BBC One: Day 1: 09.00-11.30 Olympics

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to London!

80,000 people can feel the energy pulsating through the stadium.

A moment and an image that will live with us for ever.

# God save our gracious Queen... One of the most dynamic sequences

we have ever seen at an Olympic Great Britain!

I declare open the Games of London celebrating the 30th of Olympiad of

It was a spectacular show. And now the 2012 Olympic Games are under

way and the country is standing by to join in. 15 hours of sport every

day here on BBC One. We will bring you all the best stories and if

that is not enough, we have 24 dedicated channels by the BBC

website and your cable and satellite providers. We can

honestly say you will not miss a thing. And here is how London is

looking this morning, the morning after the opening ceremony. The

capital is on show to the world as never before. Seven years on from

the moment London won the right to host this 30th Olympiad. This is

the Olympic Park this morning. The heart of London 2012. Look out for

those blue boxes, that is the BBC Olympic studio. These are the

scenes this morning. Many people lucky enough to have tickets,

streaming into the Olympic Park. Bringing this massive area to life.

The sporting action it will get under way shortly. Elsewhere at

some of the other landmark venues action is already happening. This

is the Lords Cricket Ground and for the next two weeks it becomes the

home of the Olympic archery. Great Britain's men are in action as we

speak on BBC Three. And the beach volleyball is up and running this

morning at Horse Guards Parade. The road to Wembley Arena brings

you badminton, group matches beginning in all events in the

badminton. And they are poised to get under way at Eton Dorney, 25

miles west of London. Lots of Team GB's hopes rest with the rowing

squad. And back of the Olympic park of these is the spectacular

Aquatics Centre centre, home to a Olympics swimming and diving pools.

And it is the swimming that is kicking off this morning. We will

be there shortly with Clare Balding. 12 Olympic gold medals up for grabs

today. Olympic action happening on many fronts this morning.

In the cycling it is the men's road race. Just days after the end of

the Tour de France. Today it is Mark Cavendish.

And in swimming a high hopes for Hannah Miley who starts her pursuit

of the women's 400m individual medley. Michael Phelps will also be

in the pool today. Aiming to become the most decorated the Olympian of

all time. And the Team GB rowers in action, a

tradition of excellence for Britain in this sport and they are expected

to deliver at the medals over the next fortnight. Plenty of familiar

faces and British hopes to look out for today. Here is how the timings

will work. We're going to Eton Dorney in just a moment. And then

Mark Cavendish begins that road race at 10 o'clock. Swimming heats

they're beginning this morning. The finals are later tonight.

Add Hannah Miley will also be in the pool. And later on we will be

back with Mark Cavendish to see that he can bring back home the

gold medal. You can follow his progress on the red button and on

BBC Three. There are many ways to watch our coverage. It is easier

than ever before to stay right across the Olympic action. Jack

Humphrey explains. The BBC is covering the 2012

Olympics like never before. Whether on television, online, the radio or

your mobile. We will make sure you never much a moment. Des - miss the

moment. BBC Three will be showing live action, on interrupted.

also more sport on the red button. Just click to see what is available.

And the BBC websites have a new interactive sports player. On the

website there is a page for every athlete, sport, then you and

country as well as all the news as it happens. And if you're on the

move you can access the latest Olympics news on the BBC website or

I knew of mobile application. If you have a 3 D television have,

you can watch the games in 3 D. Daily highlights on BBC H D channel.

London 2012, on the BBC. We have got the Olympic Games covered.

However you watch the one thing we will all be hoping for is a lot of

British gold medals. Beijing was a milestone for British sport with

the 4th place finish in the medals table and 19 gold medals. This time

it is the home games and a huge amount of effort has gone into

making sure that Team GB is as strong and motivated as it can be.

Every length, at every mile. Every barrier.

Every stroke. Every jump. Every pull of an oar.

Every lap. Every sprint for the line.

Every mile. Every tack of a sail. For one obsession.

Plenty of hopes for Team GB rowing, swimming and cycling. We can catch

up now with some of the BBC team. Steve Redgrave, fresh from the

opening ceremony is at Eton Dorney. Mark Foster is that the Aquatics

Centre centre and Tanni Grey- Thompson is on the Mall. Let us

start with Steve Redgrave who had such a fitting role last night.

was pretty special. I'm not sure I'm feeling very fresh this

morning! Was looking forward to a fantastic day to day. Last night

was very special. I did not get to see much of the show myself but it

was amazing. No one has a bad word to say about it. I certainly

enjoyed my part in it. Well if you can spare at three hours at some

stage in the next few days you can catch up with it! When did you find

out what you're going to be doing? Probably about to our three weeks

ago. I have been able to keep it a secret for a while. You must have

been played by people asking you? Almost since we won the bid, people

were saying it was claimed to be me blighting the cauldron and I was

trying to deflect people away from that because it never goes to the

favourite! But we knew that London was going to do it slightly

differently. It was great to be part of that. It was a very special

moment. And the flag-bearer last night was Chris Foy. Mark Foster

knows what he does like to have that on her. What kind of emotions

would be going through his mind last night? Well one I did it in

Beijing, I walked into the stadium and 80,000 people were screaming

your name. I watched it on television last night and the

atmosphere just seemed amazing. I had a huge smile on my face. He did

a fantastic job holding it aloft. It is an emotional experience.

was worth the wait before the team sheet be worked into the -- before

team GB walked into the grounds. How did the team look to you?

They're looking good. There's a lot of pressure but this is the biggest

thing they will ever do in their career. In some of the smaller

sports we will be hoping for some amazing performances. But in the

big ones, it is going to be great. So much to look forward to. I want

to ask each of you about your individual sports. This rowing

squad has been spoken of as the best ever. Certainly the strongest

team I have seen, it's stronger than at any I competed in. Our best

ever was actually eight medals. And we have a chance of matching that

if not beating it. And how are the swimmers looking? Absolutely

fantastic, especially on women's side. Rebecca Adlington. And we

have Ellen Gandy to look out for as well. Hannah Miley today. And then

Liam Tancock, he is world champion. There are a host of names.

We will be back with you in the aquatic centre shortly. And in the

cycling, Mark Cavendish in the Spotlight today. There is huge

pressure on him and on the team. And we have the women's road race

tomorrow as well. It is going to be very exciting. The team is just

going to be brilliant. I think they will win across the board.

Well we will be back for the start of the men's road race a little

later on. Let us take you away from the Olympic Park for a moment and

across to central London, Horse Guards Parade is where the beach

volleyball is happening. One of the sports that always generates a bit

of comment! It is the women who get the most attention. And there is

This event has been in the Olympics since 1996. The matches are already

under way. Somebody had to get that tough job of covering this

particular event and it went to Dan Walker. Good morning, everybody. It

is a very difficult job for me! It looks a bit different here. We are

in the heart of the city. You can have a look over the wall at Number

10. Prince Harry is apparently a fan of beach volleyball as well. He

is going to be down for the medal ceremony. China is leading Russia

at the moment. This has an unfortunate reputation about women

in skimpy bikinis. That is unfair because it is very technical. They

have the option of wearing shorts and sleeved shirts as well. In

terms of value you get that by coming here. It starts at 9 o'clock

in the morning and finishes at midnight. If you are lucky to have

a ticket, you get hours of Olympic sports. The nearest beach is 31

miles away. They have managed to bring in 2274 tons of sand from a

quarry in Surrey to make this authentic. We have the sun, the

stadium, the spectators and 15,000 will be here in total when it his

fault. We have even had a little bit of sun this morning as well and

it is starting rather well. Enjoy it. We will be back with more beach

volleyball later on this morning. Amazing to see one of those iconic

London locations transformed. They are nearly ready to go in the

rowing. Even by the standards of recent years this is thought to be

Britain's strongest squad ever. Here is John Inverdale. The coxless

four or are the dominant Burke when it comes to the public's

appreciation of this sport. The legacy passed on to the current

quartet. Three gold medallists return from Beijing. Not much has

changed in the boat, and neither has the opposition. But Tom James

is taking nothing for granted. one is guaranteed a place in the

final. There is plenty of opposition. The men's eight have

had a very up-and-down season, but they arrive in upbeat mood. 20

year-old Constantine lutes, is the talisman of a crew that is one of

the most cosmopolitan ever fielded by Team GB. Katherine Grainger and

Anna Watkins have never lost ever, but Katherine Grainger has three

times in consecutive Games and that is the big motivation. After three

sell their wares in Sydney, Athens and Beijing she thought long and

hard about competing in London, but a gold medal here would be a total

vindication. When the time comes, and it will, and the nerves will be

unbelievable, but I do not think any athlete would swap that for

anything. Four years ago in Beijing Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter where

the lightweight men's doubles, but since then they have had a time of

it. But they always seem to come good at the right time. They were

strong odds-on favourites at the start of this year. Those odds have

drifted since, but on their day they are a match for anybody. Helen

Glover and Helen Stanning. They have only read together for three

years, but they are most people's choice to triumph. We had a great

World Cup because we were rowing well and it has been six weeks

since that last race and people will have gone away and work on

things. Look out for the men's lightweight fours. It can be a

matter of inches that separates the crews in the end and this is likely

to be the most contested race. That will be on action during the course

of the morning. John is waiting for us now live at Eton Dorney with the

competition just about to start. They are raring to go in the most

fantastic location. Once you are here especially on a morning like

this, the sun glinting off the water, and it is a 30,000 capacity

and it is not far short of full already. It's as a quick history

lesson on the creation of this wonderful arena. Eton College land.

15 years ago they tried to get planning permission and eventually

got that. We did a little bit of our training for Sydney, but it was

only have done at that point and it was completely finished for the

World Championships in 2006. The girls are saying it is great coming

back here after the training camps because there is something special

about it. It looks very special the way they have decked it out. There

is a security operation here run by the military and it must be

impeccable. For everybody to be in so early before the first race

takes place, it must be going very well. Rowing supporters are very

keen and they do not sleep very well. We have got this unbelievable,

the first time ever, this incredible high flying camera that

will go the entire length of the course. It is 98 metres off the

ground. Is it the longest in the world? It must be. It is the

longest in the world. The shots that will give you off the race and

of the boats as they are coming will be like you have never seen

before. One of the issues with rowing is it is quite hard to tell

who is leading, but there will be no worries this time around with

that extraordinary piece of engineering. We were talking about

British rowing and the prospects here and you were mentioning

earlier on that this is the best prepared and probably potentially

the most successful team ever. Certainly the best prepared. 19 oh

eight was the strongest rowing team we had and we have four goals,

three silvers and one bronze, but you could double up in those days

and have two entries in one event. The entries were not as big as they

were here, but this is the strongest team that I have ever

been with, certainly much stronger than any other teams I was ever

involved in. In Sydney we won two goals and a silver and this team it

will do better than that. There is a perception that Britain has

always ruled the waves, but from 1948 through until 1984 we did not

win a single gold medal and the sport was in the doldrums. It was

an extraordinary renaissance since then. This is the only sport that

has won a gold medal in every Olympics since 1984 per. As rowing

was the only gold medal in Atlanta, it is a sport everyone else has run

on. Before that time we really struggled and we used to pitch the

odd medals, but certainly we did not have the consistency. Without

overstating the case, because the guys a under enough pressure, David

Tanner has been very careful and very cagey about setting medal

targets. Realistically before anybody has hit the water, what is

your gut feeling? My gut feeling is seven, possibly eight. That is down

on last year's World Championships. We have reshaped some of the birds

and made some stronger, but one or two a little bit weaker. The men's

pair has been the strongest in the last few years. They are back into

form, but the pair we have got now is not going to get a medal.

Potentially the first gold medal is Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.

Heather is the Army officer from Sandhurst. Helen is a Cornish woman

to the core. Her dad runs a world renowned ice-cream shop that only

has one kind of ice-cream. She is a Cornish woman as you will see from

Some days it is hard to get my head around the fact that just four

years ago I was not a rower, I was not going to the Olympics and I was

not competing and here I am. It has happened through hard work with the

help of brilliant coaches, and it is exciting and it is a dream I

have had since I was tiny it. I wanted to compete in the greatest

sporting arena. My mother saw an advert in a newspaper and it was

looking for tall people. Steve Redgrave had spearheaded something

called sporting giants looking for a girls over 5 ft 9 to try

different sports. Rowing was one of them. I was training to be a PE

teacher, so for the first six months I carried on my training,

but I do not know how I did it. I was teaching all day and getting up

at 5am to do my first session training and after school I would

do my second session late into the night and it was really tough. I

have got a really supportive family, they are brilliant. There is my mum

and my dad and I have got two Brothers and two sisters and my

granny, who is 92, lives at home with us. My boyfriend Paddy is a

canoeists and he trains in Nottingham. He trains really hard,

as hard as the row was! We are very competitive. My husband is the

sportsman and competitor, but it has brought it out in all of us.

have always been really competitive. Everything was made into a

competition when I was little. I ran international cross country,

played hockey for my county, I did everything. Every sport I did I did

it to be the best I could be. When I first watched the Olympics I

watched the rowing and had not taken much interest. It was a bit

of a wake-up call because I realised I had four years to be as

good as these people. The Helen Stanning and myself got invited

onto the team in 2010, two years after I started rowing. She is very

strong and fit and has got a racing head. We have to live in each

other's pockets, so it is important we get on. I am the messy one and

she is very tidy because she was in the Army. Everybody is going for

the same thing, the dream, the Olympic gold. If we keep

progressing, we are going to be in a brilliant place on the start line.

If we put together a good race, we will be pleased with that. We are

down near the finish line. But they are down at the start for the first

race of this Olympic regatta. Given the inexperience in an Olympic

environment, what will the nerves be like? Your first when you go

with the flow. They are such strong favourites. They are not our best-

performing women within the women's team, but certainly with the

ability they have got they will come with great confidence. The

nerves will not hit them very much because the whole team is playing

it down. That they have the best chance of a gold medal. I had the

privilege last week to go to Portugal and to Italy to the

training camps. The two words I would use to sum up the entire team

are calm and serene. They have done the work. They know what they need

to do it. There is the applause. is absolutely amazing. It is

fantastic for the first morning. We are just continuing the Olympic

up a level when it is an Olympic year. This is our first helping of

Dan Topolski and Garry Herbert. The final chapter starts here. They

are under starter's orders. The Dorney gets under way. The British

pair, what a story they have been getting a pretty solid start in

lane five. They took off well, sharp and quick. Romania, the

Olympic champions, they were slow taking off. But they have

tremendous push through the middle of the race.

They had a huge experience in this event. Helen Glover and Heather

Stanning, look at them go. They have settled into a very good

rhythm. It is a mark of the season but they

have had. Hendershot and Zolenka, the US showing good speed in the

early stages. The crowd around us really

appreciating the opening salvo for the British pair. The British pair

will be enjoying this now. It is effortless in this heat. The first

two of the five crews here will go through to the final. One of the

first two is bound to be the British pair. They have got such

control. This winter they have just developed the way that they tow.

-- row. They have developed flexibility and can react to any

Challenge in the last few hundred metres.

A word about the overhead camera, for the first time at an Olympic

event we have an overhead camera spanning the whole length of the

course. It gives you a good feeling of how the boats are moving

alongside each other. Great Britain it out three-quarters

of a length, being chased hard by the United States of America. The

USA look very good. Romania back in fourth position. The Olympic

champions in this event. I suspect they know they are not

going to win this one. They will want to make sure they have their

big race in the final. But the British pair here moving

out in front on the Eton Dorney course. I'm surprised at the new

American pair, it's digging quite as close as they are. They are

doing very well. Look at how calm and long the British pair are.

And this is for a place in the final.

A little push from the British crew as they come up to the next timing

mark. They are right up against the side, the crowd, and appreciating

what we are seeing here. The Olympic champions are struggling.

Long arms and legs, that allows them to get along stroke without

having to compress too much. And in the last 500 metres, that just

looks so good. They were the spares two years ago and got silver.

a tribute to their coach. Coming down into the last 200

metres. It is long, loose and relaxed. Helen Glover and Heather

Stanning from Great Britain inside the 100 metres now. It is a job

well done. It is a job we expected them to execute with perfection and

they are doing exactly that. Into the sunlight on this first morning

of the Olympic regatta. Great Britain have the first crew through

to an Olympic final. USA's second and Romania, at the Olympic

champions, coming over the line in third positions. Great Britain and

the United States go through to the final. The remaining three boats go

through to Tweets. -- to the repechage. That was technically

terrific rowing. There were just moving so sweetly. So confirmation

of that result. The Olympic champions, Romania, have to go

through the repechage. And an Olympic record. Very much so. I was

speaking with Katherine Grainger a couple of days ago and some of the

Olympic records, because it only comes around every four years and

to get the right conditions, conditions were very fast today. I

would not say it was comfortable because the Americans were a lot

closer than expected, but it was very good. What is the impact of a

start like that on the rest of the team, when they see that as an

initial kicking off point. Well most of them will be out on the

water today. It adds to their confidence. Because as a team you

are very much listening and comparing with the other boats. If

the top boat is doing well, you know we have to be doing well.

do not have to worry about the rubbish - now. In terms of the

approach and how reassuring that is, what will they be doing between now

and next Wednesday morning? I never liked to do that, but the girls are

quite used to that. They win the heat and goes straight through to

the final. Because they have changed the programme, it is not

that long until the Wednesday final. They will be up for it. But the

next heat with New Zealand in it, that will be their main opposition.

Well it is the most beautiful day and a fantastic start. Plenty more

life rowing during the course of life rowing during the course of

the morning. At great start on day one of the

sporting action. Plenty more to come from Eton Dorney this morning

including the much-anticipated Men's Eight. Here it is cycling and

swimming for the next 30 minutes. If you want to carry on watching

the rowing you can switch to BBC Three or the red button. Now it is

Clare Balding gladness through the chances of the British swimmers. --

guiding us through. Team GB's swimming success in

Beijing means that this time around, hopes are high. Especially for the

women have. Rebecca Adlington is the queen of the pool. After 408

hundred metre freestyle gold medals in Beijing.

For the 23 year-old, defending both is the ultimate Challenge. Keri-

Anne Payne, the world champion, it was the first British athlete to

qualify it for London 2012. She won silver in Beijing and should shine

on the Serpentine. Hannah Miley is the current Commonwealth 400m

individual medley champion. Whatever happens tonight, Smiley

Miley. Fran Halsall is also competing. At her second Olympics,

now 22 years old, she is peaking at just the right time. Ellen Gandy is

tipped to become the first British woman to win a butterfly medal at

the Olympics. She got silver of the world championships last year. She

will be competing in both the 100 and the 200m final. And as for the

men, Liam Tancock is a double 50 metre backstroke world champion.

Unfortunately that is not an Olympic event so he has to go

double the distance in the 100m backstroke. He will be hoping to

add an Olympic medal to his call. James Goddard is an outside bet for

a medal. 4th in the world championships last year, he has two

major obstacles in his way. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte tea.

So swimming is a big part of the live coverage this morning. The

Aquatics Centre centre is right on our doorstep. Whitney is someone

who knows all about competing at the Olympics, Ian Thorpe. You will

be part of the BBC team throughout the Games. Talk me through your

sense of the British swimmers so far and how they are looking?

is the best team in a swimming competition that we have had.

Rebecca Adlington, Liam Tancock in there, Fran Halsall. All of these

swimmers that had been producing results in the lead-up to these

Olympic Games. It is a testament to how much effort has gone into

British swimming over the years. This has been an evolution that has

taken probably more than a decade. And we're starting to see some of

those results coming through. Seeing medal places at world

championships. There's a bit more depth now to British swimming and

there has been in the past. Rebecca Adlington was one of the stand-out

stars of Beijing. Help is her form in the run up to these games?

has been mixed but it has come better of late. I think she's

looking good. I'm very comfortable that we will seek a very good

result from her in the 800m freestyle. One of the big rivalries

people are talking about is between Michael Phelps and his team-mate

Ryan Lochte D. Yes it is between team-mates. Both from the United

States. They're training partners. They're both swimming well. Ryan

Lochte de almost used the run-up to the game's as a training

opportunity. Michael Phelps is coming into this and wants to

reaffirm his position in Olympic history. I think they're both going

to win as wave of medals which means unfortunately for the rest of

the world, we're going to miss out! Plenty more to come through the

course of the morning. One British swimmers who will be closely

watched his Hannah Miley. She competed in Beijing and has shot to

attention in the course of the past year, getting a silver at the world

championships last year. Could she Hannah Miley gets a cell for, well

done. Gold to Scotland, a wonderful gold. How difficult is it to be

coached by dad? He is very calm and so are you. I have not known it any

other way. He has always been my coach from day one. He taught me

how to swim. It was only until I was 10 that I started going through

the squad system. I fully trust in him, he knows what he is talking

about. For me to argue with him his kind of silly. He is always wanting

to learn more. That trust and respect I have for him is one of

the major reasons why it works. you do a different training

programme. We work by a mortar if you do what you have always done,

you will get what you deserve. Over the years because we have made

small changes, it has grown into quite a big thing. Two years ago I

started rock climbing and I have continued that and I have started

running and we have added different things to it. I am one of those

athletes where I am a sucker for punishment. That really hurts. I

work best when I keep going. We find that for my event it works.

you have an eye on people you are going to be racing? Yes, there are

quite a few. There is Stephanie Rice. When it comes down to the

crunch time she can pull it out of the bag. There is the Spanish girl,

Maria Del Monte. There are two Chinese girls. There are at a fair

few and I am very aware of them and it is very tactical and strategic.

That is what makes it fun. I guess it is a question of whether

she can continue the trajectory she is on at the moment. I saw her race

early in Europe this year and she looked good and produced one of the

best performances I have seen after the World Championships. She is a

really nice girl and I would love to be able to see her produce a

medal for Team GB. She is trained by her dad. She is and I have met

her dad. He is an inventor, and he has created a devise where we can

monitor the stroke council when we are swimming. Did you use it?

have used it, and it sent me a bit nuts, because it was beeping and it

was telling me when I should change. You will be with us throughout the

course of this morning and if anyone has any questions about

swimming or his career, then you can use the house tag. A big day

for Team GB swimmers and for everybody competing in the aquatic

Centre today. Let's go inside and joined the Clare Balding. How is it

looking in there today? It looks absolutely amazing. 17,500 people

can get into this. From the outside it does not look quite as beautiful

as it well when the wings come off. I went up to some of the high seats

to check what you could see. It is not too bad. You feel a little bit

cramped because the roof comes into the top of your vision. But it is

an amazing facility. That Ruth was put in place in March, 2009. It was

over 2.5000 tonnes and it is shaped like a wave. When the sides come

off, the building will look beautiful. 17,500 people will

create the atmosphere and help our swimmers produce better results. We

saw the feature on Hannah Miley. What does she need to do this

morning? We will see her heat round about 11:30am. What does she do in

qualification because it is a gruelling event? Yes, from the 200

metres downwards we have heats, semi-finals and finals. But in her

event you only get a heat in the morning and a file in the evening.

She wants to get through this morning as easy as possible and she

wants to show the others that she means business. She once the centre

lane and you what your best competitors around you because this

will be a tight race. They know the event is about to kick off. Her

training schedule is amazing. spends about 36 hours a week in the

swimming pool. When you are hammering your body day in day out,

she does a rock-climbing and a lot of cross-training. Her father

coached her and her brother is a training partner. Her mother will

be here as well and her other brother as well. We wish her well

and look forward to seeing her in action. She said it is 90% body and

10% mind. We will be back a little later on.

The swimming start shortly. Press your red button if you want to see

the early heats. We are a few minutes away from the start of the

men's road race. Some of Britain's brightest racing stars are running

up, including Bradley Wiggins who made a special appearance in the

opening ceremony. They will cover 156 miles in over five miles time.

This is a race where team tactics really count.

This is the Duke the cyclists will have down to Buckingham Palace and

it is a very long road race. Longer than the longest stage of the Tour

de France. But they have had a few days off. A week's arrest after the

two is enough? Yes, do not pamper them. Give me a dream come true and

let's go for a short rise. Once or all the way? I will decide on the

weight. A pretty inspiring view. is very nice, a bit like my house!

This is Richmond Park. If you live in London this is as close as the

countryside that we get here. What will be happening here? It will be

hell for leather, only 20 minutes into the race. They will be

attacking and attacking. It is difficult to keep control up. You

do not need to stay near the front. With mixed abilities we will see

crashes early on. This is far too flat for a man of your cyclic

abilities. We should head to Box Hill, the talking point of this

whole ride. I quite like the flat. Not today. Hello. If you are Mark

Cavendish, how do you approach this part of the road race? This is

where everyone is going to attack because this is the only obstacle,

the biggest obstacle on the course. Who wants to arrive on the Mall

with Mark Cavendish, no-one, so there is going to be a lot of

attacking. Nine times up Box Hill is like climbing the highest climb

in the Tour de France. Someone has to make a break. As you can see...

Not as quick as he once was, is he? Am I allowed to push my leg down

with my hand like this? Yes, you can. Is Mark Cavendish is near the

front on lap nine, it is going to be a sprint. Is it necessary to do

this nine times? Oh, no! Do not put that bit in? That takes some effort.

I am not kidding any more. Did you just fall off? So, anyway, coming

towards the end, what is going through the riders' minds?

Hopefully the British team are keeping it together for the Sprint

and hopefully they will get some help from the German team with a

Andre Greipel. As they come round constitution Hill, what will they

be thinking about? Just literally about the finish, counting down the

seconds, trying to position, working ate the effort, have they

got enough team-mates left? Do they have to rely on other teams? We

have got Andre Greipel, Matthew Goss of Australia. There are

several other sprinters. Their teams will be trying to set them up.

Mark Cavendish is a past master at finding a wheel and sticking on to

it even if he has not got the support. When we have seen him on

his own, as in the Tour de France, he can perform extremely well and

he can use other people's teams. I'll so much that is what he might

have to do here. At this point we will have the royal family

hopefully on the balcony waving them past. We are coming up to the

finish. A sprint finish? This is it, it is all about positioning now

have. Now you know how that tactics work.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson will be on the finishing line and also

Chris Boardman. Good morning. morning. We have heard lots and

lots about this could be Mark Cavendish's day, but we have not

heard much talk about the rivals. Who are they? That is a good point

because everybody here knows he is the best sprinter in the world and

in the Tour de France he proved that by winning the final stage by

a huge margin of. Nobody wants to arrive at a sprint finish, apart

from Andre Greipel at Germany who might want that to happen.

Everybody else will want to attack, and we will see that all through

the day to get the group away. Luis Sanchez has got a good chance

around Box Hill. You were out on Box Hill and people were talking

about that as a big challenge. How big is the climb? It is nothing by

their standards. It is a nice surfers. 2.5 kilometres long, but

it is the only real obstacle on the course and they go over it nine

times which adds up to a lot of climbing. And it is narrower, which

means everybody is going to be strung out and it somebody attacks,

you need to be close enough to the front and tactics will pay a big

part. There are tops that Mark Cavendish had lost up to a four

kilos to come into the race. Will that make a difference to him?

lost weight specifically because of the Olympic Games. He has ridden on

the cause a lot and has ridden up Box Hill a lot. It took the edge

off his sprint speed in the first week in the Tour de France. But we

saw very clearly, that he has got that back. They are getting ready

on the start line-out. What kind of race can we expect? Attacking from

the off. Can Mark Cavendish do it? Yes, there are only four of them,

so they have got their work cut out. We will let you go to the

commentary box. They are just about ready to go on the starting line.

Chris is going to make his way up to the commentary box and he will

be joined by a man who has got -- called home many gold medals. It is

Chris portable stop for the first time I can see the field assembling

in front of me on the line. We have had a visit from the

Duchess of Cornwall who was escorted to the line. You could

imagine the atmosphere when they arrived. Just about every

photographer is here to witness the race. They also decided they would

stand up in front of me, so I could not see anything at all, but they

have now moved to the side and right in front of me are the riders

waiting for the start. On the extreme far side is the team from

Spain. They had the winner in Beijing with Samuel Sanchez,

unfortunately not able to start. Right alongside the team from Spain

are the team from Italy and then the five riders representing Great

Britain. Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, David Millar, Ian Stannard

and Bradley Wiggins. Believe me, they would dearly love to deliver

Mark Cavendish at the front for the sprint because he is the fastest

man on the planet and if they can tactically in cheek that, the gold

are now having a 10 second countdown for the start of the

Olympic Games road race. The 30th Olympiad, this is the biggest entry,

144 competitors, from 63 different countries. And the contest is 250

kilometres, the longest event in the Olympic Games. What a fantastic

start here on the red carpet of Tarmac which will lead them to

Buckingham Palace, and then they will speak to the side of the

Buckingham Palace as the famous Queen Victoria Memorial, and now

all the photographers literally are sprinting past me. I can now see

the line and my monitor. We are hoping conditions will remain like

that. It is really bright. The flags are still. There was no wind

at all. It is a cracking day for a bicycle race, believe me. They have

swept past the famous Queen Victoria Memorial. Now they're

heading on up to constitution Hill. What will it be like when they come

back down? As they arrived here, it's just one, to go from there.

Just look at the crowd. It gives you an idea of the attendance of

these fantastic events. They have come out in support for Bradley

Wiggins who has just won the Tour de France, the first British man

ever to win. There are two winners who have achieved around France

tour. The other, of course, is in there as well. Italy, watch out for

them today. They made a late change with the squad. You heard Chris

Boardman's comments. He expects them to go for it today and I

wouldn't be surprised because the aim of a lot of teams is to get

clear and try to soften up the British team because it Mark

Cavendish gets the right kind of Ryde, then he, of course, is the

man who will take a tremendous amount of stopping. They are going

up Duke of Wellington Place. Just gone past Green Park. After Duke of

Wellington Place, they will weave their way to Knightsbridge for that

the famous shopping area where the world famous talk of Harrods is

placed. A nice shot of Hyde Park, as well. A lot of competition will

be taking place that there at the Olympics. Day one, of course, of

this London Olympics, 1948 was the last time that this contest took

place here. Great Britain didn't achieve a podium position then but

they did get a silver for the team award, because, in those days, they

used to award gold silver or bronze to the top three finishers from

each squad. A similar system to the stage races when times are added

together. Barriers all the way, as you can see. A massive job to set

up all these barriers. Wall to wall, at the moment, or gutter to go to,

as they peddle their way out of the city but once they get to the edge

of the built-up area, the tempo will raise itself significantly.

Brompton Rd, they grow -- go up towards Putney Bridge. A few riders

are not here today. The Norwegian, one of the big favourites, a green

jersey in the Tour de France, he has never regain the kind of form

he expected to try and be a contender for a medal here. He has

a viral infection. He eventually made the hard decision not to start.

It was legally a decision for Samuel Sanchez from Spain, the

defending champion. Came amid of the Tour de France on stage eight

when he badly bruised his shoulder and broke a finger, so he is not

here. At the moment, Tom Boonen from Belgium, and early bike change.

A former world champion, and man with a big sprint. He actually had

to pull out in Poland because he cracked a rib and he has put the

final preparations to his training for this suffering with a cracked

rib for them the British riders on the extreme left there. They have a

massive job to do today. Bradley Wiggins. He, of course, what will

be one of the men using all that strength today, to shield Mark

Cavendish. This is a mention of one or two of the hot favourite we can

expect to figure as the race unfolds. Cycling coverage continues

on BBC Three where you can follow this race every step of the way on

the dedicated 24 streams of coverage also elsewhere, right now,

race you can watch right now. It is just begun at The Mall going down

towards Surrey and coming back. Five hours to watch this if you

would like to. The Badminton, as I mentioned, is taking place at

Wembley Arena. Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier will be on court

later on. The judo is happening with British involvement today, as

well. These are the early rounds at the moment. The finals are later on

this afternoon. And the archery at Lord's, this actually began

yesterday with the ranking rounds. It is competition time today,

though. This is beach volleyball. We had a glimpse of Paul Scott

parade early on. This is happening now, as well. -- Horse Guards

Parade. We are using Twitter, and this is how you get in touch with

us. Lots of people e-mailing already. Particularly for Ian

Thorpe who was with me now talking about swimming. Lots of people want

to know how many swimming medals you think Team GB are going to win?

I think I can say six or seven. It's never a crystal ball, but

looking at the athletes, the possibilities, how many of those

will be gold? I'm not sure at the moment. You think six or seven.

Lots of questions about you personally. What single raised have

you be most proud of? The -- which single race? The it's a very

obscure one. It's the only time I felt I had a perfect swim. A 200-

metre freestyle in the Berlin World Cup. I broke the world record. By

about three seconds. And it's the best I've ever competed. The

proudest I've ever been, as well. Death and you the best one. It's

interesting, because you might think you've had so many Olympic

gold medals, those will be the biggest moments, but... I am proud

of them. It's more to do with, I take more pride in those results,

but which one was my best? What would you do when you retire from

competitive swimming? I have retired already and I have written

to it, so I have continued but career I stopped for a short period.

Do you still swim were not actually in a competitive training period?

When I stop swim, I didn't swim for five years. I went in a simple four

times in five years. Absolutely. If you average it out, it's a lot over

a lifetime, but I'm back in the pool again now. And having time of

now so I can be here with the BBC and watch the soaring to my Games.

Well, we look forward to speaking to you. A final one. Who was the

greatest ever Olympian? It's difficult to say. There's a lot of

different ways to look at this. If you look at Olympic values and

things like that, you can bring in these other characteristics, it's

not just about medals. Its sportsmanship. It changes the

context of who was the greatest Olympian. In my opinion, if you

look at result, this is what people want to know, I don't think you can

go past Michael Phelps. I think especially after this competition.

There is every measurement you can make in terms of comparisons. It

will be Michael Phelps. We know this will be his last Olympics so

it's very special indeed. Thank you very much, Iain. We will talk to

Lots of rowing is taking place this morning. We've had a glimpse of it

already but let's go back to John for Heather Stanning and Heather

Glover, the first race about half- an-hour ago. The second heat

featured potentially the biggest rivals, Australia and New Zealand.

The closing stages. We're expecting news didn't be dominant here but

the Australians were doing really well and they will be the main

opposition. -- we were expecting New Zealand to be dominant. The

Kiwis, were they playing there? We don't know. So, going from a

British success to a huge disappointment, it's fair to say,

this is the women's quad which finished a few moments ago. As you

will see, actually, that's the first when we are seeing. Sorry.

The Germans are looking very good. The German squad is hugely

impressive. From top to bottom. Very confident. Only winners go

through to the final. This is the British women's squad coming in

last place in their heat. The Ukraine, hugely impressive, but New

Zealand edging out Great Britain for third spot as you can see there,

and we have gone from one extreme to another in half an hour.

women's squad have been struggling in the last couple of years and we

are hoping they were going to push the Australians slightly in front

of them and put them in the hunt for the medal but on that

performance, it doesn't look like a chance for a medal, and maybe not a

place in the final. You mention the first race with New Zealand, people

toying with the opposition. Playing a tactical game. How much of that

goes on? How much of it is about putting down a marker and saying to

people, we are this good and you have got to catch us? It's more

important to put a marker down than planning to hold back. When are you

what rowing, you're going backwards so its advantage to see the boats

behind you. You are in control of the race and you are in control.

It's better from our point of view. If the Kiwis felt they were capable

of dominating the race, they would have done that, going through. So,

yes, from my point of view, I always like to put your marker

down,... Is there an element of conserving energy? Not really. What

saps your energy is a queue of the blasted in the last 50 metres. --

is if you have to blast it in in the last 50 minutes. But you can

cruise through and there is no saving energy and you can recover

quite quickly. Let's go back to the live action. Coming up shortly, the

second heat of the men's eight, and Great Britain are in death. It's

like a preamble to the final, a monument to the competitive race,

the first heat which is taking place. Let's join Gary and down.

COMMENTATOR: USA in a lane number two are having a stunning heat in

the men's pair the weight. A little slow out of the blocks here, but

they have dominated his opening heat and got into a fabulous rhythm

in the second 500 metres, and they are cruising in the third. We have

Australia in that one, Australia, gritty, Ukraine, three, Poland, to

the left, in lane number four, and remember they won in Munich, the

last World Cup regatta, pushing the British back into third position.

Australia had the second place on that day. We have seen nothing of

the USA of America this year because they were 8th last year at

the World Championships and had to come to Europe to qualify. Their

coach is a wily old fox. He's do a great job here at for the USA. 500

metres remain. 1,500 down. It's going to be extremely hard for the

Australians in lane number one to overhaul the USA. Four boats, only

one will qualify for Wednesday's final. Their heads are up, their

hand ats are moving for the Australia, though, are tracking

them down the line. Here come Australia. The USA were humiliated

by coming 8th last day and having to go to qualifying. And this is

their revenge. They have come right back into the picture. They are

looking for gold. They will qualify if they win this. They will qualify

straight for the final and won't have to go to the repechage. This

is a tremendous performance from the United States. Half-a-length,

250 metres to go. Only 25 strokes. And still, though, the Australians

attacking hard. They know they have only one chance now to get through

to the Olympic final. Unless they go via the repechage. Surely the

Americans have done enough? 125, the USA stretch it out. They know

they are through to the Olympic final. Australia, a valiant

approach, and they push on through that third but not today. BUSA into

the Olympic final of the men's eight. Australia, second, Poland,

1,500. I think the United States came back in the last 500 metres.

They did. They were not really pushing that hard. Once they got

that good bit of clearance, they looked strong. Remember, the best

four crews are in the next heat. That was the easier heat to win. We

will probably seek to a free of The Crues in the next rate -- probably

see the next two or three in the next race go through. A wonderful

overview here of the eight Moving incomplete harmony here. -- in

complete harmony. He was bringing them all together, in a room, as a

group, and he said it all he was interested in was winning a gold

medal at London 2012. Hands up if you want to join me in that. A true

American way of geeing up his crew and the response to that was the

punching up -- punching of the air and some high fives, and now we are

seeing the end result. I think they can go quicker though. Absolutely.

25 strokes a minute at the end, so pretty steady. A very tough

selection process in America. They are always battling in selection

races throughout the year. As we look back down the course, the

grandstand is on high, glorious conditions at Eton Dorney.

Confirmation that the US are through to the final and everyone

We are a little bit removed from the action, but the noise generated

from the stands, I hope it is coming through. Just a wonderful

atmosphere for the first day of competition and that will have an

impact on the way everybody Rowles -- Rose. There was a lot of talk

about home advantage, and in rowing you do a lot before you get to the

bulk of the crowd, and then it is just a noise. That is a bit of help

for the British team from that point of view. It is always just

going round and round, it is very much like that. But I thought the

Americans but a lot of effort into that and look quite tired. I don't

think they were saving anything at the end. I think the Australians

were coming back at them. A huge cheer for the Great Britain eight

at the start. If they could hear that, that would make a difference.

Not sure if the wind was in the right direction, but it was massive.

And there are the Canadians who broke the world record when the

conditions were in their favour. A quick word about the man at the

front, everybody else in the boat there was boat to last week said

Lewis was the linchpin. He has an extraordinary empathy with the

water. For very young man, only 20, how has he managed to be such a key

ingredient of the boat? To come into a senior team in Olympic year,

and see was junior last year, and and see was junior last year, and

then come into the key area. The reports are that he is a fantastic

athlete and he has great rhythm. He has been out of all the World Cup

races though. He has only just come back into the crew. A very special

guy and it will be interesting to see how they do. He was a former

pupil at Eton College, so this is where he learnt his trade. Here he

is as a key member of the men's eight in the Olympic games. Here

are down and Gary once more. -- it is only the second heat of the

men's eight, and Great Britain are in the first lane. Canada are in at

number two. Germany, undefeated in this Olympiad in the men's eight,

the world champions in three. The Netherlands in at number four, and

those four boats are vying for that coveted one place that will get

them through direct to the final on Wednesday. But the British have

come out quick, and so do Germany, the world champions leading.

Germany have a third of a length. It looked like Canada had stormed

out, but my goodness, Germany always seem to have an answer.

Unbeaten in the last three years, ever since they were humiliated in

Beijing by not even getting through they have come back and dominated

the scene, and at the moment it is very much Germany in the driving

seat. But Great Britain have come back. Slow at the start but back in

the running and up with Canada in second. An absolutely stunning

first 500. One minute 18 seconds from Germany, minimal tailwind here.

What a statement. Expect the Germans to stamp hard on this

second 500 metres. A little look left from the cox of Germany. The

British crew in a lane at number one, hunting down the world

to the crew and driving them on. Germany have been dominant. World

champions. Britain were second last year and have put themselves into

second position again. Now we will see what difference the manner in

the stroke seat makes to the crew. Can they move through in this

middle 1,000 metres and peg back Germany? The trouble is, once germy

get their noses in front it is very hard to pull them back -- wants

Germany get their noses in front. If you look back at the statistics,

the crew that got to 501,000 in the lead went on to win it. Germany go

through the 1,000 in the lead, as they did at the 500 metre mark and

they have moved out ahead over Great Britain, three-quarters of a

length. But the British will not roll over. A big race for Great

Britain. If nothing oafs -- else, just to blow the cobwebs out. On

the Olympic stage here, and they know they can pit themselves

against the world champions who we are watching overhead. A fabulous

shot here. That there is how you wrote a men's eight at this very

high level. -- how you row a men's eight. To actively the German eight

are superb. -- technically the German eight are superb. They

really do well together. Britain putting up a fantastic battle on

the outside, the top plane, closest to the crowds as they come into the

far side of the bank. There are some coaches on the bikes, an

incredible sight. That third 500 from Great Britain was outstanding.

The British moving back again on Germany. It is three-quarters of a

lens, just inside three quarters. Germany from Great Britain, and I

think we can say that Great Britain have put the disappointment of

Munich behind them, when they finished third, and the Germans

weren't even in the race. Here we are, in the last 500 metres.

Germany are 36 strokes a minute. Look out for the Netherlands.

Holland are creeping up, closest to the camera. But Great Britain are

moving, half a length down on germy but they still can't get their

know the majority of the support in all of the stands it is for them.

The British are upping the rate. They are pushing on, but Germany

look absolutely exquisite. At only half-a-length this is a fantastic

opener for Great Britain. They will have to go through the repechage,

but this is great, holding on to Germany as they come to the last

few strokes. The world champions have stretched it out and are

safely through to the Olympic final by about three-quarters of a length.

But Ladies and Gentlemen, Great Britain are back, and they will

know they are within a sniff of that Olympic medal. Great Britain

will go through the repechage and live to fight another day but they

know that their big day will come on Wednesday, the Olympic final.

And we salute to Germany through to that Olympic final. They have won,

exquisite from the first strike. But what an absolute cracker we

have got lined up on Wednesday. The repechage is on Monday, so great

Britain will come away feeling disappointed, but they will be

gutted not to be the German crew, because that is in their nature.

But they know they are stepping up. And remember this, in 2000, when

Great Britain won the gold medal they slightly douched it up in the

heats and had to go through the repechage and won the most

important race of their life, the Olympic final. This will give them

confidence. They were five seconds faster than the United States in

the opening heat. That puts them right up there. Germany, with this

tandem rig, rather like Cambridge had in the Boat race, that gives

them the power in the middle of the boat and it helps them to do it

that way. But for Great Britain, that was a great opener. They have

got that to build on, but Germany do look good. Look how far Germany

are ahead of the Olympic champions. They have taken the Olympic

champions apart, but they know that they cannot afford to discount

Great Britain. Constantine has done an absolutely fabulous job. The US

were coasting a little bit in the heat. After half way, just coasting

a little bit, but it certainly puts great Britain in the picture.

Germany through to the Olympic final. I would say it is all good

A great race, and a great atmosphere, and the first people to

benefit were heather stunning and Helen who won the race a few

minutes ago. What was the sound like? It was incredible. We had the

coach shouting at us during training, but nothing can compare

from the word go to the beach at the finish and the cheers, it was

absolutely brilliant. He must have been shouting loud to replicate

30,000 people. At what point on the course can you actually hear

people? I'm not really aware. It was sort of gradually building. A

gradual build of noise, and by the time you got a half way you could

see the grandstand coming alive. It makes you stand up tall and feel

very proud. Steve, how well did they perform today? It was very

classy. Way you taken by surprise by the Americans? This was supposed

to be a week a group than they had had all season, but they pushed too

hard during the middle -- as week a group. We expected them to come out

strong and it didn't matter what boat class they were in, we

expected them to be strong. It was good to have them in the lane next

to us. In the last 500 you seemed to take to the race and move into

the standard we have seen all season. Was that a planet or just

the way it unfolded? I think you always planned to its place -- race

to the line, and then the second plan is to conserve what you have.

We just did it how we wanted to and felt in control, which is a nice

thing to happen. You are through to the final, so you have four days to

sit with your feet up and watch TV, or what? I think we will have a day

to sit with our feet up and then we will go out and do some more

training and keep ourselves ticking over, so our final will be the peak

of the season rather than the race The if you get back quickly you can

watch the swimming. That's what we're planning to do. They haven't

got long to get back to watch the swimming. We will be at the

Aquatics Centre in a moment but we have just had figures released for

the audience for last night's opening ceremony on BBC One. The

average audience was at 22.4 million. The peak was close to 27

million. 26.9 million. That's how many people were watching. The

biggest single audience in the modern era for the BBC. Also on to

the results from the competition side of things. Those are the watch

and BBC Three will know from the archery, great Britain's men have

gone out of the team competition. Those hopes of a team medal in the

archery had sadly ended at Lord's this morning. Time now for the

swimming action. Clare Balding is going to talk as though it.

CLARE BALDING: Are thank you so much, Mishal, and we had the heats

for the 400 metres individual medley which means the appearance

of Michael Phelps, a man who has one more gold medals at Olympic

Games than any other athlete and is on course to win the most medals in

total. That record is currently held by the Soviet gymnast who

competed between 1956 and 1964. He could take his total, 14 gold

medals and two bronze buckles, and needs to get to 18 to equal the

record and push beyond it. He could do it. Indeed, he will. We would

say his event is in the back. No event is in the back, but a minute

ago, he qualified 8th for the final. We will see that in a second or two

because we have a five heats to get through. The first British swimmer

was Joe Roebuck, and we can look at him. He is in lane a number two. In

the back of the picture, not a great swimmer for him. This will

to have done it. Finishing, I'm afraid, last in that heat, but

let's have a look at the heat which involved Michael Phelps, because we

are going to see him in action. As Mark has hinted, he is through to

the final but let's see how he Michael Phelps. I can't wait for

this one. The world has been waiting for this one. The men's 400

metres individual medley. In a lane four, Michael Phelps. The world has

little bit of noise at the start there. This is he to four of five

and Michael Phelps into the lead. He is flying for the peace the

world record holder, 100 fly and the 200 rivals up he is brilliant.

He has got everything. This is the stroke he made at the Sydney

Olympics final, aged 15. We want to see the Italian tried to stay with

him. Just going out of shot now, three from the left. This has been

his dream since 2005 21st saw Olympics. He was only brought up 20

minutes down the road. Competing with a great Michael Phelps, what

an honour. Michael Phelps turning first. How many times have we said

that in the last 16 years? Laszlo, and utterly brilliant swimmer, but

how on earth you get past Michael Phelps? He's not kicking as hard as

he could be. Sometimes your kick stabilises your wiggle. Is he going

for it? I think he is getting a bit from the field. Germany is in lane

just enough to make it through to the final here. He's been talking

about saving his mental and physical energy. I think Michael

world record pace of that back stroke. It's like two races in one

here. Go all out in the butterfly and then he's back on there

backstroke. On the turn, he had a he has come through now, Great

Britain, in 4th or 5th at the moment. Michael Phelps turn second.

Che turns first. He can bring that back pretty well. He looks good,

closer to us. Yes, Michael Phelps was talking in the press conference

about easing back and leaving energy. He has got a big schedule.

He has got seven races. He has got seven medal events, a lot more

races, of course, with semi-finals and heats. Having looked at his

combated is there to see where he is. I think Michael Phelps will

make him work a little bit harder, Che, because there is the final

tonight and I think these two will be on the podium. Michael Phelps is

toying with him. It's like a piece of string in front of a cat. Look

at this. It's just amazing. Absolutely incredible. Pavoni He

finishes in 4th. Just outside his best time. He went up 4.12 in the

trials but Michael Phelps, goodness me. 4.13. That's not that quick. He

currently in third. I can't see six from the final heat beating him but

it's closer than I thought. A good three seconds slower than the first

one. A 4.10 0.01. Michael Dobbs is such a great competitor. He knows

pretty much how he's going -- Michael Phelps. It is the most

controlled race of his schedule. Michael Phelps winning he'd four. -

That was Michael Phelps in the pool. It's a fascinating experience

watching it with you because you watch it in a different way to the

rest of us. He didn't have easiest time there. That was a surprise. He

left it very close. Watching him in the fly, I think he pulled back a

little bit in the backstroke, tried to conserve energy, but had quite a

bad patch at the end of that race. He qualified by 7,100ths of a

second. That's cutting it to find. Knowing what it's like in the

competition, the roar of the crowd, the first time we have seen the

seasoned professional when it comes to swimming. He wanted a

comfortable swim. A chance to qualify through, so when it comes

to the finals, because in as more events, he has to conserve some

energy. The he has to pace himself. With five metres to go, it looks

like he's going to win his seat, which, in his mind, he will be

thinking, I will be a 4th and through to the final. The Ryan

Lochte has also been in the pool we have seen the ending. This is

how Michael Phelps's race ended. Lots of focus on Ryan Lochte, we

are going to show everybody that in a second. He's one of the main

people to watch. Brilliant. I think now he will know he will probably

be the second fastest going through. One second faster than Michael

Phelps? So, here it is right now. Which is his best race? Ryan

Lochte? Pick any of them! The way he's swimming at the moment, I

think he will be very dominant in these races. He hasn't really got a

week's stroke. The same as Michael Phelps. They are very similar.

it an advantage and it he made that strong, because he must be focused?

It's very motivating in training. You know what your main rivals are

doing in training so it will spur you on. I suggest they do this

session's separately so they don't know what they're doing otherwise

it could become too competitive. You do think this will be one of

the big rivalries? By can't wait. I can't wait to see this final. I'm

glad we get to see a final we It's all happening in the Aquatics

Centre this morning. Let's go over to Andy Jameson, who was

the women's 100-metre butterfly. Fran Halsall in lane five. It will

be interesting to see how she will some. Ali Sher Coutts, the

Commonwealth champion. -- Alicia Coutts. Great Britain right in the

centre. A real sprinter. She had a dodgy sold up for a while but it's

better now. She looks good right summoned to work hard down this

Coutts here. Fran, fourth from the left, coming back. Coutts, she

takes it. How she got that, I've no idea? She was 6th with about 10

metres to go, so a great finish, from Hull for. A really, really

good finish -- Fran Halsall. Sorry, Andy. 7th in the world before she

came into this, Coutts, and was a silver medallist last year. Getting

close to that in a heat of 100 fight, that's a good market to lay

down. Nice to see her fighting summing up really well with Fran

Halsall. Now it is the turn of Ellen Gandy. She is right next to

the red hat a Great Britain it goes in lane five. Not the greatest

start. You can never write of Gandy does like this soaring poll.

She got the British record in the trials here in March. She is here

in third. Ellen Gandy coming in ranked third in the world this year.

Really fighting. It is a flat line, Andy, look at that in the middle.

Ellen Gandy is Sunningwell. She is the world record holder -- she is

the swimming well. She is going well in the red hat in the centre.

It is going to be very tight. A very good finish indeed. Goodness

me. Both British Gas, as head down inside that last five metres, and

they have stolen places in their heats, a really good swim. --

British swimmers. I have got to say, I think that will still occur in

the semi-final. There is still one he to go but it was great. A great

with Decca, and then two metres out, just ominous. I think the British

gulls have both done enough. -- the the British girls will make the

So a good start for the British girls in the Aquatics Centre.

and up against tough competition this morning. -- yes. I think they

will improve on those positions coming through. That is really

helpful to make sure they are in the right shape going forward.

think it is. There are lot of swimmers swimming well and fast,

but that middle heat that we saw, quite a strong heat and we saw how

everyone was very close. You want to get everyone into that round so

you can then produce a better performance. That is the latest

from the Aquatics Centre. Let's go back to the rowing at Eton Dorney

with the men's doubles goals coming We have had a mixed fortunes they

fought the British athletes, an emphatic win and the women's quad

came in last in their heats so they go into the repechage and then the

men's eight came second. We will just show you the closing stages of

the first heat in the men's doubles, because sometimes not a lot happens

but look at this for the heat. is the first three going for the

semi-finals, and bought three of them were comfortable going through.

You wonder, white put that energy in? But that is how much it means

Question for that to is when the crowd comes in, with that cacophony

of noise. It almost distorts your common sense in racing, and maybe

people will push more than they need to. That can happen. You can

get into your pace in the race and stay stable, but if you blast off

at the end then you get the oxygen dearth from that point of view.

Realistically, what are their ambitions here? They are not a bad

crew. They are supposed to be our fastest doubles pairing in the last

few years. They should have been hunting for medals in the last few

years but it hasn't quite quick -- clicked. Hopefully they had done

good preparation but we will find Great Britain in the second lane.

New Zealand, the two-time world champions alongside them. If you

are going to make a mark on how fast you are, why not sit alongside

the world champion? It will be a good race because Lucas and

Townshend, a new doubles pairing this year, they were in the

quadruples in 2011. Now a big opportunity for them in this. On

the starting line. Glorious tailwind on the start, and they are

away fast here. We are looking at built Lucas and Sam Townshend in

the stroke seat. And these guys know they have a big race ahead of

them alongside Nathan Cohen and Jason Solomons from New Zealand,

the world champion -- Jason Sullivan. 100 metres down, and

Great Britain are leading. brilliant start from Great Britain.

They have been looking the part and very confident in the last six

weeks in training and felt that they have moved on a lot. They

succeeded the Red Express, who came 6th last year, although they were

medallists the year before. They were superseded, and may have gone

into the quads. But Lucas and Townshend looking calm and relaxed.

Three of these crews will Fila five for the semi-final after this race.

-- will qualify for the semi-final. As Great Britain come into their

racing pace, Argentina in four, giving the chase and laying it on.

Argentina were 9th at the world championships last year, sell at a

moment, it is between Great Britain and Argentina. The world champions,

New Zealand, a slightly struggling in the first 500 but we would now

expect them to lend some alt -- lengthen out. I think New Zealand

will just plan to qualify and have a steady race. Normally they are

quite high with their strikes -- stroke rate. But they have checked

the advance of Argentina and Great Britain and are turning on the

pressure a little bit. We can expect new Zealand to start to move

back into contention through the second part of the race -- New

Zealand. But at the back are Estonia. It could be that they will

be the crew that has to go through the repechage. Great Britain are

looking good, but Argentina, a surprise, looking very smooth and

relaxed and their boat is travelling well between strokes.

Bill Lucas, 22, some Townshend, 26, they have rowed together in one

form or another since their days at Reading University -- Sammut

Townshend. There confidence should be rising. The white boat of New

Zealand coming back. They will know that Argentina, who they have had

the better off, they finished 6th at Munich in the last World Cup

regatta, with Great Britain finishing in four, so it is laying

halfway mark of this the third heat. Argentina, what is happening here?

Soirees and Rosso are taking their chances. We would expect the

experience of Lucas and Townshend, but the dominance in the event of:

and somewhat -- Sullivan,, we would expect them to start coming through.

The worry is that the New Zealanders always make it look a

bit hard. They have to battle and scrap, and the good thing of the

British pair is they have a nice flowing rhythm. They just have to

keep going with the Kiwis as they come through and focus on this

third section. New Zealand are up at 38 strokes per minute. They are

battling along after taking it steady. They always seem to give

themselves so much to do. Battling along with Great Britain at 35

strokes per minute, and Argentina, the same, very steady, very smooth.

A good day to release the nerves. They will walk out in Portugal at

the training camp, and before that they were up at altitude in Austria.

All of the focus on these couple of days. Great Britain are looking all

right. There is the all-black strip of New Zealand. Argentina beginning

to slip back a touch. They still have the lead but the others are

beginning to close them down. Argentina now continue through the

1,500 metres and have led at every mark. Surely they will not cause a

through to the semi-final. Now it is all about pride for New Zealand,

the two-time world champions. Here come the Kiwis, and Great Britain

must go with them, but the young pretenders from Argentina, who have

done so much to lead this heat, surely they can hang on and hold

off this charge. They charge will be unrelenting against the New

Zealanders. Here they come. 250 metres remaining. And the British

are pushing on. They are responding to the crowd on the far side. And

the British have upped their rate, but so have the New Zealanders, the

two-time world champions, coming up to the line. Great Britain at 40

strokes a minute. As they come up to the last 250 metres it is New

Zealand pushing right through. Not pretty, but very fast.

sensational effort from Great Britain. They'd dared to lead up to

the 1,800 metre mark. New Zealand coming through. What a scrap that

was. And what a result for the British doubles. They will be

mightily happy. They should be happy with that second place,

because this is going to be a long all that regatta. Great Britain

through to the semi-final. New Zealand through, and also Argentina,

and just taking up the rear, A fantastic start, now time to

embrace the an's specialist subject. We are ready to get under way for

the men's 400 metres freestyle, an event a certain Australian used to

dominate. This time it is China and Korea expected us -- to challenge

for the gold. Let's go to the aquatics centre with Adrian

Moorhouse and Andy Jameson. -- the world record holder had a stinker,

got left on the box. And Robbie with a wonderful start. He has

certainly started as he means to continue, looking really good. It

looks like the German is going with Robbie. The world record holder is

going with the guy from GB. Good to see him making a statement on his

first length. The green on -0.24 means he is underneath a world

record. We hope he knows what he's doing! Beedham and not having a

great year. He has not shown on the world rankings. He is in the white

cap. Renwick will have to get close to his PB. It will take that to get

into the final, at least. Look at these two at Guy's go. He has the

world record holder to tow along with him. And he is definitely

working hard. Leading for Germany, Renwick just there. Easy speed down

the first 200 metres, and the crowd are chanting his name. Fantastic

local support. It really is brilliant and he is looking good.

The rest of the field is starting to come back now. I was going to

say, they are starting to catch the Russian in at number seven is

going well. Renwick still first. He is leaning to his right, so he can

see all along the line and it is a nice position to be in and help you

with your pace. You always say two junior guys that the big guys go at

the halfway mark, and look at what has happened. He mustn't forget it

is a heater where it will be hard his terms, you know. He did not to

a big fly kick. The rest of the boys were doing something big

underwater. He makes his lead up and then comes back on the term.

Check this out. 100 metres to go. They make in first. Not was not a

bad term, though. Did not lose too much on that. Everybody is starting

to go to their feet with 100 ago. Robbie Rennick is looking good but

look at these guys coming back at him. The German is not looking very

good at all. Not at all. It suggests there may be Robbie

Rennick is now digging in. The crowds are really lifting her. He

from up Robbie Rennick. The German will not make the final and as he

does something spectacular in the last time. He's looking good,

that he to be. With 16 very quick guys to come, Business semi-final

for the freestyle, only eight will qualify. A very good swim from

Robbie Rennick, but will it be any good? Is it enough? I think it will

be. He is looking over. You can see him looking under the water. Almost

looking for the clock before he finished. Top of your picture,

knocking. Cochrane also looking over. They knew they were in a

scrap. That position might make a Is that going to be enough? I'm not

heat three of the men's 400-metre freestyle. David Carry is in lane

six. It is brilliant to see him reigning Olympic champion. David

Carry, delighted to see him here because he did not qualify at the

trials. He did a lifetime best to qualify for the Games. He's in the

red hat on the right-hand side. He has gone of Cook, as well. This is

his second chance and there is a space opened. David Carry took his

opportunity and it's great to see him here. Park, the world record.

The second fastest in the world this year. Coached by the

Australian, Michael Ball. Park is positioning himself at the Olympic

Games, dropped the 1,500 metres from his programme. He is

concentrating on a 200 metres and 400 metres. David Carry, heart the

second from the world record in the lead. I'm not sure, it's very

exciting and all that but hopefully it's not too much. It is fast, I

have got to say. If you're going to go for it, go for it. And that

exactly what you are doing. He does have some very good tactics, but

we've just seen a pretty slow seeded heat. You can make this

final if you are quick and knock some big guys out. David Carry is

the first to turn. The world champion and Olympic champion is

still in the mix. Let's watch him at the halfway term. David Carry on

the left-hand side with her red hat on. Over to his right, he's looking.

A great position to be in. It makes you feel a little bit stronger

coming into the halfway position. That was of fast first 100 but I'm

hoping it's not too fast. Park, I think he is amongst them. He is in

the white cap nearest to us. David Carry is going. He's making a move

again. He has probably got maybe a quarter of a metre on the others.

This is not that quick, still. David Carry is kicking a bit harder

than the rest of the field. Kicking his legs. The Australian in the

yellow cab, not kicking his legs at all. David Carry is not full on. A

bit of horseplay here, you know. David Carry is doing really well.

Come on, 100 metres to go. He could make the final. He is swimming very

hard on that term. A bit deep under water. Come on, David Carry, you

final go. He wants to get into the final. He is in the white cap. It

will surprise me if he does do a big kick now. And starts to try to

come back. There we go, a big kick into the lead. Come on, David Carry.

Park taking over in the centre in the white cap and also going past

him is the Australian, a silver can get this. Try and beat the

Australian. It looks like he will but one guy from the first heat, I

was Napoleon and 4th was David Carry. It's very close. It is close

but I think Park was playing around death. He did a big kick on that

finishing, to make sure he did enough. A gutsy swimmer, David

Carry. Just outside his best time where he qualified. There is the

Olympic champion, the defending champion. A lovely guy. A great

tactician. I think he is comfortably into the final. One

interesting. I wonder if it was the start. You are not allowed to false

start. You're not allowed to wobble. Maybe he's not sure about it yet.

You can't get disqualified in freestyle unless you false start.

We have had our first Olympic record set by America in the 100

metres butterfly. We could see some world records broken tonight.

American has been in great form. She number one in the world. You

never know when they can do it doesn't she? Whereas, holding

something back most definitely was Michael Phelps. And maybe, lulling

the Olympic silver medallists into a false sense of security. He has

and qualify for final individual medley and Michael Phelps has, only

just. It shows you, when there is no semi-finals, a top aide go

through and it's so important to get up early in the morning and it

swim fast. It Michael Phelps just getting in at Ryan Lochte, you have

to make him favourite for gold tonight. The interesting thing is,

he's going to be in lane three and Michael Phelps will be in lane

eight. We used to seeing them side- by-side, cat-and-mouse but there's

no race like that tonight. Michael Phelps will be out on his own.

been so cool about the rivalry, trying to play it down, but it's so

interesting for tonight's final. Equally interesting, the defending

Olympic champion from the 400 metres freestyle, Park, has been

disqualified, so let's have a look at the start. He is coming off

block four. The yellow cap. I must confess, I didn't see anything

wrong whatsoever. When you have a reaction time, it comes up on the

scoreboard. I couldn't see anything wrong from here. Whether the judges

saw it, I don't know. You have to be completely stationary. Maybe he

twitched. I couldn't see anything. An amazing noise for every British

swimmer here. The noise levels may get even crazier because we're

expecting the imminent arrival of Her Majesty, the Queen, who opened

the Olympics officially last night Thank you very much indeed. Very

exciting morning already. I have been watching it with Ian Thorpe.

We thought it was shocking when the Korean summer was disqualified.

the defending champion is disqualified at this stage. He went

through the race quite comfortably and make sure he got through to the

final. Looking at the start, I'm in complete agreement with Mark Foster.

I don't see anything in it. Maybe we will see a protest put in now.

It is within the guidelines at this stage. He may have had a quick

reaction time. It isn't a false start. The technical equipment we

have on the blocks indicates when the gun goes off, what is

acceptable as a reaction time. If it falls outside of that number, he

will probably continue to be disqualified. That's the kind of

debate which will be going on right now in the Aquatics Centre. What

will happen now, they will go back and look at the replay from the

overhead cameras to see if there was any movement. We could split is

down into 1,000ths of a second. You can tell when the movement happens,

so there's a lot of technical issues around us. But blind eye,

not been it would see anything, I did not see a false start.

really exciting action this morning also in all these heats was to see

how well directed it. It's really good. -- to see how well Robbie

Rennick did. What was happening, a lot of guys had similar times and

it means they had to work harder this morning. Park, he was one of

the ones who went a bit easier and then came through at the end. Some

of these guys had to work hard to get through. Robbie Rennick looked

good. It's interesting to see how many nations have come along in a

swimming. Non-traditional swimming nations if you like. I think this

is the best in what has happened to the sport. It's been an evolution

in the last 10 years. Mostly in the last six years. We have seen