Amazing night for British athletics; Gold medals in long jump, 10,000 m and Golden Girl Ennis in the heptathalon.

Meanwhile the football managed to run to form; knocked out in the penalty shoot out

...after what apparently was a completely lack-lustre game. The football tournament has been the big disappointment of the Games for me.

Did you see the Women's Hockey today? NZ team was stacked with talent.

Don't even go there, who gives one, did they play tonight?

Looks like they turned up, but whether they 'played' is open to question, as ever.

I agree the olympics has far exceed my expectations its been brilliant,the horsey event is the only ridiculous thing in the olympics ahead of football and "the walking event" i'm sure a i read someone missed out on a previous olympics because their horse was lame....!!!!??

So Mo Farah could have missed out last night if he had a snapped shoe lace...?

I see Philip Hindes has been brought up or his nationality has.

I've read some real anti English Bull on various forums on the tinternet, welsh people not singing the british anthem heads bowed like its shameful to almost be there. Northern irish people representing ireland and not Great Britain because they are Irish. Scottish footballers not wanting to Represent the great island because that great Scottish footballing institute of getting dry bummed in the champions league Qualifiers may suffer.

and then Here is a winner and absolute English Winner who has some real German heritage. And he stands on the podium and proud as sings "God save the Queen".

best moment of the Olympics.........

She's one hell of a woman. So is Denise Lewis as I pointed out on Twitter.

The GB Volleyball team had some decent talent in it, including a 6' 5" spiker who looked rather fine! Don't think I've seen anyone who's almost at my height, never mind slightly taller than me. :^)

Shame on you.

And before anybody says anything, I was only watching Ennis because I am fascinated by the heptathalon ( at the moment).

After the gold rush last night, I couldn't give a shiny one about the football. I never expected them to get a medal, so they can toddle off back to the comfort of their football clubs, their thousands of pounds per week, and let the real athletes continue bringing home the bacon.

The Olympic athletes, swimmers, rowers, cyclists etc.. Dedicate their lives to their sport they have train hard and diet hard and and miss out on a fair few things life if they want that Gold. That's why i admire them so much..

really enjoyed last night it was gripping stuff.proves we do have some talent out there..and as previously stated about our footballers losing on pens it was only that footballing force korea who beat em..shouldnt we be playing teams like this off the park..pathetic..ennis farah and rutherford are proper sports men/women

Great night last night. That 45 minute period where Ennis, Rutherford and Farah took gold was fantastic viewing. My only other complaint apart from the football would be some of the commentators. John Inverdale is just inane and that bloody Hazel Irvine speaks like she's addressing a class of five year olds.

Football and tennis have absolutely no place in the Olympics (regardless of what Murray does or doesn't do this afternoon) and when Golf finally becomes a part of the Olympics we have finally lost the point of it.

I don't mind the horsey being a part of the Olympics. Rider and horse dedicate their lives to the sport (and while we are on the point of nationalities, both horse and rider have to be of their respective countries) It is true that the richer people usually take part in the sport but the fact that a 70 odd year old man from Japan can compete after devoting his life to the sport sums up the Olympic spirit.

Obviously, there can not be enough said about how proud we all are of those three last night, as well as every other athlete who has won Gold, a medal of any colour or worn the union flag with pride. I'm certainly not one for this pomp and circumstance and draping the union flag (i'm more of a citizen smith) but I must admit I'm a sucker for the Olympic spirit.

Why do football and tennis have no place at the Olympics?

You want to watch the world play football on tv- watch the World cup!

Want to see Murray, Federer, Djokovic on tv etc- Watch any Open. In fact, in the past 3 months I recall seeing Murray and Federer in an Open Final... on the BBC... being played in London.

The Olympics should really be the highest stage to do your sport. If it isn't, it shouldn't be in the Olympics.

Not to mention they are boring and played by professionals)

I'm of the same thought, if the Olympics isn't the pinnacle of your sport, you shouldn't be in it.

The Queen has an excellenmt German ancestry so he probably felt quite at home

and the Guy that competes in the exciting sport of running in a straight line for 10 seconds he is a plumber by day then i take it.........

what a bizzare thing to say....


Tennis to me has sat perfectly well within the Olympics football hasnt.

The thing with the football though is that it isn't footballs best athletes, it's their best under 23's (or what ever age it is), it takes all the sheen off it.

What about boxing? Would the Olympics be the pinnacle for many of these sports if they had more coverage than they currently get? Football's the most popular sport in the world, who's to say that these Olympics aren't the pinnacle for some of those players? Will it get any better for the Senegal team? The Japanese? They all give their all, they've all worked incredibly hard to get there and the game is played in pretty much every country in the world.

For me, 'The Olympic Spirit' can't be summed up in one sentence or meaning. It means many things and I think football can be a part of the Olympic spirit. There are many things that limit its progression as a 'great' event (timing, clubs paying wages etc.), but I still think it's a good event and does more good than harm.

I'd happily inpregnate both of them... as I would Jessica Ennis.

How awesome is Bolt (if a posing pr1ck)
He dawddled over the line in his semi.
Bar him false starting, the gold medal is nailed on. Mystic Goldblatt says that Blake wont get within .15 (which is an eternity in top class sprinting, providing an ease down) of Bolt.
Different league

It was a half cheeky addition that I edited in later.

It relied heavily on playing up to the old independent school belief that amateurism was better (which is still technically true in an Olympic sense-if impossible to actually endorse) and the fact that professional footballers are, to paraphrase what someone in this thread said, 'unskillful and overpaid'. I was going to include a reference to rugby union being superior to rugby league; but I thought it over indulgent.

However, I must stress that the difference in the degree of professional status of, say, Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking when compared to Ryan Giggs is quite far, you must admit.

It was a clumsy reference but I did it quickly and cheekily. Shame you missed it.