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Third time lucky for Felix

Allyson Felix won the women's 200 metres © PA Photos

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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 12...

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Results
Medal Table

Gold

America's Allyson Felix had been forced to settle for silver in the 200 metres at both of the most recent two Olympics, and she wasn't prepared to accept second best again. Running against a star-studded field - the big names really were out in force - she betrayed no signs of nerves to finally get her hands on a gold, posting a time of 21.88 seconds to beat second-placed Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 22.09s. And to make it even sweeter for Felix, the woman who beat her in 2008 - Veronica Campbell-Brown - was outside the medals. Pretty much the perfect night.

Silver

We know that sprinters like to take it easy during the heats, but really Yohan Blake took it a little too far in the 200m semi-finals. He knew he had it won after about 120m, so he eased off - but did so to such an extent that he virtually came to a standstill with 20m to go, and was so nearly overhauled by Wallace Spearmon and Christophe Lemaitre.

It meant that the top three times in the semi-final were 20.01s (Blake), 20.02s (Spearmon), and 20.03s (Lemaitre) - which was madness, because Lemaitre was barely in the same camera shot as Blake coming into the straight. And it so nearly meant that Blake, so many people's favourite for the event, would have to wait for a fastest loser spot to ensure a place in the final.

So, just 0.02s between himself and Blake, but Lemaitre is 50/1 to take gold - don't all rush at once.

Bronze

Andy Turner was considered Britain's best hope in the men's 110m hurdles - but no-one had told that to Lawrence Clarke, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist. While Turner failed to make the final, Clarke earned a spot as a fastest loser, running a PB of 13.31s in the process.

No-one in the final had a slower PB than Clarke, but again he managed to defy the odds in spectacular style, beating former world champion Ryan Brathwaite to take fourth place. A really stunning effort from the unfancied 22-year-old.

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