91热爆

I heard a great little rumour the other day.

It might be true and it might not be true, but I trust my source, so let's go with it.

It concerns and and their living arrangements in the Olympic village ahead of Saturday's 100m final.

Phew!

Thankfully, .

It only seems like yesterday that I was in my , now I'm preparing for another one!

Qualifying for an Olympic final is the culmination of much hard work so I'm obviously elated but, in all honesty, I'm more relieved as my 1500m form going into Beijing wasn't great.

There are heroes and then there are heroes, but is a superhero.

She's not an Olympic champion - yet - but her story is the best kind, one of triumph over adversity, one of beating the odds, and one of pursuing your dreams at all costs.

For me, what makes sport so special is its humanity, and South Africa's Natalie Du Toit has plenty of that. As many of you will already know, Natalie is one of a select group of athletes to qualify for both the , and the Olympic Games.

Competing internationally since the age of 14, in February 2001, when she was 17, her left leg was amputated at the knee after she was involved in a scooter accident on her way back to school after swimming practice.

Beijing

For students of international relations, secret agents and troublemakers, there really was only one place to be in Beijing on Friday and that was .

Opening the day's action on Field One was the game between the and the Republic of China, or Chinese Taipei as it is known during the Games, or as it is known everywhere else.

And an hour later, on the Main Field next door, we had playing its friendly neighbour the .

The fixtures computer can be a cheeky monkey sometimes, can't it?

How about that for a statement of intent?

Friday was meant to be the warm-up day for the British team at the Laoshan Velodrome.

Super Saturday, with Bradley Wiggins in the pursuit and Chris Hoy in the keirin, was supposed to be the first time we saw the Union flag being hoisted.

Instead, the men's team sprinters - Hoy, Jamie Staff, Jason Kenny - that no-one expected, trouncing the reigning champions France with a brutal display of flat-out speed that blew their rivals apart.

It's just after 8.30 in the morning in a small park in the area, and the mood around the open-air table-tennis tables is relaxed.

Old boys in vests and baggy shorts are puffing on cigarettes as they play, casually smashing balls at each other in a manner while others clean their bats, drink fruit juice and wait their turn in the shade of the leafy trees.

My plan was to chat to the locals about the Chinese obsession with ping-pong.

Within a few minutes, however, it becomes clear that I'm expected to join in with the matches.

The Chinese may have built a stadium called the Bird's Nest but they don't like the idea of a British comedian known for riding an ostrich trying to improve the Olympic atmosphere.

I was chatting to in Beijing the other night, the former 91热爆 comedian from Crackerjack (that was a children's programme which ran from the 1950s to the mid-80s for you youngsters!) who is most famous for riding a bright yellow puppet bird.

It's been my first Olympics and while I'm disappointed not to get a medal, it's been a fine line all the way.

Let me start by putting straight earlier today.

I was cheesed off with my performance and then went straight into interviews. Sometimes you say stuff in the heat of the moment which you otherwise wouldn't.

I always said I wanted to compete in the Olympics and finish with a smile on my face and I didn't do that, but now I've been to the gym for an hour, I've had time to reflect a bit more.

Olympic Green Archery Field

A bit like the sailors at currently windless Qingdao, Britain's medal tally has hit the doldrums over the last couple of days.

There was concern this first week was going to be slow, and to be honest, so it has proved.

Apart from the swimmers, who've had a great Olympics, and the cycling team who will undoubtedly be Britain's biggest providers, there's been disappointment elsewhere.

Nothing out of judo, diving, badminton, tennis, shooting - and now archery, where I've been spending my time over the last few days.

Archery had a target of two medals, and managed .

Let's add some context to that.

Water Cube, Beijing

It's ironic that Ryan Lochte could be making an attempt on Spitz's magic seven - if it wasn't for the freakish ability of his US team-mate Michael Phelps.

The pair of them could have done with a team of event co-ordinators and a project manager to get them through the finals this morning.

Firstly, Lochte was competing in two finals separated only by 25 minutes.

From the moment he got out of the pool after breaking the world record on the 200m backstroke he had to fight his way through 150 metres of the world's TV, radio and press media packed into the mixed zone wanting quotes for their pieces.

It was like running the 100m on a treadmill - going nowhere fast. That was how one of the sailors summed up the conditions here.

The warning signs were there on Wednesday when a number of fleets had their races postponed, but Thursday was the first full day of racing lost.

It's few hours after to Lee Hyojung and Lee Yongdae of South Korea and I'm obviously still gutted about losing, but then you've got to feel proud of yourself because the pair that we played were awesome and we couldn't have done any more.

They were quicker, more consistent, had a great game plan and didn't let us into the game.

And then of course you've got all the emotions about the , because you want to do the country really proud and you want to get medals, and also the fact it's probably my last match.