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Live coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games: Thursday, August 2

Bryony Shaw
Bryony Shaw

by Alex Hoad at the Olympic Park

7.30pm - Gutsy from GB, they recovered from 7-0 behind to make it 10-6, however three late goals made the game safe for the USA and it finished 13-7.

GB's team is very new, very young and very inexperienced, but these battling performances against the world's elite will surely stand them in good stead for Rio in four years time.

Well that's our lot for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the Olympic Stadium no-less.

Jack Green will be the first of our track hopefuls to make his bow at these Games, competing in the 400m hurdles heats at 11.50am.

There's also GB's Ashley Jackson in hockey action against Pakistan at 4pm and Claire Rafferty and the GB women take on Canada in the football quarter final at 7.45pm.

Should be another great day! Goodnight!

6.50pm - However they have pulled back to 8-3 down at half-time.

6.30pm - The steep learning curve is continuing for Sean King and the GB waterpolo team - appearing in their first Games since a new era in the sport in this country was born.

The young GB team are 5-0 down to the USA at the end of the first quarter.

5.25pm - Jen Wilson's torment at these Games goes on. South Africa went down 2-0 to Germany and are adrift at the bottom of their group.

It won't get any easier for the Canterbury forward, in her third Games, as her side face big-guns Australia next-up on Saturday morning (8.30am).

Slightly better news for Bryony Shaw. She placed sixth in race five of the RS-X series in Weymouth and then eighth in race six.

The 14pts took her total from the six races to 40, now 14 adrift of the bronze medal position with a further four race to go before the medal race.

No action on Friday, race seven and eight are Saturday afternoon.

Not quite done for the day, we've still got Sean King who'll be representing GB against USA at the waterpolo arena at 6.20pm.

Thursday - 8.30am - Morning! Lovely warm sunshine at the Olympic Park this morning.

Just a quick update on the Nat Seymour situation. The Maidstone-born Canterbury player is the outfield reserve for TeamGB in the women's hockey competition.

Now on Sunday the GB captain Kate Walsh suffered a fractured jaw and needed surgery, but yesterday she was released from hospital and returned to the Olympic Village.

Her recovery is being monitored by TeamGB officials and no decision has yet been taken on a timescale to allow for her recovery and whether to consider replacing her with Seymour for the remainder of the tournament. If anything changes I'll let you know.

No Kent sporting action this morning, but I'll keep you up to date on our competitors (see below) this afternoon.

Wednesday - 10.10pm - Tomorrow is the quietest day of the Games for those of us with Kent on the brain. Bryony Shaw will go our for another two races at Weymouth at 2.15pm and 3.05pm while Jen Wilson and the South Africa women will look to put their first points on the board against Germany at 4pm.

Sean King will also be in GB waterpolo action at 6.20pm.

I'll bring you details of how they do on here as I get them.

Goodnight!

10.00pm - Long old day, but a goodun. Ryan Bertrand has rounded it off in style, playing 90 minutes and helping Team GB to a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Cardiff which sees GB top the group and set up a quarter-final against South Korea on Saturday.

Good night for Jack Oliver too. He did the business this morning, but after tonight's other 77kg group went at ExCel, Oliver was left in 10th place in his first Olympic Games. Fantastic result.

6.30pm - As promised, click here for Ashley's reaction to the game.

Meanwhile we'll soon see if Ryan Bertrand has been recalled by Stuart Pearce for tonight's must-not-lose game against Uruguay in Cardiff (7.45pm) which could see GB through to the last eight of the football competition.

5.45pm - Sorry for the delay. Ashley Jackson was credited with a scrambled equaliser two minutes from time.

GB then won a penalty corner in the dying seconds, which was the last play of the game, and Jackson saw a ferocious shot parried wide by the SA keeper.

He is very frustrated. "We should have won," he said.

Story up soon on www.kentonline/olympics

5.16pm - 2-1 to SA. Incredible turnaround. Confidence just flooding out of GB before our eyes.

5.10pm - SA equalsie from a penalty corner, their first, with 10 minutes remaining. You could feel it coming. It HAS woken the crowd up a bit now though.

5pm - SA have come back into this, but Barry Middleton just fired a low cross across the face of goal which could so easily have been 2-0 to GB. Inside the last 20 minutes.

4.45pm - We're off again...

4.35pm - Bryony Shaw was ninth in her second race and sits sixth overall after day two, 10 points outside the medal places in the RS:X windsurfing at Weymouth.

Meanwhile it's half-time here and GB lead 1-0 through Ashley Jackson's bullet.

4.30pm - Five minutes til half-time and GB are looking for a second.

Jackson has sent an off-balance shot narrowly wide and drew a fine save from Pieterse from GB's second penalty corner of the game, sending a high drive towards the top corner, only for the keeper to tip it over.

4.25pm - Game has settled down a little and the sun's gone in. The Mexican waves are out... you know what that means!

4.15pm - Ashley Jackson has given GB the lead with a thunderous shot into the top corner from a penalty corner.

He won it himself with a mesmerising run into the D before seeing a shot saved by keeper Erasmus Pieterse.

Pieterse could do absolutely nothing about the goal though.

1-0 after 13 minutes and really good to watch.

4pm - We're under way at the 'Bank. But just to tell you Bryony Shaw has improved to fourth overall in the RS:X windsurfing standings at Weymouth after finishing fourth in the first of two races this afternoon.

The second has just begun. keep you posted!

3.57pm - Just about to get underway here, but thought you might be interested in reading how Jack Oliver almost missed his Olympic debut this morning.

Click here for the story.

3.40pm - As if by magic, or at least three separate bus rides, I'm at the Riverbank Arena to see Ashley Jackson and GB face South Africa.

GB were very impressive in Monday's 4-1 opening win over Argentina and a repeat should see them make it two wins from two in their tough-looking group.

12.36pm - BRONZE MEDAL FOR GB AND TOM RANSLEY. They pushed the Germans so hard and led three-quarters of the way through, but Germany stormed back and Canada finished like a train to pip GB to the silver.

12.20pm - We're minutes away from the start. GB are in lane two. Keep an eye on Germany in lane four. they've not been beaten at this event in three years.

12.05pm - Well the crowd have certainly been nicely warmed up. Great Britain's first gold medal of the Games coming in the women's pair.

More British interest in the final of the women's quad sculls coming up now. Then it's Ransley time - should start at 12.30pm sharp.

11.30am - Ok, back to rowing. Kent's Tom Ransley and the GB men's eight are due-off in ONE HOUR people. They're fighting the Germans for a gold medal. What better reason to take an early lunchbreak and enjoy the action from here at Dorney Lake.

11.15am - Oliver is definitely one to watch for Glasgow in 2014 and Rio 2016. Really good to see some youngsters, like 5, 6, 7 years old giving him some adulation in the arena after his record too.

That is the legacy we keep hearing so much about in action!

Click here to read about Jack's exploits.

10.55am - Superb from Jack. He equals the British Record with 170kg in his final lift.

It beats his own C&J PB by 6kg and sts a total of 310kg - another PB.

He's fourth in his group at the Olympic Games, but at 21 he's got a bright future ahead of him.

Great to watch too. Really enjoyed that. Smiles all round.

10.50am - Jack lifts it and the crowd goes wild. A new PB by 1kg and will he now attempt the British record of 170kg with his final lift?

10.45am - Jack makes short work of the 160kg. Next up is 165kg which would be a new PB. Jack leads the Olympic Games, if only for a few moments.

10.40am - Jack's coach Andrew Callard has tipped Jack to have a go at the British record of 170kg in the clean and jerk here. He says he's looking good.

Looks like Jack's first lift will be 160kg. He has three attempts to register as high a lift as he can.

10.30am -Young Jack is only 11kg behind the leader, Spain's Andres Mata Perez, in fourth place at the half-way stage.

Short break before the C&J.

10.25am - Oliver is fourth of five in his group after the snatch. Still the clean and jerk to come. The two weights are added together and the total weight is what decides the places.

10.15am - Jack uses his third snatch to lift 140kg and celebrates with a fist pump and gets a hug from his coach.

10.10am - Big smile from Jack after lifting 135kg at the second attempt in the snatch.

He is the very early leader.

9.45am - Ok. Jack Oliver's competition starts at 10am.

He's a 21-year-old who was born in Sidcup and raised in Bexleyheath.

He's now based at university in Leeds.

He learned the sport at the Europa Weightlifting Club in Erith under the eye of Dartford coach, and former Olympian, Andrew Callard.

Jack competes in the 77kg class, holds a string of national records and was Senior British Champion in 2010 and 2011. He was also eighth at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

He can lift well in excess of three times his bodyweight and his nickname's Jack The Snatch.

I think you know all you need to. You can watch him on the red button. Ooh, want to know what he looks like? Ok, look below and left...

9am - Just an hour until the men's 77kg weightlifting competition begins at ExCel, with Jack Oliver the man we're interested in.

Jack Oliver
Jack Oliver

I'll pop back here a little later to tell you a bit more about him.

8am - Just to confirm, the final of the men's eight is the showpiece race of the day here at Eton Dorney and as such has been put on last of all.

It is due to start at 12.30pm - a bit later than originally expected. Nevertheless, it just means more time for the excitement to build here and GB will be chasing medals in the two races prior to Ransley's too.

6.30am - Yesterday saw the first Kent medal of these Olympic Games and I'm here in Buckinghamshire to see if we can make it two within 24 hours at the rowing regatta.

Ashford's Tom Ransley and Great Britain are in action in the final of the men's eight, which is due-off around 12.30pm, facing the task of overhauling their arch-nemesis Germany in the battle for gold.

The Germans are unbeaten in this race since 2009 and have taken gold, and condemned Britain to silver, in two of the three World Cup Series events so far this year.

The USA, Canada, Netherlands and Australia are also dangerous opponents however, so this final's sure to be one of he highlights of the rowing competition.

This morning we also have Bexley weightlifter Jack Oliver taking part in the 77kg competition at ExCel from 10am while Bryony Shaw has another two races in the RS-X windsurfing class this afternoon and Ashley Jackson (pictured top) and the GB hockey men will look to make it two wins from two against South Africa at the Riverbank Arena at 4pm.

This evening Ryan Bertrand and Team GB will face Uruguay in Cardiff needing just a point to reach the quarter-finals of the football competition. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.

Fingers crossed I am able to provide live updates on here regularly today, but you can also follow me on twitter - @kentonline2012 for all the live action.

Alex Hoad at the Games - Twitter button
Alex Hoad at the Games - Twitter button
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