Posted on 08/04/2012 2:43:53 PM PDT by the scotsman
'Great Britain claimed six gold medals and a silver on Day Eight of the London Games to enjoy their most successful day at an Olympics in 104 years.
The rowers started the celebrations with gold in the men's four and the women's lightweight double sculls.
The women's team pursuiters added track cycling gold in the London Velodrome.
Then Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah capped a historic day by winning the heptathlon, long jump and 10,000m at a jubilant Olympic Stadium.
Saturday's stunning series of successes keep the host nation third in the medals table with 14 golds, behind the United States and China.
Britain has now won 29 medals overall, having also taken seven silvers and eight bronzes at these Games.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Brit men’s footballers lost to South Korea, though.
They’re out.
That’ll throw a spanner in the works for our countrymen...so be it, I’m knackered.
So at the closing ceremony, are they going to celebrate the British Rural Electrification Program?
Congrats to our friends in Great Britain. Way to go folks...
I’m happy for you.
Always nice when the hometown folks do well.
The 10,000 Meter race was electrifying.
And seeing the teammates (GB and USA) working together to get Gold and Silver was awesome.
Screen got a bit misty when Mo Farah picked up his beaming daughter. Great race.
Thank you.
We’ll end up third behind you and China. 300m and 1.5b people respectively. For a nation of 60m people, thats a great achievement. Look at the great nations that are behind us.
A great honor indeed to be able to host the summer olympics.
Cheers.
Yes, it was a great race. Like Jessica Ennis’s last lap, I was jumping out of my seat and screaming at the telly twice in less than an hour, when Mo exploded and won.
I was just focusing on Rupp the whole time, when he moved into second I gave out a big yell.
The big winner was Alberto Salazar.
I was very happy to see this.
Truly a great nation of awesome sportsmen. Congratulations! Glad to see you outpace Germany. I thought that after Unification in 1990 they’d dominate European sports. Glad to see your countrymen rise to the challenge!
I think Americans got their love for sport from their British forebears.
Just watched the men’s four in rowing (on DVR). Wow, what a race, GB took the lead early and never gave it up, excellent gold. GB, Australia, USA, 1-2-3.
Proud of our men getting the bronze, and not terribly far back from challenging for the silver.
My pleasure. My ancestor’s stomping grounds were in that region of the world, and I think of Britain highly on my second tier level of nations.
Naturally the U. S. comes first, but you folks are very high on my list.
Continued good luck to you all.
I caught some of the heptathlon earlier today, but they haven’t shown it here on the main channel (where I my DVR set), maybe tonight. I hope so, she looked impressive in the hurdles, and did well in the high jump, but her shotput was a little shaky.
Yeah that was a great last 100m or so for him. If he had that kick for 200m he might have gotten the gold (maybe). Did I hear right, that is the USA first medal in that event since 1964?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/04/article-2168570-13E738D8000005DC-73_634x924.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/05/25/article-0-0F30532300000578-220_634x368.jpg
I watched the 10,000 race..The crowd was roaring..Great race and great training buddy wins..Yea Brit Yea American.
I am happy to see a great day for the home teams..Congratulations Brits.
Salazar was one happy coach.
Yes!
Yes, I believe so. The (then-unheralded) Billy Mills won the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. As it happens, Rupp's silver was only the third medal that U.S. men have ever won in the Olympic 10,000 meters. Louis Tewanima took the silver at the Stockholm games in 1912, the first time that the 10,000 meter race had been held in the Olympics.
Interestingly enough, both Mills (Lakota Sioux tribe) and Tewanima (Hopi tribe) were American Indians.
The only downer was the US men choking against the Russkies in Men’s Volleyball.
They were up 2 games to 0, with a match point in Game 3, and the Russians came all the way back to win.
There is a lot to be said for having a home ground advantage.
It was only the third medal in the 10,000 meters in 104 years. We won a silver in 1912 and a gold in 1964. We should really be celebrating Rupp’s achievement.
The Russians are the number one ranked team in the world and the heavy favorite for the gold. It was more of the more talented team rising to the challenge than the US choking. Give Russia credit for a deserved win.
LOL!
Once the Russians remembered how to actually serve, they pretty much dominated.
It should read "savours".
That's what I once thought, too. One of the first times I heard differently was announcers saying "England are" in reference to their national soccer team.
And since I often hear or see "are" or "savours", etc., used for singular words that represent a group of people.
No longer sure what is correct.
Well I’ll be cheering for Andy Murray to win gold in the men’s singles tomorrow. I’d like to see him take gold in the mixed doubles also but I’m not sure his partner is a strong enough player. Let’s hope she proves me wrong.
And of course, Charlotte DuJardin on Valegro, for Great Britain, scored an unheard-of 83.663, a very nearly perfect performance in freestyle dressage. Twelve 10’s! The UK has reason to be proud of her. Someday we will do that well.
Congratulations!
Wish they could catch China, but good to see them ahead of France and Germany.
I agree. Nothing against France and Germany, but I do have a place in my heart for Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. I’m not particularly an aficionado or even what I’d term familiar with the histories for the smaller entities, but my ancestors came from that region and I have some loyalties there.
WOW Jessica Ennis was terrific..Saw her great finish tonight..I caught myself singing God Save The Queen
;o)
As a Yank even I thought that race couldn't have ended better.
The equestrian events have also been made special by the location - in Greenwich Park in front of the peerless Wren buildings. Indeed one of the many successes of these Games has been the choice of location for the events held away from the Olympic Park - such as the road time trials starting and finishing at Hampton Court, or the sailing at Weymouth. Best of all, however, and an inspired joke, has been the placing of the Games' least serious event, the beach volleyball (apologies to b.v. fans) in Horse Guards' Parade, which is just about the heart of the British Establishment.
I didn’t know volleyball was being done in Horse Guards! That’s pretty funny.
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