The U.S.?s April Ross sets a ball during the semifinal women?s beach volleyball match against Brazil at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Here are five things to look out for at the London Olympics on Wednesday:
1. GOLD FOR CERTAIN: The Americans are guaranteed first place in women?s beach volleyball, with Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor playing compatriots April Ross and Jennifer Kessy.
2. LONG JUMP: American Brittney Reese is a strong gold medal chance.
3. TABLE TENNIS: China is on the brink of another gold in the men?s team table tennis, where they?ve won every gold on offer so far.
4. 200-METER FINAL: In an evening race, Jamaica?s Veronica Campbell-Brown will attempt to become the first woman to win the same track and field event at three consecutive Olympics.
5. USAIN BOLT: The fastest man in the Olympics runs in the semifinal of the men?s 200 meters, an event he won in Beijing.
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A bet is a bet, and Australian sports minister Kate Lundy won?t row back on her wager.
Lundy will put on a Great Britain team shirt ? the height of embarrassment for a citizen of the U.K.?s fiercely competitive former colony ? and row the Olympic course at Eton Dorney, west of London.
The bet was with British sports minister Hugh Robertson over which nation would claim the most Olympic medals in London.
British athletes have already powered to 48 medals, including 22 golds, while Australia ? which retains Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state ? is lagging behind with 25 medals and just 4 golds.
?I have cheerfully conceded,? Lundy said Wednesday as an national inquest began at home over why the sports-crazed nation has stumbled so badly. At Beijing in 2008, Australia claimed 46 medals.
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Olympic athletes are getting used to the idea of life after the games.
?Right, time to sort out home insurance and my many emails? backtoreality? tweeted track cyclist Geraint Thomas who won gold for Britain in the men?s team pursuit.
British Boxer Zoe Smith tweeted, ?Right. Well then. After the non-stop madness of the last week and few days, I think it is high time I sorted my life out.?
U.S. shooter Jamie Gray posted a photo of her kit all over the floor of her Alabama home, saying that a ?clothing bomb went off unpacking from London2012.?
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Make way for the daredevils.
The BMX competition begins on Wednesday, with cyclists hitting jumps at break-neck speeds in pursuit of gold.
British star Shanaze Reade knows how difficult that can be. The two-time defending world champion crashed on the final curve in Beijing.
Now she?s back for another shot.
?It was the best thing that happened to me in Beijing to not win that Olympics because it gave me the rules of how to be an Olympic champion,? she says.
Some BMX factoids:
- Bicycle moto cross ? or BMX ? started in California in the late 1960s
- The International BMX Federation was founded in 1981
- BMX is the newest cycling discipline in the Olympics. It first appeared on the program at the Beijing games in 2008
- BMX races take place outdoors and include jumps and tight corners
- In a typical race, eight riders compete in heats. The top four then qualify for the next round
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Germany?s Robert Harting takes a throw in the men?s discus throw final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Discus gold medalist Robert Harting of Germany put on a show Tuesday night.
Harting ripped his shirt to shreds following his win ? much like the Incredible Hulk ? flexed his muscles and then took to the track to make a pass on the women?s 100-meter hurdles.
?If you see me coming out of the stadium without a shirt, you know it was good,? Harting said.
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A tsunami of indignation and humor is swamping Irish Twitter.
Why? Because a London newspaper ? The Daily Telegraph ? asked its readers: ?Can anyone beat Britain?s Katie Taylor??
Taylor is Irish, not British, thank you.
Taylor, the world?s reigning lightweight champion boxer, won easily to advance to Thursday?s final as overwhelming favorite to win the gold. Her performances have riveted Ireland.
?Dear Daily Telegraph. Katie Taylor is IRISH. However, please feel free to claim Ronan Keating, Jedward, Louis Walsh ?,? tweeted Fergus Murphy.
?Ireland?s Sir Chris Hoy unavailable for comment,? deadpanned Irish comedian Dara O Briain, referring to Britain?s top track cyclist.
The Daily Telegraph tweeted an apology. ?She is Irish, of course,? said the newspaper, which previously has described scores of Irish athletes and entertainers, including Bono, as British.
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Aly Raisman has an issue with her gold medals. She?s not sure which is which.
The captain of the Fierce Five, the first U.S. team since 1996 to win the women?s gymnastics title, got her second gold medal Tuesday, claiming the title on floor exercise. But in the frenzy afterward, that medal got mixed up with her team medal.
?Yesterday was so hectic,? she said, ?I forgot to mark them.?
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Here is a look at some of today?s best photos by the Associated Press from the 2012 London Olympic games:
Italy?s Valentina Arrighetti, right, turns her back as team South Korea celebrate in the background after a point was scored by South Korea during a women?s quarterfinal volleyball match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. South Korea won in four sets. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Germany?s Lisa Hahn competes with South Korea?s Cheon Eun-bi as South Korea?s goalkeeper Jang Soo-ji makes a save during their classification hockey match at the Riverside Arena at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ken Nee Yeoh of Malaysia dives during the men?s 3-meter springboard diving final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Germany?s Pascal Behrenbruch competes in a 100-meter decathlon during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
United States? Galen Rupp, front left, and Ethiopia?s Dejen Gebremeskel lead the pack midway through the men?s 5000 meters during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
United States? LoLo Jones, right, crosses the finish line to place fourth in the women?s 100-meter hurdles final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
U.S. silver medallist gymnast McKayla Maroney gestures during the podium ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women?s vault finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Turkey?s Merve Aydin is assisted from the track after a women?s 800-meter heat during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Members of the Hungarian women?s water polo team step into the water prior to their women?s semifinal water polo match against Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Vietnam?s Huynh Chau Le fights Chinese Taipei?s Chen-Yang Wei (in red) during their match in men?s 58-kg taekwondo competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russia?s Kristina Kim gets kicked in the head by Thailand?s Chanatip Sonkham during their match in women?s 49-kg taekwondo competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
France?s Kevin Mayer competes in the decathlon long jump during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, South Africa?s Willem Coertzen competes in the long jump decathlon during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Palestinian athlete Woroud Sawalha prepares to compete in a women?s 800-meter heat during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Maica Garcia of Spain, in blue cap, reacts as she gets into position in front of Tamas Varga of Hungary during their women?s semifinal water polo match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Iceland?s Bjorgvin Pall Gustavsson reacts during the men?s handball quarterfinal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
South Korea?s Nam Tae-hee, centre watches the ball after a save by Brazil?s goalkeeper Rafael Cabral , left, during their semifinal men?s soccer match at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Russia?s Ivan Ukhov celebrates winning gold in the men?s high jump final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip )
United States? Dawn Harper, left, celebrates winning silver with bronze medallist Kellie Wells of the United States following the women?s 100-meter hurdles final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A competitor picks up a shot during the shot put decathlon during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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