Sports

Smith takes Olympic silver and Whitlock bronze in thrilling pommel horse final

By Emily Goddard

By Tom Degun

August 5 - There was a superb performance from Britain in the London 2012 pommel horse final as Louis Smith won Olympic silver and Max Whitlock claimed bronze, however, the great achievement was still tinged with disappointment for the former as he saw gold slip through his fingers in an agonising tie-break.

Lightning Bolt lays claim to Olympic legend status after blitzing rivals to retain 100 metres crown

By Mike Rowbottom at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 5 - Usain Bolt restated his claim to being the world's greatest sprinter here tonight as he emulated Carl Lewis' feat of winning back-to-back Olympic 100 metres titles, holding off the challenge of his training partner, Yohan Blake, who had beaten him at the Jamaican trials, to win in an Olympic record of 9.63sec.

Amputee Pistorius praised by world champion despite finishing last in 400 metres semi-final

By Tom Degun at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 5 - Four-times Paralympic sprint champion Oscar Pistorius finished last in his Olympic 400 metres semi-final – yet received huge support from the phenomenal 80,000 spectators and special praise from world champion Kirani James, who won the race and is now the favourite to take gold in the final tomorrow night.

Magical Murray finally breaks through to earn emotional Olympic tennis gold

By Andrew Warshaw on Centre Court at Wimbledon

August 5 - Andy Murray saved the performance of his life for the Olympic men's tennis final today as he clinched another gold medal for Britain and denied Roger Federer – perhaps the best player the world has ever seen – the one accolade missing from a trophy cabinet comprising a record 17 Grand Slam titles.

World badminton chief determined to rid game of disreputable behaviour

By David Gold at Wembley Arena in London

August 5 - World Badminton Federation (BWF) President Dr Kang Young-Joong (pictured left with Prince Charles) has vowed to take appropriate action to prevent a repeat of the match throwing scandal that marred the badminton tournament at London 2012.

Women's boxing makes historic Olympic debut at ExCeL

By Tom Degun at ExCeL in London

August 5 - Women's boxing made its Olympic debut at London 2012 here almost three years after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include it on the sports programme.

Ainslie makes Olympic sailing history with fourth gold – and says it's his last

By Mike Rowbottom

August 5 - Ben Ainslie earned his fourth straight gold medal today to become the most decorated Olympic sailor in history – and then hinted strongly that he would retire from racing at the Games.

Spence only male USA boxer left at Olympics after winning appeal

By Tom Degun at ExCeL in London

August 5 – Welterweight boxer Errol Spence is the only male boxer from the United States left at the London 2012 Olympic Games after a protest from his team following a loss to India's Krishan Vikas was upheld by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

Swim king Phelps signs off majestic Olympic career with a typically winning flourish

By David Owen at the Aquatics Centre on the Olympic Park in London

August 4 - The greatest Olympian in history brought down the curtain on his uniquely glittering career, and the London 2012 swimming competition, by doing what has come naturally for over a decade – winning.

Shortest winning jump for nearly half a century enough to give Rutherford shock Olympic long jump victory

By Tom Degun at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 4 - Britain's Greg Rutherford pulled off a major shock on what was an electric night here at the London 2012 Games as he produced a phenomenal display in the men's long jump to become the new Olympic champion.

Espinoza's efforts in vain as Honduras exits Olympic football event along with hosts

By David Gold at Wembley Stadium in London

August 4 - If the London 2012 Olympic football tournament was meant to be dominated by Brazil's Neymar, obviously no-one told Honduran Roger Espinoza, who lit up today's quarter-finals, although it was not enough as his team crashed out.

Czech canoeist cleared to compete in Olympics despite failing doping test, CAS rules

By Stuart Newman

August 4 - Canoeist Jan Štĕrba, who failed a doping test earlier this season, will be allowed to go for gold at London 2012, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled today.

Women's team pursuit gold pushes Team GB up to third place in medal table

By Tom Degun at the Velodrome on the Olympic Park in London

August 4 - The women's team pursuit trio of Dani King (pictured, left), Laura Trott (pictured, centre) and Joanna Rowsell (pictured, right) continued Britain's stunning form here tonight as they claimed the home nation's third gold medal at the Velodrome and 11th Team GB win overall at London 2012 with victory over the United States in a world record time of 3mins 14.051sec.

Unstoppable Williams wallops shell-shocked Sharapova to lift Olympic tennis singles crown with historic performance

By Andrew Warshaw on Centre Court at Wimbledon

August 4 - Four weeks to the day since she won her fifth Wimbledon singles crown, Serena Williams returned to the Centre Court to achieve her one remaining goal today: capturing Olympic gold for the United States with a ruthless 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Maria Sharapova in just 63 minutes in what was the most one-sided final in the Games' history.

Pistorius becomes first double amputee to compete in the Olympics

By Tom Degun at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 4 - South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius made the perfect start at his Olympic Games debut qualifying for the semi-final of the 400 metres here today.

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Fact of the day

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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Pierre de Coubertin once said cricket has "practically no appeal for those who are not British". While he expressed doubts about the Olympic viability of cricket, lacrosse and baseball, Philip Barker wonders how the man who helped revive the modern Games would have reacted to new sports at Los Angeles 2028.

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