• August 28 down the years

Holmes completes dream double

Kelly Holmes completed a famous double in the 2004 Olympics by adding the 1500m title to her 800m gold © Getty Images

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2004
In track and field, that rarity of two Olympic gold medals for Britain on the same day.

Dust off the old comparison with buses. After waiting years for Olympic gold, after enduring career-threatening injuries, Kelly Holmes won the 800 metres here in Athens (August 23). Relaxed and confident, she dominated today's 1500 metres final. She was only in fifth pace with 200 to go, but there was never any doubt. Accelerating coolly off the last bend, Holmes opened a two-yard gap on world champion Tatyana Tomashova which she maintained all the way, throwing her arms out wide in celebration at the line. Her time of 3 minutes 57.90 seconds broke the British record she'd set in 1997 (June 29).

A British quartet won the Olympic sprint relay for the first time since the very first one back in 1912 (July 9). This time they even beat the Americans in the race. British sprinters had done badly in the Games so far, failing to reach the final of the 100 or 200. So former high hurdler Colin Jackson was within his rights to question their dedication and what have you. After the relay final, they were able to retort 'Just three words, Colin. Olympic gold medal.' So maybe he could claim some of the credit! In the final, they were led off by fast starter Jason Gardener, with former 200-metre silver medallist Darren Campbell taking the second leg and Marlon Devonish running the last bend. Smooth passing of the baton gave Mark Lewis-Francis a two-yard lead on the anchor leg. He'd under-achieved in the individual 100 metres, but here he had a big enough cushion to hold off former 100-metre champion Maurice Greene of the USA. The British boys had bragging rights over Colin Jackson thanks to a winning margin of a hundredth of a second.

2011
Such was Usain Bolt's dominance over his rivals, it was going to take something special to beat him. Bidding to defend his 100m world title in South Korea, the world record holder looked to be in imperious form as he cruised through his heats and into the final. In the end it was Bolt who was responsible for his own downfall, as the Jamaican was disqualified after a false start, paving the way for his training partner Yohan Blake to claim gold in a time of 9.92s.

On the same day, in the same stadium, double amputee Oscar Pistorius sealed his place in the history books after becoming the first amputee to compete in the World Athletics Championships. The South African, who runs with the aid of two carbon fibre blades after having his legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, came third in his heat in time of 45.39 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals of the men's 400m.

2010
The fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's became the centre of a police investigation into spot-fixing, after a 35-year-old man was arrested after allegedly being caught offering to bribe Pakistan's bowlers to bowl no-balls on demand. According to a report in The News of the World, Mazher Majeed accepted £150,000 to arrange a fix involving Pakistan's new-ball bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, whom he allegedly asked to bowl no-balls at specific moments of the match. The paper also alleged that the team captain, Salman Butt, was involved. All three players received bans ranging from five-to-ten years.

1998
Roberto Duran's last world title fight. At the age of 47, even this astounding old warrior couldn't last to the end of the third round against William Joppy, who retained his WBA middleweight belt. Hardly surprising, given that he was nearly 20 years younger. It was clear from the start that Duran didn't have an answer to Joppy's speed and strength, and the referee stopped the fight with the old man still standing but quite defenceless. Duran's first world title had taken place a record 26 years earlier, against one of Britain's best (June 26).

1999
Rugby union kicking machine Neil Jenkins equalled a world record that still stands. Playing for Wales against France in Cardiff, he landed nine penalty goals. France managed only three, so although they outscored Wales by two tries to one, they lost 34-23. The first player to kick nine penalties in an international match did it earlier in the same year (May 8).

1994
They called him God on the Kop, and it was days like this that fuelled the legend of Liverpool's Robbie Fowler. The 19-year-old had burst onto the scene a year earlier, scoring 18 goals in 34 appearances in his first season with the senior side, but would he suffer from second-season syndrome? Not likely - instead, in the second game of the season, Fowler scored the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history against Arsenal at Anfield.

In the 26th minute, Fowler pounced on Martin Keown's fluffed clearance from a free kick to sweep home from eight yards. Moments later he steered a low strike a cross David Seaman and in off the far post. But it was his third that involved the most artistry: with Arsenal desperate to hit back quickly, Liverpool broke and John Barnes released Fowler behind Keown, who collided with Seaman as the ball broke beyond them both. Fowler skipped past the challenges and slotted home from the tightest of angles. From first goal to last, his spree had taken four minutes and 33 seconds. Liverpool won the game 3-0.

2000
Marion Jones won the Olympic 200 metres in 21.84 seconds, well clear of the field. But of course Jones was later stripped of the gold medal for drug-taking, and it passed down to Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas, with Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe only a hundredth of a second behind and Bev McDonald of Jamaica promoted to bronze.

1972
The race that told Mark Spitz those seven gold medals might be on. His first final at these Olympic Games was in one of the events in which he'd flopped four years earlier, but the cocky teenager who'd been a laughing stock in Mexico was now a 22-year-old who was always in charge in Munich. Today he won the 200 metres butterfly in a time just outside two minutes, more than two seconds faster than anyone else. All of his iconic golds were won in world record times (September 4).

1986
Daley Thompson won a major title for the last time. He should have been jaded after winning his third Commonwealth Games gold medal a few weeks earlier, but instead he forced another silver medal on poor Jürgen Hingsen, who'd also finished second to him at the 1982 European Championships , the inaugural World Championships, and the 1984 Olympics. At the Europeans today, Thompson seemed to have the whole of West Germany against him. Not only Hingsen and the talented Sigi Wentz, but the Stuttgart crowd. When Daley stepped up for the discus, the stadium announcer had to ask spectators to stop booing and sounding their hunting horns. Hingsen, greeted with roars of support, threw five metres further to take the overall lead. But the giant blew it in the pole vault, clearing only 4.60 metres to Thompson's 5.10, and Wentz did badly in the javelin, leaving only the 1500 metres. For once, Thompson had to bestir himself a bit. Unable to afford his usual stroll round the track, he pushed himself to an excellent time of 4 minutes 26.16 seconds. At the last Europeans, Thompson had accumulated 8,743 points to break Hingsen's world record. Today he set a new Championship record of 8,811, only 36 short of his world record at the Olympics. Hingsen finished 81 behind, with Wentz third on 8,676.

1977
Niki Lauda's last race win on his way to regaining the Formula One world title. After the burning horror of the previous year (August 1) and the drama at the end (October 24), this time he was champion with something to spare. Today Mario Andretti started on pole at the Dutch Grand Prix, but his engine blew on the 14th lap and Lauda came through from fourth on the grid to hold off Jacques Laffite. Lauda finished second to Andretti in Italy, fourth behind reigning champion James Hunt in the USA, and could afford to stay away from Canada and Japan and still win the title by 17 points from Jody Scheckter.

1988
Ayrton Senna won a Formula One race for the fourth time in a row, starting the Belgian Grand Prix from pole and finishing half a minute ahead of Alain Prost, who was second to him for the third race in a row. This sequence decided the world title. Prost scored 105 points to Senna's 94, but drivers were allowed to count only their top eleven results. so Senna finished with 90 points, three more than Prost, who won seven races to Senna's eight.

2009
Superstar pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 5.06 metres in Zurich to break the world record she'd set at the Olympic Games the previous year (August 18).

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