Bronze Lining

Well, it's not quite a Silver lining, but the women's soccer team pulled off an upset yesterday when they defeated France 1-0 with a goal in injury time to take the bronze medal.  In a game in which they were largely outplayed (outshot 25-4), Canada hung in, played good defence, and were rewarded against a team that had beat them 4-0 at the last World Cup.  Congratulations girls!  Canadian soccer is on the map!

Tonya Verbeek did win a Silver in the women's 55kg wrestling event.  This was Tonya's third career Olympic medal (a silver in Athens and a bronze in Beijing).  She has been beaten by the same woman in all three Olympics (the three-time gold medal winner Saori Yoshida of Japan).

(Call me maybe?)

As expected, Usain Bolt defended his title in the men's 200m final, and declared himself to be the best ever.  The guy is an unbelievable sprinter, but I hate his cocky attitude, and the fact that here and in Beijing he seemed to slow down near the finish line.  How fast could he have run if he'd gone all out, all the way?  On the other hand, here's someone who makes a case for Bolt as more than what I could see.

(Cool looking dragon on Fleet St. near the Temple Church)

In contrast to the cockiness and bravado on display from Bolt, Manteo Mitchell of the US displays the kind of spirit that makes me love the Olympics, as he completed the last 200m of his leg in the 4x400m relay after hearing a pop that was later revealed to be a broken left fibula.  By continuing to race, he helped his teammates qualify for the next round, even though he probably will be unable to compete.

(Curious military personnel check out one of our keypanels at a "Mag 'n Bag" security checkpoint)

It also appeared to be the end of the line for South Africa's Oscar Pistorius (the Blade Runner) after a collision with a Kenyan runner knocked his teammate out of the 4x400m heats before Oscar had had a chance to run his leg of the race.  Fortunately, South Africa was successful with their appeal and will advance to the final.