Great Britain pair wins Olympic rowing gold

Great Britain's Helen Glover (L) and Heather Stanning pose with their gold medals on the podium of the women's pair final A of the rowing event during the London 2012 Olympic Games


Britain's Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won women's pair, which gives the hosting nation their first gold medal of the London Olympics, while the men's eight won the bronze.

Roared on by Princes William and Harry, the British duo - who only came together in 2010 after missing out on other boats - took a commanding lead early in the race and held off a late challenge from Australia to claim the first Olympic gold won by a British women's crew.

"Ecstatic," Glover said on the bank of the lake. "It's so surreal, it will take forever to sink in. We're just really relieved, thank you so much everyone."

The British duo had started as strong favourites for the title after dominating the international season and following their heat, in which they set an Olympic best time. They punched the air as they went over the line, waved to the crowd and covered their faces.

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August 1st Boxing Schedule

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
5:30 AM Lazaro Alvarez Estrada - Cuba
Joseph Diaz Jr - USA

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
5:45 AM Sergey Vodopiyanov - RUS
Robenilson Vieira de Jesus - BRAZIL

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
6:00 AM John Joe Nevin - IRL
Kanat Abutalipov - KHZ

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
6:15 AM Oscar Valdez Fierro - MEX
Anvar Yunusov - TAJ

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
12:30 PM Luke Campbell -
Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello -

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
12:45 PM Ibrahim Balla -
Detelin Dalakliev -

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
1:00 PM Mohamed Ouadahi -
William Encarnacion Alcantara -

Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16
1:15 PM Satoshi Shimizu -
Magomed Abdulhamidov -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
6:30 AM Artur Beterbiev -
Michael Hunter Ii -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
6:45 AM Tervel Pulev -
Xuanxuan Wang -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
7:00 AM Yamil Peralta Jara -
Chouaib Bouloudinats -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
1:30 PM Teymur Mammadov -
Jai Tapu Opetaia -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
1:45 PM Julio Castillo Torres -
Siarhei Karneyeu -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
2:00 PM Jose Larduet Gomez -
Ali Mazaheri -

Men's Heavy (91kg) Round of 16
2:15 PM Tumba Silva -
Clemente Russo -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
7:15 AM Magomedrasul Medzhidov -
Meji Mwanba -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
7:30 AM Magomed Omarov -
Dominic Breazeale -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
7:45 AM Mohammed Arjaoui -
Blaise Yepmou Mendouo -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
8:00 AM Ytalo Perea Castillo -
Roberto Cammarelle -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
2:30 PM Ivan Dychko -
Erik Pfeifer -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
2:45 PM Simon Kean -
Tony Yoka -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
3:00 PM Zhilei Zhang -
Johan Linde -

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Round of 16
3:15 PM Erislandy Savon Cotilla -
Anthony Joshua -

Phelps qualifies 5th fastest for 200 fly

By BETH HARRIS (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated Press – 6 hours ago'

LONDON (AP) -- Michael Phelps opened defense of his Olympic title in the 200-meter butterfly with the fifth-fastest qualifying time in the preliminaries Monday.

Phelps has yet to have the quickest time in the morning heats at the London Games four years after he won a record eight gold medals in Beijing.

He finished third in his heat at 1 minute, 55.53 seconds, trailing Dinko Jukic of Austria and U.S. teammate Tyler Clary to the wall.

"I'm pretty happy with that swim," Phelps said. "That's all I needed it to be."

Phelps has won the 200 fly at the last two Olympics and set the world record at the 2009 world championships.

[ Video: Phelps' new workout routine: combat training ]

He was back in the water hours after swimming a solid second leg on the 4x100 freestyle relay that took silver after Ryan Lochte was overhauled by the French on the closing lap.

"Just getting last night sort of out of the way was something that I needed," Phelps said. "I guess I got to bed pretty late. We're all falling asleep pretty late. We're all excited."

Phelps' mother, Debbie, nodded her head slightly when she saw her son had safely advanced. He was the slowest qualifier for the 400 individual medley final on Saturday, and his surprising fourth-place finish kept him off the medals podium.

"I have no idea what it was, but I don't think it had anything to do with confidence," he said. "I felt I was ready to swim faster than that. It just didn't happen."

Jukic had the top time of 1:54.79, while Clary was second-best at 1:54.96 in advancing to the evening semifinals.

"I felt fantastic. The time was faster than it was at trials," Clary said. "I hurt a heck of a lot more at the end of the race in trials. So I had actually said to myself coming into the third wall that I was amazed at how well I felt. Just wanted to see what I could bring it home in."

Velimir Stjepanovic of Serbia was third at 1:54.99. Others who made the semis included Chad le Clos of South Africa (fourth), 2008 bronze medalist Takeshi Matsuda of Japan (eighth), 2008 silver medalist Laszlo Cseh of Hungary (ninth), Wu Peng of China (10th) and Nick D'Arcy of Australia (12th).

Federica Pellegrini qualified fastest in the 200 freestyle, keeping the Italian on course to defend her Olympic title.

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Fans disappointed they can't see Olympic flame

The cauldron is made up of pronged components, which rose together when lit by seven young athletes as part of the Opening Ceremony festivities. It will be stationed at one end of the stadium, but, unlike the Bird's nest in Beijing, it's not high enough to be visible from the outside.

London's Olympic budget was cut because of the economic downturn but it's not known whether that contributed to the decision on how to place the flame.

"They have done a disappearing act with it," said Londoner Colin Millard, 58. "We can't wait to see some events, and it doesn't spoil your day, but of course you would like to think it is all part of the experience. You come to the Games, you get a photo with the flame."

Others were similarly bemused at the fact that apart from TV viewers, the only people who will able to see the flame are those fortunate enough to hold tickets for the track and field competition.

"It was like, now you see it, now you don't," said Linda Samuel, of Essex, just outside London. "I loved the Ceremony, and the flame was a dramatic moment. But now it's like it's not here."

The cauldron was the brainchild of designer Thomas Heatherwick and is made up of 204 flames in copper-petal bowls, representing the participating nations. They are mounted on stems of stainless steel, which were then painted in a shade of blue known as "bad black."

The cauldron stands at 25 feet high and weighs more than 35,000 pounds. At the end of the Games, the prongs will be dismantled and each one presented to the nation it represents.

Parents of Olympian's reaction is Golden, Daughter Doesn't place

The parents of U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman are no different. And like Debbie Phelps, the mother of Michael Phelps, and other parents before them, the Raismans can find it excruciating to watch their daughter in competition. Case in point: the Raismans watching Aly during the uneven bars segment of the women's gymnastics preliminary competition. As entertaining as Raisman's routine was on on the bars, her parent's routine was equally worth a second look.

As this short video shows, Aly's parents -- Lynn and Ricky -- have a harder time taking in their daughter on the bars in fear of mistakes or injury. Both parents are different in their own way when it comes to handling their nerves, whenever Aly is in the spotlight, Lynn is talking and squirming her way through her entire routine while Ricky remains nearly silent until its conclusion. where he'll often offer an explosive "Yeah!" almost as if, his daughter had just won something bigger than the Lotto.

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Netherland Wins the Gold in Women's Field Hockey

BEIJING - AUGUST 22: Sophie Polkamp (L) and Ellen Hoog of the Netherland pose with their gold medal in the women's hockey at the Olympic Green Hockey Field on Day 14 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 22, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Photos of The Day: London Bridge with Olympic Rings

A more Sustainable Design to Save Energy

A more Sustainable Design to Save Energy
The Velodrome, located to the north of the Olympic Park, is one of the most sustainable London 2012 venues – from the use of Siberian pine for the track and external cladding, through to the use of the steel cables instead of girders in the roof, and a 100% natural ventilation system that eliminates the need for air conditioning.

Thai weightlifter Panida Khansri competes at ExCeL

Thai weightlifter Panida Khansri competes at ExCeL
Panida Khansri of Thailand competes in the Women's 48kg Group A Weightlifting on Day 1 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL.

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates win

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Alejandro Falla of Colombia during their men's Singles Tennis match on Day 1 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wimbledon on 28 July.

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SPORT: TennisCountries: SUIAthletes: Roger Federer

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2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

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Full Coverage of the 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES