12:17 PM: What a dramatic Day 13 it was! It started with heavy rain, an incredible beach volleyball final, upsets, surprises and botches on the track, a merited silver for Emilie Heymans of Canada and Eric Lamaze ends the day with a gold for the Great White North. I'll see you on Day 14!
12:09 PM: I got goosebumps listening to O Canada. What a great moment. And Eric Lamaze also tears up...the tears of an Olympic champion!
12:06 PM: The gold goes around Eric Lamaze's neck! And here's O Canada...
12:00 PM: The medal ceremony is underway for Eric Lamaze and individual show jumping. Love how they come in on their horses!
11:45 AM: ERIC LAMAZE BRINGS HOME GOLD!!!!!!!!!! Eric Lamaze and Hickstead clear all the jumps and for the first time in Canadian Olympic history, we have an individual equestrian gold medal. What a great moment for Eric Lamaze. Congratulations, that was a tremedous run for Eric!!
11:43 AM: Bengtsson has 4 penalties and a rather slow time. If Lamaze does a perfect run, he wins gold. If he has 4 faults, he still can go faster than the Swede's time to win gold.
11:41 AM: The United States adds a bronze medal in equestrian. And here comes Bengtsson of Sweden in the jump off for gold.
11:31 AM: The United States wins gold in women's soccer. They score a goal in extra time to propel themselvesonto the top step of the podium. Brazil is devastated.
11:12 AM: Eric Lamaze of Canada runs a perfect and clean jump. He is tied for first and will go to a jump off with Ralf-Goran Bengtsson in 15 minutes. Assured of at least a silver, Lamaze, third-ranked in the world will jump for gold.
11:02 AM: The United States have scored in the women's football gold medal match. They're in the 11th minute of extra time after 90 minutes was useless in deciding a winner.
10:59 AM: Wow, just read that both the USA men AND women relay teams did not advance to th 4 by 100 final. For the men, it was the first time since 1912, the women, the first since 1948. Canadian men finished second to Jamaica in their semi-final and will advance to the final!
10:54 AM: Some of these horses have hilarious names. "Ninja" "Opium"...
10:34 AM: They're in the 77th minute at Workers Stadium. USA and Brazil are still tied at 0!!
10:25 AM: Okay, I understand that Eric Lamaze and Ian Millar have a shot at the individual show jumping medals. But, how many Canadians really want to watch equestrian at 10 in the morning, when there are other much more exciting events to air? Say, Radio Canada-the French speaking arm of the CBC-is airing the thrilling and heart-thumping relays from earlier. Why not that on English CBC?
10:15 AM: Oh and if you haven't heard, during the women's 4 by 100 relay heats, the United States dropped their baton on the anchor leg. So the Americans are out. We won't see the much anticipated Jamaica-USA match up in the final.
10:13 AM: At Workers Stadium, they're scoreless at half time. It's the gold medal match between the American and Brazilian women.
9:56 AM: The medal ceremony for the Men's 400 is right now. Man, Wariner was just not himself tonight. He's addressing the crowd, but deep down, you can only imagine how disappointed he is. Jeremy's a classy athlete and I still believe he will break Johnson's world record someday.
9:47 AM: Dayron Robles grabs the gold in a time of 12.94. The two Americans Payne and Oliver lean for silver and bronze. No competition for the happy Cuban.
9:46 AM: Here we go! Set...gone...
9:42 AM: Hurdles are an exciting race 'cause you just never know what could happen. They're NOT that easy to jump over either. David Oliver of the United States is probably the biggest threat to Robles in this race.
9:36 AM: Here comes Dayron Robles and the other hurdlers. It's the final of the 110 M hurdles race. Liu Xiang, of course, unable to be in the final. It shoulda been a match up that drew the biggest cheers. But instead, it's Robles who is now the clear prohibited favourite.
9:27 AM: Americans sweep the podium. But LeShawn Merritt is the winner. Big upset at the Bird's Nest! Jeremy Wariner just tighted up in the last 100, horrible finish, but a silver nonetheless. Wariner must be very disapppointed. I was very disappointed. A 44.75 is a disgusting time for Wariner. Something went wrong there. David Neville, the other American, made a diving effort for bronze. Congrats to Merritt. But Jeremy Wariner fails to execute tonight.
9:24 AM: On your mak...set...and they're off!!! Wariner looking very good!
9:22 AM: On you mark...set...FALSE START. Rooney from Team GB jumped the gun.
9:21 AM: There's my man...Jeremy Wariner with his signature shades. Already world champ and Olympic champ. Let's see what he can do here!!
9:19 AM: Here are the intros for the 400 M final!!! Kudos to the CBC for showing it live!! I am impressed by this classy decision.
9:16 AM: Listen to this crowd!! Chen RuoLin needs to average 8.5 to get the gold. ...that'll do it!!! That was a perfect dive, almost splashless. Four out of the seven judges gave her a deserving 10. Chen wins gold. Heymans wins silver. Wang wins bronze. What a great final round!!
9:15 AM: Nerve-wracking moment for Heymans. She did all she can do and can only wait and see. One Chinese left, the biggest threat to overtaking Heymans from the gold medal position.
9:11 AM: Jeremy Wariner is in the ready room. In 10 minutes, he'll come out and try to defend his Olympic title.
9:02 AM: Emilie Heymans has vaulted into 1st place after 4 dives. The two Chinese both missed their 4th dive a little bit. I don't know who to cheer for.
9:00 AM: The gold medal match for women's soccer is now underway at Workers' Stadium. USA and Brazil kick off for the Olympic title in what is a very rainy Beijing. Will update when action picks up.
8:58 AM: Emilie Heymans just nailed her 4th dive. She score 95.2 points and pretty much snagged a medal with that. Very impressive dive from Heymans!
8:48 AM: It's the Grand Final of the softball tournament. Japan defeated the United States 3-1 for the gold. It's a shocker as the USA has not lost a game since Sydney 2000 and never lost the gold medal game. Well, I guess you can win everything. Terrific pitching from Japan!
8:46 AM: After 3 of 5 dives in the women's 10 M platform final, Emilie Heymans is in 2nd place. Looking good for the Canadian. The 1-2-3 divers are very tightly bunched. The next two are make or break.
____________(Sleep)____________
12:10 AM: I'm out for tonight. Just heard that Ron MacLean's mother has passed away from cancer. It's very sad news, will be awkward without seeing MacLean on prime time. My condolences and best wishes go out to him and his family! See you in the morning.
11:49 PM: Congratulations to Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. They earned it!!
11:44 PM: And the spike always works!!!! Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh WIN the tournament without dropping a set!!!!!!! It's an 108 match winning streak. That's just incredible. I was rooting for China of course, but a silver and a bronze is already history for China. It's okay. Tian/Wang just have to work like Nadal and hope the time comes for May/Walsh like it has for Federer.
11:43 PM: GOLD MEDAL POINT for the United States. Get the tape recorder rolling!
11:42 PM: Wang Jie rejects Misty May-Treanor!! It's 18 all!!!
11:41 PM: Misty May and Kerri Walsh are 480-16 since winning in Athens 4 years ago. They are unbeaten this year. So dominant!
11:35 PM: China stuffs Walsh and retake the lead 15-14. It's a true tug of war between these two teams, really showing why they're top two in the world.
11:33 PM: You can't tell the difference between the sweat and raindrops on the bodies of the players on the sand. The ball's really making the rallies interesting. It's China by one: 14-13 in the second set.
11:30 PM: The skies look even more ominous now. You can see the shadows of the players on the sand from the bank of lights. Is this 11:30 AM in Beijing?? Or 11:30 at night?? And hey look at that, guard Jason Kidd is at Chaoyang rooting for the Misty and the United States.
11:28 PM: Tian hits another ace. It's 8 all in the second set. ...make that 2 straight aces!!!! The latter one topspins off the net. The Chinese lead 9-8 and they are coming back in this set.
11:22 PM: They're done diving at the Water Cube. Chen RuoLin qualifies first in the semi finals, some 44 points ahead of Paola Espinosa of Mexico. Then, it's the other phenom Wang Xin and then the Canadian veteran Emilie Heymans in 4th place. Marie-Eve Marleau also squeezes into the final set to go at 8 AM tomorrow morning.
11:21 PM: That's it, a spike does the job. Team USA up one set to none! They just have so much more raw power than the Chinese and is communicating better right now.
11:18 PM: Set point for the USA. This is a terrific game. China asks for a time out. This is truly a golden match.
11:16 PM: The Americans and Chinese are chasing eachother like cat and mouse. It's 17 all in the first set!
11:13 PM: It's 13 all after an ace from Tian Jia!! The rain's not dampening the spirits of the fans! They are into this big time! Lot of parity between the two teams so far.
11:08 PM: They've got volunteers with brooms sweeping water off the track. This is a crazy day in Beijing. Just look at how dark the skies are!!
11:05 PM: After 4 rounds of diving, it's Chen RuoLin in 1st, Mexican beauty Paola Espinosa is 2nd, followed by Wang Xin and Emilie Heymans.
11:03 PM: As the Chinese lead 4-2 in the opening set, CBC's transmission is about 3 seconds faster than NBC's, just for the record.
11:01 PM: The rain continues to pour as USA stuffs the Chinese for the first point of the game.
10:59 PM: As the clock strikes 11, Misty May Treanor/Kerri Walsh takes to the court to defend their Olympic gold and extend the 107 match win streak. At the same time, the Chinese pair Tian Jia/Wang Jie want to derail the Americans and take gold at home!
10:58 PM: Quote of the day from NBC diving commentators: "Melissa Wu has one of the most beautiful tucks in the world...and one of the worst entries."
10:52 PM: David Davies, after leading for about an hour 55 minutes, misses out on the Olympic title. Dutch veteran van der Wilden wins the gold, coming up hard in the end.
10:49 PM: All the Chinese divers are picking up on the tradition of taking a bow after their dives. Must be lucky!
10:46 PM: Man we are seeing some serious misses in the diving event (including Emilie Heymans) Huge splashes. Demoralizing scores. Not only that, but it hurts if you don't enter the water vertically. But what a contrast the Chinese are-entering almost splashless.
10:44 PM: Now you wonder, do athletes get into any event they want for free? We've seen the Redeem Team go cheer for Phelps. We've seen Despatie now cheering for Heymans. Okay, they probably do, but are they allowed to sit anywhere they want? Or are they assigned seats?
10:36 PM: Zhang YiNing wins: 11-5, 11-2, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8! She moves on to the quarterfinals. And overall, just dominated Fukuhara.
10:34 PM: What a beautiful shot the super slow mo provides in table tennis. It gives such a clear look at the spin and the focus/reflexes of the players.
10:31 PM: After 2 dives, Emilie Heymans sits in 2nd place. And a Russian has come across the finish line in the Women's 20 KM Race Walk. Norway has got a silver in that event and Italy settles for bronze. The hosts China just misses out, finishing fourth in the Walk.
10:26 PM: Look at this table tennis match! What a great great match up. Flagbearer for Japan Ai Fukuhara vs. athlete oath taker Zhang YiNing. Fukuhara is very popular in China if you didn't know. She was actually raised and trained in northern China before returning to compete for Japan. So, an exciting one here. It's a shame whoever loses. Currently, Zhang leads 3 games to 1. It's best of 7 in table tennis.
10:23 PM: Preliminary wrestling?? Really? No diving, no track, no table tennis, but wrestling?? Okay, the commentators are pretty good, explaining the rules and everything, but I want to watch some table tennis.
10:19 PM: What was that red thing David Davies just put in his mouth? It was handed to him in one of those spears with a pocket on the end of it. Looked like raspeberry juice or something. Oh and after round 1 of the women's 10 M semi finals, Emilie Heymans of Canada is in premier position!
10:13 PM: Unbelievable entries by the Chinese. It just doesn't get boring watching the Chinese dive. It's crazy how tiny the splash is. These ladies are not light objects. Though they don't weight 200 pounds, they still hit the water at 35 mph. I am always impressed by the Chinese rip entry!!
10:09 PM: J'adore la plongeon!! Les chinoises essaient de gagner leurs septieme medaille d'or de la plongeon avec le 10 M des femmes. Emilie Heymans de Canada est dans troisieme position de ce demi-finale. How was my French?? (as I am listening to French commentary on this diving event)
10:05 PM: Hey hey! David Davies is leading the 10 K race! I like the guy, very very smart swimmer and tremendous endurance!!
9:57 PM: Very dedicated fans out to cheer on the marathon swimmers!! Look at the stands at the Ming Tombs filled with jaunty spectators! Considering the weather, this is a great sight, psychological boost for the swimmers!
9:51 PM: Had a warm shower. Missed the end of the China-Brazil beach vball match. But it is officially medal #80 for China!!!! Xue Chen and Zhang Xi grabs the bronze by a score of 21-19, 21-17! In an hour's time, May-Treanor/Walsh and Tian Jia/Wang will take to the sand for gold.
9:19 PM: China wins the first set 21-19!! Neither teams effective with the block as the ball has been slippery in these wet conditions. The sand doesn't look too bad though.
9:13 PM: It's wet and sticky in Chaoyang Park as the women's beach volleyball bronze medal match is now underway. Tolita/Renata of Brazil vs. Xue/Zhang of China. Lots of empty seats at Chaoyang, but it's a good one so far. We're tied at 15 in the opening set.
8:14 PM: Rain is sheeting down on Beijing AND Hong Kong. So, some of the events that may be affected include the Race Walk, Open Water Swimming, BMX, Equestrian, Softball, Football...it's looks like a disastrously messy schedule right now. We can only wait.
7:04 PM: Damn phone connection ruined my show tonight. Anyhow, it's better to move on from things like that. So let's talk about the good stuff that's taking place on Day 13. I'm looking forward to the Men's 400 M final tomorrow morning with my man Jeremy Wariner ready to defend his title! I'm telling ya, he may just break Johnson's WR tomorrow! It's daring, but it's possible on this fast track. The Men's 110 M Hurdles final tomorrow will be without Liu Xiang. BMX biking goes tonight as does Open Water Swimming. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh will battle for gold against the greatest Chinese pair of Tian Jia/Wang Jie! Diving also goes tomorrow morning, always fun to watch! Looking forward to lots of events!
-D
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