Olympics 2016 diary: Team GB finish second in medal table

Olympics 2016 diary: Joy for Tom Daley but swimmers booed

09 August

Day three of the Rio Olympics saw more medals for Team GB, but it was a case of what could have been for other athletes who were cursed to finish fourth.

Meanwhile, there was controversy at the pool as swimmers with doping convictions were booed as they received medals.

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Bronze for Daley and Goodfellow

Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow won a bronze in the men's synchronised 10m platform at Rio 2016, with the British pair finishing behind gold medallists China and the US.

It was a fine achievement for the pair, considering they only began working together in October, and they held their nerve in a tense finish at the open-air Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre.

The German duo of Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein had the bronze in their grasp but it was snatched from them in the last dive of the competition. Needing to score 84 points or more, the Brits' final dive earned them a total of 89.64, enough to take them into third position and spark jubilant celebrations.

"I was nervous," Goodfellow said. "But when we first started we knew there would be pressure and we knew we'd be the last divers to go. We just kept our nerve and stayed in the moment."

Following Ed Ling's shooting gold, it was Team GB's fourth medal of the Games and lifted them into tenth place in the table.

Shooter Ling on target

Ed Ling won the third medal of the Games for Team GB by finishing third in the men's trap shooting - the first time a Briton has won a medal in the discipline since Ian Peel clinched a silver at the 2000 Sydney Games.

The 33-year-old Taunton-born athlete finished joint fourth in the semi-final, but he comfortably won a shoot-off with Egypt's Ahmed Kamar to set up a bronze medal match against David Kostelecky, the champion from the 2008 Olympics.

Ling saw off the challenge 13-9 to win his first Olympic medal, with Croatia's Josip Glasnovic winning his gold medal match against Giovanni Pellielo of Italy.

"Shooting is a funny sport where sometimes you can go out there and things can go really well and other times you can't hit a barn door," said Ling, who missed out on medals in two previous Games. "It is a great sport and I really love it."

Rugby sevens shocker for Team GB

Australia beat New Zealand 24-17 in the final of the women's rugby sevens but it was a wretched day for the British team, who missed out on a medal.

Having cruised into the semi-finals, Team GB were brushed aside by a powerful and pacey New Zealand side 25-7. The British women contributed to their own demise with two of their number being sent to the sin bin in the first-half for reckless tackles. The Kiwis exploited their numerical advantage to breeze into the final, but there they were beaten by a skilful Australian side.

Team GB were favourites to win the bronze medal match, having thrashed Canada 22-0 in their final group game, but their morale was in tatters after the semi-final defeat and the Canadians ran out comfortable winners 33-10.

"We are massively disappointed," said captain Emily Scarratt. "We came to this tournament wanting a medal and we've come up a little bit short.

"It's been amazing and if we've inspired a couple of people back home, then we are doing a decent job. We are just sorry we didn't bring home a medal."

Gymnasts just miss out

Team GB failed to win a medal in the men's gymnastics team final as Japan took gold with Russia second and China clinching the bronze.

The British four - Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Kristian Thomas, Nile Wilson and Brinn Bevan - were in contention for a bronze but their hopes disappeared when Smith fell from the pommel horse in his final rotation. That cost precious points and they finished on 269.725, behind China who totalled 271.122 points.

Chinese and Russian swimmers jeered

James Guy, Team GB's 200m freestyle world champion, also finished fourth in the pool. However, the drama revolved around swimmers who have served drugs bans.

Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who tested positive for a heart booster in 2014, won gold in Guy's event, but few in the crowd applauded as he was presented with his winners medal.

There was a similar reception for Russian Yuliya Efimova, who was suspended for steroids in 2013 and allowed to race despite an IOC ruling that Russians with previous drugs convictions should be barred from the Games. She was roundly booed as she walked out for the 100m breaststroke final, in which she came second.

Efimova was also jeered during the medal ceremony. "Never before has booing and jeering been targeted at swimmers about to receive Olympic medals. Rio has changed all of that. Swimming is a sport at war, the Olympic Games with it," says The Times.

Olympics 2016 diary: Peaty wins gold, Djokovic crashes out

7 August

The opening weekend of the Olympics contained plenty of drama with Geraint Thomas crashing out of the men's road race but there was better news for Team GB on the second day of action.

Peaty wins gold

Adam Peaty has won the first medal of the Games for Team GB - and it's a gold. The 21-year-old from Uttoxeter destroyed the opposition in the men's 100m breaststroke in a world record time of 57.13 seconds.

In beating London 2012 champion Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa into second place, Peaty became the first British male swimmer to win an Olympic swimming gold medal since Adrian Moorhouse, who won the same event in the 1988 Games. "It's so surreal to get Team GB's first gold," said Peaty, who was 1.5 seconds quicker than van der Burgh. "I did it for my country and that means so much for me."

Shortly after Peaty's triumph, there was more to celebrate for Team GB in the pool with a silver medal for Jazz Carlin in the women's 400m freestyle. The Welsh swimmer came home behind America's Katie Ledecky, who set a new world-record, but Carlin showed superb strength in the final length to hold off the challenge from Leah Smith, another American.

"I can't believe it, I'm on the edge of tears," said a delighted Carlin, who revealed that she went into her final still on high from watching Peaty. "I was in the pool room watching Adam and I had goosebumps on the block. To see someone who's your team-mate achieve a new world record and become Olympic champion right before you swim definitely got me pumped up."

GB sevens on course

Great Britain women's rugby team face New Zealand on Monday in the semi-finals of the Olympic Sevens after two slick performances on Sunday.

First they brushed aside a strong Canadian team 22-0 in their final group game, a victory that set up a quarter-final clash with Fiji. Team GB got off to the perfect start with a try from Abbie Brown after just 15 seconds, and though Litia Naiqato soon pulled a try back for the Pacific Islanders, the GB seven used their bench well in the second half to run out convincing 26-7 winners.

The victory means Team GB plays New Zealand, who beat the USA in their quarter, while in the other semi-final Canada will take on Australia.

More cycling drama

There was no happy ending for Lizzie Armitstead as the Yorkshire rider missed out on a medal in the women's road race.

Ever since she was cleared to compete in the Games last week despite missing three doping control tests, controversy has surrounded Armitstead and it was clear she was affected by the intense media coverage.

She never looked like finishing on the podium as the punishing 141km course took its toll on the peloton, and it was Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen who crossed the line first in a time of three hours 51 minutes and 27 seconds, ahead of Sweden's Emma Johansson and Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy.

Van der Breggen's victory, however, was marred by a terrible crash involving compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten, who was taken to hospital with concussion and three fractures in her back. Van Vleuten later tweeted from her hospital bed, saying she was "fine" but "super disappointed".

She fell while leading the race during a steep descent along the same stretch of road where Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas fell during the men's road race on Saturday.

Former Olympian Chris Boardman criticised the course, saying it was "way past technical" and "dangerous".

Djokovic, Williams and Murray tennis shocks

Andy Murray's chances of winning gold in the men's tennis have drastically improved after top seed Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat in his opening round match, although his hopes of a gold with brother Jamie in the doubles have been dashed.

World number one Djokovic lost in straight sets to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro. "Delpo was the better player and he deserved to win. That's sport," Djokovic said later. "In the decisive moments, he just came up with some extraordinary tennis and I have to congratulate him."

And the Serb wasn't the only big name to fall in the first round as the usually invincible Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, losing to the Czech pairing of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova in the women's doubles.

The American number one seeds, Olympic champions in 2000, 2008 and 2012, lost 6-3 6-4 in 93 minutes, leaving Serena to reflect: "We honestly didn't play our best whatsoever tonight. We played terrible and that basically showed in the results."

It obviously wasn't a good day for siblings as James and Andy Murray were also beaten in their first round doubles match but at least Andy avoided any shocks in his singles match with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Serbia's Viktor Troicki.

Rowing row

The Olympic organisers were forced to postpone Sunday's rowing programme because of high winds, with Team GB gold medal hopefuls Heather Stanning and Helen Glover one of the crews affected.

All of the races will now take place on Monday, where Glover and Stanning will begin their defence of their pairs title from 4.30pm UK time.

Gymnastics horror

The GB men and women's teams both qualified for the finals of the team events on the opening weekend of action in Rio. The women's team came fourth in qualifying even though Ellie Downie needed medical attention after falling on her neck during the floor routine.

The men's team are also in today's team final, while Nile Wilson and Max Whitlock qualified for the individual all-around final. However, men's qualification was overshadowed by a horrific injury to French gymnast Samir Ait Said who suffered a gruesome leg-break during the vault. He was taken from the arena on a stretcher, only for medics to drop him as he was loaded onto the ambulance.