9.50 – This time next week we’ll be looking back wistfully, wishing that we could pop over to BBC Olympics 17 for a spot of dressage or some synchronised swimming. But for now, it’s still only day 11 of 16 (for those of you following the Olympic calendar) and there’s plenty to look forward to.

I’m Niall Kelly and it’s my pleasure to kick off this Tuesday morning of sport. As always, we’ll be here all day to keep you in the loop on everything you need to know from London. Who knows, come 9.30pm tonight we might even be celebrating medal number three.

10.05 – Looking beyond the men and women in green, there’s plenty of top-class action to get excited about this morning. We’ll be focusing on the track where the heats of the men’s 110m hurdles and the men’s 200m start. You know what that means? Yup, it’s time for Bolt v Blake Part II.

The 110m hurdles get underway in just under five minutes. Defending champion Dayron Robles, heir to the throne Aries Merritt and Chinese star Liu Xiang will all be in action.

10.28 – World champion Jason Richardson is up and running. He wins heat two in a time of 13.33 ahead of Team GB’s Lawrence Clarke while Orlando Ortega wins the third in 13.26.

Robles is up next, then Merritt, then Xiang.

10.35 – They tell me Dayron Robles is injured. That he’s a washed-up shadow of his former self. That he hasn’t got a chance. I tell them they’re wrong.

The Cuban looks just fine as he takes heat four in 13.33 ahead of Lehann Fourie of South Africa and America’s Jeff Porter. It’ll be interesting to see how he holds up through the semi-finals tomorrow night.

10.43 – More celeb spotting for Team Ireland this morning. With Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and others in his back pocket, I still think Paddy is shading the competition.

10.53 – DRAMA! Absolute carnage in heat six of the men’s 110m hurdles. 2004 gold medallist and 2007 world champion Liu Xiang of China is out after crashing through the first hurdle. It won’t be of any consolation to him that Shane Brathwaite and Moussa Dembele (this one, not that one) also fell and Artur Noga pulled up before the first jump. That’s four non-finishers out of a nine-man field.

Great Britain’s Andrew Turner takes advantage to win the heat.

11.28 – They’re at the start line in Hyde Park for the triathlon where we’ll be keeping a very close eye on the progress of Ireland’s Gavin Noble.

One thing to note is that the competitors are all wearing wetsuits. As the resident triathlon expert in the office Miguel has just informed me, that’s bad news for Spanish hope Javier Gomez as well as Team GB’s Brownlee brothers who won’t be able to open up as much of a gap on the field during the swim.

For the record, Miguel has also informed me that 22-year-old Mario Mola will be a future world champion so get your money on now.

12.21 – FIFTH FOR HESSION: He gets in on the dip ahead of Zhenye Xie but it’s only good enough for fifth place in a time of 20.69, a good bit off his Irish record of 20.30.

Needless to say, Blake wins in 20.38 ahead of Bruno de Barros and Jaysuma Saidy Ndure.

12.42 – The row between Phillips Idowu and UK doesn’t look like dying down any time soon. The disappointed triple jumper has been speaking to BBC Five Live:

There is no association between me and UKAA, if you can find a form that I have signed that says I received money from UKAA then hold me accountable but over the last three years I have been out there and won world titles, world silver medals, Olympic silver medals and I have done that out of my own pocket.

12.46 – Fun Triathlon fact: The winner of the Olympic test event has never gone on to win Olympic gold so that doesn’t augur well for Alistair Brownlee, although he is looking strong in that leading group at present. His brother Jonathan has been handed a 15-point penalty for transitioning on to his bike too quickly so he’ll have to take that at some time before the finish line.

13.05 – At the midway point in the urn, Noble has broken back into the top 20. He’s 19th overall but Maik Petzold of Germany is just over his shoulder three seconds back.

It looks like a two-horse race for gold at this point between Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez. Jonny Brownlee has tailed off a bit into third and he still has that 15-second penalty to take.

14.10 – How cool would it have been to have been in the Olympic Stadium on “Super Saturday” night? Pretty cool if you’re a normal sports fan, mind-blowing if you’re a Jess Ennis/Mo Farah/Team GB fan boy or girl. The crowd gave “All You Need Is Love” some bash.

14.13 – Speaking of Team GB fan boys/girls, it’s probably worth noting that Alistair Brownlee’s triathlon gold was their 19th of the Olympics, equalling their modern record set in Beijing four years ago. Whoever wins the next will have a special little bit of history to hold for another four years at least.

Just think, Cav, if you’d upheld your part of the bargain it would all be over already…

14.32 – Hi folks. Niall has gone to grab some lunch before he wastes away so Ben Blake with you for the next while.

Gavin Noble has been talking to our man Will Downing about his 23rd-place finish in the triathlon. Read what he had to say here:

I’m happy enough. It’s nice to give people something to shout about and be interested in.”

14.42 – GOLD - China’s Feng Zhe wins gold in the men’s parallel bars. Marcel Nguyen of Germany is runner-up and Hamilton Sabot of France claims bronze.

14.53 – Irish pair Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan are competing in the final race of the 470 class at Weymouth. They are looking to finish strongly are currently lie in fifth place of that one.

15.05 – Over in North Greenwich Arena, the women’s beam final has started, meaning ‘The flying squirrel’ Gabrielle Douglas of Team USA is in the house.

After three athletes, China’s Linlin Deng leads with a score of 15.600.

15.11 – The Canadian women’s football team understandably felt hard done by after last night’s 4-3 extra-time defeat to the US. Their basketball counterparts can have no complaints, however. They are 56-28 down to their American neighbours in the first of today’s four quarter-finals.

15.16 – OWENS AND FLANIGAN FINISH FIFTH IN RACE 10 OF THE 470 CLASS No medal race for the duo but they end their Olympic campaign on a high and take 23rd spot overall.

15.29 – GOLD – Deng holds on to win the women’s beam as Douglas slips up to finish seventh and fellow American Alexandra Raisman can only score 14.966 to leave her in fourth.

China take silver too through Lu Sui, while Catalina Ponor of Romania earns bronze.

15.34 – Is it wrong/ignorant that I still chuckle when the dressage comes on? Maybe. But look, it’s a dancing horse!

15.46 – The BBC have turned their focus to the Velodrome, where there are several medals up for grabs later this evening in the men’s keirin, the women’s omnium and the women’s sprint. It’s also the last time you will see either Chris Hoy or Victoria Pendleton compete at an Olympic Games.

Along with 20-year-old Laura Trott, they will be challenging for gold for Team GB.

16.13 – BRITAIN WINS GOLD NO20 Team GB claim top spot in dressage for the first time.

16.54 – 36-year-old cyclist Chris Hoy is aiming to become Britain’s most decorated Olympian with gold in the keirin today and he remains on course after earning a place in the final with a win in Heat 1.

17.07 – Read the story of the missing athletes in full here:

SEVEN ATHLETES FROM Cameroon have gone missing from the athletes’ village, an official from the African nation has revealed.

Five boxers, one swimmer and a footballer have all disappeared from the athletes’ village in Stratford, east London, Team Cameroon’s head of mission David Ojong told reporters.

17.12 – The men’s football semi-finals are both being held tonight. Mexico and Japan are ten minutes into the first one at Wembley. At 7.45pm, favourites Brazil meet South Korea.

17.15 – And Japan have scored a cracking opening goal through Borussia Monghengladbach striker Yuki Otsu!



YouTube credit: FutbolGolazos

17.21 – GOLD – Laura Trott, competing in the women’s omnium, wins a second gold medal of the London Games.

17.25 – You may have noticed that we’ve haven’t mentioned any Irish involvement in a few hours. Don’t worry folks, still to come:

• Derval O’Rourke runs in the women’s 100m hurdles semi-final at 7.15pm
• Michael Conlan fights Nordine Oubaali of France in a men’s flyweight semi-final at 9pm

17.39 – Pendleton v Meara is off and already there has been both excitement and controversy. The Brit looks to have taken Round 1 in a best of three by the narrowest of margins when she pips her opponent to the line by one thousand of a second.

However, it is announced minutes later that Pendleton has been relegated from the first heat and the Australia instead takes the lead.

17.51 – Can’t wait for Michael Conlan’s fight tonight? Why not watch the last time he came up against Oubaali – at the World Championships in Baku last October. The Belfast boxer won 20-17 in case you’re wondering.



YouTube credit: AIBABoxing

(h/t: Kevin Byrne)

18.01 – In Earl’s Court, Russia and Brazil are playing out an entertaining women’s volleyball quarter-final. After being tied at two sets all, it’s now 3-1 in Set 5.

18.08 – CHRIS HOY WINS THE MEN’S KEIRIN The Scot picks up his sixth Olympic gold at the Velodrome.

Germany’s Mazimillian Levy is silver and it looks like both Simon van Velthooven of Australia and the Netherlands’ Teun Mulder have been award bronze.

19.00 – What do you get the man who has everything? Well, gold and diamond-encrusted razors, if you’re Ryan Lochte.

19.09 – Andy Lee is currently on RTE talking to Bill O’Herlihy about Michael Conlon’s fight this evening. One of the most interesting things about the interview? Some 900,000 people watched Katie Taylor on RTE yesterday, according to the veteran presenter. Lee reckons Conlon will win tonight and we should have a national holiday if Katie takes the gold. I’m not going to argue with that.

19.20 – FALSE START France’s Reina-Flor Okori jumps the gun and is disqualified in heat 1 of women’s 100m hurldes. As I type, the Olympic champion Dawn Harper storms to an impressive win moments later. Here’s the run down:

19.25 – Fifth for Derval — in a time of 12.91 — and that’s the end of her hopes in the 100m hurldes. She stormed out of the blocks once again and looked good over the first 50m but was reeled in. Aussie favourite Sally Pearson took first in 12.39, fastest in the world this year. Canada’s Jessica Zelinka came in second and Lolo Jones trotted home next.

19.41 – Bill O’Herlihy must have just thought he was back in the euro 2012 studio with the two boys; Jerry Kiernan actually just said: Derval had a good Games, not a great Games.  Our own Ailis McSweeney reckons it’s time for some other athletes to take up the mantle. “Sometimes it comes down to one athlete, and we expect it out of Derval and sometimes Gillick and like Jerry said it can’t be the same person every championships,” she said.

20.10 – There’s three semi-finals in the men’s 800m, I hope you realise. There was no hanging around in the first one with Kaki the Iraqi winning- in a time of 1.44.51m. David Lekuta Rushida wins the second ahead of GB’s Andrew Osagie. The men’s high jump and discus throw are in full flow too.

20.29 – Our man in London, Will Downing caught up with Derval O’Rourke in the past 30 minutes or so. And she’s been candid as ever.

“I can’t see myself going to Rio. So that’s why I would have liked to have finished the Olympics on a PB, because it’s the only Championship that I haven’t PB’d or gotten a national record at. I think 12.71 made it in – I think I’m good enough to run that, but I didn’t,”

Read more here

20.37 – This image is dropping into plenty of inboxes today:

Back on the track, a very smooth and stylish Allyson Felix — in a bright red, shiny onesie, cruises through the second semi final in 22.32.

20.44 – Meanwhile in the men’s high jump… Russian Ivan Ukhov has just flopped over 2.38m and surely pocketed himself a nice gold medal. American Erik Kynard will have to top that which isn’t likely I’m told.

21.00 – So, boxing pundits Mick Dowling, Kenny ‘Kenneth’ Egan and Bernard Dunne have joined Billo in the studio ahead of Michael Conlan’s. So what’s the story? The Belfast man takes on Nordine Oubaali of France in the flyweight quarter-final, having beaten him in their previous two meetings. A win, of course, will guarantee a medal, our third of the games after John Joe Nevin and Katie Taylor.

Do you fancy him to do it?

21.10 – Spoiler alert: if you plan on watching the women’s hurdles after the boxing, look away now, as they say on the BBC news. Sally Pearson is the Olympic champion after a great race. New OR for the Aussie in 12.35, Dawn Harper is second and Kellie Wells takes bronze. Heartache for Lolo again, who’s in fourth.

As I type, Conlan is back in his corner – and it’s 5-5 after the first.

22.11 – There was a little bit of football on tonight you know. Brazil and Mexico will line out at Wembley on Saturday. Here’s why.