As it happened: London 2012 Olympics, Day 2

BREATHE IT IN Olympic fans, we had another day chock-full of a diverse range of sports.

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9.46 ? ? and lean. That?s good, stretch it right out. Feel ?the bur? oh, hello.

You join us at the start of what promises to be another action-packed day of Olympic fun in London.

We?re just getting Team TheScore.ie limbered up for action. There?s a lot of sore bodies after our marathon of coverage yesterday.

Sean Farrell here to get the relay underway. We?ll be keeping a close eye on the Irish athletes dotted around east London and Weymouth and will bring you all the other headlines ? after all, it turns out that there are more countries than just ourselves in action.

9.58 ? There are a handful of events already on the move. We?re keeping a close eye on the Beeb, who have moved mercilessly from Team GB losing to Bulgaria in the indoor volleyball to their female archers, who currently trail Russia at Lord?s.

The first Irish athletes will be getting underway in the next hour. While you?re waiting; why not jump into the visual glory of Day one, in pictures or engross yourself in the?Olympic-themed Sunday papers with some of our favourite?sportswriting?of the week.

10.03 ? Right, enough of that. We?re off to the Aquatic Centre where Melanie Nocher is making her way out to the deck for heat two of the 100m backstroke.

There she is in lane four?

10.04 ? And they?re off. Nocher well in contention at the turn, fourth, I make it. 6 behind the leader.

10.06 ? THIRD FOR NOCHER. She powered home in 1:02.44. Good finish, but will it be enough to finish in the top 16? We?ll have to wait and see.

10.09 ? That time from Melanie Nocher was 0.5 seconds off her personal best. She is 10th at the?minute?with three heats still to go. Lets hope she gets a chance to hit the PB in a semi-final.

At the minute, though, it doesn?t look likely.

10.12 ? Oh dear, another fast heat.

Emily Seebohm of Australia sets a new Olympic record with 58.23 and most of those left in her wake also appear to have bettered?Nocher?s time.

10.15 ? More sub-minute finishes in heat five. the sixth and final heat is on now, featuring the (almost) great, Missy Franklin.

10.18 ? China?s Wu was on a sub world record split on the turn, but she couldn?t sustain the pace and Franklin taps in first with 59.37.

With all the results in we can now confirm that Melanie Nocher will not make the semi-final. She ends up 33rd in the world after the first round of heats.

10.24 ? You may have noticed some mild furore simmering regarding the sight of empty seats at many events. Today is no different. This is the tone you can expect from The Mirror in England tomorrow.

10.29 ? News from poolside is that.. well, read for yourself.

10.35 ? Okay, we?re knee-deep in the heats for the men?s 200m freestyle. Ryan Lochte is looking for gold number two. This is heat three.

10.38 ? Lochte was outside the top three in in each of the splits, but turned on that outboard motor of his in the final 50 to take second place behind Sun Yang of China.

10.49 ? With the men out of the way, there?s no time for the water to settle before we?re into the 100m breaststroke ?heats.

Sycerika McMahon is coming up soon against Leisel Jones, but while you wait, have a look at this interview NBC did with Ryan Lochte?s Havana-born mother. Nice woman.

10.53 ? Heat four, Lane eight: 17-year-old Sycerika McMahon reaches the turn in around 32 seconds?

10.56 ? In she comes in eight place. Lithuania?s?Ruta?Meilutyte?took first with a time of 1:05.56 ? the fastest time in the world this year.

McMahon clocks?1:08.9, just outside the Irish record.

11.01 ? Heat five knocks McMahon down to 19th place and so, out of contention for a semi-final spot.

Ruta Meilutyte ? remember the name ? is only 15 years of age and has only 262 followers on Twitter. That?s about to change.

11.09 ? Here?s your not-so-exclusive?post race reaction from Ms Nocher.

11.17 ? We?re sticking with action in the pool because the men?s 100m backstroke heats are coming to a conclusion. Team GB?s Lee Tancock places second in his heat behind the most French name I?ve ever heard: Camille LaCourt.

It looks like Lochte?s main competitor in this event?will?be his fellow Yank, Matt Grevers, who won his heat in 52.92.

11.29 ? Coming up next are the heats of the women?s 800m freestyle. Where Grainne Murphy ? hailing from Wexford, swimming out of Limerick ? is Ireland?s big hope.

11.41 ? I?ll say one thing about the 400m swim; it gets a little awkward when everybody is left waiting for the back markers to finish. Turkmenistan?s Jennet Saryyeva came last in her three-competitor heat, left to swim the last two?lengths?on her lonesome.

Sagmeister and Rodriguez, having battled it out for first and second watched on sans goggles as she eventually made it home. The worst thing was, the racers in the next heat were already on the deck eager to get swimming.

GB?s reigning 400m Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington is now in action.

11.43 ? And Adlington takes first with 4:05.75 ahead of the USA?s Chloe Sutton with 4:07.07. Here comes Grainne Murphy.

11.44 ? Murphy seventh after the first 100m, 60.29 seconds.

11.46 ? Oh no. Murphy?s stroke isn?t going smoothly at all and she is struggling here.

11.49 ? Did I say 800m? Corrected now. That?s the 400m and Murphy finishes in a disappointing 4:19.07

Coralie Balmy wins the heat with 4:03.

11.59 ? The action in the pool just keeps on coming. Heat one of the men?s 4 x 100 freestyle is on with Brazil, GB and South Africa (among others) in action.

12.02 ? France, South Africa and?Italy?take heat one in that order. The French sprinters touching home in 3:13.38, well off world record pace, but we?ll soon find out what the Australians and Americans can do.

12.04 ? Lane four and five will be holding all my attention for the next three minutes or so, that?s where the big guns are.

They?re off.

12.05 ? Russia lead after the first 100m having put their 50m sprinter out first. Australia off to a slow start, not in top three.

12.06 ? Russia, still hold a lead over the US with Germany third, but hold onto you cork-laden hats, here come Australia.

12.08 ? James Magnussen is a superstar. He absolutely kills his final leg and Australia come home first with a time of 3:12.29. USA take second and Russia slipped down to third.

That was good.

12.17 ? Lets see if we can clear our lungs of chlorine for a few minutes and see what other sports this jamboree has to offer on day two. Eurosport are trying to convince us that the 10m air pistol is an actual event, but we?re not buying it.

Ireland?s Camilla Speirs has been awarded a score of 47.6 in her outing in dressage with Portersize Just a Jiff. She sits 15th overall.

12.32 ? The women?s cycling road race is at full pelt. They are almost through the first quarter of the 140km run, but?nobody?has been able to sustain a breakaway. The entire peloton of 66 riders are snaking their way together along the Thames.

12.52 ? There won?t be a sheep shorn on the south island of New Zealand tonght!

Their women?s hockey side have won the trans-Tasman battle with Australia by one goal to nil. Cathryn Finlayson scored the only goal of the game in the third minute as the Blacksticks dominated?possession, but allowed Australia create the better chances in the rest of the game.

Eranga Jayawardena/AP/Press Association Images

13.11 ? Afternoon folks. Niall Kelly in the hotseat here while Sean hits up the local eaterie ? and I?ve got some doping news to get the ball rolling. Don?t ever say that I don?t bring sunshine and happiness into your life. This has just landed from AFP:

Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Sunday.

Galiulina underwent a drugs test on July 25, three days before the start of the women?s artistic gymnastics competition.

?Once the results of the B sample have been received, a definitive decision will be announced by the disciplinary commission,? said the IOC.

13.13 ? BREAKING: It?s raining in London. Properly manky. That should make life interesting in the road race and a couple of other events.

13.25 ? And if anyone knows how treacherous the road race course will be after a bit of rain, it?s Fabian Cancellara who looked like a contestant on Total Wipeout yesterday when he ploughed head-first into a barrier. The good news is that it now looks like he?ll be fit to defend his Olympic time trial title next week, but he still had a request for today?s spectators.

13.27 ? Hearing that the opening race of the men?s star down in Weymouth, which will feature Irish medal hopefuls Peter O?Leary and David Burrows, has been delayed. Not sure for how long but we?ll keep you posted when the lads get underway.

13.37 ? Today?s lesson in spoof comes to via Lord Sebastian Coe himself. A lot of questions are (rightly) being asked about the empty seats in some of the venues. I mean, who has tickets to see Michael Phelps v Ryan Lochte and doesn?t use them?

Anyway, Coe reckons that those empty seats don?t really exist:??Let us put this in perspective. Those venues are stuffed to the gunnels. The public are in there.?

Full story here >

13.39 ? Here?s the latest view from Weymouth ? I wasn?t kidding you. Good crowds though.

13.43 ? Checking back in with the women?s road race, there?s about 80km to go as the race heads up the Box Hill climb. There have been a couple of tentative attacks but nothing too consequential yet.

13.51 ? MEN?S STAR: There?s movement down in Weymouth so I?m guessing O?Leary and Burrows will be in action very shortly. We?ll keep you posted.

13.56 ? Up and running in the sailing star. Wind is 11 knots for those who are interested.

14.00 ? John Joe Nevin: friend of TheJournal (and by association, TheScore)

14.12 ? The men?s 66kg judo quarter-finals appear to have descended into farce. World champion Masashi Ebinuma appeared to have been eliminated by Cho Jun-Ho of South Korea after their bout went to a judges? decision. Bizarrely the judges awarded the fight to Cho and then changed their minds following the intervention of the International Judo Federation.

Crazy stuff but Ebinuma survives and moves into the semi-finals.

14.13 ? O?Leary and Burrows are still trucking along in the men?s star but they?re not in top five as far as I can see. Germany look to be doing well as do the Portuguese crew.

14.17 ? BREAKING: That John Joe Nevin account appears to be fake. Collective devastation in TheJournal/TheScore HQ. Why don?t you love us, JJ?

14.31 ? Afternoon all, Sean here again; passing the chicken-fillet baguette like a baton to Niall Kelly as he trundles through the door for a well earned break.

His head has been wrecked these past minutes trying to make sense of the Star class sailing. I?m here to clarify matters? Ireland ain?t winning.

14.43 ? Just when I was about to get engrossed in the water polo, I was reminded that the self-styled dream team of USA men?s basketball. They will tip off against France in the coming minutes.

My excitement isn?t shared universally, though. Even Kobe, LeBron and Russell can?t manage to fill every seat at these Games.

14.49 ? Eoin Rheinisch is at the top of the K1 course and off he goes.

14.52 ? Rheinisch going very well, fastest split through the first hate and he clocks a time of 91.97.

That was 2.43 quicker than everybody else so far. Only one two-second penalty tarnished his run.

Brilliant stuff, he?ll qualify for the semi-finals.

14.58 ? Absolutely brilliant to see an Irish flag atop the leading split time when the next man comes out trying to beat it. It?s a very, very good time from Rheinisch and hopefully he can keep it?

Belgium?s Doby is currently on the water and he threatened the leader, but lost control half way down his run and (after a penalty) must?settle?for 92.74.

That?s nine of the 22 competitors gone. The top 15 will go through ? taking the best time from two runs.

15.03 ? Rheinisch?s time has been beaten by New Zealand?s Mike Dawson.

Staying on the water, but drifting down to Weymouth? it seems I was a little hasty saying that Peter O?Leary and David Burrows were not winning. They have jumped majestically from 14th to second. The race is not quite over yet, let?s hope they can push on from there.

15.08 ? No time to blink in the world of canoeing or kayaking or whatever they call it. Rheinisch appears to have?successfully?appealed his two-second penalty and he is back on top.

The pride is putting us close to tears. COME ON IRELAND!!

15.12 ? And the tears keep on coming. O?Leary and Burrows tracked down the French leaders, but must settle for two-points and second place. With a low score being a good thing in this game.

15.22 ? Rheinisch news: The great man has slipped down to fifth. Spain?s Samuel Hernanz chalked up a time of 87.07 while Mike Kurt Mateusz Polaczyk and Helmut Oblinger have also gone quicker than our boy.

Ah well, it was nice while it lasted? and, of course, we have another run to go today and then a semi-final in midweek. Qualification is all that matters.

15.34 ? The women?s road-race is nearing a sodden end. With 2.5km to go we have three breaking away with the peloton 40 seconds behind.

Lizzie Armitstead of Team GB is in third, behind a Dutch and Belarussian rider. Hold on to your hats..

15.39 ? Marianne?Voss takes god after 140km for the Netherlands. Lizzie Armitstead claims a first medal of the games for Team GB and in third, having led for much on the run-in, is Belarussian Olga Zabelinskaya.

Great?finish?in the rain, shall we celebrate (with) Dutch Gold?

15.44 ? Over on the canoeing course, Eoin Rheinisch is sixth overall with all competitors having taken their first run.

They go for a second round this afternoon, unless ten men go faster than him in that run, he?ll be in the semi-final.

16.05 ? A frank and informative explanation. Thanks, Simon.

16.07 ? Unfortunately we haven?t been able to put our paws on a stream of the men?s basketball. Rumour has it that the US men are completely outclassing Tony Parker and France. We look forward to seeing edited highlights later on.

16.17 ? At last! If you?re near a TV get RTE on now, they have sensational commentary to?accompany?USA v France.

?Dunk it down ? Michelle Obama looks happy with that one.?

16.33 ? Andy Murray has finally overcome a Swiss tennis player on Centre Court with a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win over Stanislas Wawrinka to cruise through the first round.

16.36 ? Kevin Durant top scored with 22 points for Dream Team 2.0 as the US cruised to a 98-71 win over Tony Parker?s France in their opening game of the men?s basketball tournament.

Timmy McCarthy?s commentary might have been the best part of what was a comfortable enough victory for the Americans.

16.45 ? Paula Radcliffe is clearly heartbroken about being forced to pull out of the marathon at London 2012 today but she still found time to congratulate Team GB?s first?medallist Louise Armistead. Classy.

16.50 ? Great news coming out of Weymouth in the Star Class as the team of Peter?O?Leary and David Burrows stand second after two of ten races.

The Irish pair are on eight points, just two behind leaders Brazil and four ahead of third placed GB.

Ireland?s consistency has been good in the first two races, finishing second and sixth respectively.

16.58 ? Forgot to introduce myself earlier on. It?s Steven O?Rourke taking the?baton?for the third leg of our liveblog relay.

More importantly,?Eoin Rheinisch will be setting off on his second round in the kayak shortly.

17.10 ? A clean run from?Eoin Rheinisch but his time of 90.72 is marginally slower than his first run 89.97.

Standing sixth with nine competitors to go, he has made the semi-finals of the K1.

C?mon Ireland!!!

17.17 ? There?s a lot of love going around Team USA at the moment with Ryan Lochte and Dwayne Wade?falling over themselves to congratulate each other:

17.20 ? Sebastian Coe is there to meet 19-year-old Kazak weightlifter Zulfiya Chinshanlo as she walks off the stage after lifting an incredible 131kg in the women?s 53kg clean and jerk.

A world record, Olympic record and a gold medal. Not a bad day for the former double world champion.

17.33 ? Ireland?s Eventing team are placed a respectable 10th after the dressage phase of the competition. Camilla Speirs was the highest placed Irish rider on Portersize. Her score of 47.60 sees her hold 27th place overall.

Italy?s Stefano Brecciaroli leads the individual competition with 38.50 points while Germany head the team event.

17.42 ? Ten man Senegal have taken a 2-0 lead over Uruguay. Abdoulaye Ba saw a straight red for bringing down Louis Suarez and received a round of applause as he walked off the field.

Fair to say the?Wembley crowd would like to see a Senegal win.

17.46 ? If you like your tennis with added grunting and shouting, Maria Sharapova is?cruising?towards a first round win over at a rain sodden Wimbledon.

The Russian took the first set 6-2 and leads 4-0 in the second.

17.52 ? It?s raining as we approach the end of the K1. Over on RTE Myles Dungan is wondering if the rain will affect the paddlers.

I?m not sure he?s noticed all that water beneath their boats yet.

17.57 ? While Maria Sharapova coasted through her round one game in the women?s tennis in just over an hour, the second seed Agnieszka Radwanska is out.

The Pole lost 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 to Germany?s Julia Goerges.

18.11 ? The Gold Medal match is taking place in the women?s archery team event but the rain is bucketing down.

It doesn?t seem to be having too much of an impact on the archers though as Korea and China are level after two ends at 102 each.

18.20 ? RTE?s coverage of the women?s synchronised 3m springboard is a little delayed.

However, it?s no less impressive when you see how in synch the Chinese pair of Zi He and Minxia Wu are.

18.27 ? Australia?s Cadel Evans has withdrawn from the Olympic time trial on Wednesday.

Evans struggled through this year?s Tour de France and his withdrawal leaves Michael Rogers as Australia?s only entry in the event.

18.37 ? The British women?s beach volleyball team have just pulled level in sets against Canada in their Group F game.

I?m not sure the sunglasses and rain go together mind. Still, top marks for effort.

18.41 ? For the seventh Olympics in succession, the South Korean women have emerged victorious in the team archery event.

A nine with the last arrow was enough to give them a one point victory over China.

18.44 ? Spain have had an impressive 16 point win over China in the men?s basketball.

Pau Gasol was the MVP for the Iberians with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

19.08 ? In fencing, the men?s individual sabre has reached the medal matches.

Aron Szilagyi of Hungary and Italy?s Diego Occhiuzzi will battle it out for the gold medal at about 19.15.

19.20 ? Ireland?s Martyn Irvine had his first look at the Velodrome today, well ahead of his Olympic appearance.

19.26 ? In swimming, it?s been confirmed that both Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are included in the US 4?100 team tonight.

Next up in the pool is the final of the women?s 100m butterfly. Can anyone beat Dana Vollmer?

19.36 ? Dana Vollmer wins gold in the women?s 100m butterfly in a time of 55.98, a new world record and the first woman ever under 56 seconds.

A brilliant second 50m from the American sees her storm past China?s Ying Lu and Alicia Coutts of Australia.

19.43 ? Before the start of the 200m freestyle semi-finals, Nick O?Hare on RTE informed us that Ryan Lochte didn?t get to bed until after 2am last night.

It didn?t seem to have too much of an impact on the American though as he finished second behind world record holder Paul Biedermann in a time of 1.46.31.

19.56 ? Bernard Dunne believes in Adam Nolan and why wouldn?t he?

His fight is expected to take place at about 22.15 tonight.

20.07 ? Patrick McCarry here to see you through the final hour of live coverage. Don?t fret though Olympic fans, we will be burning the nearly midnight oil to keep you posted on the efforts of Chloe Magee in the badminton and Adam Nolan in his opening bout.

20.10 ? Team GB have taken the lead in their football match against the UAE and it is a crisp finish for evergreen, bearded?Ryan Giggs, who connects well with a nicely flighted cross from Craig ?Bellers? Bellamy. 1-0 and more for the taking.

20.13 ?

Wayne Rooney likes what he sees.

20.15 ? Men?s 100m Breaststroke ready to get splashing. Rickard of Australia will do battle with van der Burgh of South Africa. Beep!

20.18 ? GOLD! Cameron van der Burgh does it and by some distance too. He stormed out to a healthy lead. I thought his turn was laboured but what do I know? Not much apparently as he powers clear and finishes with a World Record time of 58.46. Christian Sprenger of Australia finishes second and Brendan Hansen of the US of A gets bronze.

20.22 ? Women?s 400m Freestyle coming up and Rebecca Adlington of GB is in Lane 8. She needs a swim out of nowhere to stand a chance. Splash time!

20.25 ? Non-Olympics-related sports piece but Fred Couples has won the British Seniors Open. He finished on -9 after Bernhard Langers? challenge implodes. We?ve heard that tune before.

20.29 ? GOLD! Camille Muffat of France wins the 400m Freestyle gold as she shows determination to hold off the challenge of American Alison Schmitt, gaining an Olympic Record in the process. Rebecca Adlington finishes so, so well to claim bronze.

Relay update: Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps have been drafted in to help the United States push for 4?100 relay gold later this evening.

20.37 ? Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls has made his Olympic basketballing bow with Great Britain. The Sudanese born, London raised, player and his teammates trail 24-19 after the first quarter.

20.52 ? France are tonking the British 37-11 in the handball. Ryan Giggs and his buddies have not been able to add to their 1-0 lead over UAE. Missy Franklin of the USA is out and eager for another swim ? she will take on Gemma Spofforth, a world record holder, in the 100m Backstroke semi-finals.

20.56 ? Jill Scott of the Team GB Women?s Football team is chuffed after bumping into the roving Olympic ambassador/Olympic hunk, David Beckham.

20.59 ? Recently displaced tennis world number one Novak Djokvic has vowed to improve after his 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy?s Fabio Fognini.

Missy Franklin won her 100m Backstroke semi-final. Emily Seebohm of Australia wins the other, just shy of an Olympic Record.

21.02 ? We have the Men?s 4?100 Freestyle Final for you before signing off. The United States, with Phelps and Lochte on the scene, are overwhelming favourites but the Australians pose the greatest threat. Their female counterparts won gold last night.

21.03 ? GOAL! Rashed Eisa has equalised for the UAE against Great Britain. Oh dear.

21.06 ? The USA lead. Lochte to finish it off?

21.09 ? FRANCE WIN GOLD! Unbelievable finish and revenge for 2008. Adrian and Phelps definitely did their job but Jones swam a poor third leg and Lochte let the slender lead slip away in the final 25 metres. Agnell turned it on to pip him to the wall and France won in a time of 3:09.93. The US finish with silver and Russia in bronze. The Australians were poor and finished fourth.

21.14 ? That stupendous swimming contest will end things here, live coverage-wise at least. Stay with us, however, as we will have coverage of the London 2012 bows of Chloe Magee and Adam Nolan. We will also have our Olympic Village: Day Two wrap in the next hour. Keep the comments coming and the coffee brewing.

Source: http://thescore.thejournal.ie/live-london-2012-olympics-day-2-536742-Jul2012/

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