Olympic Update: Day 8
Seven years before each Olympics Games a new host is named as a new city immediately begins to prepare for their chance to be on display for the world. One of the biggest things most see is a new plan come into effect as cities begin building. They begin building new stadiums and new infrastructure to get people to the stadiums. Then they begin preparing throughout the city building the hype and getting the people of the city and the country to rally behind them as they enter the international spotlight. As the city prepares and the fans get excited there is another aspect of the preparation goes on more behind the scenes. This preparation is inside the sports federations for the country to host. As the Olympics are announced the home country sports programs kick into high gear with every sport looking to make their impact in the Olympics. The host country wants to collect as many medals as possible to give all fans something to cheer about. The last thing that any country wants to do is underperform in any event that is performed in front of the home crowd. This does not mean that the home country expects a gold at every event but finishing near the top of the medal standings is an accomplishment. Some countries need little in terms of investment as they already have strong sports programs but many more do not. This was the case in 2005 when London learned they would be hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. From that moment the British Olympic Committee began preparing as they were looking to have a great showing in their home Olympics. The 2008 Olympics saw the beginning of this transformation as Team GB collected 47 medals and finished in 4th place in the medal table. This was a 17 medal boost from their 30 medal performance and 10th place finish in 2004, before they won the Olympic bid. After 2008 Team GB looked to continue improving as they looked to get even better for 2012 as they continued to invest in the summer sports. As the games approached not much was known about how well they would perform with many athletes getting face time in front of the public but only a few having a real shot at Gold. When the Olympics started, though, the British showed that they were not going to disappoint their home fans. Team GB earned some medals but they were not earning too many to launch them up the medal standings. That all changed when the Velodrome opened on Day 6 of the games. Since then the British team have won multiple medals every day. This included earning all but one Gold medal in these events in the last three days. Day 8 saw a different beast of Team GB though as they had been starving for a track and field medal for years. They built up a number of athletes before the games that had a shot at the Olympic Gold that fans wanted. In Day 8 the fans got their wish as Jessica Ennis earned the first track gold for Britain in the Heptathlon. For Ennis it was a major accomplishment as she became one of the major faces of the London games and had all of the pressure on her over the seven events. Ennis won the gold on a great day but Day 8, known as Super Saturday, was just getting started. Just after Ennis won another British athlete made his impact as Greg Rutherford won yet another gold for Britain in the Men’s Long Jump. Rutherford added to a good hall for the British on the day but then it was not over. As Rutherford celebrated his gold medal in front of the crowd another face of the games was competing on the track. Mo Farah has been alongside Ennis for years leading up to the games as one of the main faces of Team GB who were looked to for the London Games. Farah spent most of the race among the leaders and as he rounded the last corner pulled away to end the race with another gold for Britain. It was a day where the home crowd had plenty to cheer for with three gold in athletics and another gold in the Velodrome. It was a day that highlighted the commitment made by Team GB when London got the games as they continue to roll in third place in the medal standings with a week left in competition to give them even more opportunity to impress on the national stage.
The Canadian Story
Canada’s First Gold
Canada had to wait 8 days for their first medal in 2008 but in 2012 it was 8 days until the first gold as Rosannagh MacLennan picked up Canada’s first gold medal in the games as the new Olympic champion in women’s trampoline
Drought Ends in the Velodrome
Canada had struggled in the Velodrome but it was shattered on Day 8 when the women’s team earned the Bronze in Team Pursuit becoming the first ever bronze medalists in the event after it was added for 2012
Cochrane Makes it two in the Pool
In 2008 the Canadians only earned one medal in swimming with Ryan Cochrane winning bronze but in 2012 the total was doubled as Cochrane repeated his medal performance in the 1,500m and improved it to a silver
Findlay Disappointed but inspiring
Paula Findlay started the day off rough for Canada as she finished in last place in the women’s triathlon but the story was an inspirational one as she wanted to drop out during the run when her doctor told her to finish which she did making Canadians proud
Day 8 Medal Results
Athletics:
Men’s 20km Race Walk
Gold- Cheng Ding (China)
Silver- Erick Barrondo (Guatemala)
Bronze- Wang Zheng (China)
Women’s Discus Throw
Gold- Sandra Perkovic (Croatia)
Silver- Darya Pishchalnikova (Russia)
Bronze- Li Yanfeng (China)
Men’s Long Jump
Gold- Greg Rutherford (Great Britain)
Silver- Mitchell Watt (Australia)
Bronze- Will Claye (USA)
Women’s Heptathlon
Gold- Jessica Ennis (Great Britain)
Silver- Lilli Schwarzkopf (Germany)
Bronze- Tatyana Chernova (Russia)
Men’s 10,000m
Gold- Mo Farah (Great Britain)
Silver- Galen Rupp (USA)
Bronze- Tariku Bekele (Ethiopia)
Women’s 100m
Gold- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
Silver- Carmelita Jeter (USA)
Bronze- Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica)
Badminton:
Women’s Singles
Gold- Xuerui Li (China)
Silver- Yihan Wang (China)
Bronze- Saina Nehwal (India)
Women’s Doubles
Gold- Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei (China)
Silver- Mizuki Fuji/Reika Kakiiwa (Japan)
Bronze- Valeria Sorokina/Nina Vislova (Russia)
Cycling:
Women’s Track- Team Pursuit
Gold- Great Britain
Silver- USA
Bronze- Canada
Fencing:
Women’s Team Epee
Gold- China
Silver- South Korea
Bronze- USA
Rowing:
Women’s Single Sculls
Gold- Miroslava Knapkova (Czech Republic)
Silver- Fie Udby Erichsen (Denmark)
Bronze- Kim Crow (Australia)
Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls
Gold- Mads Rasmussen/Rasmus Quist (Denmark)
Silver- Mark Hunter/Zac Purchase (Great Britain)
Bronze- Peter Taylor/Storm Uru (New Zealand)
Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls
Gold- Katherine Copeland/Sophie Hosking (Great Britain)
Silver- Xu Dongxiang/Huang Wenyi (China)
Bronze- Christiana Giazitzidou/Alexandra Tsiavou (Greece)
Men’s Four
Gold- Great Britain
Silver- Australia
Bronze- USA
Shooting:
Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions
Gold- Jamie Lynn Gray (USA)
Silver- Ivana Maksimovic (Serbia)
Bronze- Adela Sykorova (Czech Republic)
Women’s Trap
Gold- Jessica Rossi (Italy)
Silver- Zuzana Stefecekova (Slovakia)
Bronze- Delphine Reau (France)
Swimming:
Women’s 50m Freestyle
Gold- Ranomi Kromowidjojo (Netherlands)
Silver- Aliaksandra Herasimenia (Belarus)
Bronze- Marleen Veldhuis (Netherlands)
Men’s 1,500m Freestyle
Gold- Sun Yang (China)
Silver- Ryan Cochrane (Canada)
Bronze- Ous Mellouli (Tunisia)
Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay
Gold- USA
Silver- Australia
Bronze- Japan
Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay
Gold- USA
Silver- Japan
Bronze- Australia
Tennis:
Men’s Doubles
Gold- Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)
Silver- Michael Llorda/Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (France)
Bronze- Julien Benneteau/Richard Gasquet (France)
Women’s Singles
Gold- Serena Williams (USA)
Silver- Maria Sharapova (Russia)
Bronze- Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
Trampoline:
Women’s Trampoline
Gold- Rosannagh Maclennan (Canada)
Silver- Shanshan Huang (China)
Bronze- Wenna He (China)
Triathlon:
Women’s Triathlon
Gold- Nicola Spirig (Switzerland)
Silver- Lisa Norden (Sweden)
Bronze- Erin Densham (Australia)
Weightlifting:
Men’s 94kg
Gold- Ilya Ilyin (Kazakhstan)
Silver- Alexandr Ivanov (Russia)
Bronze- Anatoli Ciricu (Moldova)
Day 9 Medal Events
Artistic Gymnastics:
Men’s Floor Exercise Finals (9:00 am)
Women’s Vault Final (9:50 am)
Men’s Pommel Horse Final (10:41 am)
Athletics:
Women’s Marathon (6:00 am)
Women’s Triple Jump Final (2:35 pm)
Men’s Hammer Throw Final (3:20 pm)
Women’s 400m Final (4:10 pm)
Men’s 3,000m Steeple Chase Final (4:25 pm)
Men’s 100m Final (4:50 pm)
Badminton:
Men’s Singles Bronze Medal Match (4:00 am)
Men’s Singles Gold Medal Match (8:00 am)
Men’s Doubles Bronze Medal Match (4:45 am)
Men’s Doubles Gold Medal Match (9:15 am)
Cycling:
Men’s Track- Omnium 1km Time Trial (1:16 pm)
Diving:
Women’s 3m Springboard Final (2:00 pm)
Fencing:
Men’s Team Foil Bronze Medal Match (1:00 pm)
Men’s Team Foil Gold Medal Match (2:15 pm)
Sailing:
Men’s Star Class Medal Race (8:00 am)
Men’s Finn Class Medal Race (9:00 am)
Shooting:
Men’s 50m Pistol Final (7:30 am)
Tennis:
Men’s Singles Final (TBD)
Women’s Doubles Final (TBD)
Mixed Doubles Final (TBD)
Weightlifting:
Women’s +75kg Final (10:30 am)
Wrestling:
Men’s 55kg Greco-Roman Bronze Medal Match (12:45 pm)
Men’s 55kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match (2:03 pm)
Men’s 74kg Greco-Roman Bronze Medal Match (12:45 pm)
Men’s 74kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match (2:48 pm)
|
Medal Table |
|||||
|
# |
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
| 1 | USA |
26 |
13 |
15 |
54 |
| 2 | China |
25 |
16 |
12 |
53 |
| 3 | Great Britain |
14 |
7 |
8 |
29 |
| 4 | Russia |
3 |
15 |
10 |
28 |
| 5 | Japan |
2 |
10 |
12 |
24 |
| 6 | France |
8 |
6 |
8 |
22 |
| 7 | Germany |
5 |
10 |
6 |
21 |
| 8 | Australia |
1 |
12 |
7 |
20 |
| 9 | South Korea |
9 |
3 |
5 |
17 |
| 10 | Italy |
5 |
5 |
3 |
13 |
| 11 | Canada |
1 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
The Sport Addiction 