You can gradually sense things beginning to wind up in London, as we head into the last few days of competition. However, that just leaves room for more surprises - like how cool the BMX racing is, and how exciting the relays are going to be in the athletics. Medals up for grabs today include: Men's Beach Volleyball, Women's Boxing, Canoe and Kayak Sprinting, Women's 10m diving, Women's Football, Men's 470 Sailing, Men's and Women's Taekwondo, Women's Water Polo and Women's Wrestling.
London 2012, Day 13
Published by Christine Blachford on
Today's Doodle = Canoe Slalom
yay some early in the day gold in the mens kayak four, having a much better second week compared to the first.
Ready for some interesting 470 racing?
I seem to have accidentally booked tomorrow off work to make the most of these last few Olympic days. :)
yeah mate its going to be a classic, i think it starts 9:30 our time, about 2h 15 from now, gb need to finish two spots higher to claim the gold, i think.
Ooh well done! I'm disappointed in the lack of canoes and kayaks I've managed to see.
it's totally understandable, it only comes round once every 4 years!
also, i know his sport has finished now at the olympics, but i know how much we like cake here. so Here is Andy Murray's rather yummy looking cake the kind people at the Toronto masters made him - http://yfrog.com/obt8zpvjj
the slalom canoes were awesome this year, ther kayak racing has been 1000m on the same course as the rowing.
looking forward to the bmx racing too, expecting to see a bit of chaos with the twisty part (chiccane) of the mens track.
Yep that's right, so it means they can't fight it out, but have to involve another boat in between. Should be 1300 here.
today's google doodle has got me... :( i can't improve on 21secs.. but i keep trying! help me! someone shut down google for me so i can get some work done :)
Are you going through all the gates - I dunno whether it does anything though.
yeah but i keep steering into the bank :(
so the sailing has been delayed.....
Ouchio
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/german-weightlifter-drops-barbell-head-walks-away-043005278.html
Looking at the live timing for the open water swim. They've been swimming non-stop for an hour!
Ouch, hope that weightlifter is alright
Whenever I comment on the direct thread, subsequent comments fail to appear.
Looks like the wind is light and hasn't decided which way it wants to blow consistently - the London2012 website has the direction as 085 degrees, whereas ISAF has 225 degrees.
I'm 20 miles from Weymouth, there is barely any wind, all very still and humid
Internet says 4 knots.
Hungary take the open water 10km marathon swim after nearly 2 hours (!), and 4th for GB. No doubt John Inverdale will be asking where it all went wrong, later.. I'm just amazed people can go that far.
BMX head-to-heads starting - men's 1/4s.
this is going to be good.
heard they ar going to make a decision in the next hour and a half as to whether the sailing will go ahead today or tomorrow.
the aussie is down
It's still shifting around alot, and there is only 2 knots now. Nevermind - the BMX is a better watch.
yeah the sailing can wait until tomorrow.
I think the course could do with another berm and set of jumps.
Swiss rider wearing something similar to a HANS device.
7/8 CRASH
another crash
For anybody reading this later who missed the BMX, go back and watch it!!
"1 word to describe this sport, and that is absolute carnage" - nice one Helen Skelton.
since when did they bring Faceplanting in as an olympic sport ?? #bmx #maldonado
The Brazilian just washed out on that first turn.
I can't wait!
GB Gold in the horse-disco.
GB Gold in the woman's boxing.
33.8 seconds and I ran over a frog. I do not like these games.
not sure what that means chappie, direct?
So I caught a bit of the Taekwondo. It's quite kicky.
There is handball on the TV now. The goalkeepers get to wear full on trousers, presumably because they spend a lot of time on the ground. But almost everyone is wearing kneepads, so I don't know why they don't wear full-length clothes either.
sailing cancelled because of no wind, after pole vault delays due to excess wind. i love this country :)
Hullo all
Hullo also all
Evening both!
turned on tv to see the welsh caravaning. bbc2 you almost fooled me
also the olympics needs more caravans.
Canoe slalom? I gave up on that after a couple of runs because It makes no difference whether you go through the gates or miss them out.
I had one go at this one. I had two goes at the hurdles one, so that's the winner so far.
You should try the basketball
26.1, woo!!
These are fun :)
That multi-screen thing the Beeb do to show off what's going on across the channels... it makes Mr C's eyes boggle.
Time for a Gary's daily recap
Not long ago he was claiming affinity with NASA. His mind is going to need some unboggling time soon
The two British dressage medalists have the tradition British names of Dujardin and Bechtolscheimer
They're the new 'smith'
Woohoo, a race is about to start.
Women's 800m semi-final.
Go, go, go.
Ohhhh I missed the race. Muse should not upload a new song when a race is about to start!
Rumour has it that they're playing in the closing ceremony (but you probably already knew that).
Evening. Just went for a nice little post-work walk about town.
Not in dashboard etc, on the actual thread. I post a comment then it just stops loading new ones in Firefox. I notice it mainly at work but sometimes at home.
they've said a few times they are so they better! :)
I was slightly surprised not to see them in the OC.
ok, im tuned in for this race.
One of them appears to have a flower in their hair.
Evening all. Nice to be back home with proper Internet and proper coverage.
Can't wait for the 200m later!
Hello!
Evening!
Hi Gavin! :)
Hello Daddy Goat :)
Hehe. RubberKidd is doing fine by the way. She seems to like hanging out with dad while he's watching the Olympics - so I reckon she'll definitely be up for F1 ;)
Seeing bouncing Wenlock in the background of the race reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDLr4v7sm4&feature=player_detailpage#t=72s
Love it.
Hehehe, he's so cool.
RubberKidd sounds like some kind of superhero in the making.
Well they are making a sequel to Kick Bum...
Wenlock is surprisingly cool.
In other news, they have cameramen on segways now???
Excellent :)
Oddly, I can deal with moving human-sized Wenlock more than the toys and dolls, which still seem a bit freaky.
Bouncing baby
These athletes are quite fast!
When I first saw them both I thought they looked silly, but the life sized mascot does look cool.
Did he just say prepenultimate?
Have done for a few years now, you see them on the golf coverage
You've all seen the German discus celebration right? I was glad he didn't trip over the hurdles!
Yes, otherwise known as "just another day".
That's more skilful than it looks to do that but it might be cheaper than a dolly. Very clever.
it's like an announcement of an announcement
Men's 800m final now, with added Brit.
more awesome f1 crossover - http://www.mclaren.com/page/inside-the-mtc-meet-olympic-silver-medallist-tom-stallard
That's almost as bad as pre-poned - as in, postponed before the event was supposed to occur...
They look like they are staring, but with the character of the full-size one it suddenly all clicks and it works. Good work from the... mascot controller..
very odd. all good here :(
here we go!
This is epic speed!
Wow!!!
World Record!
he doesn't even look tired!
Wow! World Record by 0.9s
That was brilliant.
Another stunning performance!
All eight men did a season best or personal best... or broke a world record! What a race!
I'm always deceived by the lack of hashes at the finish - usually have the last 10m marked out.
GvG is on the scene - https://twitter.com/GvanderGarde/status/233639706926120961/photo/1
David Rudisha sounds like quite the international man with that support crew!
Scott Dixon and Alex Tagliani are in the stands at the bend near the 200m start
The British guy gave a great interview there.
Relay, relay, relay!
It does seem strange how people get selected for the Olympics. It doesn't always seem to be the best ones...
awesum!
This event was always torture on sports day!
woooooooow she's so far ahead.
What's the event of conversation at the moment, athletics?
Wowsers, they are so fast!
Yes indeedy.
Nah mate, the egg and spoon race was the worst ;)
Another major Olympic milestone has occurred. Just dropped Amy off at Heathrow, the 17,000km dash home is about to begin
too true :D
At my school on sports day, you had to enter a minimum of 3 events and then you got the day off. Mega!
https://twitter.com/tagliani/status/233621374466408449
sorry the 100m start
All over so soon..
What a mega jump!
Somebody's hurt in the sand-pit.
More REALLY FAST runnners!
terrible baton change for jamaica!
Jamaican runner started way too early
Their 3rd girl was all over the shop
Relay runners shout hand so the next one knows to stick their hand out. Who knew?
Jamaica made a total mess of that yet only lost by 0.01 seconds
Interesting they can change the runners for the final.
He broke his leg at the 200m mark and still kept going!??
Talk about running through the pain barrier
In 46 seconds?
That is a HARD man.
You have to wonder you can break a leg running 200 metres. I assume it was the fibula that broke because that doesn't support a huge load and so people can continue to run even though it is broken. And a certain Frenchman can drive the Le Mans 24 hours with a broken fibula
♥
yeah that Bourdais is a cool guy
[and now I am going to hide from christine forever]
Hmmm, you're lucky I'm in such a good mood this fortnight :)
Mrs. Goat got a bit annoyed at the frank lampard spotting - because the bbc ignored the fact the royal family of Sweden were right in front of him ;)
The one thing Bolt is not is camera shy :)
They also ignored his girlfriend sitting next to him who worked for the BBC for about 10 years
or adrian chiles has a brilliant disguise
I imagine he stops at ever speed and traffic light camera to perform. Getting anywhere with him must be a nightmare
grid girls leave a lot to be desired here.
Maybe the BBC should employ better crowd-spotters, not that many here know Sweden's royal family..
Pre-race fist bump between Blake and Bolt.
A pity it all comes to a end on Sunday when it's back to the mundane. :( Maybe I'll catch up on the EHF CHampions League Women's FInals and Men's FInal 4 after the games.
I heard on the radio today that one of the kids who volunteer at the olympics carried the basket with Bolt's clothes at an earlier event. He said Bolt walked straight up to him and fits bumped him. Bolt chatted away with him even though the race was due to start in a couple of minutes. The kid said he liked Bolt's hat so he told him to keep it.
#points
Chocolate Wenlocks from Amy
https://twitter.com/AmyFulton/status/233651422489616385
Usain Bolt = Positive Role Model. :)
My heart says Blake, my head says Bolt.
Oops, the long jumper in the bottom jumped into the photographers
Halftime at the Women's Water Polo Gold Medal Match
USA 5-2 ESP
You can't eat Wenlock!
DO NOT WANT to eat.
child photographer taking creative pics through a jamaican flag. she gonna go far!
Question for the group:
If Forrest ZGUmp went against Usain BOlt in a race, who would win it?
come on Bolt, amaze the world!
Forrest Gump*
Forrest was more endurance than sprint, surely?
Bolt, but Gump might win the 10k
Would life be like a box of chocolate Wenlocks?
♥
Get him in the 100k too
:)
If Blake is the Beast, who is the Beauty?
Royal wave from Bolt
He's wearing a casio
It'd be cool if Jamaica got 1-2-3.
I'm all excited!
look at him go"
holy.....
:o
Good start by Bolt = race over
he even eased off!
Wow that was good!
Woah!
What a run, from the pair of them
Back in Beijing, many people thought Bolt had a running style that wasn't what a sprinter should be. Well, Forrest Gump probably had one along the same lines and look what id did for them. And it was what first came to my mind when I saw the scenes of Forrest Gump running when I saw Usain Bolt run in the 100.
get in there wenlock!
Stunning. And he eased off, again
Blake did a job of pinning him back, before Bolt had to put the gas back on
Looked like he kicked about 40 metres out then backed off
1-2-3 for jamaica!! well done christine :)
1-2-3 !! There you go
They did it!
2nd half underway now and the US is getting a penalty shot.
6-2 USA
You just blew your predictioning reputation apart
Lighting (BOLT) strikes 2wice!!
Break out the brooms. :)
some people say they don' believe, jamaica they have a 200m team
Describe the race in two words.
Usain Bolted
They'll be wanting a 4x200m relay next.
:)
What about a Medly Relay? I nominate BOlt for one of the 100 meter legs. :)
400, 200, 100, hurdles?
was bolt looking at the tv screen or peripheral vision?
I am clearly following the wrong sport!
Usain bolt is phenomenal.
Brilliant clean sweep, close to an Olympic Record too
:)
I have noticed from the few races I have seen that he is quite fast, just to throw that out there
I think maybe they should increase the capacity of the Athletics stadium in Rio should Bolt make a return. :)
Probably. Athletes tend to watch screens at every opportunity
He can;t be called the Greatest as that is Ali, says the commentator. So commentors,, what can they call him?
The fastest.
The fastest?
I'm gonna go with "The Greatest, Except for Ali, as he is the Greatest so if anything the Second Greatest, But He is Still Really Good."
Catchy.
:)
Sidepodco-incidence
Blessed by Hermes. ;)
I think that's obvious. Lightning.
Ooh.
BINGO!!!
There's actual olympic medals metres away from me!
I guess team Singapore won't be at the closing ceremony but its Singapores birthday today so maybe they thought it was lucky to go back early
Midway through the 3rd and ESP is hoping for a comeback
http://www.london2012.com/water-polo/event/women/match=wpw400101/index.html?v=1012012080921
Or.... Flash
It would have been interesting had Bolt been in a lower lane number than Blake so he could see him the whole race
ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
Singapore won medals?
If GOrdon was part of his name...
segway streadycam
I like his scarf
I spy iPad camera !!
Speaking of teams not at the closing ceremonies, I seen some stories of athletes from Cameroon have gone missing from the Olympic Village the other day.
Given how Bolt slows at the end of every race and looks so relaxed there is only one name for him.
Cool Runnings
someone was using it as a periscope! short-person genius :)
yes!!!
Loving how he borrowed a press camera there!
bronze in table tennis
I saw something like that in use a few times for the FIA GT1 races.
Get a photo with it!
Boo, they should all go, especially if they had to miss the Opening Ceremony.
Best female wrestler in the World, IMHO. ;)
http://www.london2012.com/news/articles/yoshida-completes-olympic-hat-trick.html
No way will Bolt do the long jump. You can't back off in mid air and you have to do 6 run ups
How about the 400m in 2016?
Final quater of the Women's Water Polo GOld Medal Match underway.
christ, everyone has an iPad camera.
Are the selling officially liscensed iPad covers at the Games?
400 metres is a really difficult event apparently because part way through you switch from anaerobic to aerobic where the sprints are all anaerobic.
Yeah, I don't get that either. Do these people not have phones with cameras?
Why bring an iPad to the Olympic stadium?
some seriously impressive running tonight. where;s the doctor when you need him?
It'd be alright if it was a decent camera!
because it fits easily in your pocket
#backwardsworld
Maggie Stephens has 5 goals so far. 8 - 2 USA
To read Olympic news between events?
I bet there are some downtime moments to fill.
stats, coverage, social media everything. the best camera is the camera you have with you and everyone carries an ipad i guess.
Because there is no kangaroo TV or whatever it is called now
Nnot really but almost everyone carries a phone with a camera, if not an actual camera
The photo taking was next to Tagliani :)
https://twitter.com/tagliani/status/233656360401780737
Fair enough. I just don't se it as that portable a device.
if it was about quality, you'd never pick the ipad. it's convenience i assume. and the bigger screen.
I bet the Wi-Fi coverage in Olympic Park is good. ;)
yo need a bigger handbag.
The is a FanVision equivalent at the athletics stadium but apparently, it's quite expensive
Like the refreshments?
Yeah but with a shorter queue :)
It's a bit off interrupting someone standing respecting a national anthem
.
Lots of picnics in Olympic Park, I presume..
Agreed, it isn't like they are about to go off air
This guy knows no boundaries. Not a fan
Bolt - I wasn't fit enough
How quick is he going to be if he gets fit
He'll only have like 90 seconds with them before they have to go to another country's TV, so I can understand that slightly.
LOL :D
Yeah, go birmingham!
When I do carry it around its in a backpack. I wonder how bringing one of those into the stadium was?
birmingham 2012 :)
They were training at my (old) uni, and I was hanging around on campus
christine carries both our ipads and a kindle in hers. i assume that's what everyone else does :)
*handbag, that is.
Loads of Finals tomorrow
Well my wife does have a handbag big enough ;)
Including a Relay Carnival at Olympic Stadium, if I'm not mistaken.
I have never known a woman have that much space in a handbag. Normally there is not enough space for a comb
wasn't an issue.
Guy in front of me had his iPad and was face timing everyone he knew.
Didn't see any Fanvision like things but some events had commentary headsets for £10
Good to hear. Apparently the events have been well run. My colleague want and he said he's never seen London run so smoothly :)
Everybody into the Pool!
I will always make room for a gadget.
It's been pleasantly smooth. Event the games lanes have been open to all for over 75% of the time
ahhh, interesting!
Certainly true of the tube, I felt. And on the road the 'Games lanes' were working well, and they were pro-actively opening them with digital signs to free traffic when it got busy. In transport terms it felt far better than usual. I hope London learns a few lessons from this. The only bad bits were near venues (or at least near Hyde Park when I tried to see the triathlon) but that's normal anyway.
What I've seen in the media of the actual venues has been nothing but smooth. Cardiff was a bit slow getting in but it was the first event of the whole Games.
Typical. Some tweets I think about and try to say something interesting, funny or clever and get minimum resposnse. I slag off an ill-mannered BBC reproter and get 31 retweets, 5 favourites and 2 replies. Almost all from people I have never heard of.
USA just took gold in women's football. BBC3 elected to show a GB hockey game instead.
I never got to see sir Chris hoy win his last gold medal as no Danes were in that race.
Germany. With. A. Gold Medal. In. Men's. Beach. Volleyball. SHOCKER...
Only Women's Javelin and the RUS - FRA Women's Basketball Semifinal remain in todays activities.
I think boxing woks so much better as an amateur sport.
Incredible crowd noise for Katie Taylor
Good for her. And the British lady too!
Some in the US are saying were it not for Pay-Per-View TV, the US boxing contingent would have be getting medals this year.
Sounds like Allan McNish commentating on taekwandoe
It does.
Cool that the body armour connects with the socks to register points!
Never seen martial artists sit on a chair during a fight before
This is cool. Much better than UFC or boxing.
Shame karate never made it into the Olympics. Much better to watch because they use hands and feet
Looking in at it here
http://www.london2012.com/taekwondo/event/women-less-than-57kg/match=tkw057101/index.html
France up 15 with about 5 minutes to go.
So guys, are you getting a 'kick' out of the GOld Medal Taekwondo match? :D
She won it at 19.
Nice to see she has a Welsh flag too
The Year of the Welsh Dragon continues. ;)
Did she win? She hadn't started when I looked away.
Yes. Led the whole way. Gave away a few penalty points late in the fight to stop the Chines girl scoring big points
Cool!
France wins 84-61
yay, time for olympics tonight.
big daley t!!
I thought he was a lot taller
how did he ever pole vault?
He was never built for that event or the high jump
all the more incredible.
I thought he was much more well-built, and maybe he was in those days. Looks a lot smaller now.
heh, love jamaican commentary.
♥ daley.
Great guy
bbc missed an oppurtunity to play teenage kicks there.
:)
boxing commentary with ed and dara. genius.
Brilliant. I thought they'd throw the mics into the crowd :)
Hahaa, a horse called Damon Hill and clips of Murray commentary
murray commentating !!!
best.crossover.ever!
pincent noting that some bejing events were desolate, gb events packed to the rafters. not bad given the ticket fiasco early on.
LOL :D
Has Murray Walker been calling the BMX races?
Brilliant to see it. Looks like people were just not too interested in the top price tickets for the preliminary rounds.
priced out i guess
No he's practically retired
Early rounds between people who wouldn't go very far, not worth paying a lot for unless you're a citizen of that country..
Interesting to see the stadium packed every single day, that's unusual. Often you see big gaps appear away from the big track events.
Aw darn.
So has Nicole Adams made like her idol Muhammad Ali in proclaiming herself as the Greatest Women's Boxer of all time yet? :)
Just watched her Gold Medal bout on TV here.
love that program. i vote for an olympic extension.
What are we going to do without ending our evenings with a closing montage, the flame, and a fade to Big Ben's chimes..?
:(
has this been discussed in the comments yet?
http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com
(via the social hour)