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Gold!
At last we’ve achieved a couple of gold medals at London2012!
On day 5 we were treated to an amazing win by rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the female pairs. The world silver medallists led from the start, clocking seven minutes 27.13 seconds to become the first British female rowers to win an Olympic title.
The duo, who joined forces only two years ago, looked calm on the start line at an overcast Eton Dorney, and got their race off perfectly with a heavy acceleration out of the blocks. By 500m, they were almost a length clear, looking settled and focused. As they entered the final 250m, the packed grandstands either side of the lake began to cheer, with fans getting to their feet as they cruised across the finishing line a length clear of Australia.
Then a few hours later there was one for the boys! Our Tour de France champion, Bradley Wiggins (yes him with the sideburns!), became Britain’s most decorated Olympian with victory in the London 2012 time trial.
He now has 7 Olympic medals to his name -four golds, a silver and two bronzes – one more than rowing great Sir Steve Redgrave. Millions of people took to the streets around Hampton Court to cheer him on and he didn’t disappoint. What a 10 days this has been for him and as he said when interviewed at the end of the event: “I don’t think my sporting career will ever top this now,” said Wiggins. “That’s it. It will never, never get better than that. Incredible.”
To round off the day, the GB football team managed a scrappy 1-0 win against Uruguay, making them top of Group A and taking them into the quarter finals against South Korea on Saturday. If they win that game they are assured of a bronze medal at the very least but on the downside, they are likely to meet Brazil in the semis so let’s not get too excited just yet!
Mind you, after a truly inspirational performance by the GB women’s football team the night before when they beat a strong Brazil side 1-0 in front of a 70,000 strong partisan crowd at Wembley, there’s more than just a little pride at stake!!!
Bad Korea move
Most people thought that the problems we might face in holding the Olympics would be something to do with security or traffic delays. No-one could have imagined what would actually be the first embarrassment of the London2012 games!
Last night, at Hampden Park in Glasgow, what can only be described as a “schoolboy error” occurred when bungling officials displayed the WRONG Korean flag!
NORTH Korea’s women footballers stormed off the pitch in fury when a giant screen showed the SOUTH Korean flag instead. The emblem of their bitter enemies was flashed up on the big screen as they came out to warm up for their match against Colombia.
The North Koreans — fanatical supporters of dead leader Kim Jong Il and his son Kim Jong Un — refused to take to the field for the 7.45pm kick-off. Organisers said there was an “off-the-field” dispute they were trying to resolve and the game was delayed for over an hour as officials tried to placate the North Koreans. The game finally began at 8.50pm after the correct flag was shown on the screen.
London 2012 bosses were forced to issue an apology. A spokesman said: “The South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag. Clearly that is a mistake, we will apologise to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.”
But there is something else that is bothering me about the Games themselves. If the opening ceremony is not on until Friday, why have the games started already? Answers on a postcard please!
Tessa's Blog 