Gold, Australia!! Our K4 kayak crew won the gold medal over the 1000m distance at Eton Dorney this morning, some sweet redemption for a crew and a boat that were overwhelming favourites at Beijing 2008 yet failed to make the final. From agony then to ecstasy today, the crew won by half a boat length over the Hungarians and the Czech Republic boat to wipe away four long years of second-guessing in the best possible way. They are taking gold medals home to Australia! Congratulations to the crew of Dave Smith, Tate Smith (no relation), Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear.
History at the Olympic Stadium today with the world's fastest man over 100m confirming what so many suspected: that he is also fastest over 200m. It was the night when the world celebrated and feted Usain Bolt. The flamboyant, speedy Jamaican star crossed the finish line with a finger to his lips, as if to silence anyone - and there were a few - who thought that his time was over, that it was now the time of his younger team mate, Yohan Blake. Not quite yet. Maybe in Rio 2014, but not here and not now. Not when he can ease off at the top of the straight and still run a 19.32. That's just superhuman.
As if Bolt's run wasn't amazing in of itself, he led home a remarkable, dominating, crushing 1-2-3 for Jamaica - Yohan Blake just behind, as in the 100m final, and Warren Weir in third - that will surely spark wild celebrations in the island nation so famous for producing men of incredible speed on the flat track. It was a memorable end to the final that everyone had been waiting for since Bolt looked so good defending his 100m crown a few days ago. Bolt has become the first man ever to win the 100m and 200m gold medals at consecutive Olympic games. More than that, this was the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Olympic Games since Finland’s Lasse Viren won the 5000m and 10,000m in the Munich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976. Usain Bolt is, without a shadow of a doubt, an Olympic legend now. There can be no argument of that now.
Australia has suffered hockey heartache at London 2012, the Kookaburras falling 4-2 to Germany in another game where they led - 1-0 and 2-1 - before a late-game collapse saw the Germans score 3 unanswered goals to hand defeat to the Australian men at the semi final stage for the second consecutive Olympiad. For much of this tournament, it has been late-game collapses that have cost the Kookaburras, despite having scored more goals than any other team at this tournament. They were handily up on Great Britain and Argentina previously, only to have those teams roar back into the contest, both games ending in draws. There was no such redemption for the Kookaburras today, Germany taking a 4-2 win into the Olympic final. As for Australia, they now play either Holland or Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off. Definitely not what the team and our country had been hoping for. Hopefully the team regroups to bring home a medal.
It seems that neither basketball team, men or women, can get past the might of Team USA at London 2012. The Boomers lost yesterday in their quarter final match-up with the world's most powerful basketball nation, and it was the turn of the Opals today, another disappointing end to a campaign for gold, and the end of an era, with many veterans including Kristi Harrower, either already decided upon retirement or seriously considering it. Even Lauren Jackson, the Opals star, was non-committal when asked about her chances of playing in Rio 2014. A shame if it's the end for Jackson, given that Olympic gold is about the only height she hasn't scaled in an incredible basketball career. The US has now won 48 games in a row at the Olympics and have beaten Australia the past 16 times the teams have met. The Australians will play for bronze on Sunday.
Silver for our youngest Olympian, 16-year-old diver Brittany Broben, who finished second to a diver China in the 10-metre individual final and will sometime soon continue her Year 11 studies at Marymount College on the Gold Coast, and will be able to lay claim to being the only girl in school who took time off for the Olympics and, more importantly, the only student who has won Olympic silver. Fantastic effort!!!
Bronze for Australia's female water polo team, the Stingers, in overtime after the game seemed over in regulation, before the ball was poached from seemingly-safe Australian hands by the Hungarians, who managed to score an incredible goal inside the final second of regulation. Thankfully, the Stingers held their nerve in the fifth frame and secured the bronze with a 13-11 win. Congratulations, girls!!
Australia's medal tally: 6 gold. 13 silver. 10 bronze. Total: 29. Rank: 10
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