in the 2008 Games before becoming international cricketer of the year. And Hayley Matthews, West Indian teenage sensation, would be in Rio throwing the javelin this week if not winning World Cups instead.
“Suggestion: Combine two existing sports to create one Olympic sport. My idea is Divastics, a combination of gymnastics and diving. The technique looks quite similar. Any other suggestions of mixing sports?”
I tossed out a similar bit of red meat the other day and pretty much every response involved shooting arrows at people doing other events. Warped minds, you lot.
Barney did a thing on the stadium being... half full? Quarter full? Whatever the case, it looked pretty ordinary on the telly. Surely they’ll be out in force tonight.
Rio has never really been a morning kind of place. Ask the average Carioca to leap out of bed on a rainy morning to catch some early discus heats and you might expect a little scepticism. Still, there was something surreal about the scenes inside the Olympic arena, venue for the real glamour events of the next 10 days, which kicked off almost empty, half-filled slowly and was said to be 65% sold for the evening session.
The best bit of my day on this blog is getting to trawl through the shots taken by some of the best photographers on the planet. Here’s the day seven gallery. James Dart, the digital sports editor here, reckons the Ledecky shot is the best of the lot, illustrating her dominance in the 800m final overnight. Hard to argue with that. Enjoy.
I don’t think it is overstating things to say that the Matildas, Australia’s women’s football team, are quickly becoming my nation’s favourite sporting team. But they were eliminated overnight in the worst possible fashion: the penalty shoot out. Brazil proceed to the final four.
I’ve missed a trick in not mentioning Bradley Wiggins this morning after becoming Britain’s most successful Olympic athlete, his eighth medal (fifth gold) claimed in yesterday’s team pursuit final.
Here’s Owen Gibson picking the bones out of that feat.
While his friends had pictures of footballers on their walls, Wiggins grew up in Kilburn watching Chris Boardman winning gold in Barcelona and dreaming of bike races and Olympic medals.
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I’m compelled to pull this out of the below-the-line comments, from reader Mark O’Connor.
“Adam, I’m on the way home from the ‘G after watching our beloved Hawks stay a game clear in the hunt for their fourth straight flag. They remind me of the GB coxless four combinations of the last 16 years - not terribly well loved outside their devoted fans, but it’s impossible not to respect their professionalism, grit and sheer will to win.”
Let me translate. The ‘G = Melbourne Cricket Ground, aka the 1956 Olympic Stadium. Beloved Hawks = the mighty Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. The GB Coxless Fours = always win.
The Anthony Ervin story may be just about the best of the Olympics so far. Following his overnight gold in the 50m, it’s not a bad time to rehash Andy Bull’s rollicking profile of him four years ago in London. Helluva tale.
In the next eight years, Ervin grew some dreadlocks, played lead guitar in a heavy metal band called Weapons of Mass Destruction, took a job in a record shop, and another in a tattoo parlour, became an alcoholic, experimented with hallucinogens, fractured his shoulder on a motorcycle while he was trying to escape from the police, tried to kill himself with a tranquilliser overdose, spent time studying Sufism became a committed Buddhist and, finally, went back to Berkeley to complete a degree in English.
This is how Ennis-Hill brought it home in the 800m four years ago on that Super Saturday (you’re going to hear that plenty of times today). It’s the official Olympics stream though as I can’t find the BBC call on youtube. If someone had mad skillz and can ping it through to me, I’ll post that too. Nothing beats a parochial call.
Speaking of brilliance: Jess Ennis-Hill is on track to go back to back in the heptathlon. Here’s she is taking the lead by coming second in the 200m leg overnight. Bajan Akela Jones is in second place with four of the seven events completed, 25 points behind. I’m not quite sure what that means in relative terms, but they are sitting on 1149 and 1124 respectively. So that suggests Ennis will have to pull out the big ones when competition continues this evening. Don’t doubt her.
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David Spear (not David ‘Britney’ Speers for you Australian politics fans) has opened the correspondence for the morning.
“Here in NZ really enjoying your extensive coverage with The Guardian.”
Thank you, David. God Defend New Zealand, as they say.
“Currently running a swim meet for those trying to reach Tokyo 2020. Soon home for a glass of the local and catch up with your continuing fascinating coverage.”
Exactly how it should be. How could I get to Tokyo 2020? I’m 32 in a couple of days and my right shoulder is literally falling apart after 20 years trying to be a decent cricketer. So I’ll be 35 next time around...
Oh wait! Overnight Anthony Ervin - at that very age - became the oldest man to win an Olympic gold medal in the drink, smashing the 50 free. As Russell Jackson explained:
What more can you even say about 35-year-old Anthony Ervin? You’d probably start by pointing out he’s now the oldest man to win a gold medal in Olympic swimming after his triumph in the 50m freestyle and end by pointing out that when he won his last, as a 19-year-old in the 2000 Sydney Games, he ended up hawking it on eBay to raise $17,000 for the UNICEF tsunami relief fund. Whaddaguy.
Before we pace through it all with our writers furiously filing their considered stories, have a sniff around the results and medals page. That sounds a bit bland, but it’s essential (if you ask me) to have open in a tab for the duration of the day. Oh, and Team GB are third. Only feels like a couple of days ago when the very status of the nation was under threat for underperformance. Oh wait, that was only a couple of days ago. I guess that Seb Coe knows a thing or two.
Australia, meanwhile, have dropped to ninth after a second consecutive goldless day. But they do have Sri Lanka 55-5 in the cricket. With Shaun Marsh in the XI, I note. This’ll mean nothing to American readers but plenty to the rest.
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How about that morning briefing? Russell Jackson, my mate in Melbourne, has really looked after us there. Soak it in with a cup of tea. Or maybe a beer? I just saw a lad with a tin of beer on the tube before 7am, so it isn’t without precedent. Either way: read the briefing. And then subscribe to it so you get it at 7am each morning.
Good morning from London
And what a morning. The cloudless sky feels just right after Team GB’s corker of a day, adding three golds to their pile and leaping to third on the table. And what’s today, you ask? Super Saturday. Who knows whether it’ll play out as it did four years ago, but there isn’t a more exciting day of any Olympiad than the middle Saturday of the Games where the pool, track, velo and just about every other venue of note are heaving with medal deciders.
I’m Adam Collins and I’m here to guide you gently through the hours until they wake in Rio. As I’ve said on other days, we’re given a bit of latitude on the blog these few quiet hours. So take advantage of that and give me your best shot. Adam.Collins.Freelance@theguardian.com is the place to do it, and @collinsadam will also work.
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Day eight briefing
Welcome back for day eight in Rio, where Sir Bradley Wiggins has increased his jewellery collection to Mr T proportions, the athletics events have finally kicked off and the diving pool water is still green. You can keep up with all the action as it unfolds on the Guardian live blog, which unlike most events at these Games, never stops.
The big picture
Day seven will go down in history for a number of reasons, not least for the records that fell in the velodrome. In the men’s team pursuit, Team GB triumphed in world record time as Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Owain Doull played no small part in Bradley Wiggins leaving the arena as Great Britain’s most decorated Olympian. His eight medals – five of them gold – lift him above Chris Hoy as the G.O.A.T of Team GB and unless they reintroduce medals for poetry, like the one Pierre de Coubertin won in 1912, there’s little left for the cycling great to achieve. That was bad luck for the Australians, who crossed the line 0.743 seconds slower for silver.
Shots have been fired by Team USA’s Hope Solo, and we’re not talking about action at the gun range. After Solo and her world No1-ranked football team-mates were dumped from the Games in a sensational penalty shoot-out, the US goalkeeper accused triumphant victors Sweden of being a bunch of cowards. “I don’t think they’re going to make it far in the tournament,” Solo said after the game. “I think it was very cowardly. But they won, they moving on and we’re going home.” At least her final thought on the matter rang true: “Losing sucks. I’m really bad at it.”
The Games also shift a gear from here on in with action under way in the athletics arena, but as our own Barney Ronay tells us, there’s just not many people on hand to watch it all. As Olympians compete for gold medals – and while Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana destroyed the 10,000m world record – bad weather and what would appear to be local apathy have meant crowds more in line with the Goodwill Games, or perhaps a school sports day.
Much happier was the sight of 21-year-old Singaporean Joseph Schooling being passed the baton, of sorts, when he usurped Michael Phelps for gold in the 100m butterfly, a final in which there was an incredible three-way dead heat for silver. Schooling is yet another in the long line of athletes at these Games who had their photo taken with Phelps as gawky young children.
You should also know:
- North Korean athletes say gold would make Kim Jong-un happy, which seems an understatement.
- British Cycling have been forced to deny a rift between Mark Cavendish and Team GB’s coach
- Owen Gibson has everything you’ll need to know about Bradley Wiggins reaching the summit.
Team GB roundup
Putting aside all the gold being won in the velodrome, Team GB has also triumphed in the rowing, where Helen Glover and Heather Stanning retained their Olympic coxless pairs title. “I’ve been so emotional this week and that’s not me at all,” said Stanning, the army major who followed her 2012 medal with a tour of Helmand Province. A real under-achiever, in other words.
After that, Alex Gregory, Constantine Louloudis, George Nash and Mo Sbihi rowed “the perfect race” to win gold in the men’s four. In doing so they made Olympic rowing history. Britain is the first country to win five consecutive Olympic titles in the event, breaking the record managed by East Germany between 1968 and 1980.
Just as impressive was Bryony Page, who grabbed silver and Britain’s first ever medal in Olympic trampolining. “I think once I’ve retired from the sport and watching the Olympics not as an athlete is when it will sink in,” she said.
Andy Murray has worked his way through to the semi-finals of the tennis, though not as easily as you might have expected against American Steve Johnson. Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill have also started the heptathlon in style, while world record-holder and reigning Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford scraped through by the skin of his teeth, qualifying tenth in a field of 12 for the final.
Team USA roundup
If Team USA’s basketball struggles against Australia a couple of days back made you wonder whether the NBA all-stars could somehow conspire to lose gold at these Games, you’ll be interested to know they scraped past Serbia in their next match, eventually grinding to a 94-91 win. Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a three-pointer with two seconds left that would have tied the game.
Guessing that Phelps is okay with silver, not okay with having to share a medal stand with Chad le Clos #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/7JqPwHzAce
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 13, 2016
Remember Kim Rhode, the American skeet shooter who started the Games by saying gun control laws are a bit annoying because they slow down her training regime? She won bronze in the event, the sixth consecutive time she’s claimed a medal at Olympic level. Our own Les Carpenter said she was “shooting for history, country and Donald Trump.” Hopefully he’s happy with her efforts.
If you’re still high on Simone Manuel’s historic dead heat win in the women’s 100m freestyle, Mazin Sidahmed has some fresh insights into Team USA’s new star of the pool. But what more can you even say about 35-year-old Anthony Ervin? You’d probably start by pointing out he’s now the oldest man to win a gold medal in Olympic swimming after his triumph in the 50m freestyle and end by pointing out that when he won his last, as a 19-year-old in the 2000 Sydney Games, he ended up hawking it on eBay to raise $17,000 for the UNICEF tsunami relief fund. Whaddaguy.
Got in his hands - @anthonyervin wins #gold again 16 years later in #rio2016 #gobears #goo… https://t.co/q9ubXOFQoq pic.twitter.com/13BaPtAg2N
— Mike Lewis (@Mike2Swim) August 13, 2016
Australia team roundup
While Australia slept Dane Bird-Smith walked, and walked, and walked some more until he had a bronze medal in the 20km walk. This was the event from which countryman Jared Tallent had withdrawn before the Games but Bird-Smith emerged from his team-mate’s shadow in fine style to finish third behind China’s Zhen Wang and compatriot Zelin Cai.
In the rowing, Australia’s men’s four of of Alex Hill, Joshua Booth, Joshua Dunkley-Smith and Will Lockwood finished up with a silver medal after seriously challenging Team GB at the half-way mark. Despite a strong finish from the Australians the defending champion Brits held firm to win by two-thirds of a boat length. They were happy though. Dunkley-Smith said the crew made a concerted effort to project the image of having won silver rather than lost gold. “We wanted to make sure that we collected ourselves and were standing tall and were aware of what we’ve done and how proud everyone is,” he said.
1st cycling medal for Australia! Silver for men's team pursuit.https://t.co/pgskCD0zYf#OneTeam pic.twitter.com/DQ347LLdIu
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) August 12, 2016
Australia’s other silver medal came in the aforementioned men’s pursuit, but Aussie heads were still held high after a frenetic finish. The Boomers backed up their impressive showing against Team USA with a commanding 93-68 win over China, in which Cameron Bairstow led the scoring with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Brock Motum chipped in with 15 points. They remain a medal contender, as does Marcus Fraser, who leads the golf after the second round.
The heartbreak of the day was suffered by the Matildas footballers, who lost a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Brazil in a manner that was soon the source of much online debate.
Game's over, Brazil advanced, nothing to do. Still mad about Barbara coming so far off her line almost every time. pic.twitter.com/YqdHji62td
— thrace (@thrace) August 13, 2016
Picture of the day
...and also celebration of the day go to Sir Bradley Wiggins, of course.
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’s plenty of cycling action on Saturday with men’s sprint 1/8 finals, the first round of the women’s Keirin.
- Australia’s women’s water polo team will take on the Olympic hosts at 11:40 and Penny Taylor, Liz Camabage and the Opals basketballers face Belarus at 12:15.
- The boxing is well under way at the same time in the men’s flyweight division. Among the super heavyweights, Great Britain’s Joe Joyce will take on Davilson Dos Santos Morais at 19:00.
- At 12:00 Andy Murray takes on Kei Nishikori of Japan in the semi-final of the tennis, while Team USA’s Madison Keys will face Petra Kvitova in the women’s bronze medal game. Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro will slug it out at 2:00pm in the other men’s semi.
- Last but not least, we’ll also finally get our chance to see the fastest man in the world. Usain Bolt takes to the track for the first of his 100m heats.
Underdog of the day
It’s got to be Sweden in the women’s football, doesn’t it? They took the game and created a social media storm in the process. On the topic of that, Hope Solo appears to have quoted herself out of context again. It’s annoying when that happens.
This was the full context of my comments today. Thank you @GrantWahl. Losing sucks. I'm really bad at it. https://t.co/s5Mckg8o6B
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) August 12, 2016
Tweet of the day
Michael Phelps and co were taught a lesson by Joseph Schooling, and the lot of them were sent to the naughty corner.
Now THIS is something you NEVER see..#Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/LY5AVcT9CQ
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 13, 2016
If today were a movie
It would be that bit at the end of Karate Kid when Johnny Lawrence (played here by Sun Yang as he failed to qualify for the final of the men’s 1500m freestyle), finally gets his comeuppance from Daniel Larusso (that would be Australia’s Mack Horton, the anti-drug crusader and Sun Yang arch-rival who went through to the final with the fourth fastest time). We’re still trying to figure out who Mr Miyagi is in this analogy.
And another thing
Would you like to wake up to this briefing in your inbox everyday? Sign up here!
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Kay-e-lin (sort of!)