London Olympics 2012 - Gold Medal Wining Countries - 2nd August 2012

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Golds for New Zealand and South Africa




New Zealand won gold in the men's Double Sculls and South Africa took top honours in the men's Lightweight Four after a close final.




World champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won the Double Sculls in 6:31.67, ahead of Italy and the Slovenian crew who were looking to reclaim the Olympic title they won 12 years ago in Sydney.
Great Britain's pair made a promising start, leading the field after 250m and were in medal contention heading into the second half of the race.
But New Zealand and Italy produced strong finishes to overhaul Slovenia and row Britain out of the medals.
South Africa won gold in the men's Lightweight Four as Great Britain won a silver medal after being pipped to the line in a sensational final.
In a thrilling sprint for the line, the British crew edged 2008 champions Denmark into bronze.

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Soni smashes world record to claim gold



Soni was a big favourite to win the title after setting a world record of 2:20.00 in yesterday's semi-finals, and fully justified her status with a commanding performance.
The 25-year-old took control of the race after the opening length and touched in a time of 2:19.59, slicing more than four tenths of a second off her previous time. Japan's Satomi Suzuki claimed silver, with Russian Iuliia Efimova taking bronze.
In the second final of the evening, USA's Tyler Clary got the better of defending Olympic champion and team-mate Ryan Lochte in the 200m Backstroke.
Lochte led at the final turn but faded in the closing 50m, allowing Clary to snatch victory in a new Olympic record of 1:53.41, with Japan's Ryosuke Irie claiming silver.
That meant Lochte had to settle for bronze to add to his two golds and one silver from London 2012 so far, with the final of the 200m Individual Medley still to come later this evening.

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Hoy claims fifth gold

Chris Hoy has won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain's men's Team Sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome.





Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-man, three-lap Team Sprint in a world record of 42.747.

The British trio clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600.

In a repeat of the final four years ago in Beijing, France's Gregory Bauge, Michael D'Almeida and Kevin Sireau won silver, finishing in 43.013.

Hoy, 36 and competing in his fourth Games, won 1km Time Trial gold in Athens in 2004, three titles in Beijing and has now drawn level with rower Steve Redgrave as the Briton with the most Games golds.

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Germany win women's Team Sprint gold


Germany's Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel won the opening gold of the London 2012 Track Cycling programme with victory in the women's Team Sprint.



China's Gong Jinjie and Guo Shuang twice set the world record, in qualifying and in the first round, and finished first in the final in 32.619.
However, officials ruled the takeover between the pair was illegal and Germany, who clocked 32.798, were promoted to gold.
Australia's Anna Meares and Kaarle McCulloch put in 32.727 and claimed bronze ahead of Ukraine.
It was the second relegation of the event after Great Britain's Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton were penalised for a takeover infringement. They had set the second fastest time in the first round.

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Pursuit quartet smash world record

Great Britain's Team Pursuit squad set a world record in qualifying on a night of high drama at the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome.



After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the Team Sprint for a takeover infringement, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh laid down the gauntlet to their rivals. The British quartet, who set the world record in winning April's Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, went 0.796 seconds faster on the opening day of action on the track, clocking 3:52.499.

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Mixed day for favourites


Carl Hester gave Great Britain a strong start today in their quest for a first Olympic Dressage medal, but the Host Nation did not have things all their own way in the afternoon, while it was a tough day for Anky Van Grunsven.




The 45-year-old Hester, who is riding in his fourth Olympics, scored 77.72 per cent on Uthopia, the highest score of the opening day at Greenwich Park.
'I am very happy - it felt like a very good performance,' Hester said.
'I know it's not the highest mark I've had, but I have to take into account it is the Olympics, it is the toughest judges, it is the toughest standard and I am in the first group of competitors.
'I had one obvious mistake, which took me down to under 78 per cent, which would have been my ideal score, but 77 per cent is still great. The horse felt good.'
Britain are the reigning European team champions, and their trio of Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin have been tipped for Olympic gold.
Bechtolsheimer was the second British rider in action, while Dujardin's Grand Prix test is tomorrow afternoon.
The world number two Bechtolsheimer posted 76.83 per cent aboard Mistral Hojris, a mark that was only bettered by Hester. However, she later admitted she was disappointed with her return.
'It is a pretty low score as far as Alf (Mistral Hojris) goes, and not a score we needed to give us a good start in the team standings,' she said. 'I am gutted.'
Team scores from the Grand Prix are combined with those in next Tuesday's Grand Prix Special to decide the Dressage Team medallists, with Britain expected to face stiff competition from Germany and Netherlands.
Dutch star Anky van Grunsven, who has won the last three Olympic Individual Dressage gold medals, endured a testing day.
She scored 73.34 per cent on Salinero, but then revealed that her husband Sjef, who underwent surgery on a brain tumour last November, had been taken ill just hours before her test.
'Today was difficult for me because my husband got sick,' she said. 'It is the first time in the last six Olympics that he could not be here.
'We called the doctor, who came, so I was able to leave him with good care, but it was very stressful this morning. It was not the easiest of circumstances.
'He is okay. It is flu, but he had an operation for a brain tumour and with his medical history it is important that someone is there with him, but everything is under control now.'
The day's hard luck story belonged to Canadian David Marcus.
Already having had to cope with riding in a torrential downpour, his horse Capital then spooked wildly and it resulted in them being eliminated.
Marcus said: 'Things were going fine until he spotted a TV camera in the corner, and the crowd were moving around in their seats due to the rain, and it all went wrong. He doesn't normally do anything like that. It was totally out of character and I am desperately disappointed.'