EYES ON LONDON: Olympics club ‘Glee,’ Bolt rope

The Associated Press

LONDON — Around a 2012 Olympics and a horde city with reporters from The Associated Press bringing a season and sum of a games to you:



China’s Liu Xiang sits after descending in a men’s 110-meter hurdles feverishness during a entertainment in a Olympic Stadium during a 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)




Bahamas’s Shamar Sands falls after attack a burst in a men’s 100-meter hurdles during a entertainment in a Olympic Stadium during a 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)




USA’s Jason Richardson leads his feverishness in a men’s 100-meter hurdles during a entertainment in a Olympic Stadium during a 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)




Nigeria’s Noah Akwu, left, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, second left, United States’ Isiah Young, second right, and Switzerland’s Alex Wilson, right, contest in a men’s 200-meter feverishness during a entertainment in a Olympic Stadium during a 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)


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ONE LAST TIME

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings will go for one final pretension together Wednesday night after winning all though one set during their 3 Olympics as a pair.

The Americans are jacket adult this contest dynamic to suffer themselves during their final Olympics as a tandem. May-Treanor will retire, while Walsh Jennings skeleton to keep personification internationally.

They’ll face a No. 2 U.S. group of Apr Ross and Jennifer Kessy in an all-American final.

Walsh Jennings won’t even concede herself to consider about a emotions that will come once they’re through.

“No, we don’t,” Walsh Jennings said. “I’m focused on a goal, and a idea is to suffer any second of this, that we’re doing, and a other idea is to win a bullion medal. And after that, we’ll see how it goes.”

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HULK HARTING

Discus bullion medalist Robert Harting of Germany put on dual shows Tuesday night, one during his eventuality and another after. His second was utterly presumably a feat jubilee of a London Games.

Harting ripped his shirt to patches following his win — most like a Incredible Hulk — flexed his muscles and afterwards took to a line to make a pass on a women’s 100-meter hurdles.

“If we see me entrance out of a lane though a shirt, we know it was good,” Harting said.

Entertaining, too.

With a German dwindle tied around his waist and waving in a breeze, Harting sprinted down a track’s outward lane. He privileged scarcely any burst — sincerely considerable for a man his stretch — and afterwards headed toward a famed Olympic cauldron. He reached into a bottom of a cauldron and attempted to lift out one of a burning steel prongs.

It didn’t work, of course.

Nonetheless, a throng during Olympic Stadium seemed tender with his antics.

— Mark Long — Twitter: http://twitter.com/APMarkLong

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‘THANK YOU’

Liu Xiang crashed into a initial burst during his 110-meter race, though many in China are rallying their support.

About half a dozen newspapers ran front-page photos Wednesday of Liu Xiang kissing a final burst before he limped off a track. One ran a title observant “Thank You.”

A tip Communist Party central phoned Liu in London to uncover a country’s support for him, a central Xinhua news Agency reported Wednesday.

It pronounced Liu Yandong, a member of a party’s Politburo, “expressed magnetism and regard … observant that his spirit, will and opinion has deeply changed and rarely desirous a whole nation.”

— Didi Tang

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GOODBYE WINDSURFING

Windsurfing done a energetic games exit, with Dorian Van Rijsselberge of a Netherlands collecting a men’s bullion award he’d clinched days progressing and Marina Alabau of Spain winning a women’s regatta.

Windsurfing got a heave-ho from a lineup for a 2016 Rio Olympics in a opinion in May, transposed by kiteboarding. The International RS:X Class Association filed a authorised plea final week opposite a International Sailing Federation.

Van Rijsselberge and Alabau will substantially have to concentration on kiteboarding if they wish to stay in a Olympics.

“Yeah, we consider this was a mistake,” Alabau pronounced about windsurfing removing blown out of a games. “I consider it will come back. This is my wish and this is what we consider will be a right thing. we know how to kite and we will kite if they don’t give me another chance, though we adore windsurfing.”

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RAFALCA’S FUTURE

Rafalca didn’t acquire a award in a dressage competition, though co-owner Ann Romney was still happy with her horse’s performance.

“It was wonderful,” pronounced Mrs. Romney, a mother of Republican presidential claimant Mitt Romney. “She was superb and unchanging again. We usually adore her.”

The U.S. finished sixth, and Rafalca, ridden by Jan Ebeling, finished in 28th place.

So what’s subsequent for Rafalca, a equine that brought a foe of dressage to a courtesy of many Americans?

Mrs. Romney pronounced that after Ebeling competes for another year or two, she would substantially try tact Rafalca, a German-bred mare. A mare so famous and achieved as Rafalca could be profitable on a horse-breeding market.

— Nicole Winfield — Twitter http://twitter.com/nwinfield

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BARBELL FALL

A 432-pound barbell crashed down on a neck of Germany’s fortifying super heavyweight weightlifting champion, causing him to leave a final event.

Matthias Steiner mislaid his change Tuesday perplexing to lift 196 kilograms in his second lift of a waylay apportionment of a competition. He fell awkwardly to a height as a barbell crashed down on him.

Medical crew rushed adult to tend to a German, who got onto his feet and waved to a throng as he walked into a behind room. He didn’t come out for his third attempt.

“He is in a bit of pain in a back, and they don’t wish him to get a genuine complicated injury,” pronounced Harold Strier, a orator for Germany’s weightlifting federatio

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NAMESAKE CHEETAHS

Carmelita Jeter and Justin Gatlin — accommodate Carmelita and Justin, a cheetah cubs. They might be usually 3 months old, though they will shortly leave we in a dust.

The National Zoo in Washington has named dual cheetah cubs after a fastest Americans in a Olympics.

Jeter won a china award in a women’s 100 meters, finishing in 10.78 seconds. Gatlin took a bronze in a men’s 100 with a time of 9.79.

Cheetahs are a fastest animals on land. Their tip gait is scarcely 3 times as quick as Gatlin’s bronze-winning run.

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THREE’S COMPANY

The high burst medals rite will have a packaged podium.

Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, Derek Drouin of Canada and Robert Grabarz of Britain finished in a three-way tie for a bronze medal, singular though not unheard of in a event.

“It doesn’t matter,” pronounced Barshim, who warranted his country’s fourth award ever. “We are all brothers. We are high jumpers, one family. We share a happiness, too.”

The final time 3 high jumpers common a lectern symbol during a Olympics was in 1992, when Hollis Conway (United States), Timothy Forsyth (Australia) and Artur Partyka (Poland) all warranted bronze medals. It also happened in 1908, when Georges Andre (France), Cornelius Leahy (Britain/Ireland) and Istvan Somodi (Hungary) tied for silver.

Barshim, Drouin and Grabarz will get their medals Wednesday night.

“It’s going to be parsimonious for space adult there, though it’s going to be fun,” Grabarz said.

— Mark Long — Twitter: http://twitter.com/APMarkLong

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QUICKQUOTE: CAN’T BE MAD

“No regrets. Oh, OK, two: we clipped a burst and we might have leaned too soon. we wanted that gold, we gave it everything, though we can’t be mad.” — Dawn Harper, who won a china award for a U.S. in a 100-meter hurdles after Australian Sally Pearson edged her out for a gold.

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EXPLAINER: NOT A BRIBE

No, a income that Team USA manager Mihai Brestyan handed to a judges on Tuesday wasn’t a bribe. It’s a cost of appealing a scoring decision.

When Aly Raisman was given a 14.966 on her change lamp routine, Brestyan had to make a snap decision.

Under FIG rules, a manager can plea a measure if he or she thinks a problem symbol of a slight was distributed incorrectly. But to forestall coaches from filing an exploration on everything, FIG requires an upfront payment. The initial exploration costs $300, a second $500 and a third costs $1,000.

If a initial measure is upheld, a manager loses that income and it goes to a FIG Foundation. If a exploration formula in a scoring change, like it did for Raisman in moving her to a bronze medal, a manager gets that income back.

— Jon Krawczynski — Twitter: http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski

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GOING THE DISTANCE

The final time a Americans were a cause in stretch running, former world-record hilt Jim Ryun was encircling a track.

That was 44 years ago, when a U.S. was indeed gripping adult with a competition.

Ever since, they’ve been in utterly a funk.

That is, until London, where Leonel Manzano and Galen Rupp are heading a U.S. resurgence in a stretch events.

Rupp, of Portland, Ore., prisoner a china award in a 10,000 meters over a weekend. Then, Manzano, of Austin, Texas, followed with another china in a 1,500 on Tuesday night.

So, what gives?

“We’ve unequivocally brought stretch using around a corner,” Manzano said. “And we know it’s going to get better. we really wish this is a branch indicate for everybody. we wish there’s a child out there, sitting on a couch, examination this foe and says, ‘Hey, we can do this as well.’”

— Pat Graham — Twitter http://twitter.com/pgraham34

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TALKING TO HERSELF

Two-time beach volleyball bullion medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings has found a approach to keep herself from overthinking during her matches.

“You have to give your mind another pursuit to do,” she pronounced after advancing to her third true Olympic bullion award game.

And what is that job?

“I spell ‘pass’ 20 million times a day,” she said. “P-A-S-S. Right when they’re removing prepared to serve.”

— Jimmy Golen — Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jgolen

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QUICKQUOTE: ONLY?

“Only? That’s flattering good, we reckon. Not many countries can get 4 bullion medals. And how many of them have a lot? Like 24, 25 (medals)? We’re really going to get some-more than that, and we are operative a approach adult that award total and it’s going to be great.” — Sally Pearson on winning bullion in a 100-meter hurdles, a fourth bullion for Australia.

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CABLE RATINGS WIN

Fueled by basketball and soccer, a NBC Sports wire network had a best ratings of a Olympics so distant on Monday.

The U.S. men’s basketball diversion opposite Argentina was seen by 3.3 million people during a day, a Nielsen association said. The women’s soccer diversion between a U.S. and Canada had usually underneath 3 million.

In prime-time, a NBC telecast was seen by 26.6 million viewers, probably matching to a 26.4 million who watched a same night from Beijing 4 years ago.

— David Bauder — Twitter http://twitter.com/dbauder

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EDITOR’S NOTE — “Eyes on London” shows we a Olympics by a eyes of Associated Press reporters opposite a 2012 Olympic city and around a world. Follow them on Twitter where accessible with a handles listed after any item.

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August 08, 2012 04:41 AM EDT

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