Bolt completes sprint double

While millions would already consider Bolt a legend for winning triple gold in Beijing and defending his 100m title at London 2012 last Sunday, the Jamaican insisted he also had to retain his 200m title to achieve such status.

And the 25-year-old did precisely that with another imperious performance, leading a Jamaican clean-sweep ahead of 100m silver medallist Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, both of whom are just 22.

Bolt's winning time of 19.32 was outside his own world record of 19.19 which he felt might be a possibility, but the 80,000 crowd had already witnessed one such feat as Kenya's David Rudisha stormed to 800m gold in 1:40.91, taking 0.10 off his own record.

Bolt had lost to Blake over 100 and 200m at the Jamaican trials - and later underwent treatment on a stiff back which was causing hamstring problems - but gained sweet revenge over both distances in London.

Asked about lowering the world record he set when winning the world title in Berlin in 2009, Bolt said: 'I think it was possible...but I guess I wasn't fit enough. I was fast but I wasn't fit enough.

'I came off the corner, I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so I was trying to keep my form, but I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record. When I came off the corner I could feel it.

'It was hard. I really dedicated [myself] to my work, I know what London meant to me. I came here and I gave it my all and I'm proud of myself. I didn't get a world record - I really wanted to do it in the 200m - but I'm happy.'

In other events, Rudisha stormed to victory in the 800m and broke his own world record in the process, racing through the first lap in 49.28 seconds and powering to the gold medal in 1:40.91.

Eighteen-year-old Nijel Amos of Botswana claimed silver in a world junior record of 1:41.73 ahead of 17-year-old Kenyan Timothy Kitum.

American Christian Taylor then added the Olympic title to his world Triple Jump crown with a superb jump of 17.81m, the longest in the world this year.

That left him 19cm ahead of team-mate Will Claye (17.62m), with Italy's Fabrizio Donato taking bronze with 17.48m.

World record holder Ashton Eaton claimed Decathlon gold in the final event of the night.

Eaton took a 151-point lead over team-mate Trey Hardee into the 1500m and finished ahead of the two-time world champion to end up 198 points clear after two gruelling days of competition. Cuba's Leonel Suarez claimed bronze.

Earlier in the day, Eva Risztov had stunned home favourite and world title holder Keri-anne Payne to claim gold in the women's 10km Marathon Swimming.

The Hungarian won in 1:57:38.2, holding off a fast-finishing Haley Anderson.

Martina Grimaldi was third, holding off Payne's late sprint by 0.4 seconds.

China's Chen Ruolin successfully defended her women's 10m Platform title at the Aquatics Centre with a score of 422.30.

Sixteen-year-old Australian Brittany Broben was Chen's closest challenger but even then she was still a massive 55.80 points further back.

Pandelela Rinong Pamg took bronze for Malaysia as she edged out a tight pack behind her with a score of 359.20.

The USA took Olympic gold in the women's Water Polo with a convincing 8-5 victory over Spain.

Maggie Steffens scored five goals for the USA as they cruised past the Europeans.

Australia took bronze with a dramatic 13-11 extra-time win over Hungary.

There was more to celebrate for the USA's women as they beat Japan 2-1 to take Football gold at Wembley.

Carli Lloyd's brilliant two goals in the final were enough for the USA to complete a hat-trick of Olympic titles, as the midfielder added to her winner in the Beijing 2008 final.

Yuki Ogimi pulled a goal back for Japan, who had plenty of chances to equalise and were denied by the woodwork.

Germany stunned world champions Brazil to take gold in the men's Beach Volleyball - the first Europeans to become Olympic champions.

Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann won by two sets to one, 23-21 16-21 16-14, but it took them five match points to settle the contest.

Latvian pair Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins took bronze in a surprise 2-1 victory over the Netherlands' Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schull.

It was also a good day for Germany at Eton Dorney with two golds.

The pairing of Peter Kretschmer and Kurt Kuschela comfortably won the men's Canoe Double (C2) 1000m, with Franziska Weber and Tina Dietze landing gold in the women's Kayak Double (K2) 500m
 
The men's Kayak Four (K4) 1000m was won by the Australian quartet of Dave Smith, Tate Smith, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear while Hungary's Danuta Kozak landed the women's Kayak Single (K1) 500m title.

British Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin won her second gold medal of London 2012 when she was crowned Olympic Individual Dressage champion at Greenwich Park.

Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen came second, with another Briton, Laura Bechtolsheimer, third.

The Host Nation were also successful in the women's Boxing, as Nicola Adams made history.

Adams overwhelmed China's double world champion Ren Cancan 16-7 to be crowned the first ever Olympic women's Boxing champion at ExCeL.

Katie Taylor followed Adams into the ring and delighted the hordes of Irish fans with a hard-fought 10-8 defeat of Russia's Sofya Ochigava.

America's Claressa Shields won the women's Middle Weight division.

Jade Jones sealed a successful day for GB by winning their first-ever Taekwondo gold, overcoming Hou Yuzhuo of China in the women's Under 57kg final.

Saori Yoshida won her third successive Olympic gold to maintain Japan's dominance of women's Wrestling at London 2012.

Yoshida beat Canada's Tonya Lynn Verbeek 3-0 2-0 in tonight's final of the 55kg weight category.

Jackeline Renteria Castillo of Colombia and Azerbaijan's Yuliya Ratkevich claimed the two bronze medals.

Later, Russia's Natalia Vorobieva stunned Stanka Zlateva Hristova to take gold in thrilling style in the 72kg division.

Maider Unda earlier won bronze to claim Spain's first-ever Wrestling medal while Kazakhstan's Guzel Manyurova won the division's other bronze.

In the Hockey, defending Olympic champions Germany twice came from behind to beat favourites Australia 4-2 to book their place in the final.

They will face Holland who beat Great Britain 9-2 in a thriller at the Riverbank Arena.

Defending champions Brazil set up a repeat of the 2008 women's Olympic Volleyball final with the United States by seeing off Japan 3-0.

Earlier in the day, the USA had beaten South Korea by the same score.

Heidi Loke scored eight goals and Norway stayed on course for a second successive Olympic gold medal in women's Handball as they reached Saturday's final with a 31-25 victory over the Republic of Korea. They will face Montenegro, who beat Spain 27-26 courtesy of nine goals from Katarina Bulatovic.

The medal race in the men's 470 Sailing event was postponed due to light winds on the south coast.

France will play in the final of the Olympic women's Basketball tournament for the first time after pulling away late on for a comfortable 81-64 victory over Russia.

The final gold medal of the evening went to Czech Barbora Spotakova, who successfully defended her Javelin Throw title with a throw of 69.55m.