Olympic Games: Day 1 (research)

1221:

BADMINTON

Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier on their loss to Russia's Alexandr Nikolaenko and Valeria Sorokina in their opening mixed doubles group match at Wembley Arena.

Adcock: "The final game turned into a bit of a scrap and unfortunately we were on the losing end of it. It's a round robin so we know we've got two games we can definitely win."

Bankier: "We're extremely disappointed but we've just got to get over it. We've still got a chance of getting through. We'll take a few hours, recover, start looking at the video and work out a plan with the coaches."Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier on their loss to Russia's Alexandr Nikolaenko and Valeria Sorokina in their opening mixed doubles group match at Wembley Arena.
1219:

TENNIS

An update on some of the first-round matches under way over at Wimbledon for you now. Line judges beware, because David Nalbandian is in action, and is level at 1-1 in the first set in his men's singles match against Serbian seventh seed Janko 'Tipsy' Tipsarevic. In the women's event, Belgium's Kim Clijsters raced to take he first set 6-1 against Italy's Roberta Vinci and former world number one Ana Ivanovic is 5-4 up in the first set against American Christina McHale.
1213:

Swimming - Jamieson and Benson through to semis

The good start to the day continues for Great Britain in the pool. Both British men are through to the semi-finals with Michael Jamieson third in 59.89 in his heat and through as the ninth fastest. Scot Craig Benson is 13th fastest. Both men swam new national records with Jamieson snatching the national mark back from his compariot in the very next race.
Great Britain track cyclist Laura Trott: "On the way to London! Oh yeahh!"
1211:

BADMINTON

Great Britain's Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier failed to capitalise on a fine start as they were beaten in their London 2012 opener at Wembley Arena.

Adcock and Bankier raced ahead in the opening game of their Group A mixed doubles match against Russia's Alexandr Nikolaenko and Valeria Sorokina, but their opponents hit back to win 14-21 21-9 21-18.

The Anglo-Scottish pair, silver medallists at the World Championships at the same venue last year, must now bounce back quickly against Germans Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels on Sunday.
1208:

ROAD CYCLING

The five British riders are STILL at the front of the peloton, which is not doing much to close the gap on the escapees at the moment. Germany, who also have an interest in this race ending in a bunch sprint because of their fast finisher Andre Greipel, have sent Tony Martin up to help out, or at least try to look like he is helping out.

The 12 riders at the front of the race have an advantage of well over five minutes but are only on their second of nine 15.9km (9.9 mile) ascents (and descents) of Box Hill so there is still a lot of racing to go before the finish at around 16:00 BST.
1206:

SWIMMING

Hungary's Daniel Gyurta wins a swift fourth heat of the men's 100m breaststroke in 59.76 seconds, but Great Britain's Craig Benson is fourth ahead of Australian Brenton Rickard in 60.04. That might well be good enough to make the semi-finals. Two heats to go...
1202:

Ollie Williams, BBC Sport at the gymnastics at the North Greenwich Arena

"Halfway through qualifying for GB's male gymnasts and things are proceeding steadily. GB's score, 136.556, is in touch with world champions China's 139.064 and there have been no major errors so far. High bar next - this is where it all went wrong for Britain at last year's World Championships, so these are vital moments ahead."
1202:

Fencing

Sophie Troiano's Olympic bid in the individual foil is over as she was beaten by Great Britain team-mate Natalia Sheppard in the round of 64 stage.

Troiano, from New Malden in Surrey, said: "It was a close fight. I really hope Nat goes on to do really well. I did my best but it wasn't enough but now we've got the team event and hopefully we can get a good result there."
1201:

Afternoon all. Give this page a manual refresh so you know who is speaking to you and your Olympics will continue, seamlessly. We have already had our first gold medal of the 2012 Games, which went to China's Yi Siling in the women's 10m air rifle but there are 11 more golds to be settled today so don't go anywhere.

One of them will be in the men's road race, which is currently being fought out on the slopes of Box Hill... That is due to finish on The Mall at 16:00 BST, where Britain's Mark Cavendish will hope to contest - and win - a bunch sprint.
1200:

Chris Bevan is ready to take to the keyboard here at the Olympic Park. I'll leave you at the mercy of his ruthless fingertips.
SWIMMING

Britain's Hannah Miley on BBC One after qualifying for tonight's 400m individual medley final: "The last 100m felt harder than the rest but morning swims tends to be that way. The noise when you come out to the pool from the crowd unbelievable.

"I was really happy with my heat, it was my fastest swim in a heat, so that's great. I have got to see what I can do now for the final.

"Before a race, my dad gives me a hug and says 'I love you'. It's great to be swimming not just for myself, but for my family, and him and his hard work."
ROWING

Great Britain's men's eight cox Phelan Hill on BBC One: "The Germans are the stand out crew, but as a starting point, it is not too bad. We want to be beating the Germans, but today was the first race in our full line-up in the correct positions; we have something to build on.

"We need to dig a little deeper and commit ourselves a bit more. I think the crowd make a massive difference so hopefully that will do us some favours."
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at the rowing event at Eton Dorney

"Superb finish to the men's lightweight four heat which featured Great Britain's quartet of brothers Peter and Richard Chambers, Rob Williams and Chris Bartley. The British were neck-and-neck with world champions Australia before overhauling them with a burst of pace before the line.

"The crowd in the grandstands, which straddle Dorney Lake on both sides inside the final 250m, were all over that finish. More of the same expected in the semis now."
Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the Aquatics Centre

"World silver medallist Hannah Miley absolutely beaming after winning the fourth of five individual medley heats in 4:34:98. Also looked a little embarrassed by the incredible reception she received from the crowd after getting out of the pool.

"Miley finished ahead of defending Olympic champion Stephanie Rice of Australia, but USA's World Champion Elizabeth Beisel and China's 16-year-old Ye Shiwen were three seconds quicker in the other heats and will be huge obstacles to overcome in tonight's final."
1150:

MILEY THROUGH TO 400M MEDLEY FINAL

American world champion Elizabeth Beisel is hot favourite for gold in the 400m individual medley after taking her form up to another level again this year. The 19-year-old throws down the gauntlet with a time of 4.31.68 - the fastest time of any heat. Miley is safely through to the final and will be in lane seven at 2009 BST. Great Britain's Aimee Willmott can't follow her through though after finishing fifth in 4.38.87 in that final qualifier.
1150:

SWIMMING- Reaction from Lochte and Phelps

America's Ryan Lochte after qualifying third fastest for tonight's final of the 400m individual medley: "I am not going to lie, that hurt. I didn't feel so good but that was my first race. My first race is always the worst. I am glad I got the cobwebs off. What I had to do was get a lane for tonight so I am pretty happy."

On Michael Phelps also qualifying for the final:"It's a tough field. He's in. You can't count him out even though he just squeaked in eighth. He's a racer. We're going to do everything we can to go one-two tonight."

Fourteen-time Olympic gold medallist Phelps after scraping through: "When I saw the time (4:13.33), I was like, 'oh, it is going to be a challenge'. I will get in the water tonight and have fun."
Ollie Williams, BBC Sport, BBC SportGYMNASTICS

"Britain are just 0.066 points behind China, the world champions, one-third of the way through their qualifying in the men's gymnastics in Greenwich. What that means, in practice, is that Britain are having a good day and China a less-good one, particularly the Chinese performances on the parallel bars.

"Kristian Thomas has been impressive on the vault, scoring 15.983, while Dan Purvis currently lies third in qualifying for the all-around final. Britain are now on the parallel bars with China on high bar.

"The major caveat in all of this is that, even once GB finish just after 13:00 BST, there are still two more qualifying sessions to go and it will be a while until we know how good GB's performance has been."
1145:

SWIMMING

Hannah Miley emerges from the water to cheers after winning the fourth heat of the women's 400m medley in 4.34.9 ahead of defending championStephanie Rice in 4.35.7 and American Caitlin Leverenz 4.36.09. Miley is third fastest with just one heat to go, so is as good as into the final.
1143:

ROAD CYCLING

This is becoming a bit of a worry for Mark Cavendish and his British team-mates, although there is still around 170km and about four hours of racing to go. The gap to the escapees is almost six minutes now, as the men at the front of the bunch start the first of their nine ascents of Box Hill, where there are huge crowds waiting on the side of a very narrow road.

Lots of different nationalities are represented in the front 12 riders, so the British men are largely being left to do the chasing on their own at the front of the peloton, although they are being helped a bit by Team Sky's Austrian rider Bernhard Eisel.
1141:

SWIMMING

Great Britain's Hannah Miley, silver medallist in the world championships last year, is in action in the 400m individual medley and is looking good as she leads into the final three lenghts of her heat.
Great Britain swimmer Ross Davenport: "3rd Olympic games and 1st individual final for @davidcarry. Just shows, never give up!"
1137:

Siling's success is already up on our medal table to move China up into the top slot they held at the end of the Beijing Games. What price them still being there at the end of the 16 days?
1135:

Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku has been excluded from the London Games after failing an anti-doping test, the International Olympic Committee has announced. Pulaku tested positive for a banned substance on Wednesday.
1130:

A wide, wide grin on the face of China's Yi Siling as she turns to acknowlege the crowd after winning gold in the women's air rifle event. Sylwia Bogacka of Poland wins silver on 399.37 with Yi's team-mate Lu Dan third.
Dan Walker Twitter Q&A

One last batch of answers from BBC Olympics presenter Dan Walker:

What event are you looking forward to the most? (George Nelson)

"Living in Sheffield, I can't wait to see Jess Ennis hopefully win gold in the heptathlon. All the generally stuff, the Bolts of this world and that sort of thing. I'm obsessed about the Olympics. I used to watch weightlifting in the small hours of the morning so can't wait for the whole thing."

If you could compete in any event, which and why? Were you sporty as a boy? (Mart Smith)

"I'd have a go at anything other than swimming. Despite being 6ft 6ins, I'm one of the worst swimmers on the planet. If I could do anything, I think the multi events are supreme. I grew up watching Daley Thompson and to master one event is incredible but to master 10 or seven, as Jess Ennis does, is simply superhuman. It would be amazing to be involved in the decathlon. As a boy I played tennis, golf, football, rugby - anything other than swimming."
1129:

Ollie Williams, BBC SportGYMNASTICS

"One-sixth of the way through their qualification at the North Greenwich Arena - the O2, to you and me - Britain's men have made a solid start, scoring 44.199 on rings, which they would normally consider their weakest of the six pieces of apparatus.

"South Korea, who are a useful benchmark for the British performance here, had a shocker on pommel horse and that could be handy from a British point of view later. GB now on to the vault while in other news, Ireland's Kieran Behan - the gymnast twice told he would never walk again after suffering a training accident and brain damage - struggled in his floor exercise and that will be the end of his Olympic bid."
GOLD MEDAL- Yi Siling, Chn (Women's air rifle)

China's Yi Siling clinches the first gold medal of the 2012 Olympics with a score of 502.9 in the women's 10m air rifle.
GET INVOLVED

Chris texts: "Oh British humour.....as the Benny Hill theme is played during time out sessions at the beach volleyball!!! What would the man himself have made of it!?!"

Hannah & Harriet on Henman Hill texts: "Sitting on Henman Hill - awesome flash mob dancing and now Pet Shop Boys, plus the sun is out and a day of tennis awaits! Could the day be any better?"

Michael from Wimbledon texts: "Thinking of rocking up to the beach volleyball in a bikini, is that acceptable attire?"
1122:

SHOOTING

The first gold medal of the games is close. Out on the Royal Artillery China'sYi Siling leads by 0.7 on a score of 482.1 with eight shots down in the women's 10m air rifle.
1119:

ROAD CYCLING

Britain's Ian Stannard has just gone back to his team car to pick up water bottles for his team-mates - they probably need them quickly too, with all the work they are doing at the front of the peloton.

With around 195km left to go of the men's road race, the gap to the front 12 is still around four-and-a-half minutes. These riders have another 70km or so to go until they get on to the Box Hill circuit. There are still plenty of spectators on the roadside, although lots more fans will be waiting on the slopes of Box Hill - as many as 20,000 are expected there.
Dan Walker Twitter Q&A

Here's Dan Walker again with answers to your questions:

Which team is looking the best? (Don Paolo)

"The Russians are certainly getting a lot of support. I think it was for their tactics…"

Who has won the most beach volleyball Olympic golds? (Keval Coentrao)

"Only three countries have ever won gold. It's Australia, USA and Brazil. It's only been in the Olympics since 1996 but it tends to be dominated by those three and particularly Brazil and USA."

Who do you think will win Norway v Team GB (male) on Wednesday? Not typical sand volleyball nations! (Anne-Lise Johnsen)

"Team GB aren't particularly highly ranked in either the men's or the women's volleyball - I think you'd put them in the rank-outsider category. But let's hope they can beat Norway."
SWIMMING

Five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe on Park Tae-hwan's disqualification: "Looking at that start with the naked eye, I don't see anything in it. He is within his rights to appeal.

"He may have had a quick start, but that looked good. If his start time was outside the regulation time in what was registered on his electronic starting block, then it will be hard to come back from that, though."
1117:

BBC Radio 5 live's new 24-hour sister station, 5 live Olympics Extra, offers a dedicated London 2012 service which contains extended commentaries and catch-up programmes. You can listen through DAB, online or mobile.
BBC's Claire Heald at the Olympic Park: "The Queen has gone up the Orbit tower in the heart of the Olympic Park. But that's OK, we know she's got a head for heights. Huge crowds gathered at Olympic Park for the Queen and Seb Coe, who stopped to shake hands with a few people."
1116:

Nick Hope, BBC SportSWIMMING

"Crowds really getting behind Robbie Renwick in that 400m freestyle heat - deafening 'Robbie, clap, clap clap' heard throughout the entire 3:47:44 of his swim.

"The Beijing and now London Olympian led for the majority, but was just touched out by Canada's Commonwealth champion Ryan Cochrane. Scottish veteran David Carry, who's competing in his third Games, put everything he had into the following heat, but looked pained down the final length. His 3:47:25 'could' give him an outside chance of the final, but it will be close."

I'm afraid it may not be enough for Renwick. We are hearing that Carry has made it through to the semi-finals, but he has left his team-mate behind.
1114:

SWIMMING

After the drama of Phelps narrowly qualifing for the 400m individual medley, there is more mystery and intrigue in the men's 400m freestyle.

South Korea's defending Olympic champion Park Tae-hwan has been disqualified. We are trying to work out why. His start looks fine from the replays. There may be appeals, in fact I suspect a protest is being brewed up already.

Britain's Robbie Renwick and David Carry have both put in sterling effort with Renwick finishing second behind Canada's Ryan Cochrane in 3.47.44, while Carry led for much of his heat before finishing third in his race in 3.47.25.
BBC Olympics presenter Dan Walker is covering the beach volleyball and was keen to answer your questions, so we've picked out a few sent using theTwitter hashtag #bbc2012.

Who are the favourites in men's and women's events? Brazil, USA? (Manoj Nardani)

"USA are the reigning Olympic champions in both disciplines, but Brazil are currently ranked number one in the world. So it should be a straight shoot-out between those two for the golds."

Where will the beach volleyball be if it is raining... ? (Golft_witter)

"That's a very good question. I think they can deal with drizzle but hard British rain may well cause a technical timeout, which I believe is the official term."
1104:

ROAD CYCLING

Philippa Thomas, BBC News correspondent at Box Hill: "Thousands of spectators are cramming the pavements and verges. I'm at the top of the unticketed stretch where locals and cycling enthusiasts together have been out since dawn with camp chairs, cameras and even chalk to mark up the roads with "Go Cav", "Go Wiggo", "Go for Gold" and other variations.

"It's not all about Team GB. I've met Belgians and Germans in the crowd and while the Union flag is everywhere - on capes, caps and faces - it's a happily cosmopolitan crowd and for hours it's been like a sprawling street party here."
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at the rowing event at Eton Dorney

"If there was a roof on the grandstands here at Eton Dorney, it would have been blown into oblivion when British duo Heather Stanning and Helen Glover nailed an Olympic best performance in the first race. The duo were all smiles after the race and have now headed back to the hotel to put their feet up. The GB men's eight were impressive, too. They may have to contest the repechage to get to the final, but considering this was the first time they have raced together, it was very encouraging and their fast finish got the best cheer of the day from the crowd."
1101:

Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatics Centre

"Seventeen-year-old Japanese record holder Kosuke Hagino looked in ominous form in the 400m individual medley and his time of 4.10.01 makes him a serious contender for a place at the top of the podium in tonight's finals."
1101:

ROAD CYCLING

The British riders are still at the front of the peloton but the gap to the escapees keeps growing as the race gets closer to the start of the Box Hill circuit, and is up to four minutes and 20 seconds now, with 205km of the 250km left to race.

As well as Australia's Stuart O'Grady, the breakaway bunch includes France'sSylvain Chavanel, Italian time trial specialist Marco Pinotti, Spain's Nicolas Castroviejo (the man who replaced Samuel Sanchez), Belgium's Jurgen Roelandts, Norway's Alexander Kristoff and Russia's Denis Menchov.
1059:

SWIMMING

Five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe on the 400m individual medleys heats: "That was a surprise. Phelps seemed to back out on the backstroke, and he had a bad touch at the end.

"There is no doubt 0.07secs is cutting it too fine. I am really looking forward to the final now between Phelps and Ryan Lochte."

Phelps will start in lane eight in tonight's 400m medley final as he attempts to defend the title that he won in both Athens and Beijing.
1057:

ROWING

GB's Bill Lucas and Sam Townsend finish second behind New Zealand's world champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan in the double sculls with an impressive display that puts them into the semi-finals.
GET INVOLVED

Will Gordon from London texts: "Potential Cold War incident in Richmond Park. Russian support vehicle has just smashed the wing mirror of the US car."

Mark Smith at Hampton Court texts: "Thousands of people are converging from all directions on the famous Diana fountain in London's Bushy Park for a glimpse of the cycle road race. Surreal - like a scene from Close Encounters."

Mark Goldfinch texts: "At Olympic basketball. Fantastic arena, great game! And what an awesome opening ceremony!"
1056:

OLYMPIC RECORD- Dana Vollmer, USA (Women's 100m butterfly)

American Dana Vollmer sets a new Olympic record of 56.25 to qualify fastest for the semi-finals of the 100m butterfly.
1052:

HALSALL AND GANDY INTO SEMI-FINALS

Two big finishes from the British girls in the 100m butterfly as Fran Halsalltakes second in her race behind Australian contender Alicia Coutts in 58.23 to make the semi-finals as the eighth fastest swimmer.

Ellen Gandy, who set a new British record in the national trials, is just behind in 58.25 as Sweden's Sarah Sjosterom wins her heat.
1047:

ROAD CYCLING

Bradley Wiggins is at the front of the peloton and the British team are trying to close down this breakaway bunch, which now has a lead of around two minutes.

Unlike the Tour de France, there is no race radio today allowing the riders to communicate with their team cars to find out what is going on up the road, and how far ahead the escapees are, so Wiggo and co will have to monitor that themselves. "It's the same for everybody," says British Cycling's performance director Dave Brailsford about the radio situation. "It's down to the actual guys to feel the race. I think it is down to the likes of David Millar who is our road captain, to call the shots."
1045:

ROWING

Former Oxford rowing coach Daniel Topolski on BBC Radio 5 live: "That was a fantastic opener for Great Britain in the men's eight. They have held on to Germany and the repecharge could be good for them.

"That was five seconds quicker than the United States, and that will give them confidence. They have something to build on, but Germany do look good."
1044:

ROWING

One half of the victorious women's pair Helen Glover on BBC One: "Plan A is always to expect to race to the line and plan B is to conserve what we can. In the last 500m we rowed how we felt like we wanted to row.

"We are going to sit with our feet up today, and in the next couple of days we'll keep ticking over by doing some training, and the final will be the peak of our season."
1043:

ROWING

There is a bit of reaction coming in from Eton Dorney where we have had one GB hit (Helen Glover and Heather Stanning through to the final of the women's pair) one maybe (the men's eight into the repechage) and one miss (the women's quad scull crashing out).
BBC swimming commentator Karen Pickering on Twitter: "Wow. Phelps only just made it into the final by 0.07 sec! A few nervous moments!!"
1038:

SWIMMING

Well, well well. Extraordinary scenes as Michael Phelps' 'canny' energy conservation almost backfires spectacularly on him. The 14-time gold medal winner comes within 0.07 seconds of being eliminated as the fifth and final heat is markedly faster than the rest. South African Chad le Clos touches just ahead of Ryan Lochte to take victory in 4.12.02 but Michael Phelps clocks only the eighth fastest time overall as another three swimmers come inside his mark. Laszlo Cseh, silver medallist at Beijing and thought to be one of the few to be able to challenge the Americans, is eliminated. GB's Joe Roebuckis 24th.
1037:

ROAD CYCLING

This could have been very costly. A big dog ran across the road, and back again, in front of the main pack of riders. Luckily, everyone avoided a collision... and a spectator who stepped out right in front of the peloton too.

Meanwhile, back at the front of the race, that last breakaway was quickly reeled back in but another group of about a dozen riders has got about 20 seconds clear. It includes veteran Australian Stuart O'Grady, who is competing at his sixth Olympics.
1036:

Judo - GB's Ashley McKenzie goes out

Great Britain's Ashley McKenzie is knocked out of the men's 60kg competition after losing to Hiroaki Hiraoka of Japan in the last 32 at Excel.
Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatics Centre

"Yep, the crowd's reaction to Commonwealth silver medallist Joe Roebuck'sarrival was certainly something special - but his time, 4:20:24 was around six seconds off his personal best and he will not be progressing to the 400m individual medley final.
1030:

ROAD CYCLING

Our first attack of today's race sees two men - an Italian and a Dutch rider - spring clear from the front of the pack, but it is not much of a gap at the moment. More riders are trying to bridge the gap and join the escape.
Five-time Olympic rowing champion and BBC Sport analyst Sir Steve Redgrave on tactics during the heats:

"When I was in the heats I always thought we should put our marker down and not keep our powder dry.

"What really drains your energy is if you have to really blast it in in the last 50m. If you cruise through at race pace, you can recover your energy quite quickly."
1028:

SWIMMING

Michael Phelps is keeping plenty in the can for the rest of his busy campaign. He does just enough in his heat to stay ahead of Laszlo Cseh, winning his heat in four minutes 13.33 seconds. Two other men have already gone faster in the first three heats, but providing another six men don't better his time in the next and final heat, Phelps will be safely through to the final.
1027:

An average audience of 22.4 million watched the opening ceremony on BBC One and BBC HD on Friday, with a five-minute peak of 26.9m. Athens 2004 was watched by an average of 8.7m and Beijing 2008 by 5.1m. The highest opening ceremony viewing since at least 1992 was Barcelona in 1992, with an average audience of 11.3m and a peak of 12.4m.

Recent five-minute peak highs for sport on TV include: Euro 2012 England v Italy - 23.2m; Wimbledon final Andy Murray v Roger Federer - 17.1m.

Unique browsers to the BBC Sport website on Friday: 4.5m (highest to date 5.7m on 17th March for the Fabrice Muamba story). Total number of video requests to the opening ceremony across BBC online was one million.
1026:

ROWING- GB men's eight second in heat

Great Britain pick up in the last 500m but finish second to composed world champions Germany in the men's eight to tremendous roars from the packed stands at Eton Dorney. The GB team will have to go through the repechage, but their strong display will give them hope of a medal in the final.
1023:

ROAD CYCLING

A few of the riders have just taken a toilet break on the side of the road as the race continues into Richmond Park, on its way out of London. The rest of the field waited for them, as cycling etiquette dictates.

By the way, defending road race champion, Spain's Samuel Sanchez, is not in today's race after failing to recover from injuries he sustained during the Tour de France. "Although he is in good physical shape, he is still suffering a certain amount of pain in his hand and shoulder," Spanish team coach Jose Luis De Santos said.
1023:

SWIMMING

Michael Phelps turns first at halfway with Hungarian rival Laszlo Cseh, a perennial bridesmaid to the American, 0.22 seconds behind.
1020:

SWIMMING

American serial gold medal winner Michael Phelps is about to get his Olympic campaign under way in the fourth heat of the men's 400m individual medley. Rival Ryan Lochte will go in the fifth heat.
1019:

Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatics Centre

"The swimming is under way at the Aquatics Centre and the crowd's roar to celebrate the finish of Qatar's Ahmed Atari, who finished a minute after the winner of the first heat, was simply incredible. Fair to say the noise when Joe Roebuck, the first GB swimmer in action, arrives will be deafening!"
1014:

ROAD CYCLING

There have been no attacks in the first 8km, and the peloton is all together as the riders meander through west London and over Putney Bridge. Plenty of Team Sky's foreign contingent are involved in this race too, like Norway'sEdvald Boasson Hagen and Austria's Bernhard Eisel.

Can Mark Cavendish's British team-mates keep the race together, and ensure he does not fall too far behind the leaders on those nine circuits of Box Hill? "There isn't a team as strong as us," said David Millar. "I think every other team knows that. Everyone is expecting us to control the race. We have to. We have announced how we are going to do it. It is about every other team strategising how they are going to counter us."
1011:

ROWING

Great Britain's men's eight, with 20-year-old Constantin Louloudis back in his seat after injury, will take on Canada, Germany and Netherlands in the second heat out on the waters of Eton Dorney.
Mukesh Sharma at Lord's, BBC World Service

"Archery men's team - Indian team loses against Japan in tie-breaker. India was very inconsistent. South Korea are the strongest team no doubt."
Andi on Twitter: "Still tired from amazing opening last night and can't decide what to watch first! Love it."

Stephen Smith on Twitter: "Shame to see lots of empty seats in Basketball arena, but great atmosphere."

Rosieesouter on Twitter: "We lost at archery?!? Where's #RobinHood when u need him!!!"
1008:

GREAT BRITAIN OUT OF THE QUADRUPLE SCULLS

Ukraine ease through to victory in the first heat of the women's quadruple scull, as leisurely as you like. Very, very slick, but it is bad news for Great Britain as they fade over the last 500m and are pipped for third by New Zealand. Australia, in second, go into the repechage.
1004:

Matt Slater, BBC SportROAD CYCLING

"Helicopter overhead? Check. Sun out? Check? Isle of Man flags on The Mall? Oh yes. The Olympic men's road race is under way. See you back here in six hours, lads. All together, if possible."
1003:

ROWING

Great Britain line up alongside favourites Ukraine in the second heat of the women's quadruple sculls. Australia and New Zealand are the other two boats in the race. One crew to qualify directly to Wednesday's final with the second-placed into the repechage and, after the first 500m, Ukraine are half a length up on Australia with Great Britain a close third. A bit to do for the home favourites.
1002:

ROAD CYCLING

The Olympic men's road race gets under way, to loud cheers from the huge crowd on The Mall. There are 145 riders in total, and they have got 250km (156 miles) of road ahead of them, with an estimated finish time back on The Mall of around 1600 BST.
1001:

Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatic Centre

"There are several British swimmers to look out for; Fran Halsall in the 100m butterfly and veteran David Carry in the 400m freestyle, but Hannah Miley,who competes in the women's 400m individual medley, offers perhaps GB's best medal prospect.

"The World Championship silver medallist has recorded the third quickest time of the year so far in 2012 and will be expected to qualify for tonight's finals with ease."
0959:

ROAD CYCLING

The cyclists are on the start line on The Mall, making their final preparations for the men's road race. Britain's team controlled the race when Mark Cavendish triumphed at last year's World Championships in Copenhagen, but that was made easier by the fact they had an eight-man squad. Cavendish also won the test event on this course in August 2011, albeit with only two ascents of Box Hill.
Ollie Williams, BBC Sport at the gymnastics at the North Greenwich Arena

"Ten years ago, this was the Millennium Dome. Nobody thought it would amount to much - an unloved white elephant. A decade on and this is the North Greenwich Arena, packed to the rafters with excited families from across the globe. How things change.

The same applies to Britain's male gymnasts: a decade ago you could not dream of an Olympic medal for a British man in this sport, but now GB already has one - Louis Smith's pommel horse bronze in Beijing four years ago. Can he go two better this year and get gold in London? The GB men begin their qualifying session at 1100 BST and a confident observer would expect the quintent - Smith, Dan Purvis, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Sam Oldham - to secure a place in the team final, alongside four to five berths in individual finals."
0956:

BBC News' Claire Heald in the Olympic Park: "Lynda Martin-Alegi, riding the Central Line, is en route to the basketball. Her jacket is covered in Olympic rings.

"She and husband Peter are Olympic fans, having been to Rome 1960 and Barcelona 1992.

"'Well this is finished', laughs Peter as he compares the three. 'In Rome, it was finished the day before and the roads the day after'."
0952:

ROAD CYCLING

Dave Brailsford, British Cycling's performance director, on Great Britain's strategy for getting Mark Cavendish a gold medal in the men's road race:"If it goes to plan, it will be one of the biggest performances we've seen in road racing. Cav is 'Plan A' and the rest of the alphabet too. If we don't win with Mark, we are not winning."

And on the mood in the team camp: "Confidence, bit of nervousness, excitement, expectation, it's all of those things that make you think, well, we're ready to go."
0950:

ROWING

Next up on the water is the women's quadruple sculls. Great Britain's Melanie Wilson, Beth Rodford, Frances Houghton and Debbie Flood are up against it if they are to get a place on the top step of the podium. The Ukraine quartet have established themselves as favourites for gold after victories in all three World Cup events.
1002:

Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatics Centre

"Fans filtering into the Aquatics Centre, but there are a worrying amount of empty seats still just 10 minutes before the start of this morning's races. They're being 'warmed up' with Kylie Minogue's 'locomotion' though, which could be behind their slow entrance. Just looking down my entry list and about half of the athletes competing weren't even born when this record was released! (1987 I'm reliably informed)."
0946:

ROAD CYCLING

There are less than 15 minutes to go until Mark Cavendish begins his bid to become the first British man to win Olympic road race gold, just six days after Bradley Wiggins became the first British man to win the Tour de France.

He will have a bit of help, though. As well as 'Wiggo', Cav will have Chris Froome (who finished second in the Tour), David Millar and Ian Stannard to offer strong support in the British team, but the rest of the peloton are well aware of Cav's fast finish and there is certain to be repeated attempts by several riders to attack and escape before then.

Wiggins is still pretty confident, however, saying: "This is not just the strongest Great Britain team ever assembled but perhaps the strongest team to have ever been fielded in the Olympics. We are all quite humble about our achievements, but externally we must look an incredible dominant force. It's no secret that Cav wants to win, but he's got four incredible guys to help him."
1002:

Nick Hope, BBC Sport at the London Aquatics Centre

"Whilst athletics fans will have to wait over a week for the eagerly anticipated battle between Usain Bolt and Yahan Blake in the Olympic Stadium, swimming spectators are lucky enough to see the biggest duel in the pool of them all, Michael Phelps v Ryan Lochte, on the opening day.

"The pair will face each other in two events at these Games (400m and 200m individual medley) and first up is the longer distance competition, which three-time Olympic gold medallist Lochte was victorious in at the US trials in June.

"Phelps, who has 14 gold medals to his name, goes in heat four of five, around 1020 this morning."
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at the rowing event at Eton Dorney

"If you only watch one rowing race today, choose the second men's eight heat at 1020 BST. The British eight take on the might of defending champions Canada and world champions Germany, unbeaten since 2009. "This race is going to be a humdinger," says BBC summariser and ex-Oxford coach Dan Topolski. "I suspect the Brits will not get through, but they've made improvements and it'll be a huge boost if they do."
0943:

HANDBALL

The first handball of the Games is also under way with Russia and Angola slugging it out in Copper Box. The African side lead 7-6 in their Group A women's match.
Five-time Olympic rowing champion and BBC Sport analyst Sir Steve Redgrave on the effect of the women's pairs heat victory:

"Most of our boats are racing today so they'll be aware of that win. It adds to the confidence as you always train as a team that listens and compares each other to the other boats."
0942:

OLYMPIC RECORD- Great Britain (Rowing women's pair)

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover clock 6 min 57.29 sec as they win their heat.
0938:

Rowing - British pair into final

No problems at all for British rowers Heather Stanning and Helen Glover,who are into the final of the women's pair after a dominant performance and a convincing victory in their heat. They were a length clear of the United States, who finished second, and were all smiles at the finish line.
0937:

JUDO

Over at ExCel the men's judo -60kg competition is getting under way. Great Britain's Ashley McKenzie won his first World Cup title in Poland in 2003 but suffered defeat in the second round of the world championships last year .He fights Hiroaki Hiraoka at 0958. The Japanese was runner-up in last year's world championships as he was in 2009.
0935:

BBC News' Claire Heald on the Olympic Park: "Zaha Hadid's stunning stingray of an aquatics centre is one of the first venues on the Park to open its doors, along with the Copper Box for handball and the puckered white Basketball Arena.

"As people walk onto the stretch outside the swimming venue and catch their first glimpse of the stadium they stop to take pictures.

"Adele's (or Bob Dylan's, strictly speaking) Make You Feel My Love is playing out gently on the speakers and while everyone's upbeat quite a few people here are quite tired, having been here for last night's opening ceremony."
0934:

ROWING

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover have made a superb start to their heat of the Women's Pair. They are moving smoothly and lead the United States by a length at the halfway mark after 1,000m. Romania are down in fourth.
0930:

ROWING

The heats of the women's pairs are under way with Great Britain's gold medal hopes Heather Stanning and Helen Glover up against defending champions, Romanian veterans Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu, in the first of two heats. The first two finishers go into the final, the rest into the repechage.
0927:

TENNIS

The first round of the men's singles, women's singles and women's doubles in the tennis tournament begins at 1130 BST. Kim Clijsters, who made an emotional farewell to Centre Court less than a month ago at her final Wimbledon, takes on Roberta Vinci in the pick of the morning matches. Sixteen-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, hunting the one gong missing from his collection, begins his campaign at 1600 against Alejandro Falla.
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at the rowing event at Eton Dorney

"British women's pair Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, who won all gold in all three World Cups, get the Olympic rowing regatta under way at 0930 BST on Dorney Lake when they face defending champions Romania in the first heat. Glover said: 'We had three great World Cup races but now we're just focused on getting rowing the best possible race and getting to the final'."
0925:

Archery - GB men's team beaten

Great Britain are out of the men's team archery event after a 223-212 defeat by Ukraine. Simon Terry fired two tens and an eight with his final three arrows to give GB hope, but Dmytro Hrachov ensured Ukraine finished strongly, firing a 10 to win the match with his penultimate arrow.

Ukraine will face favourites South Korea at 1500 BST. Britain's archers, Terry, Larry Godfrey and Allan Wills go into the individual event.
GET INVOLVED

Martin from Eastbourne texts: "I was on my lunchbreak in the crowd in Trafalgar Square when we won the bid. I still have some of the ticker tape in an envelope somewhere!"
Olympic swimming gold medallist and BBC pundit Adrian Moorhouse on BBC One:

"Hannah Miley could get us off to a good start. She has some stiff competition, but most British swimming fans think she is in there for a podium finish.

"I think she has grown a lot as a swmmer in the last few years. She is a fighter."
0919:

SWIMMING

Presuming her heats all go according to form Great Britain's Hannah Miley will try and overhaul American world champion Elizabeth Beisel in the women's 400m individual medley at 2009 BST after Phelps and Lochte finish strutting their stuff at Aquatics Centre.
0916:

ARCHERY

Great Britain are in a bit of bother against Ukraine at Lord's. With just six arrows left in the men's team event, they trail 169-158 and have a lot of work to do to turn this match around. The winners play defending champions and favourites South Korea in the quarter-finals.
0913:

SWIMMING

The big pool duel to look out for today is 14-time Olympic gold medallistMichael Phelps taking on compatriot, world champion and the fastest man in the US trials Ryan Lochte. Their 400m individual medley final will be at 1930 BST with a dedicated live text commentary on these very pages.
0909:

BADMINTON

We have our first winners of the day at Wembley Arena. Indonesian mixed doubles duo Liliyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad saw off their Indian opponents Diju V and Jwala Gutta in Group C, triumphing 21-16 21-12 in 27 minutes. There was even British interest in that match too, through umpire Jane Hancock.
0907:

BBC News' Claire Heald on the Olympic Park: "The trains are running and with more people in trainers with a packed lunch than you would normally find on a summer holiday Saturday.

"The queues through security are moving steadily. Up on high chairs, stewards are revving up the arriving crowds by shouting out to the different countries of the world - Australia, China, Northern Ireland.

"And pointing everyone in the right direction."
0905:

There was a sprinkling of rain on the opening ceremony last night and it looked like there might be a little more of the same when the curtains were pulled back this morning. It has held off so far but it is still overcast. It looks glorious over at Eton Dorney for the rowing, though. Half an hour to the first of the heats there.
Chloe Osterloff on Twitter: "Opening ceremony was fantastic, I think 'Wow' is the only way to describe it, very emotional at times. Here's to a good Games!"

Rob Chesner on Twitter: "Looking forward to the road race. Good luck @MarkCavendish and team GB."

Stuart Bennett on Twitter: "Why does the Olympics start before the opening ceremony? Can't be that hard to arrange it better."
0903:

ARCHERY

They are up and running at Lord's in the men's team event, where Great Britain are up against Ukraine for a place in the quarter-finals. Simon Terry gave Team GB a good start with 27 points from his first three arrows, but Ukraine have hit back to lead with 29 after the first round. Larry Godfrey is up next for Britain.
Matt Slater, BBC Sport at the finish of the cycling road race

"Good morning from the most famous red carpet in the world, The Mall. Blue sky is spreading towards Trafalgar Square from behind Buckingham Palace - no signs of life from in there, though, they had a late night. The riders are signing for today's 250km jaunt through Surrey. Finland's Jussi Veikkanen, a four-time national champion but gang of one here today, was quickest with the pen. Biggest cheer so far was for Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen. Could he be a party-pooper?"
0858:

Box Hill, which the men's road race will take nine trips up today, is the place for "fun and exercise" according to the National Trust who look after it for the rest of the year. Quite. After all that climbing in the North Downs though the climax happens in the Queen's own back yard...
Five-time Olympic rowing champion and BBC Sport analyst Sir Steve Redgrave:

"It is time for Katherine Grainger to step up that one place and get her first gold. She is facing a very good Australian double, but on home water it has got to be the one.

"The men's eight have a very, very tough draw. Germany are ranked number one and the Canadian's hold the world record.

"All three are in the same heat, and it is going to be very tough with only one team going straight through.

"Sometimes, people like going through the repechage as it keeps you going and the British guys won't be worried about that.

"I reckon Britain can get seven, or even eight medals."
GB 400m hurdler Dai Greene: "Watched the opening ceremony from Portugal, it looked absolutely amazing. Well done to all those involved."
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at the rowing event at Eton Dorney:

"History will be made at 0930 BST when the world's longest cable-cam will blast into action to cover the first Olympic rowing race at Eton Dorney. Two 92m-high towers at either side of the lake hold three cables in place so the camera can zip along the 2,500m lake, reaching speeds of 70km/h and giving viewers a unique overhead view of the race from start to finish. See it in action on our shiny Interactive Video Player."
0847:

BADMINTON

The day's action is already 15 minutes old with Japan and Poland locked together at 12-12 in one of the first matches in the mixed doubles badminton in front of a big crowd at Wembley Arena.

The first British players in action are Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier, who begin their mixed doubles campaign at 09:40 BST against Alexandr Nikolaenko and Valeria Sorokina of Russia.
Olympic gold medallist and BBC Sport summariser Chris Boardman on BBC One:

"I think Mark Cavendish's biggest problem is his own reputation. Everybody knows he is on form, so it will be a very attacking race as no-one will want to come on the Mall close to him.

"I think he has the strongest team Britain has ever fielded around him."
GB's Mark Cavendish on Twitter ahead of the road race: "En-route to The Mall... In less than 2hours we'll be riding the Olympic Road Race."

He has included a rather blurry handheld phone shot in that tweet as well.
Five-time British road race champion Marie Morgan on BBC Radio 5 live:"It is not a dead certainty [Mark Cavendish winning], without a doubt. The team are very confident, as is Mark, but it isn't over until he crosses that line.

"The team will support him in any role needed and to help save as much as energy as possible so he can launch himself to the finish in the final 2km.

"Mark will have so much pent up energy from the Tour, so hopefully he can use that to win."
0834:

"Cav 4 Gold" is scrawled in whitewash on the road up to Box Hill with plenty of red, white and bue clad fans lining the route. A couple of Mark Cavendish's fellow Isle of Man residents have just been asked their opinion on BBC Olympic Breakfast. Cautiously optimistic I reckon...
0830:

Nicole Cooke started Britain's cycling gold rush with victory in the women's road race on the first day of the Beijing Games in 2008. This time the men are looking to get Team GB off to a flying start, set to be watched by an estimated 1m people on the roadside, in what will be the biggest-attended event in Olympic history. Why so popular? Well, you could call it 'The Bradley Wiggins effect'.
Lawrence Barretto, BBC Sport at Eton Dorney:

"After a chilly and gloomy start at the rowing event in Eton Dorney, the clouds are starting to shift and the bright blue sky bursting through. The grandstands are filling up already, with racing kicking off at 0930 BST, and there was a huge Mexican wave-style cheer as GB women's pair Heather Stanning and Helen Glover and men's eight rowed past on their light warm-up ahead of their races. The wait is almost over."
Five-time Olympic rowing champion and BBC Sport analyst Sir Steve Redgrave on his role in the opening ceremony:

"It was very special for me. I knew about lighting the cauldron 10 days before, so I'm looking forward to not answering the same questions about it.

"I'm looking forward to the Games and being out here at Eton Dorney. It will be a very special few days.

"It was pre-recorded the bit where I went to the boat and jogged to the stadium, but it was live when I came into the stadium, and it was an amazing atmosphere. It was very emotional."
0824:

Let's have your memories of where you were that day when International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge ripped open an envelope in Singapore on 6 July 2005 as well. I was watching on flickery television on holiday, in a French town festooned with banners supporting Paris's failed bid. Seems a long, long time ago now...
0821:

This morning, BBC Sport's Olympic presenter Dan Walker will answer your questions about the London Games. Dan is at Horse Guards Parade for the start of the beach volleyball competition and you can ask him anything you want about the Olympics, whether it's about the events he's most looking forward to or the atmosphere in London. Send your questions on Twitter by 1000 BST with the hashtag #bbc2012
GET INVOLVED

Matt texts: "Did the world get it? My sister in Switzerland reports Swiss and French media giving unanimous positive reviews and describing "an event like no other that will live in the memory."
0819:

BRITWATCH

There are plenty more Brits in action to keep your eyes across in our interactive video player. Here are just a few to look out for.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning could well be Britain's first female rowing gold ever. They are in the heats of the women's pair.

Hannah Miley, second in last year's world championships, hits the water in the heats of the 400m individual medley just after 1115 BST ahead of tonight's final.

The British eventing team of William Fox-Pitt, Tina Cook, Mary King, Zara Phillips and Nicola Wilson is in dressage action from 1000 BST.

British badminton number one Susan Egelstaff plays Maja Tvrdy at 1230 BST.

Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong, Jamie and Andy Murray and Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins are all in tennis action over at Wimbledon.

Plenty more host nation talent, including our first beach volleyball pair, will be getting their campaigns under way as well.
0816:

ROAD CYCLING

The men's road race is a 250km (156 miles) loop through the heart of London and the Surrey countryside, starting and ending in The Mall on a course that includes nine 15.9km (9.9 mile) circuits of Box Hill, the route's only real climb. They start at 1000 BST and should be finishing at around 16:00 BST, with a bunch sprint contested by Britain's world champion and big gold medal hope Mark Cavendish - IF all goes to plan for the five-strong British squad.

Box Hill is not particularly steep, with a gradient of 6%, and with two hairpin bends it is not very long either. But the road up it is narrow, and the trick will be keeping Cav safe and in touch with the race leaders so he can unleash the sort of explosive finish that saw him triumph on the Champs Elysees in the final stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.
0812:

This may be the first official day of the Games but before it even officially got off the ramp it had already managed to squeeze in two world records in the preliminary rounds of the men's archery, a Twenty Twelve-esque diplomatic mix-up of the North and South Korean flags at the women's football and the resurrection of the Great British football team after a 52-year hiatus.

This morning will see the first gold medal of the Games when the women's 10m air rifle final reaches a climax at the Royal Artillery Barracks at around 11:20 BST. But British eyes will be straying towards the afternoon...
0809:

Fear not. "Hilariously quirky," says the New York Times. AlJazeera describes a "stunning, imaginative, whimsical and dramatic celebration." "A vivid and vibrant pageant that set the tone for these Games and perhaps even a new direction for the Olympic movement," reckons the Sydney Morning Herald.
0805:

There were a few bleary-eyed, but full-voiced performers filtering away from the Olympic Park as I arrived in amongst a stream of fresh-faced volunteers this morning. They certainly enjoyed it, but amid the references to EastEnders, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Mary Poppins, did the rest of the world 'get' it?
0803:

The question as to whether Danny Boyle could bring home the opening ceremony bacon was emphatically answered last night. There can only have been a handful of cumurdgeons in Great Britain willing failure on our national knees-up. They were left sorely disappointed.
0800:

Does the Games justify the near-£9bn bill? Can London's infrastructure bear the weight of millions of extra journeys? Can Great Britain better the 19 golds of Beijing? Is Wenlock the most sinister-looking mascot of all time?

Seven years of questions are over. Now, we have 16 days of answers delivered by the greatest athletes in the world. Excited? Of course you are. Welcome to the first day of the London 2012 Games.

Lisa Collier

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