Ethiopian Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, who has the fastest time of the year, is expected to be her main rival in a much-anticipated 10,000 meters final.

Cheruiyot also has her eye on the 5,000 next week as she attempts to replicate her double gold from last year’s world championships.

A trio of Americans will seek to capture the men’s shot put gold for United States for the first time since 1996.

Reese Hoffa, Ryan Whiting and Christian Cantwell, silver medalist in Beijing four years ago, set out to dethrone Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland with Germany’s world title holder David Storl also likely to be in strong contention.

The women’s heptathlon gets underway with a line up that includes 2008 champion Nataliya Dobrynska from Ukraine, world gold medalist Tatyana Chernova of Russia and British hopeful Jessica Ennis.

The seven-discipline event concludes on Saturday.

With the opening of the athletics, the jewel in the Olympic crown, excitement will begin to build towards Jamaican Usain Bolt’s defense of his 100 title on Sunday and his 200 crown four days later.

In swimming, Michael Phelps will race his last individual Games event in the final of the 100 butterfly.

Missy Franklin, 17, chases her third gold medal in the 200 backstroke while Rebecca Adlington carries British hopes in the 800 freestyle, bidding to repeat her victory in Beijing.

The men’s team pursuit and woman’s keirin will fire up the crowd at the velodrome which saw on Thursday six world records, a double disqualification and team sprint gold medals for Britain’s men and Germany’s women.

The overall medals table is neck-and-neck after six days, with the United States having caught up China to stand on 18 golds each.

PHELPS WINS DUEL

Two days after breaking the all-time record for the most Olympic medals with 19, Phelps added a 20th – and his 16th gold – by winning the 200 individual medley.

In their final duel before Phelps is due to retire, he pushed fellow American and world champion Ryan Lochte into second place and became the first male swimmer to win the same individual event three times at successive Games.

United States also celebrated victories in the women’s rowing eight and for 16-year-old Gabby Douglas in the all-around gymnastics where she edged out Russian Victoria Komova who was too upset to wear her silver medal.

“People keep saying I was the first black American to win the gold medal and I’m so honored,” Douglas, nicknamed the Flying Squirrel, told reporters after claiming the biggest prize in women’s gymnastics.

Black belt Vladimir Putin cheered Russia’s Tagir Khaibulaev to the country’s third judo gold.

In a scandal over match-throwing in the badminton tournament, disqualified Chinese Yu Yang announced she was quitting the sport.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her microblog.

She was one of eight women, two each from China and Indonesia and four from South Korea, kicked out of the Games for playing to lose group matches in order to secure easier knockout opposition.

The badminton debacle has been among the few sour notes of a Games distinguished by enthusiastic crowds, dismal British weather and Phelps’s remarkable feats.

In the rowing, Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won the double sculls for New Zealand on Dorney Lake, west of London.

Fellow Kiwis Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, unbeaten since 2009 and victors in the last three world championships, will seek to emulate them on Friday in the coxless pairs.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Ethiopian Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, who has the
fastest time of the year, is expected to be her main rival in a
much-anticipated 10,000 metres final.

Cheruiyot also has her eye on the 5,000 next week as she
attempts to replicate her double gold from last year’s world
championships.

A trio of Americans will seek to capture the men’s shot put
gold for United States for the first time since 1996.

Reese Hoffa, Ryan Whiting and Christian Cantwell, silver
medallist in Beijing four years ago, set out to dethrone Olympic
champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland with Germany’s world title
holder David Storl also likely to be in strong contention.

The women’s heptathlon gets underway with a line up that
includes 2008 champion Nataliya Dobrynska from Ukraine, world
gold medallist Tatyana Chernova of Russia and British hopeful
Jessica Ennis.

The seven-discipline event concludes on Saturday.

With the opening of the athletics, the jewel in the Olympic
crown, excitement will begin to build towards Jamaican Usain
Bolt’s defence of his 100 title on Sunday and his 200 crown four
days later.

In swimming, Michael Phelps will race his last individual
Games event in the final of the 100 butterfly.

Missy Franklin, 17, chases her third gold medal in the 200
backstroke while Rebecca Adlington carries British hopes in the
800 freestyle, bidding to repeat her victory in Beijing.

The men’s team pursuit and woman’s keirin will fire up the
crowd at the velodrome which saw on Thursday six world records,
a double disqualification and team sprint gold medals for
Britain’s men and Germany’s women.

The overall medals table is neck-and-neck after six days,
with the United States having caught up China to stand on 18
golds each.

PHELPS WINS DUEL

Two days after breaking the all-time record for the most
Olympic medals with 19, Phelps added a 20th – and his 16th gold
- by winning the 200 individual medley.

In their final duel before Phelps is due to retire, he
pushed fellow American and world champion Ryan Lochte into
second place and became the first male swimmer to win the same
individual event three times at successive Games.

United States also celebrated victories in the women’s
rowing eight and for 16-year-old Gabby Douglas in the all-around
gymnastics where she edged out Russian Victoria Komova who was
too upset to wear her silver medal.

“People keep saying I was the first black American to win
the gold medal and I’m so honoured,” Douglas, nicknamed the
Flying Squirrel, told reporters after claiming the biggest prize
in women’s gymnastics.

Black belt Vladimir Putin cheered Russia’s Tagir Khaibulaev
to the country’s third judo gold.

In a scandal over match-throwing in the badminton
tournament, disqualified Chinese Yu Yang announced she was
quitting the sport.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World
Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her
microblog.

She was one of eight women, two each from China and
Indonesia and four from South Korea, kicked out of the Games for
playing to lose group matches in order to secure easier knockout
opposition.

The badminton debacle has been among the few sour notes of a
Games distinguished by enthusiastic crowds, dismal British
weather and Phelps’s remarkable feats.

In the rowing, Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won the
double sculls for New Zealand on Dorney Lake, west of London.

Fellow Kiwis Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, unbeaten since
2009 and victors in the last three world championships, will
seek to emulate them on Friday in the coxless pairs.

The futuristic velodrome witnessed six world cycling
records, a double disqualification and golds for Britain’s men
and Germany’s women in the team sprints.

Elsewhere, a ‘play-to-lose’ badminton scandal took a new
twist when a disqualified Chinese player said she was quitting
the sport.

Controversy also struck in boxing. A Turkmen referee was
expelled for failing to stop a bout in which a fighter was
knocked down six times, and an Angolan coach was deemed a
“plonker” by his team chief for failing to present their only
fighter for a weigh-in, thus getting him disqualified.

It was Russian President Putin who staged one of the day’s
most emphatic victory celebrations, leaping to his feet with
both fists aloft when his countryman Tagir Khaibulaev defeated a
Mongolian opponent to win Russia’s third judo gold.

Putin, who cultivates a macho image based partly on his
skills on the mat, slapped the victor repeatedly on the back and
grabbed his cheeks with both hands.

In buoyant mood, he went on to suggest to Russian news
agency Interfax that members of female punk band Pussy Riot, on
trial for protesting against him in a Moscow cathedral, should
not be judged too harshly.

Prime Minister David Cameron watched the judo with Putin and
had reasons of his own to celebrate, as Britain rose to fifth in
the medals table with golds in the men’s cycling, double trap
shooting and canoe slalom double.

GOODBYE BADMINTON

In the scandal over match-throwing in the badminton
tournament, disqualified Chinese Yu Yang announced she was
quitting the sport in anguish.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World
Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her
microblog.

She was one of eight women, two each from China and
Indonesia and four from South Korea, who were kicked out of the
Games for playing to lose group matches in order to secure
easier knockout berths.

The badminton debacle has been among the few sour notes of a
Games distinguished by enthusiastic crowds, dismal British
weather and the historic accomplishments of U.S. swimmer Phelps.

Two days after breaking the all-time record for the most
Olympic medals with 19, he added a 20th – and his 16th gold – by
winning the 200 metres individual medley.

In their final duel before Phelps is due to retire, he
pushed compatriot and world champion Ryan Lochte into second
place.

Two female swimmers, Australia’s Dawn Fraser and Hungary’s
Krisztina Egerszegi, had won the same individual event at three
Games, but no man had previously achieved the feat.

It was a first individual gold of the London Games for
Phelps, no longer the all-conquering figure who won an
unprecedented eight gold medals four years ago in Beijing.

The United States also celebrated victories for its women’s
rowing eight and for 16-year-old Gabby Douglas in the all-around
gymnastics, where she edged out Russians Victoria Komova and
Aliya Mustafina.

“The all-round matters to me. People keeping saying I was
the first black American to win the gold medal and I’m so
honoured,” Douglas, nicknamed Flying Squirrel, told reporters
after claiming the biggest prize in women’s gymnastics.

MEDALS TIE

For the first time at these Games, the Americans drew level
in the overall medals table with China, on 18 golds each.

China has 34 medals in all, including 11 silver and five
bronze, while the U.S. has 37, with nine silver and 10 bronze.

In the velodrome, dubbed the Pringle for its resemblance to
a curvy potato snack, Britain’s men beat France and broke the
world record in the team sprint final.

“We gave it our all and it worked out,” said Chris Hoy after
picking up his sixth Games medal and fifth gold.

The Chinese and British women had also set world records.
But the latter, strong medal contenders, were disqualified
after Victoria Pendleton went too early on a change-over with
team mate Jessica Varnish.

China were relegated for a takeover infringement in the
women’s final, ending with the silver medal as the German team
celebrated their promotion to gold.

On a day when world records tumbled at the futuristic
velodrome, Britain won the men’s cycling team sprint but China
were disqualified in the final of the women’s event, handing
victory to Germany.

Controversy struck in boxing. A Turkmen referee was expelled
for failing to stop a bout in which a fighter was knocked down
six times, and an Angolan coach was deemed a “plonker” by his
team chief for failing to present their only fighter for a
weigh-in, thus getting him disqualified.

It was Russian President Putin who staged one of the day’s
most emphatic victory celebrations, leaping to his feet with
both fists aloft when his countryman Tagir Khaibulaev defeated a
Mongolian opponent to win Russia’s third judo gold.

Putin, who cultivates a macho image based partly on his
skills on the mat, slapped the victor repeatedly on the back and
grabbed his cheeks with both hands.

He and British Prime Minister David Cameron were seen in
animated conversation as they watched the action, though they
failed in earlier talks in Downing Street to reach agreement on
a joint approach to the Syrian crisis.

Cameron had cause for satisfaction too, as Britain raised
its gold medal haul to five with victory in the cycling, the
men’s double trap shooting and the canoe slalom double, helping
move the host nation up to fifth in the medals table.

In the scandal over match-throwing in the badminton
tournament, disqualified Chinese Yu Yang announced she was
quitting the sport in anguish.

Yu was one of eight women, two each from China and Indonesia
and four from South Korea, who were kicked out of the Games for
playing to lose group matches to secure easier knockout berths.

LAST COMPETITION

The International Olympic Committee asked the national
delegations of all three countries to investigate the role of
their coaches in the scandal.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World
Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her
microblog. “We… only chose to use the rules to abandon the
match.”

China’s state news agency Xinhua blamed the debacle on head
coach Li Yongbo. “Athletes should not get a paddling when it is
head coach Li Yongbo’s evil strategy that is the major reason,”
Xinhua said in a commentary.

China remained top of the medals table with 18 golds,
including one for Zhang Jike in an all-Chinese men’s table
tennis final.

The United States moved up to 15 with victories for its
women’s rowing eight and for 16-year-old Gabby Douglas in the
all-around gymnastics, where she edged out Russians Victoria
Komova and Aliya Mustafina.

The Americans were hoping for more success later in the
pool, with Michael Phelps taking on team mate and rival Ryan
Lochte for a final duel in the 200 metres individual medley.

In the velodrome, nicknamed the Pringle for its resemblance
to a curvy potato snack, Britain’s men beat France and broke the
world record in the team sprint final, after the Chinese and
British women had also set world records.

But the latter, strong medal contenders, were disqualified
after Victoria Pendleton went too early on a change-over with
team mate Jessica Varnish.

China were relegated for a takeover infringement in the
final, ending with the silver medal as the German team
celebrated their promotion to gold.

The Russian president, who cultivates a macho image based partly on his judo skills, leapt to his feet with both fists aloft when Tagir Khaibulaev defeated his Mongolian opponent.

He then congratulated the victor in person, slapping him on the back and grabbing his cheeks with both hands.

Putin and Cameron were seen in animated conversation as they watched the action, though they failed in earlier talks in Downing Street to reach agreement on a joint approach to the Syrian crisis.

Cameron had cause for celebration too, as Britain doubled its gold medal haul to four with victory in the men’s double trap shooting and canoe slalom double, helping move the host nation up to fifth in the medals table.

Elsewhere the Olympic play-to-lose badminton fiasco took a fresh twist when Chinese star player Yu Yang quit the sport in anguish.

Yu was one of eight women, two each from China and Indonesia and four from South Korea, who were kicked out of the Games for playing to lose group matches in order to secure easier knockout berths.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her Tencent microblog. “We …only chose to use the rules to abandon the match.

“You have heartlessly shattered our dreams. It’s that simple, not complicated at all. But this is unforgivable,” said Yu, who with Wang Xiaoli, was top-seeded in the women’s doubles.

China’s state news agency Xinhua pulled no punches, blaming the debacle on head coach Li Yongbo.

“Athletes should not get a paddling when it is head coach Li Yongbo’s evil strategy that is the major reason,” Xinhua said in a commentary.

SOUR NOTE

The affair has sounded a rare sour note at a Games notable so far for enthusiastic crowds, dismal British weather and the historic feat of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps in winning an all-time record 19th medal.

On Thursday evening he clashes for the final time in the pool with countryman Ryan Lochte. In their 200 meters individual medley, Phelps will vie once again to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three Olympics.

The United States could do with a Phelps or Lochte gold as it sits second in the medals table, with 14 golds behind China’s 18.

Zhang Jike won an all-Chinese final in the men’s table tennis singles, while the U.S. women’s rowing eight took gold ahead of Canada and the Netherlands.

A collective sigh of relief was heaved over the length and breadth of Britain on Wednesday when the host country finally struck gold through rowing pair Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins then cruised to victory in the men’s time trial, just 10 days after winning the Tour de France.

“Vodka and tonic helps,” said the man whose ginger sideburns have become the must-have fashion look, when asked if his achievements had yet sunk in.

Britain’s newspapers went into overdrive, with tabloid headlines blaring “Golden wonder”, “Gold rush” and “GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!”

(Additional reporting by Alison Williams, Martyn Herman, Maria Golovnina, Ian Ransom, Kate Holton, Paul Majendie and Michael Martina in Beijing, editing by Peter Millership and Jason Neely)

The Russian president, who cultivates a macho image based
partly on his judo skills, leapt to his feet with both fists
aloft when Tagir Khaibulaev defeated his Mongolian opponent.

He then congratulated the victor in person, slapping him on
the back and grabbing his cheeks with both hands.

Putin and Cameron were seen in animated conversation as they
watched the action, though they failed in earlier talks in
Downing Street to reach agreement on a joint approach to the
Syrian crisis.

Cameron had cause for celebration too, as Britain doubled
its gold medal haul to four with victory in the men’s double
trap shooting and canoe slalom double, helping move the host
nation up to fifth in the medals table.

Elsewhere the Olympic play-to-lose badminton fiasco took a
fresh twist when Chinese star player Yu Yang quit the sport in
anguish.

Yu was one of eight women, two each from China and Indonesia
and four from South Korea, who were kicked out of the Games for
playing to lose group matches in order to secure easier knockout
berths.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World
Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her
Tencent microblog. “We …only chose to use the rules to abandon
the match.

“You have heartlessly shattered our dreams. It’s that
simple, not complicated at all. But this is unforgivable,” said
Yu, who with Wang Xiaoli, was top-seeded in the women’s doubles.

China’s state news agency Xinhua pulled no punches, blaming
the debacle on head coach Li Yongbo.

“Athletes should not get a paddling when it is head coach Li
Yongbo’s evil strategy that is the major reason,” Xinhua said in
a commentary.

SOUR NOTE

The affair has sounded a rare sour note at a Games notable
so far for enthusiastic crowds, dismal British weather and the
historic feat of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps in winning an
all-time record 19th medal.

On Thursday evening he clashes for the final time in the
pool with countryman Ryan Lochte. In their 200 metres individual
medley, Phelps will vie once again to become the first male
swimmer to win the same individual event at three Olympics.

The United States could do with a Phelps or Lochte gold as
it sits second in the medals table, with 14 golds behind China’s
18.

Zhang Jike won an all-Chinese final in the men’s table
tennis singles, while the U.S. women’s rowing eight took gold
ahead of Canada and the Netherlands.

A collective sigh of relief was heaved over the length and
breadth of Britain on Wednesday when the host country finally
struck gold through rowing pair Helen Glover and Heather
Stanning.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins then cruised to victory in the men’s
time trial, just 10 days after winning the Tour de France.

“Vodka and tonic helps,” said the man whose ginger sideburns
have become the must-have fashion look, when asked if his
achievements had yet sunk in.

Britain’s newspapers went into overdrive, with tabloid
headlines blaring “Golden wonder”, “Gold rush” and
“GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!”

The two Americans teamed up on Tuesday in the squad that crushed the rest of the field in the 4×200 meters freestyle relay to give Phelps his 19th Olympic medal, an all-time record.

The duo now go head to head in the 200 individual medley – a final tantalizing clash before Phelps retires.

Lochte drew first blood in London by winning the 400 version on Saturday, pushing Phelps into fourth place.

Phelps is bidding again for the elusive feat of becoming the first male swimmer to win the same event at three successive Olympics.

“We love racing against each other,” he said. “Neither one of us likes to lose. I like to say we bring out the best in one another.”

Olympic track cycling action gets underway with Britain’s Victoria Pendleton, a nine-times world champion, renewing her battle with Australia’s Anna Meares and hoping to end her career on a high on home soil.

With Germany holding the world titles in both team sprints, the hosts will be hard pressed to repeat their showing in Beijing where they won seven of 10 possible golds.

But they will draw inspiration from the ginger-whiskered Wiggins who followed victory in last month’s Tour de France by running away with the time trial, 42 seconds ahead of Germany’s Tony Martin.

China lead the medals table with 17 golds after five days of competition, ahead of the United States on 12 and South Korea on six, at a Games already packed with incident and touched by scandal.

Eight women badminton players – two top-seeded Chinese, two Indonesians and four from South Korea – were disqualified for deliberately trying to lose their matches on Tuesday night in order to get an easier draw in the knockout phase of the tournament.

The spectacle of players deliberately hitting shuttlecocks out of court and dumping serves into the net drew jeers from the fans at Wembley Arena.

“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general Thomas Lund said.

Organisers will be hoping the focus stays firmly on the sporting action on Thursday.

In the last day of slalom competition, Slovakian twins Pavol and Peter Hochschorner will try to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in canoe double.

The all-around women’s gymnastics final sees Americans Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas vying with Russia’s Victoria Komova, a day after Japan’s Kohei Uchimura won the men’s title and atoned for letting it slip through his fingers in Beijing.

In other late action on Wednesday, Nathan Adrian of the United States edged out Australia’s James Magnussen by the smallest possible margin, 0.01 seconds, to win the 100 freestyle and the unofficial title of world’s fastest swimmer.

The U.S. women won the 4×200 freestyle relay while Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta broke the world record in winning the 200 breaststroke and China’s Jiao Liuyang grabbed gold in the women’s 200 butterfly.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

The two Americans teamed up on Tuesday in the squad that
crushed the rest of the field in the 4×200 metres freestyle
relay to give Phelps his 19th Olympic medal, an all-time record.

The duo now go head to head in the 200 individual medley – a
final tantalising clash before Phelps retires.

Lochte drew first blood in London by winning the 400 version
on Saturday, pushing Phelps into fourth place.

Phelps is bidding again for the elusive feat of becoming the
first male swimmer to win the same event at three successive
Olympics.

“We love racing against each other,” he said. “Neither one
of us likes to lose. I like to say we bring out the best in one
another.”

Olympic track cycling action gets underway with Britain’s
Victoria Pendleton, a nine-times world champion, renewing her
battle with Australia’s Anna Meares and hoping to end her career
on a high on home soil.

With Germany holding the world titles in both team sprints,
the hosts will be hard pressed to repeat their showing in
Beijing where they won seven of 10 possible golds.

But they will draw inspiration from the ginger-whiskered
Wiggins who followed victory in last month’s Tour de France by
running away with the time trial, 42 seconds ahead of Germany’s
Tony Martin.

China lead the medals table with 17 golds after five days of
competition, ahead of the United States on 12 and South Korea on
six, at a Games already packed with incident and touched by
scandal.

Eight women badminton players – two top-seeded Chinese, two
Indonesians and four from South Korea – were disqualified for
deliberately trying to lose their matches on Tuesday night in
order to get an easier draw in the knockout phase of the
tournament.

The spectacle of players deliberately hitting shuttlecocks
out of court and dumping serves into the net drew jeers from the
fans at Wembley Arena.

“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players
and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general
Thomas Lund said.

Organisers will be hoping the focus stays firmly on the
sporting action on Thursday.

In the last day of slalom competition, Slovakian twins Pavol
and Peter Hochschorner will try to win a fourth consecutive
Olympic gold medal in canoe double.

The all-around women’s gymnastics final sees Americans Aly
Raisman and Gabby Douglas vying with Russia’s Victoria Komova, a
day after Japan’s Kohei Uchimura won the men’s title and atoned
for letting it slip through his fingers in Beijing.

In other late action on Wednesday, Nathan Adrian of the
United States edged out Australia’s James Magnussen by the
smallest possible margin, 0.01 seconds, to win the 100 freestyle
and the unofficial title of world’s fastest swimmer.

The U.S. women won the 4×200 freestyle relay while Hungary’s
Daniel Gyurta broke the world record in winning the 200
breaststroke and China’s Jiao Liuyang grabbed gold in the
women’s 200 butterfly.

Hunched over the handlebars, the man with the trademark long ginger sideburns powered home a gaping 42 seconds ahead of Germany’s Tony Martin to win his seventh Olympic medal, a record for a Briton.

In the pool, Nathan Adrian of the United States edged out Australia’s James Magnussen by the smallest possible margin, 0.01 seconds, to win the 100 metres freestyle and the unofficial title of world’s fastest swimmer.

The U.S. women won the 4x200m freestyle relay, while Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta broke the world record in winning the men’s 200m breaststroke. China’s Jiao Liuyang won the women’s 200m butterfly.

But the Games were brushed by scandal when eight women badminton players – two top-seeded Chinese, two Indonesians and four from South Korea – were disqualified for deliberately trying to lose their matches on Tuesday night in order to get an easier draw in the knockout phase of the tournament.

The spectacle of players deliberately hitting shuttlecocks out of court and dumping serves into the net drew jeers from fans at Wembley Arena.

“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general Thomas Lund said.

China remained atop the medals table at a Games already packed with incident and notable for U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ feat of winning his 19th Olympic medal, breaking the record of Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina that had stood since 1964.

Luo Yutong and Qin Kai ensured China remained on track for a clean sweep of Olympic diving titles as they won the men’s synchronised three-metre springboard gold.

Li Xiaoxia won an all-Chinese women’s table tennis final that left opponent Ding Ning sobbing and accusing an umpire of ruining her Olympic dream by imposing three penalty points – two for not throwing the ball up vertically on her service, and one for towelling herself down at the wrong moment.

“I didn’t do very well today. I had an obstacle and not only from the opponent but from the judge,” Ding said, trying to choke back tears.

Four years after letting the title slip through his fingers in Beijing, Japan’s Kohei Uchimura finally won an Olympic gold medal in the men’s all-around gymnastics to go with his three world crowns.

HOME GOLD

In the cycling time trial at Hampton Court, where King Henry VIII cavorted with his six wives, Wiggins cemented his own place in history by becoming the first rider to win the Olympic time trial and the Tour de France in the same year.

In the equivalent women’s event, American Kristin Armstrong prevailed. The 38-year-old took time off after the Beijing Games in 2008 to start a family, and her son Lucas was there to celebrate the moment with his mother.

Britain won its first gold of London 2012 when rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning dominated the women’s pairs before a screaming crowd of 25,000, including Princes William and Harry, and many more glued to television screens.

“Ecstatic!” Glover told reporters at Dorney Lake, west of London. It was only four years ago that she started rowing, and two since she teamed up with Stanning, an army captain who may be sent to Afghanistan next year.

Her exploits were cheered by fellow soldiers following the action at Camp Bastion in Helmand in the south of Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, during a visit to Northern Ireland, said he received the news after sitting on the “Wishing Chair” at Giant’s Causeway, one of Northern Ireland’s top tourist attractions.

“I was told I could make a wish,” he told reporters. “I won’t say what it was but as soon as I got back to my mobile phone I got the good news.”

DARK SIDE

The flap over the badminton was a reminder of just how far some countries and athletes will go to win gold, even if the Olympic charter says the Games are about sport pursued in “a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”.

South Korea head coach Sung Han-kook admitted his two pairings attempted to throw their matches against China’s world champion duo and the Indonesians, but said it was in retaliation against the Chinese team.

“The Chinese started this. They did it first,” Sung told reporters through an interpreter.

He said the Chinese deliberately tried to lose the first of the tainted matches to ensure their leading duo of Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli could not meet the country’s number two pair until the gold medal decider.

“It’s a complicated thing with the draws. They didn’t want to meet each other in the semi-final. So we did the same. We didn’t want to play the South Korean team again”, Sung said, referring to the knockout stages.

Several players and coaches pointed the finger of blame at the Chinese team for creating the scandal.

“I can say China has played dirty,” said Poland’s Korean head coach Young Man Kim. “They fixed the matches, that’s why everything is messy here.”

China’s delegation said it fully respected the decision to disqualify the teams.

But players also slammed the BWF for instituting a format that was ripe for manipulation.

“Why would the tournament rules people have (a format) like this?” men’s singles world number one Lin Dan told reporters. “If they just had a knockout round it would all be fine. You lose and that’s it,” the Chinese added.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Laura MacInnis in Mansfield, Ohio, Ian Graham in Belfast and Avril Ormsby, Julien Pretot, Karolos Grohmann and Julian Linden in London)

Hunched over the handlebars, the man with the trademark
long ginger sideburns powered home a gaping 42 seconds ahead of
Germany’s Tony Martin to win his seventh Olympic medal, a record
for a Briton.

In the pool, Nathan Adrian of the United States edged out
Australia’s James Magnussen by the smallest possible margin,
0.01 seconds, to win the 100 metres freestyle and the unofficial
title of world’s fastest swimmer.

The U.S. women won the 4x200m freestyle relay, while
Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta broke the world record in winning the
men’s 200m breaststroke. China’s Jiao Liuyang won the women’s
200m butterfly.

But the Games were brushed by scandal when eight women
badminton players – two top-seeded Chinese, two Indonesians and
four from South Korea – were disqualified for deliberately
trying to lose their matches on Tuesday night in order to get an
easier draw in the knockout phase of the tournament.

The spectacle of players deliberately hitting shuttlecocks
out of court and dumping serves into the net drew jeers from
fans at Wembley Arena.

“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players
and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general
Thomas Lund said.

China remained atop the medals table at a Games already
packed with incident and notable for U.S. swimmer Michael
Phelps’ feat of winning his 19th Olympic medal, breaking the
record of Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina that had stood since
1964.

Luo Yutong and Qin Kai ensured China remained on track for a
clean sweep of Olympic diving titles as they won the men’s
synchronised three-metre springboard gold.

Li Xiaoxia won an all-Chinese women’s table tennis final
that left opponent Ding Ning sobbing and accusing an umpire of
ruining her Olympic dream by imposing three penalty points – two
for not throwing the ball up vertically on her service, and one
for towelling herself down at the wrong moment.

“I didn’t do very well today. I had an obstacle and not only
from the opponent but from the judge,” Ding said, trying to
choke back tears.

Four years after letting the title slip through his fingers
in Beijing, Japan’s Kohei Uchimura finally won an Olympic gold
medal in the men’s all-around gymnastics to go with his three
world crowns.

HOME GOLD

In the cycling time trial at Hampton Court, where King Henry
VIII cavorted with his six wives, Wiggins cemented his own place
in history by becoming the first rider to win the Olympic time
trial and the Tour de France in the same year.

In the equivalent women’s event, American Kristin Armstrong
prevailed. The 38-year-old took time off after the Beijing Games
in 2008 to start a family, and her son Lucas was there to
celebrate the moment with his mother.

Britain won its first gold of London 2012 when rowers Helen
Glover and Heather Stanning dominated the women’s pairs before a
screaming crowd of 25,000, including Princes William and Harry,
and many more glued to television screens.

“Ecstatic!” Glover told reporters at Dorney Lake, west of
London. It was only four years ago that she started rowing, and
two since she teamed up with Stanning, an army captain who may
be sent to Afghanistan next year.

Her exploits were cheered by fellow soldiers following the
action at Camp Bastion in Helmand in the south of Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, during a visit to
Northern Ireland, said he received the news after sitting on the
“Wishing Chair” at Giant’s Causeway, one of Northern Ireland’s
top tourist attractions.

“I was told I could make a wish,” he told reporters. “I
won’t say what it was but as soon as I got back to my mobile
phone I got the good news.”

DARK SIDE

The flap over the badminton was a reminder of just how far
some countries and athletes will go to win gold, even if the
Olympic charter says the Games are about sport pursued in “a
spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”.

South Korea head coach Sung Han-kook admitted his two
pairings attempted to throw their matches against China’s world
champion duo and the Indonesians, but said it was in retaliation
against the Chinese team.

“The Chinese started this. They did it first,” Sung told
reporters through an interpreter.

He said the Chinese deliberately tried to lose the first of
the tainted matches to ensure their leading duo of Yu Yang and
Wang Xiaoli could not meet the country’s number two pair until
the gold medal decider.

“It’s a complicated thing with the draws. They didn’t want
to meet each other in the semi-final. So we did the same. We
didn’t want to play the South Korean team again”, Sung said,
referring to the knockout stages.

Several players and coaches pointed the finger of blame at
the Chinese team for creating the scandal.

“I can say China has played dirty,” said Poland’s Korean
head coach Young Man Kim. “They fixed the matches, that’s why
everything is messy here.”

China’s delegation said it fully respected the decision to
disqualify the teams.

But players also slammed the BWF for instituting a format
that was ripe for manipulation.

“Why would the tournament rules people have (a format) like
this?” men’s singles world number one Lin Dan told reporters.
“If they just had a knockout round it would all be fine. You
lose and that’s it,” the Chinese added.