LONDON (AP) ? Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:
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BOLT GETS THE BATON
JUST IN: Someone has just brought Usain Bolt back the baton from his team's 4x100 meter men's relay. The sprinter had not wanted to give it up after the Jamaicans broke the world record Saturday in a time of 36.84 seconds.
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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CANADIAN HEARTBREAK
Canadian sprinters are still in shock after the team got disqualified in the men's 4x100 meter relay and lost the bronze medal they thought they had won.
Oluseyi Smith said the team's manager will file a protest.
Justyn Warner was bent over, sobbing.
"It hurts. I don't know what happened," Warner said. "Jared (Connaughton) said he stepped on the line. We were behind and I had to run the guy down. I put everything into that. It just showed up as DQ'd. We ran a good race. We got the job done. It sucks."
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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QUICKQUOTE: US LEADERSHIP
U.S. women's track coach Amy Deem after the Americans won the gold in the 4x400 meter relay:
"These women have grown up with great role models. There's great leadership with Sanya (Richards-Ross) and Allyson (Felix)...
"I know the women are going to be strong in the future. This is just the beginning. I really think that with social media and TV, it's going to be a springboard for women in sports."
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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WORLD RECORD FOR JAMAICA
The Jamaicans have smashed the 4x100 men's relay world record.
Usain Bolt completed an Olympics gold medal sweep ? a back-to-back triple for him ? with a blistering final leg. Their time of 36.84 seconds destroyed the world record of 37.04.
The Jamaicans beat the Americans, who set a national mark in finishing second.
After the relay, Bolt argued to be allowed to keep the baton but an Olympic official refused. As he waved off the official in disappointment, the crowd booed.
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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SURGE GETS SILVER
Caster Semenya made a late surge on the last lap of the women's 800 meters, rallying from last to second to capture the silver medal at the London Olympics.
"Unfortunately, it was too late," the South African said. "I'm happy with the silver but I know the coach is not really happy. We learn by mistakes."
Semenya carried the flag for South Africa in the opening ceremonies.
"I'm very hapy with silver at (my) first Olympics," she said. "For me it's a successful career. For now, I just have to concentrate so I can win the next Olympics."
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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4x400 WONDERS
Talk about dominating the field.
The American women have easily captured their fifth consecutive Olympic win in the 4x400 relay. Their winning time of 3:16.87 was a season best. Russia finished second in 3:20.23 and Jamaica was third in 3:20.95.
DeeDee Trotter opened the relay, handed off to 200-meters gold medalist Allyson Felix, who gave the baton to Francena McCorory. Sanya Richards-Ross, the gold-medal winner in the women's 400 meters, ran the closing leg.
All the handoffs were clean.
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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TIBET ON THE PODIUM
Most athletes have trouble with races at higher altitudes. Qieyang Shenjie of Tibet had an issue with the low altitude of the London Olympics.
The 22-year-old Qieyang claimed bronze in the women's 20-kilometer race walk on Saturday, the first Tibetan athlete China has ever fielded in the Olympics.
"I'm extremely honored to take part as the first representative of the Tibetans at the Olympic Games and to win a medal," said Qieyang.
She comes from a family of Tibetan herders, started running as a kid on the Tibetan plateau and then joined a sports school. She said her name means "the sun" in Chinese.
She said Tibetans in the London crowd encouraged her as she raced.
"I heard it! Really. I heard a Tibetan cheering me on!" she said.
? John Leicester ? Twitter http://twitter.com/johnleicester
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NO MEDAL, NO PROBLEM
Galen Rupp failed to medal in Saturday night's 5,000-meter Olympic final, but he had no issues with the outcome.
His close friend and training partner Mo Farah picked up his second gold medal of the London games with the win.
"He's great. Obviously coming back from the 10K he had, I think he's just so well-equipped to deal with that," Rupp said. "He's so laid back. I'm thrilled for him. It couldn't happen to a better person."
Farah of Britain and Rupp of Portland, Oregon, went 1-2 a week ago in the 10,000 meters and Rupp said the Olympic crowd Saturday was the same as it was for Farah's first win.
"It was deafening," Rupp said. "I couldn't really hear myself think. That was probably the loudest I've heard it."
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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QUICKQUOTE: 110 PERCENT
Fourth-place finisher Bernard Lagat of the United States on Mo Farah's win in the 5,000 meters.
"Unbelievable. Everybody knew he was the favorite. I knew it. All 15 runners knew it. We were going to run against the favorite guy, he was the greatest of all. The crowd helped him. He ran 100 percent and they added another 10. So you had a guy running at 110 percent."
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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SHOWMEN
Usain Bolt isn't the only showman in the track world.
Seconds after Mo Farah won the 5,000 meters Saturday night and completed an Olympic distance double gold for Britain, he dropped to the track and did a few playful sit-ups.
That came in response to the antics of Bolt, who did a few push-ups immediately after winning the 200 meters earlier this week.
Bolt should get another turn to one-up the popular British distance runner later Saturday after he anchors Jamaica's 4x100-meter relay team.
? Mark Long ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/APMarkLong
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GO MO GO!
It was standing room only in Park Live, the viewing area in Olympic Park, during Mo Farah's victory Saturday night in the 5,000 meters.
Guards at the entrances turned people away and fans lined the pavement below the area just to be part of the moment.
The crowd sang "Far-ah! Far-ah!" over the final lap, waving British flags and cheering wildly. When Farah claimed his second gold medal of the London games, the cheer was deafening and drowned out the announcers on the big screen.
? Jenna Fryer ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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BACKING BOLT
Usain Bolt's over-the-top antics are a welcome sight to track and field's top officials.
IAAF President Lamine Diack and London Games chief Sebastian Coe lauded Bolt's showmanship Saturday before the Jamaican's final event in London, the 4x100-meter relay.
"Do I think what he does before and after races is over the top? No," said Coe, who also serves as a council member for the International Association of Athletics Federations. "I think it's fine. It's him."
Coe didn't stop there.
"We're not a sport of automatons. We're people that have got flair, intelligence and sometimes express it in all sorts of ways. God spare me from a sort of robotic approach to life," he said. "It's great that our sport captures those great moments. And yeah, he's fantastic."
Diack was equally impressed with Bolt.
"He's excellent for our sport," Diack said. "He's brought so much to it."
Bolt is going for his third gold medal in as many races in London. He went 3-for-3 in Beijing four years ago, setting three world records.
? Mark Long ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/APMarkLong
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HOT SEAT
Just like managing the Yankees or coaching the Lakers, running Brazil's men's soccer program brings with it sky-high expectations and win-or-your-out pressure.
The Brazilians see themselves as soccer's gold standard, with five World Cup titles and the most recognizable brand in the world.
So it comes as no surprise that just shortly after their 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Olympic final on Saturday, coach Meno Menezes was already facing questions about his job.
"Defeat in one match, just like victory in one match, should not have a decisive influence at that level," he said. "Had we won, that would not have solved all of our problems, either."
? Jon Krawczynski ? Twitter http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski
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SECOND SOCCER LANGUAGE
"Felicitaciones Mexico!" volunteer Dave Clements barked into a megaphone over and over outside Wembley Stadium in a decidedly London accent. Asked whether he speaks Spanish, the 43-year-old said no, but he did his homework. "I figured it out," he said.
? Niko Price ? Twitter http://twitter.com/nikoprice
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WHAT, NO WiFi?
Soon after leading Japan to a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition on Saturday, coach Masayoshi Manabe called the London Games "the toughest environment I've had to coach in."
Not because of opponents South Korea but because the Earls Court venue didn't provide the data-crunching coach with the WiFi network he needed to analyze real time data of his opponents.
Manabe called the omission of an internet connection on court a "huge surprise" that the competing teams had asked organizers to rectify early in the competition, to no avail.
Bob Clarke, the volleyball manager for London organizers, says "we went to the IOC, all the way to the top, with the request but we were denied. We don't know why."
Teams improvised instead, with both Japan and the United States relaying data to their coaches through walkie-talkies and earpieces.
"We got the information we needed, with a delay," Manabe said.
? Paul Logothetis ? Twitter http://twitter.com/PaulLogoAP
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QUICKQUOTE: BRAZIL
"We had 89-plus minutes to turn it around and we didn't. All of us lost, not one of us." ? Brazil coach Mano Menezes on defender Rafael's mistake that led to a goal 29 seconds into the match.
? Jon Krawczynski ? Twitter http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski
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SOUTH KOREA BAN
South Korea has been told to bar a football player from collecting his bronze medal on Saturday.
Midfielder Jongwoo Park carried his national flag with a slogan supporting South Korean sovereignty of islets at the center of a territorial dispute with Japan during the third-place match against Japan on Friday.
The incident came just hours after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak raised diplomatic tensions by traveling to the islets.
In a statement, the International Olympic Committee requested the South Koreans take "swift action on this issue" and that "the athlete not be present" at Saturday's ceremony. They also said they had asked for an explanation.
Spokesmen for the South Korea Olympic body could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Olympic Charter prohibits political statements by athletes and players.
? Graham Dunbar ? Twitter ? http://twitter.com/gdunbarap
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GUERILLA GOLD
The Royal Mail has a message for overexuberant Olympics fans: Leave the spray can at home.
The postal service has been painting traditional red mailboxes gold in the hometowns of every British Olympic champion ? but has appealed to Britons not to do the same.
Two men have been detained by police for unauthorized mailbox gilding, and a postbox in the central England town of Doddington was painted bronze after the British women's field hockey team took the third-place prize.
"We understand the sentiment, and congratulate the women's hockey team on their achievement," a Royal Mail spokeswoman said. "However we'd rather people left the painting of postboxes to us."
? Jill Lawless http://Twitter.com/JillLawless
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MEXICO JUBILANT
The Olympic men's soccer final is over, Mexico has won the gold medal 2-1 over Brazil and its supporters are celebrating in the stands at Wembley Stadium.
Fans threw sombreros in the air and waved Mexican flags at the final whistle, while the players, some already shirtless, danced at midfield. Oribe Peralta, who scored both goals for Mexico, got ahold of a straw sombrero and passed it around among his teammates.
The dejected Brazilians watched, some sitting on the grass, exhausted.
Mexico midfielder Jorge Enriquez left his celebrating teammates to come over and shake hands with the Brazilian players.
? Jimmy Golen ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jgolen
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EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eyes-london-world-record-jamaica-4x100-211228547--oly.html
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