OLYMPICS DAY 6 - Live coverage (From Streatham Guardian)

6:14pm

GB team will face France in the final at the velodrome

6:13pm

WORLD RECORD FOR GB MEN IN THE TEAM SPRINT

6:11pm

Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish disqualified from the women's team  sprint for an illegal changeover. Crowd deflated 

4:25pm

Victoria Pendleton and the GB sprint team set a world record in the Velodrome, which is beaten almost immediately by China.

4:11pm

Gemma Gibbons takes silver in the judo

4:09pm

She is now 2-0 down with one minute to go

4:06pm

Gibbons is currently 1-0 down with just over two minutes to go

4:02pm

Gemma Gibbons judo final against USA's Kayla Harrison is under way

4:01pm

Richard Hounslow and David Florence are celebrating a superb Olympic silver medal after Great Britain completed a remarkable one-two in the canoe slalom C2 category at the Lee Valley white water centre.

Harrow-born Hounslow and his partner from Aberdeen were last to go in the two-seat event after qualifying fastest from the semi-finals earlier this afternoon.

The Loughton-based pair produced a terrific effort but they were unable to overhaul the time set by Great Britain team-mates Tim Ballie and Etienne Stott, who won an amazing gold.

The medal more than makes up for the disappointment Florence and Hounslow suffered in their individual events earlier this week after both failed to make it into the finals of the C1 and K1 categories respectively.

3:57pm

WOOLWICH has seen its first Team GB gold, thanks to shooting star Peter Wilson’s performance in the men's double trap.
Wilson, the world-record holder and world number two in the event, led from start to finish at the Royal Artillery Barracks and was three points ahead going into today’s final after three qualifying rounds in the morning.
And in a tense final shoot-out Wilson missed five shots, including a double as he closed in on gold but his opponents could not take advantage and the Briton eventually finished two clear of Sweden's Hakan Dahlby with a total score of 188 out of 200 shots fired.
Wilson only took up competitive trap shooting in 2006 after a shoulder injury suffered while snowboarding prevented him from playing squash and cricket.
He smashed the world record in Arizona in March, scoring an incredible 198, and is now Britain's first shooting medallist since Richard Faulds won gold in the same event in Sydney 12 years ago.
 

3:51pm

GB is now fifth in the medal table

3:50pm

Queueing traffic and lane closed on exit slip road due to accident and recovery work on A12 Northbound at A12 East Cross Route / A106 Eastway (Lea Interchange), congestion to A102 Blackwall Tunnel / A13 East India Dock Road. This is part of the Olympic Route Network and is affecting official games vehicles heading into the Olympic Park.

3:45pm

Gemma Gibbons won her way through to an Olympic judo final today and immediately gave thanks to her late mother.

The 25-year-old wept with joy after beating the French world champion and then looked up and mouthed the word "Mum".

Her mother died of leukaemia when she was 17 and gave her huge support during her early years of judo competition.

Her victory has assured Team GB of at least another silver medal and the final will take place later this afternoon.

Gibbons, from Greenwich, was given huge support at the ExCel Arena, as the contest moved into three minutes of sudden-death.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a black belt in the martial art, visited the venue but narrowly missed Gibbons' semi-final victory over Audrey Tcheumeo.

3:41pm

GB also gets Gold and Silver in the Men's Canoe Double. Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott win, with David Florence and Richard Hounslow claiming silver.

3:39pm

Shooting star Peter Wilson claimed Britain's fourth gold medal of London 2012 in the men's double trap.

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3:37pm

Team GB’s Performance Director for boxing Rob McCracken hailed last night a “fantastic win” for Anthony Joshua as the Finchley ABC fighter advanced to the quarter finals. 

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3:04pm

The cyclist killed last night when he was involved in a collision with an Olympic media shuttle bus in Ruckholt Road has been named as Daniel Michael Harris, 28, of Waterloo Road, Barkingside.

3:01pm

Anthony Ogogo produced arguably the greatest performance of his career to defeat Ukraine's reigning world champion Ievgen Khytrov via a nail-biting judges' decision to move within one more win of a boxing medal.

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2:49pm

Gemma Gibbons beats the world champion to win through to the judo final

2:41pm

2:40pm

2:36pm

The women's judo semi-final featuring Charlton's Gemma Gibbons is under way at the Excel centre. She's up against the world champion, Audrey Tcheumeo 

2:30pm

Loughton duo David Florence and Richard Hounslow have qualified as the fastest pair for this afternoon’s Canoe Slalom C2 final.

The pair negotiated the course at Lee Valley without picking up any penalties, putting them in first place after the first four crews.

But not even the three-time Olympic champions from Slovakia, Pavol and Peter Hochschorner, could better the British boat’s time, ensuring they will be in confident mood ahead of this afternoon’s final.

The top six have reached the final, which starts at 3.18pm, but it was not just Florence and Harrow-born Hounslow celebrating.

Finishing sixth and taking the last place for the showdown was the second British pair of Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott who will also be looking for a place on the podium.
 

2:21pm

The problem of empty seats at London 2012 still "has to be sorted", according to British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan.

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2:15pm

VIDEO: Postman receives hero's welcome on Olympic time trial route

2:13pm

Just in from Transport for London:

Tomorrow is set to be the busiest day so far for the Olympic Park, with more than 200,000 spectators and accredited workers expected to travel to Stratford. 

Westfield shopping centre will only be accessible to accredited workers, members of the public with, or collecting, a Games ticket or using hospitality venues between 10:30am and 5pm on Friday and Saturday. All other passengers should avoid the area and enjoy the attractions at numerous other locations across London.
 

2:06pm

Normal service resumed on Central Line between Northolt and West Ruislip following earlier signalling problem at West Ruislip.

2:02pm

Gemma Gibbons will be fighting again in about 20 minutes to secure at least a silver medal

2:01pm

Gemma Gibbons wins through to the semi-final in the judo. Crowd goes wild

1:58pm

Charlton's Gemma Gibbons is competing in the judo quarter final in the U78kg category

1:48pm

WITH the Olympics now in full swing, reporter DANIEL BINNS looks at how Waltham Forest is contributing to 'the greatest show on earth'.

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1:44pm

Service suspended on Central Line between Northolt and West Ruislip due to signalling problem at West Ruislip. A good service on the rest of the line

1:42pm

Nicola Adams makes her Olympic debut on Monday and is confident she can advance to the semi finals of the women’s flyweight boxing competition.

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1:32pm

Britain's women were crushed 42-14 in double-quick time by strong title favourites Italy in the quarter-finals of the fencing team foil at the ExCeL this morning.

Natalia Sheppard, Sophie Troiano and Anna Bentley had beaten Egypt 45-34 to set up the clash with the three medallists in the individual competition.

The gulf in class was obvious from the start, Elisa Di Francisca, Arianna Errigo and Valentina Vezzali - gold, silver and bronze respectively last Saturday - cruising through.

The other three quarter-finals still had a long way to go when the British trio exited the arena to the applause of the sympathetic crowd.

If ever there was a mission impossible, this looked like it.

1:23pm

POST offices are selling stamps celebrating Team GB’s first gold medals at the Olympics.

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1:21pm

CHARLTON judo star Gemma Gibbons is through to the semi-final in the women’s U78kg category.

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1:20pm

Andy Murray is through to the semi-finals after a 6-1 6-4 victory over Spain's Nicolas Almagro.

1:14pm

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined tennis fans at Wimbledon today to cheer on British medal hope Andy Murray.

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1:12pm

Great Britain have a superb chance to add to their gold medal tally this afternoon with shooter Peter Wilson leading the double trap.

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1:05pm

SHOPKEEPERS hoping for an Olympic trading boom in Waltham Abbey are struggling with ‘dire’ customer numbers, as both locals and tourists steer clear.

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12:53pm

12:23pm

Queueing traffic on A12 Southbound at A12 East Cross Route/A106 Eastway (Lea Interchange). Past the 2012 games restrictions.

12:21pm

12:20pm

Peter and Richard Chambers, Chris Bartley and Rob Williams miss out by the tiniest of margins to the South African crew

12:18pm

Silver for GB in the men's lightweight four at Eton Dorney after a tight finish 

12:07pm

THE winners of the contract to build the first of five new neighbourhoods in the Olympic Park have been announced.

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11:59am

One of the players involved in the badminton match-fixing scandal at London 2012 has reportedly quit the sport.

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11:57am

11:57am

GB rowers Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas finish fifth in the men's double sculls final

11:53am

The final in the men's double sculls, featuring GB's Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas, is under way
 

11:51am

Great Britain completed a clean sweep of Olympic rowing finalists, with all 13 boats they entered into the regatta qualifying for medal races.

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11:28am

Britain's Lizzie Neave will be looking to add to Team GB's medal haul today when she competes in the women's kayak slalom.

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11:27am

Reaction to the Women handball team's defeat to Brazil:

Lynn McCafferty says the handball squad will endeavour to cut out the mistakes they are making in a bid to secure their first Olympic Games win.
Team GB were hoping to taste success today in the Copper Box against Brazil but found themselves beaten 30-17 to leave them without a win from their first three games.
McCafferty and her squad will return to action on Friday when Angola are the opposition and the skipper stressed the importance of fewer errors in their game.
She explained: “We will have to have a really good analysis of today’s game and find out where we are going wrong. It is pretty plain we are making too many mistakes.
“If we make so many mistakes we are never going to win a game, or never come close. We have to stop making mistakes, it is as easy as that.
Beckenham’s Kathryn Fudge continued: “We can take things on board. You have got to learn from your mistakes because if you don’t learn from them it is a waste of time.
“We have got to watch it back, see what we did wrong and work on it.”
She added: “I think we have just got to be a bit calmer. There are lots of things to learn from it anyway because if you don’t learn from your mistakes what can you work from?”
 

11:24am

Matt Bass on yesterday's diving featuring Bromely's Nick Robinson-Baker: 

Nick Robinson-Baker improved on his Beijing showing but was unable to claim an Olympic medal, finishing fifth in the 3m synchro final in the Aquatic Centre today.
The Bromley diver finished seventh at the Beijing Olympics four years ago with Ben Swain but was joined by Chris Mears this time around in a partnership that was formed in 2008.
The duo were seventh at the 2011 World Championships and recently won a silver medal at the Tijuana leg of the 2012 World Series.
They began with a score of 52.20 in the first round of dives. Performing a piked back dive, the pair placed sixth after the opening round with the Chinese combination of Yutong Luo and Kai Qin heading the pack.
In the second round they repeated the trick to score 52.20 again, finding themselves unable to hit top marks with their piked reverse dive.
It was a score that saw them remain in sixth in what was a tightly packed field.
Only the Chinese duo had performed two high-scoring dives so while they comfortably led the way, the rest of the field were all evenly matched.
Their third round effort did not score as highly as they would have hoped however.
Performing a piked reverse 2.5 somersaults with 1.5 twists, the duo were only awarded 77.22 as the degree of difficulty stepped up.
The Chinese pair continued to lead the way but Britain dropped to seventh, while at the halfway point, Mexico and Russia were on course for silver and bronze respectively.
Consistency wasn’t proving a problem for Team GB but they were just unable to earn the judge’s top marks.
Round four saw them awarded 78.54 for a piked 2.5 somersaults with 2 twists but they remained in seventh place, ahead of only the Canadian pair at this stage.
However, the duo enjoyed more success in round five as they performed a fine inward 3.5 somersault with tuck while others struggled.
A score of 84.66 saw them climb back up the leaderboard as they took advantage of low-scoring dives from both the Mexican and Malaysian pairs.
There was still all to play for in the final round as Team GB saw the chance of sneaking into the medal positions.
It wasn’t to be however, as the duo could only score 87.78 from their last dive, a forward 4.5 somersaults with tuck.
That left them in third place behind the Russians and Americans, but with the Chinese pair who had led from start to finish still to go, a medal looked unlikely.
And Luo and Qin duly did what was asked of them to seal the gold, leaving Robinson-Baker & Mears to finish fifth.
 

11:21am

THE British Olympic Association says the whole of Team GB have been lifted by yesterday's performances.

Association chief Andy Hunt said: "The team is clearly lifted by what was a good day for Team GB on the road, on the water and in the pool.

"We expect these games to be a real turning point for sport in this country."

The organisation also said there would be a chance at the end of the Games to mark the achievements of British coaches, who have been crucial in our successes so far.

11:21am

A TOTAL of 580,000 people attended the venues yesterday, a turnout of 86 per cent.

Last night 3,500 accredited seats were put back on sale and have since sold out.

Accredited seats yesterday were 80 full.

There have been 2,267 doping tests so far at the Games.

11:20am

ATHLETES are being advised to go easy on the boozing following the arrest of an Australian over drink related offences and wild celebrations by Bradley Wiggins.

Wiggins tweeted yesterday that he was "blind drunk" following his cycling gold.

International Organising Committe spokesman Mark Adams said Wiggins "probably deserved" a good celebration.

But he said: "I'd say drink wisely."

11:10am

Watford-born and Finchley ABC's Anthony Joshua reaches last eight of Olympic Games - click here to read more .

11:09am

Let us know if you're watching any Olympics events today and tell us where you are - even if you're curled up on the sofa.

Leave your comments below or tweet using #LondonersGames

11:03am

Sophie Hosking through to lightweight double sculls final - click here for the full report.

10:57am

Lizzie Neave, David Florence and Richard Hounslow hoping to add to Team GB's Olympic Games medal haul - click here to read more.

10:05am

Anthony Joshua followed in the footsteps of team-mate Luke Campbell and secured a place in the quarter-finals at the ExCeL Arena late last night as Team GB’s boxing team emerged triumphant in their biggest day of the Olympics so far.

The loudest reception of the day was reserved for the biggest man in the talent-laden boxing ranks as Watford-born super heavyweight Joshua took on Cuban contender Erislandy Savon - the nephew of three-time Olympic gold medallist Felix Savon - in the final contest of the evening.

Joshua, who fights for Finchley ABC, was aiming to match the wins already posted by Anthony Ogogo, Fred Evans, Josh Taylor and most recently Campbell, who ground out a victory over Italian Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello only hours earlier.

As thunderous chants of "Team GB" reverberated around the venue, Joshua was powerful and bright as he immediately set out to command the centre of the ring and edged the opening round 6-5.

Joshua landed some stinging right hand shots in the second round but Savon, to his credit, returned those with similar force but less accuracy as the former claimed the round 8-7.
 

The third and final round descended into some salivating back-and-forth exchanges as the two super heavyweights threatened to unleash their undoubted power in front of a vocal crowd.

Joshua lost the round as the judges scored it 4-3 to Savon but had done enough to win the fight 17-16.

"It's all about staying calm," said the 6ft 6ins, 16-stone Joshua.

"Even though it's your home crowd you get in there and you zone in on something different. The atmosphere definitely spurred me on, but I was calmer than I thought in there.

"We were both whacking each other with shots, we kept fighting to the last bell and let the judges do the scoring.

"Savon is a tidy boxer, that being my first fight will put me in good stead for the rest. The atmosphere is unbelievable out there and I have to give them great respect."

Joshua steps back between the ropes on Monday to face Zhilei Zhang of China, who stopped Australian Johan Linde in the second round of their bout.
 

9:58am

THE EYES of the athletics world have been on sprint ace Adam Gemili since he burst onto the scene with an Olympic qualifying time during an unheard of German race in June.
 

But it seems the London 2012 employee tasked with making Adam’s Olympic accreditation is not so familiar with our Dartford sprint star.

The 18-year-old runner posted a picture on Twitter last night (August 1) showing his Olympic Park pass, featuring an image of a man looking nothing like him.
 

He wrote: "My Olympic accreditation to get into the games, who even is this guy?!?!?"

Adam, who will compete in the hotly-anticipated men’s 100m races on Saturday and Sunday (August 4 and 5), also tweeted that his arrival at Gatwick airport yesterday “was kinda mad.”
 

Fingers crossed that by Sunday evening, he will be a bit more famous.

9:52am

A council is hoping to bring a stage of the Tour de France to its roads following Team GB's Olympic cycling success.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Surrey to watch cycling stars, including medal winners Bradley Wiggins, Lizzie Armitstead and Chris Froome, compete in the time trials and road races, a Surrey County Council spokesman said.

The local authority is now looking to host a stage of the Tour de France to build on the success of the Olympics, he added.

Surrey County Council leader David Hodge said: "Surrey has been the epicentre of world cycling over the past few days, cementing the county's reputation as a world-class place to ride.

"We're looking at putting together a bid to host a stage of the Tour de France to build on the success of the Olympic cycle races.

"In September, we'll be welcoming elite cycling back to Surrey when we host a stage of the Tour of Britain."

Staging the Surrey sections of the Olympic cycle races and time trials took 42 miles of roadside barriers, 5,000 cones, 4,000 road signs and 545 road closures.

There was also an army of 6,000 stewards, volunteers and workers, the council spokesman said.

He added: "Roads reopened either ahead of schedule or on time thanks to more than two years of preparation ensuring everything ran as smoothly as possible."

Mr Hodge added: "We've had huge crowds supporting the Olympic cyclists in recent days. People have been fantastic and showed their enthusiasm for the sport.

"Thanks to everyone's efforts disruption was kept to a minimum and we showed Surrey off to the world.

"I'm delighted that by hosting these events Surrey played its part in helping Team GB's medal winners create Olympic history on our doorsteps.

"I'd like to thank the people of Surrey for their patience and understanding during the last few days. I hope they enjoyed seeing such wonderful Olympic events for free in their neighbourhoods.

"The success of the events is also down to organisations across Surrey, including the police and borough and district councils, working closely together."
 

9:29am

Victoria Pendleton training at the Velodrome yesterday. The Beijing gold winner goes in the team sprint later today.

9:21am

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee believes the vast majority of his British squad are "fit and dangerous," including triple jumper Phillips Idowu who has been accused of turning his back on the governing body which has supported him for 12 years.

Idowu, who is suffering from a trapped nerve, opted to arrange his own treatment in London rather than attend a training camp in Portugal, even though his coach Aston Moore and UKA's medical team were there.

And although Van Commenee laughed when it was suggested Idowu's bed in the athletes' village might be shoved at the end of a corridor - "Don't give me ideas!" he said - the Dutchman is still willing to offer the 33-year-old Londoner UKA's support.

"If he (Idowu) was to be seen I will make Aston available," Van Commenee said. "But first he has to show up. Up until about two weeks ago, Aston was in regular contact and had seen him in training a number of times, but that contact died.

"(He had) a brief text message about a week ago and that was it. Phillips decided not to join the team (in Portugal) and by definition in my eyes he compromises his preparation. I find it bizarre. Aston finds it bizarre.

"He's under the wing of the BOA at the moment and we'll support when that's needed, like we always have. UK Athletics has supported Phillips Idowu for about 12 years, financially for a big part of those 12 years in terms of providing training accommodation, camps, medical support, psychological support, biomechanical support and coaching support.

"We pay the salary of his coach, our coach, so I'm perplexed that the last two weeks before the Games he turns his back on us, and I've got no idea why.

"All information we have about Phillips is now coming from the BOA. That information is that he's fit and ready to go. He had to hand in medical information. The BOA decided not to take it to the next stage, which would be a fitness test.

"Therefore Phillips Idowu is fit to compete and probably in great shape, because that's the sort of athlete he is. I'm sure he'll be a medal contender."

Van Commenee also had promising news on World Championship silver medallist Hannah England, who spent five days in hospital after suffering a spiked Achilles tendon in a race at the end of May.

"Hannah is making good progress, whether it's enough to be a serious medal contender remains to be seen," Van Commenee said. "It's very difficult if you haven't raced much to estimate what the standard is."

Goldie Sayers is still struggling with an elbow injury picked up when she broke the British javelin record last month, while hurdler Andy Pozzi is continuing his recovery from a hamstring problem.
 

9:20am

Tom Daley will continue to use Twitter during the London Olympics despite being advised to take a 'holiday' from the social networking site.

Daley has received a series of malicious tweets since he and team-mate Pete Waterfield failed to medal in the 10-metre platform synchro three days ago.

A 17-year-old youth was arrested and issued with an harassment order on Tuesday after making disparaging comments regarding Daley's father, who died last year, while a Welsh Premier League footballer has also been suspended after allegedly sending an abusive message.

On the eve of the Olympics, British Swimming advised all of its athletes to take a 'Twitter holiday' during the Games in a bid to avoid the type of controversy that is now following Daley.

The governing body has, however, refused to set down a blanket ban because of the positive effects they, and the British Olympic Association, believe it can have on athletes as they interact with fans during a home Olympics.

But following the messages sent to Daley there are growing fears the 18-year-old could be adversely affected ahead of his return to competition in the individual platform on August 10.

BOA chef de mission Andy Hunt voiced his concerns over the issue earlier this week - when he revealed Daley had received 50,000 messages during the day of the Opening Ceremony - and called for the teen's camp to discuss the matter with him.

Since then it is understood it has been decided that Daley will continue to use Twitter.

The Plymouth diver last night escaped the pressures of the Olympic Village, under the already-planned instruction of performance director Alexei Evangulov, for a six-day training camp in Southend.

Evangulov has sought to remove Daley from outside influence to concentrate on his anticipated showdown with Qiu Bo - the man who snatched away his platform world title last year.

An Olympic medal is the only major honour Daley is yet to win during his young career and after narrowly missing out on the podium on Monday, he retweeted a message from a user which said: "You let your dad down i hope you know that.''

Daley responded by tweeting: "After giving it my all... you get idiots sending me this..."

Daley was at the bedside of his father Robert when died aged 40 last May following a long battle with brain cancer.

Robert Daley had been an ever-present at poolside during Daley's carer and had pledged to fight his illness long enough to see his son compete in London.

An apparent apology to Daley followed from @Rileyy_69 but it has been alleged he later posted an expletive-laden rant including a threat to "drown" Daley.

Yesterday, Port Talbot Town FC has confirmed its midfielder Daniel Thomas was the subject of an internal investigation into a tweet sent to Daley.

According to reports, a homophobic message was sent to Daley's Twitter page from the @10DanThomas10 account, which has since been deleted.

Port Talbot FC officials stressed their player had been the victim of a "misguided prank" after leaving his phone unattended - but confirmed 28-year-old Thomas had been suspended while they looked into the matter.

The club said it and Thomas apologised "unreservedly" and in no way condoned the views expressed in the tweet.
 

9:13am

Having the Olympic Games in London is "the best possible gift you could ask for" if you run a tourism business, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

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8:31am

Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins has said the wearing of helmets should be made compulsory for cyclists, after the death of a cyclist following a collision with an Olympic media shuttle bus in Ruckholt Road, on the Waltham Forest border, yesterday.

7:59am

7:58am

7:51am

The driver of an official Olympic bus has been questioned after a cyclist was knocked down and killed.

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7:46am

Welcome to our coverage of day 6 of Olympics. After yesterday's euphoria following stunning performances by cyclist Bradley Wiggins and rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, there are high hopes for more Team GB gold medals today.
Cyclists Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy go in the team sprints at the velodrome this afternoon, while the lightweight four rowing team of Richard Chambers, Peter Chambers, Rob Williams and Chris Bartley won the last of recent World Cup races despite an injury-hit season.
There are also medal hopes for Team GB in the pool, with Fran Halsall going in the sprint final, and the canoe slalom.

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