Day 6 - The Liveblog!

Join us from 1:30(ish) for live updates on the action in London - boxing, sailing, anything else that takes the fancy. Highlight of the afternoon should be Darren O'Neill (right), fighting for a place in the quarter-finals. He is due in the ring at 14:45. Otherwise, sit back and relax!



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18:52: And that, folks, will do it for me; for the liveblog anyway. Keep an eye out for the review of the day, and for another 'Lympic Lady, and rejoin me tomorrow for more of this nonsense. Holla.

18:51: ANOTHER WORLD RECORD!! Team GB with a 42.600 run, and its another gold for the Brits. They've had a heck of a day.

18:50: Britain v France for the gold. Here we go!

18:36: Well, the Chinese aren't eager to get their silver medals. They have headed off, with blazer boy in tow, and the medal ceremony is delayed. I'm making a cup of tea.

18:30: It's all kicking off in the velodrome!! By which I mean, there is one man in a blazer trying to explain whats going on, and there is a coach pointing a finger and looking disapprovingly. Replays show there's about the width of a gnat's cock in it, but the decision is made, and there is no appeals route.

18:28: The wheels overlapped - the same offence that saw the Brits eliminated - and it's heartbreak for the Chinese.

18:26: Hang on, they're not! China are DQed, and Germany are the champions

18:18: Well, nearly everything. They're not very good at hurdles, Liu Xiang aside...

18:17: Gabby Douglas wins gold in the all-round gymnastics. People assume I'm just talking out of my arse when it comes to things like American gymnastics, but I actually kinda know what I'm on about. China win gold in the women's team sprint. They're good at fecking everything now, aren't they?

18:15: Bronze for the Aussies; they'll be disappointed its not gold, to be honest.

18:10: ANOTHER WORLD RECORD! Hoy crosses the line in 42.747 seconds, and the roof is lifting off the velodrome. It's GB -v- France for the gold. For now, its Australia v Ukraine for the women's bronze.

18:09: To the sound of a very fine entrance song indeed, the Brits are out. Hindes, Hoy and Kenny

18:07: New Zealand and France race in heat three of the quarters, and the French take a comfortable victory, with the quickest time so far

18:04: Aussie Aussie Aussie! Win by .2 of a second. All teams very aware of the changeovers too, after the disappointment of Pendleton and Varnish earlier. Photos of Vicky crying are starting to surface. Varnish is, apperently, rather more ok about it all.

18:03: Australia against China now - this should be a cracker. Blink and you miss it stuff here

18:02: The Germans are through. They're all built like Panzer tanks, but move with a little more haste.

17:56: The men's sprint is just a few minutes away. I just had a shower because the HQ is about to be infiltrated by people who don't appreciate the smell of sweat and stale coffee that comes with a live blog.

17:46: NEW WORLD RECORD! The velodrome certainly isn't quiet anymore! The Brits take .8 of a second off the previous mark - that, by the way, is a considerable amount in the scheme of things

17:41: Actually, there's a British men's pursuit team, there's a bit of noise now. Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy and co. get the volume up again.

17:40: The men's pursuit is still going on, but frankly everyone has taken a break til the British men re-emerge for the men's team sprint. Couldn't care less at this point.

17:37: Aly Raisman with one 'l'. Like an appreciative patient after chiropractic treatment, I stand corrected.

17:35: Gymnastics going nicely - eyes will be on Gabby Douglas who will be hot favourite to win in Wieber's absence. Eyes also on, er, is it Ally Raisman? I'll have to double check that, but she's the one that kept Wieber out anyway. The bitch.

17:32: The Chinese will look to cement their place atop the medals board with a win in the final of the women's team sprint - they take on Germany. Apparently Pendleton has resurfaced in the infield, but is still crying. What a Jessie.

17:26: The women's gymnastics all-round is in progress on TV 2. No Jordyn Wieber, but still plenty of flips, spins and general fucking with the laws of physics to be enjoyed.

17:22: On RTE they are discussing the boxing judging - the slightly tinkered system in place for these Games has certainly drawn a lot of attention. If you missed it earlier, this is The 'Lympics Log's take on things

17:19: The men are pursuiting around the track, the Danes currently setting the pace. Pendleton, meanwhile, is said to have already left the building.

17:15: For those unfamiliar with the rules, the second rider has to stay behind the back wheel of her teammate until after the first lap has finished. Pendleton had crept beyond that mark, and so they are eliminated. She is, presumably, crying; the crowd boo enthusiastically. The mood now, to be honest, just seems deflated.

17:12: Britlanders God Save our Queening all over the place, a shooting gold to go with a 1-2 finish in the canoeing pairs. There'll be no gold for the Pendleton/Varnish pairing in the track cycling though - an illegal changeover sees them disqualified

17:09: Speaking of highly-held heads, Hannah Craig should be tremendously proud of reaching the final of the women's slalom, where she finished tenth in the end. She's far from the top ten in the world rankings - outdid herself in qualifying for the final, in truth.

17:08: Darren O'Neill is on RTE, giving his reaction to Marty Morrissey. Predictably disappointed, recognises he was probably below his best. "I'll walk out with my head held high". And well he should.

17:07: Going back to the boxing earlier, Anthony Ogogo's win was subject to an appeal, but the decision was upheld. Probably had reason to question it, Ogogo had two standing counts.

17:06: OK, we're back! BBC move on to bullying a judo player - a risky tactic, to be fair. They've got the tears they wanted though, so its high-fives all round.

16:19: To be honest, I'm starting to lag a bit. Might have to take a break before the real business on the track starts - finals are at 18:00ish, we'll be back in action here at 17:00. Until then, take it easy.

16:14: Bullying losers is clearly not just an Irish thing - the Beeb are trying to upset Mark Cavendish. Shouldn't be too hard - not only did his road race go badly on Saturday, he was also the only one of the 12 person track team who didn't bring home a medal from Beijing. Which is madness, when you think about it.

16:10: China?! Seriously?! Like, is there anything they can't fucking do?!?! They just broke the World Record GB set, which stood for a grand total of about 3 minutes.

16:08: And the Brits set a new World Record! By the by, that thing about Horse Guards Parade being the loudest venue? Scratch that. This velodrome is an absolute cauldron - hardly surprising when you consider the dominance of Team GB over the past number of years.

16:06: Pendleton to resume rivalry with Anna Meares - GB -v- Australia is the big rivalry on the velodrome

16:05: Woohoo, track cycling! Including our 'Lympic Lady Vicky Pendleton

16:02: To give an idea of Hannah Craig's time, she is currently over 20 seconds off the leader after just 2 other athletes. So, not very good you'd have to say

16:01: Well, that's the Irish done for the day. We're sticking around though - just trying to find the most exciting thing on offer this afternoon. Suggestions, anyone?

15:57: 127.36 is her time - over 10 seconds down from what she managed earlier.

15:55: 6 penalty seconds, its a lot slower than her qualifying time and that's a disappointment. Still an Olympic final - savage stuff

15:54: Go on Hannah! Mistake at Gate 5 loses time, and a penalty, but there's plenty left to run

15:53: OK, we're almost due back at the Lee Valley for the women's K1 slalom final, and Ireland's Hannah Craig. As the tenth and final qualifier, I assume she'll be off first - and she is! Right now!!

15:51: 21-21, as the serving from both teams falls to pieces. Another shot for GB at 22-21 though...and Mullin puts the serve long again! This is turning shit, to be fair.

15:50: GB have setpoint - and miss it. The British crowds are obviously noisy everywhere, but perhaps nowhere quite like Horse Guards Parade. There's some craic to be had there, I'd say.

15:46: From an Irish point of view, Ger Owens and Scott Flanagan are 23rd in the 470 class. Sailing, if you're not familiar. O'Leary and Burrows are ninth overall with two races to go in the Star - the top 10 make it to the medal race.

15:42: Women's beach volleyball - this will pass a few minutes anyway. Shauna Mullin of Team GB is really disappointing though. The Russians are looking good though, as is Zara Dampney

15:38: The Azerbaijani fighter is giving it socks, but is still getting his ears boxed off when Steve fancies it. Final bell goes, and it's 24-11 to our Stevie. Quality performance. Right, what else is on? Hannah Craig is back in 20 minutes, by the way

15:34: Meanwhile, if you're wondering how the biggest stars of the Games pass their time, wonder no more. Usain Bolt fills his day like every other bloke on the planet

15:33: Another sweet round from Steve, and he leads 15-8. Can't see any way Migitinov wins from here.

15:30: 8-3 to the Brazilian after the first session, as a throw sees Steve land on the deck. He's actually a fair mover, this lad. Crafty southpaw, rapid left hand, absolute textbook Olympic amateur in many ways.

15:28: Speaking of controversy, there were three appeals at the canoeing, including one from Hannah Craig. In the end, all three were thrown out and the results are as they stood - Craig through in tenth position.

15:27: Steve is apparently the mirror image of his brother, a light-heavyweight who himself made the quarter-finals last night. Controversially, of course

15:24: One more middleweight contest before we switch the boxing off, and it will feature an Irishman in the ring: referee Michael Gallagher. Soltan Migitinov of Azerbaijan enters, one of 7 boxers from there. The fact that the World Champs were there might have something to do with that, you feel. His opponent is a Brazilian with an enormous and very difficult name, so we'll call him Steve.

15:22: Oh, and here come the tears. The ritualistic bullying of unsuccessful athletes is difficult to watch. Michael Lyster appears to be hell-bent on getting her to talk about vomiting anyway, but Melanie skillfully avoids it. Good on you, girl!

15:20: Melanie Nocher is actually looking very well. Certainly for someone who has been firing from all cylinders for the past few days.

15:17: As an aside - though possibly not a million miles away from Nocher's gastro-intestinal issues - it is extraordinary how badly I've eaten through these Olympics. Not spent more than 5 minutes in the kitchen in the past week.

15:12: Melanie Nocher doing an interview shortly. If she starts talking about how "the toilet was her priority" again, I'm gonna scream.

15:10: I'll tell you something - a sneaky 50p on Ogogo to medal looks like a decent shout right now. The first fight was probably more impressive than Hartel -v- O'Neill, I believe.

15:07: So, the Irish team suffers its first boxing defeat of the tournament. Still plenty to look forward to - and not just in the ring, either. Less than an hour and Hannah Craig will be heading out again in the final!

15:05: O'Neill beaten comprehensively, 19-12. Disappointment for O'Neill and for Ireland, as the crowd shows its appreciation.

15:04: He was swinging, but you feel he's gone down. Hartel was definitely the better fighter, and the Irish captain will be going home.

15:03:  One minute left, might as well go down swinging Darren!

15:01: Three minutes left for O'Neill to rescue this

15:00: With one round to go, O'Neill trails 14-8. Hartel is getting through with combinations, punches in bunches. O'Neill probably needs a stoppage here

14:58: Jesus, this is tough work. For O'Neill and Craig, but also me. I think I'm going cross-eyed... O'Neill is boxing a little better this round I think, mixing up the body and head shots well

14:56: At the Lee Valley, Hannah Craig is in 10th and therefore qualifies for the final! Wonderful achievement.

14:55: O Neill took a huge left hand to the chin, but took it well. Has to watch that. End of the first, and it's 6-4 to the German

14:54: After the hellfire and brimstone of the last contest, this is an altogether more cagey affair. O'Neill happy to cede the centre of the ring and fight from the outside

14:52: It's Darren O'Neill vs Stefan Hartel for a place in the last eight. The Kilkenny man does indeed have plenty of support - opponent even greeted with boos. Here we go - can our 100% record continue?

14:51: Well, there was certainly a bit of excitement there, O'Neill will be heading into some atmosphere - and here he comes!!

14:48: 18-18, but Ogogo is through! The crowd goes mental! Even the countback was equal at 52-52, but Ogogo gets the nod!! Oh!! We talked about the effect a crowd could have!!

14:47: Decision is in... and it looks like a countback! The 10,000 strong crowd at the ExCel chant "Team GB"

14:46: Great shots from Kytrov with 10 seconds left - that may have swung it in his favour.

14:45: Ogogo takes a few solid shots against the ropes, he looks wrecked. This one is going to be close!

14:43: This is a pretty high-quality contest - be interesting to see how O'Neill compares. He'll be in the ring within 5 minutes, if you need to locate a telly

14:40: Another standing count. The crowd applaud the referees decision. Actually, no, they boo viciously. Ogogo still leads, but there's one point in it with three minutes to go.

14:39: Ogogo is starting to struggle a little, I think. Working cleanly, but the pressure is beginning to mount, real pressure from Kytrov, who forces a standing count

14:37: 5-3 to Ogogo after a barnstorming first round. He'll like that. More than he likes jalepenos anyway...

14:44: Some noise in the boxing arena for Ogogo. You can bet there's a fair few Irish in there to support O'Neill in 10 minutes time

14:30: Anthony Ogogo fights for Britain now, as we move to the middleweights. He is in Subway ads, and was once in Big Brother on Channel 4. I don't know why I know that.

14:29: Even with 2 penalty seconds, a time of 107 leads the slalom now. Hannah not quite out of it yet, but the rest of the field is really showing the standard expected for an Olympic final now.

14:26: First clean run of the day at the Lee Valley, 109 seconds. That's an idea of what one would need for a medal

14:23: Another slower than Hannah! Things looking good for the Antrim woman!

14:19: We're back to the boxing on the main telly, still have the canoeing on his little brother. Chinese paddler is outside Hannah's time - which is 116.12, for anyone interested. Three more slower and she's through.

14:17: A British rower just told us that "over the last 100 metres we were all blowing out of our hoops". Presumably something got lost in translation there. I bloody hope so.

14:14: Hannah keeps it tight, and comes in waaaay inside Luuka's time by 5.29 seconds! That, to be fair, probably won't be the best yardstick, but its a marker. She'll need 4 more to trail her come the finish to make the final - 10 of the 15 will proceed to the medal round later.

14:13: Clips a gate, two second penalty but no need for panic yet

14:12: Here goes Hannah. Come on darling!

14:10: Pub carpark stuff now, crowd is loving it. Be switching to the canoeing the second we see a hand raised here - Luuka Jones is first off for New Zealand as we speak. Or type. You know what I fucking mean, alright?

14:08: 2 points! A warning for the Indian - it's now a 6 point gap and that should be that. One session to go

14:07: The boxing is getting testy here, a Kazahk and an Indian throwing shoulders, rabbit punches, hitting after the break. Gotta love a bit of a tear-up, in fairness

14:04: I can't hear the commentary because I've started listening to Jackson 5 songs on youtube. I am dangerously easily distracted for a liveblogger.

14:00: Hannah Craig should be slaloming - so to speak - in about 15 minutes time; we'll be keeping an eye on proceedings right here

13:59: I'd love to know who picks these boxing entrance songs. Bit of Michael Jackson would put me right off, to be honest. Dancing for days.

13:57: Earlier this morning, Melanie Nocher had a fairly disappointing swim in the 200m backstroke. She has since been very kindly updating us about her vomiting on Twitter. Just what you want, really.

13:50: The other Irish "action" right now is a dancing horse - Anna Merveldt's score was 69.742%. If she was doing her Leaving Cert, that's just outside a B3, but I have no idea what it does for her in a dressage competition.

13:47: Out on the water, O'Leary and Burrows are dropping further off the pace, 24 points off the medals in ninth position. RTE don't give a fuck, and are showing women's field hockey instead. And not even Dutch women's field hockey

13:43: My heart was warmed in seeing comments left last night - if you want to try cardiac cooking  in a similar fashion, do feel free - get involved down the end of the page.

13:40: It's a 15-3 win, dominant stuff from the Ukranian. Almost reminds you of another untouchable lightweight

13:39: Jesus, this Lomochenko really is something. He hasn't lost in international competition since the Worlds in 2007. That's impressive.

13:36: Afternoon! We're on boxing to begin, and the pound-for-pound number one in the world, Vasyl Lomochenko is giving some poor Dominican lad an absolute battering.