Summer Sports

Failed drugs test Italian Olympic champion walker leaves London 2012 and athletics for good

By Mike Rowbottom at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 7 - Alex Schwazer's defence of his Olympic 50 kilometre race walk title on Saturday (August 11) ended before it had begun when he was withdrawn from the Italian team after failing a doping test – and announced his retirement.

Morgan's late strike sees United States in London 2012 football final against World Cup foes Japan

By David Gold

August 6 - With a penalty shoot out looming in their Olympic women's football semi-final with Canada, Alex Morgan (pictured top, centre) struck the winner as the United States set up a rematch with Japan, a year after losing to the same team in the World Cup final.

Runner from tiny Grenada breaks US domination of 400 metres

By Mike Rowbottom at the Olympic Stadium in London

August 6 - Kirani James became a history man tonight – although he is still a teenager.

Tweddle brings curtain down on career with Olympic medal

By Tom Degun

August 6 - Beth Tweddle, the most successful female British gymnast in history, marked her final appearance at the Olympic Games with a bronze medal in the uneven bars at the North Greenwich Arena.

Skelton finally medals as British equestrian jumpers celebrate first Olympic gold for 60 years

By Tom Degun

August 6 - Britain's equestrian team jumpers have won their first Olympic gold medal since the Helsinki 1952 Games after claiming victory in a thrilling jump-off against the Netherlands at Greenwich Park.

Exclusive: Win gold and follow the yellow brick road to riches, boxing champion Lewis tells London 2012 hopefuls

By Andrew Warshaw at Bayt Qatar in London

August 6 - Gold medal-winning boxers at London 2012 can look forward to lucrative professional careers after the Games provided they choose the right agents and managers, according to Britain's world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis.

CAS turns down Berrou for London 2012 following "translation error"

By Emily Goddard

By Mike Rowbottom at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

August 6 - Jean-Maxence Berrou, has failed in a late appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to join the London 2012 Olympic field this Saturday (August 12) – although the CAS panel "regretted" that the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) "gave false hopes" to the French athlete through qualification criteria which contained an error in translation.

King Kenny proves British selectors right with Olympic gold

By Tom Degun at the Velodrome in London

August 6 - Britain's Jason Kenny produced a stunning display to claim the Olympic men's individual sprint title here as he beat arch-rival and reigning world champion Grégory Baugé 2-0 in the final to justify his controversial selection ahead of Sir Chris Hoy.

British gold rush at the Velodrome halted as Clancy takes bronze

By Emily Goddard

By Tom Degun

August 6 - For the first day in the London 2012 track cycling competition, Britain did not take a gold medal at the Velodrome but there was still a superb performance from Ed Clancy as he claimed bronze for Team GB in the men's omnium.

Judoka Delpopolo kicked out of London 2012 after failing drugs test

By Emily Goddard

By David Gold at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

August 6 - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned American judoka Nick Delpopolo from the men's 73kg event at London 2012 after he failed a drugs test.

Coe never in doubt over Bolt dominance

By Andrew Warshaw at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

August 6 - The sceptics may have questioned Usain Bolt's credentials in being able to retain his 100 metre Olympic crown on Sunday – but London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe wasn't one of them.

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.

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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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