• ESPN Podium

Arise, Sir Chris... wait, haven't we done this before?

ESPN staff
August 2, 2012

Every day of the Olympics, we at ESPN Towers will award gold, silver and bronze medals to the top three moments. Here are our choices for day six...

Schedule
Results
Medal Table

Gold

Sir Chris Hoy continued his insatiable appetite for golds with a fifth in the men's team sprint competition, alongside Jason Kenny and Phil Hindes. It was particularly sweet as it came so soon after the disappointment of the women's competition: Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish reached the final, only to be relegated out of medal contention because of an illegal changeover.

So it was left to Hoy, who produced a brilliant performance to equal Sir Steve Redgrave's record of five Olympic golds. It was a stroll for GB against France, as the hosts set a world record with their victory.

And all this after GB made such an inauspicious start in the Velodrome on Thursday: Hindes, 19, wobbled out of the start gate and lost control of his bike before tumbling to the track. He didn't look much like a gold-medal winner then - but, two hours later, that's exactly what he became.

Silver

With Wednesday's rowers (and then Bradley Wiggins) getting Team GB off the mark in terms of gold medals, Thursday was when the home athletes in action really needed to build on that momentum and add to our tally. For a while another rowing medal was all we had - but then it all suddenly fell into place within a span of about 30 minutes.

First of all East End-born, London-raised judoka Gemma Gibson ensured she would get at least a silver medal with a magical golden score victory over world champion Audrey Tchuemeo. Then, barely minutes later, double-trap shooter Peter Wilson sealed an impressive gold at the Royal Artillery, before the surprise of the day occurred at Lee Valley White Water Centre, as Tim Baillie & Etienne Stott clinched gold in the men's C2 canoe slalom as Richard Hounslow & David Florence came a narrow second.

That was all before Gibson fought for gold - in the end the Brit was unfortunately unable to win, but then again you could hardly begrudge American Kayla Harrison (who was sexually abused by her former coach as a child) for her moment of glory. It was a great few hours for Britain regardless, and, with Jessica Ennis kicking off the track action on Friday, plenty more could still be to come.

Bronze

Anthony Ogogo, all is forgiven for that cringey Subway advert. The British middleweight, who wasn't considered a leading fancy for a medal before the Games, beat the world champion and No. 1 seed, Ukraine's Ievgen Khytrov, on Thursday.

Despite leading after two rounds, Ogogo wasn't going to leave anything to chance - and came out like a train in the third, charging his opponent down and opening fire. It was a hugely brave effort, and one of the biggest shocks of the Games so far.

And he came into the Olympics having been on the emotional rollercoaster, with his mother seriously ill in hospital following a brain haemorrhage.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close