London Olympics: USA break 27-year-old WR in 4x100m

There are 17 Medal events today. To see India’s schedule, click here . Lavillenie wins pole vault with Olympic record Renaud Lavillenie of France won the pole vault gold medal with an Olympic record on Friday night. Lavillenie, the world indoor champion, has been the dominant pole vaulter in 2012 and set a games mark of 5.97 meters during the final. Bjoern Otto earned silver on a countback from fellow German Raphael Holzdeppe after both cleared 5.91 meters. Holzdeppe had more missed attempts than Otto during the final. AP Dutch win 2nd straight Olympic women’s hockey gold The Netherlands retained their women’s Olympic field hockey title with a 2-0 win over world champion Argentina at Riverbank Arena on Friday. The Dutch scored off two second-half penalty corners to join Australia as the only three-time Olympic champions. The final was riveting until Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel scored from a rebound of Eva de Goede’s corner in the 40th minute. Then the Dutch turned rampant, and after captain Maartje Paumen had a corner saved, she didn’t miss the next chance a minute later in the 54th. Her 14th Olympic goal and third in London gave her sole possession of the overall record. AP USA beaten! Bahamas set a national record of 2:56.72, USA silver (2:57.05), Trinidad & Tobago third (2:59.40 NR). GBR fourth (2:59.53). South Africa with Pistorius were last. That was the USA’s first defeat in an Olympic 4x400m since 1952! Ramon Miller of Bahamas caught Angelo Taylor of USA in final meters to give Bahamas the gold. Lysenko sets Olympic record to win hammer gold Tatyana Lysenko of Russia set an Olympic record to win the hammer throw gold medal. Lysenko, the former world-record holder who served a two-year doping ban until 2009, set the games record with her first attempt of 77.56 meters and then improved it with her fifth at 78.18. Aksana Miankova set the old mark of 76.34 at Beijing. Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland earned the silver at 77.60 with her last throw and China’s Zhang Wenxiu took bronze at 76.34. Miankova, the 2008 champion, placed sixth. AP Doping and the East German records A few must-reads. - Tainted Legacy Steroid Cloud Hangs Over Flo-jo, Golden Age Of Women’s Track & Field - The East German Doping Machine - Unbreakable - In a Cold War Hangover, Germany Confronts a Legacy of Steroids A new world record [caption id=“attachment_414474” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  United States’ Carmelita Jeter reacts as she crosses the finish line to win the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay. AP[/caption] Wow! World record of 40.82 by USA 4x100m! Breaking the old record by half a second! Jamaica were second with a national record of 41.41, Ukraine third 42.04 (also a NR). Nigeria fourth (42.64). Madison-Felix-Knight-Jeter – amazing run by Jeter on the last leg. The earlier record had stood for 27 years and was set by the East German team in 1985. https://twitter.com/ajarrodkimber/status/234012244030128129 Dibaba beaten! A surprise in women’s 5000m - Ethiopia’s Defar wins, overtaking team-mate Dibaba (bronze) on the home straight. Dibaba who is the world record holder in the event was going for a double – she had won the 10,000m earlier. Supreme Jamaica Jamaica win by a mile!! Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Kemar Bailey-Cole burnt the track to register an easy round one win in 37.39 seconds. Home team Great Britain were disqualified from round one and USA won the second round with a time of 37.38. Amit loses second period Same story as the first period. Amit is out of the Olympis. He made a good start but then never managed to find some form. This experience will help him in the next Olympics. Amit loses first period Stalemate at the end of the 2 minutes. Amit lost it in the clinch. 1-0. Amit’s opponent Amit’s opponent has been decided – it is Bulgaria’s Radoslav Velikov in the second round of the repechage. The match is at 2255 hrs IST. Columbia’s first gold Mariana Pajon, Colombia’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, earned her country their first gold medal of the London Games when she thundered to victory in the women’s BMX event on Friday. Pajon, who had dominated her three semi-final runs in awe-inspiring fashion, led the eight-rider strong field after the first bend and never looked back. New Zealand’s Sarah Walker took silver and Dutchwoman Laura Smulders claimed bronze while local hope Shanaze Reade settled for sixth. She finished just behind Caroline Buchanan of Australia, the BMX time trial world champion. Reuters Buy the Games atmosphere Loving the London Olympics but unable to be there in person or worried about feeling low when the Games end on Sunday? For those with more money than sense, there is always a solution on the Internet. Enterprising vendors, some offering a small percentage of any takings to charities, are seeking to cash in on the success of London 2012 by offering bottled ‘atmosphere’ on auction website eBay. “So you weren’t one of the lucky ones, unable to travel to London for whatever reason and soak up the exhilarating atmosphere,” says vendor mictoria. “Well maybe a little bit of that ambiance can come to you.” Bids were open until Sunday, “when the atmosphere goes back to normal”, with three would-be purchasers of the novelty item registering an interest with the highest at 10.50 pounds ($16.42). Other vendors offering bottled Olympic air - one of them “collected at the entrance to the Olympic Park only days ago” - had yet to attract any bids, however. Reuters Cash rewards Massive public and private sector spending on sport has put South Korea on track for their most successful Olympic Games in London, and Seoul also expects that investment to pay off when Pyeongchang hosts the Winter Games in 2018. The country’s Olympic chief, Y.S. Park, told Reuters in an interview on Friday the Korean government pumped $100 million per year into sports, while private companies sink an additional $30 million of their own money into individual federations. Those figures are on a par with countries such as Britain which is hosting the London Games. UK Sport, established in 1997, annually invests around 100 million pounds ($156.50 million) of public funds - from the lottery and government - in high performance sport while other money comes in from a Team 2012 initiative. For Korea, the result has been a gold rush in London, with the East Asian powerhouse sitting fifth in the medal standings with 12 golds, just shy of their record 13 set in Beijing. Reuters Narsingh out of competition Metthew Gentry of Canada who beat him, lost to Jordan Burroughs of the USA in the quarters. So that means Narsingh won’t have a chance of going any further. Amit Kumar through to repechage Vladimer beat Japan’s Shinichi Yumoto in the semi-final to reach the final of the Men’s 55kg category and in the process gave India’s Amit Kumar another chance at earning a bronze. Amit Kumar loses second period More of the same in the second period too. The Georgian was much stronger and Amit made simple errors. He lost the second period 3-1. Amit Kumar loses the first period It went to the clinch again. And Amit managed to throw Vladimer over his head but the clinch was broken and 3 points were awarded to the Georgian. The Indians protested but the judges ruled in favour of the Georgian. Vladimer won the first period 4-0. Amit Kumar’s quarters at 1900 hrs IST He will be taking on Vladimer Khinchegashvili of Georgia. Narsingh loses He took a 1 point lead in the second period with 10 second remaining but could not hold on to the lead. It also meant that the Canadian took the match 3-1. Narsingh loses first period Matthew Gentry of Canada took an early 3-point lead and then Narsingh tried some stuff but it didn’t come off. Amit Kumar wins third period and match The Indian is through to the quarters. He has beaten favourite Rahimi in a superb tactical battle. Rahimi kept attacking but Amit’s defence was superb and even after going down a point early in the third period, he managed to fight his way back and earn two points. The second point came in the last second of the third period. Super stuff. Amit Kumar wins second period Amit gave Rahimi a tough time, it was a stalemate at the end of 2 minutes but then the luck of the draw gave Amit the advantage in the Clinch and he managed to win a point. Amit Kumar loses the first period With just a second remaining in the first period, the Iranian managed to force the Indian out of the ring and put him down on his stomach. The Iranian got one point and the period. Amit Kumar’s fight at 1750 IST The 18-year-old Amit Kumar takes on Hassan Rahimi of Iran. The Indian is in red. The Indian had a bye in the first round. Rahimi is one of the favourites in the competition. What will Bolt do next? It is time for reflection in the Court of Bolt. The great showman of track and field, with a passion for sports and fast cars, is not ready to hang up his spikes, but he is restless for a new challenge, one that can satisfy his great lust for life. “I’m not going to retire yet. I love this sport. I have got all my success through this sport. I got all my fans through this sport,” Bolt said after scorching to back-to-back Games 200 metres titles on Thursday, completing the 100-200 sprint double as he had done in Beijing four years ago. “I have made my goal, now I have to sit down and make another one.” Reuters More women The gender balance at the Summer Olympics is changing. The International Olympic Committee says Thursday that 44 percent of the athletes competing in London are women. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, women made up only 24 percent of participants. The London games are also the first Olympics where all 204 nations have sent a female athlete. AP Narsingh’s match is around 1810 IST The timing for Amit Kumar’s match hasn’t been announced yet. But Narsingh will be on the mat around 1810 IST. Google Doodle Today’s google doodle rocks. Check it out. Our top score is 31. Can you best it? Argentina meet USA in basketball semis Argentina lost by 29 points to the American men’s basketball team in pool play five days ago. Now the two teams meet again in the semifinals on Friday, with a berth in the gold medal game on the line. Kevin Durant keyed a 42-17 binge that put the first game away, but the Americans say they’re not taking this one for granted.- AP Dropped your gold medal? That’s totally fine USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings isn’t wasting any time breaking in her third beach volleyball gold medal. Walsh Jennings dropped her medal on the cement the morning after she captured her third straight Olympic title with partner Misty May-Treanor. The medal was scratched in two spots along the rim. No big deal, Walsh Jennings says. With two little ones running around at home, things have a tendency to get dinged. She says she won’t consider tucking her medals away in a safe place. “People find inspiration in it,” she says. “I’m blessed that I can share it.”- AP Rudisha vs Bolt. 400m Now that would be a race. “He used to run 400 metres,” David Rudisha, who broke the 800m world record last night, said. “I also run 400 metres early in the season and we were just making fun, and saying that maybe just one time we should race over 400m and see who wins, it would be great. “Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter I have ever seen. People love Bolt because of his great achievements. I knew if I could do something special tonight, it would be great for me.” After single-handedly rescuing the two-lap race from the domination of tactical sprint finishers, there are some who believe that Rudisha should be as big a name as Bolt. Reuters I am Legend It has happened so quickly, because that is the way for Olympians. The very best of them seem to appear fully formed on the biggest stage in their universe and then vanish with their medals and their moments, richer and more famous for their work, but long passed into another life. If they are truly transcendent, they emerge again four years later to deliver encores. Legacies are written in just a few days before the public’s eyes, built on long hours in isolation. So it was on Thursday night at London’s Olympic Stadium with Usain Bolt, a tall man who works in short bursts of greatness and whose name is now writ large among the greatest Olympians in history. Read more on Sports Illustrated… Wrestlers begin gold quest today [caption id=“attachment_413760” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narsingh Yadav has been in good form recently. AFP[/caption] To most people in India, wrestling in India is all about Sushil Kumar. But few remember that Yogeshwar Dutt lost the quarter-final match in Beijing by a whisker. And today, we will have a chance of seeing India’s next-generation wrestlers in action. Amit Kumar Dahiya (55kg) is just 18. He is the youngest wrestler in the Indian delegation and is also the youngest wrestler ever to represent India at the Summer Olympics. He has done well in recent years, and won gold in the Asian qualifier. But the Olympics might give him a lesson in reality. It won’t be easy but Amit Kumar will learn from this. The other wrestler in action today is Narsingh Yadav. He is competing in the 74 kg category. He won India’s first Gold at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship in 2010. He has a good defense and it will be interesting to see how well he does. Unhappy with King Carl They are both Olympic greats, but Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt made clear he doesn’t have nice things to say about American Carl Lewis, a top track athlete in the 1980s. Bolt strayed from his usual cheerful and charming demeanor after winning the 200 meters on Thursday, a feat that gave him a sweep of the 100 and 200 for the second consecutive games. When asked if the Jamaican runners are clean, Bolt said they were and then talked about Lewis. “I’m going to say something controversial right now – Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him,” Bolt said. “The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to say something like that. I think he’s just looking for attention, really because nobody really talks much about him.” Read the full report here. LeBron’s Year Lebron James is having a great 2012. Consider the past few months: he was named the NBA regular-season MVP for a third time, the NBA finals MVP and he won the elusive championship he needed to validate his place among the greats. Now he is only two wins away from adding to his collection of awards. The Americans, who play Argentina in the semifinals on Friday, are the favorites to take home their second straight Olympic gold. James’ stellar year comes two years after his infamous decision to broadcast that he was leaving Cleveland and taking his “talents” to Miami. He says negative backlash from “The Decision” has changed him, but that he’s never felt better. US vs China on the medal table With only a few days of Olympic competition left, the United States and China are neck-and-neck in the hunt for gold medals. Powered by big wins in swimming, gymnastics and track and field, American athletes have hauled in 39 gold medals. The Chinese have 37 golds thanks to strong performances in diving, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting. Overall, the Americans have won 90 medals while the Chinese have 80, according to the latest count on london2012.com, the London Games official website. The closest competitor for gold is the home team, Britain, with 25 golds and 52 total medals. Russia has 12 golds and 56 medals overall. There are plenty of medals still up for grabs. The final days of competition include: basketball, canoe sprint, wrestling, water polo, boxing, sailing, taekwondo, synchronized swimming and many other sports. USA VS. ARGENTINA II Manu Ginobili and his Argentine friends better have had several great practices recently. Argentina lost by 29 points to the American men’s basketball team in pool play five days ago. The teams meet again in the semifinals on Friday, with a berth in the gold medal game on the line. The Americans say they’re not taking this one for granted. In Beijing, they beat Spain by 37 points in pool play, then had to fight to scrape by them in the medal round. “It’s never a sure thing,” U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski says. Bolt Love In his post-race news conference, where apparently no question is out of bounds, 200-meter champion Usain Bolt was asked what kind of woman might be his type. “I used to have a type,” Bolt said. “I don’t have a type anymore. It’s all about falling in love. That’s what it’s all about. If I could find the right girl and fall in love, it doesn’t matter. I am looking forward to it, though.” QUICKQUOTES: BOLT Here’s what Usain Bolt is saying after winning his second London gold on Thursday. Was he confident all along? — “There wasn’t a doubt. I know a lot of people doubted me, but in my mind, there wasn’t a doubt. After the 100 meters, I was really confident in myself. So I knew I could do it. It wasn’t a problem.” What was behind the ‘ssshhh’ gesture? — “That was for all that people that doubted me, all the people that was talking all kinds of stuff that I wasn’t going to do it, I was going to be beaten. I was just telling them you can stop talking now because I am a legend.” Even Yohan Blake? — “I don’t know if Yohan was talking. I didn’t hear him, so I can’t say. If he was talking, then yes.” Are you the greatest ever? — “Without a doubt. I’ve done something that no one has done before, which is defend my double title. Back to back for me, I would say I’m the greatest.” AP