1 of 6. Michael Phelps of the U.S. competes in the men's 400m individual medley heats at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 28, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Michael Dalder
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - Cyclists and swimmers took centre stage at the London Olympics on Saturday as the sport got under way in earnest after the Games were officially opened in a spectacular ceremony dedicated to a new generation of athletes.
World champion Mark Cavendish aimed to set the host nation on the way to its best Games with victory in the men's cycling road race, which kicked off at 10 a.m. outside Buckingham Palace, where it will also end.
Later in the day the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time Michael Phelps, would seek to add to his 14 gold medals of the last two Games in a titanic clash with fellow American Ryan Lochte in the pool.
Competitions in badminton, archery, shooting, table tennis and judo all started early. But much of the rest of Britain was still bleary-eyed after a ceremony celebrating the country's grandeur and eccentricities extended into the early hours of Saturday.
The crowd of 60,000 in the stadium and a probable billion television viewers around the globe were wowed.
"London Sets The World Alight," said the Independent newspaper. Germany's Bild raved: "A gigantic spectacle. What a show!"
Some pundits had feared Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle's offering would be viewed as too British but France's L'Equipe website reveled in that very fact.
"With a show that mixed humor and the grandiose, Danny Boyle modernized the traditional athletes' parade on Friday. An opening ceremony so British!"
"In a sense the Olympic Games are coming home tonight," International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge told the audience. "This great, sports-loving country is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern sport."
The ceremony swept through three centuries of British achievement in science, social reform and the arts, each generation inspired by and building on the achievements of the last.
The audience gasped when Queen Elizabeth, marking her Diamond Jubilee this year, put aside royal reserve in a video where she stepped on to a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig to be carried aloft from Buckingham Palace.
A film clip showed doubles of the 86-year-old queen and Bond skydiving towards the stadium and, moments later, she made her entrance in person. It was a moment of rare informality from a figure revered for her devotion to duty and continuity rather than her common touch.
FIRST MEDALS
More than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries will compete in 26 sports over 17 days of competition in the only city to have staged the modern Summer Games three times.
The first medals will be won in the women's 10 meters air rifle. But the biggest event of the first day is in the pool where Phelps defends his 400 meters individual medley title against Lochte.
Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games four years ago, will become the first man to capture three consecutive Olympic swimming titles in the same discipline if he succeeds.
However, Lochte finished first in the U.S. trials this year and has exuded confidence this week.
"I know this is going to be my year," he said. "All the training I have put in is going to pay off. I know it.
"I just know I am ready. I am not going for silver or bronze. I am going for gold."
Phelps is to retire after these Games but the seven events he is competing in will give him ample scope to gather the three medals of any color he needs to overtake Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's record haul of 18.
He was relaxed and affable during his media commitments this week although still fiercely competitive.
"I'm more emotional because these will be the last competitive moments of my career," he said. "Once I get into the pool I won't be holding back."
CYCLING GLORY
Sprint specialist Cavendish was the only member of the all-conquering British cycling team who failed to win a medal in Beijing.
But this time he has the expert support of four elite competitors, including his country's first Tour de France champion, and the backing of a British public inspired by the success of the riders to take part in competitive and leisure cycling as never before.
Six days after his triumph in France, Bradley Wiggins will devote his efforts to helping Cavendish win the 156-mile (250-km) circuit to the south of London,
He will be assisted by Chris Froome, second in the Tour, fellow stage winner David Millar and British champion Ian Stannard.
"There's only Ian who didn't win a stage," Wiggins said. "We are all quite humble about our achievements but externally we must look an incredibly dominant force. It's no secret that Cav wants to win but he's got four incredible guys to help him."
The British tactics are also no secret to their rivals. The support riders will try to ensure Cavendish does not trail the leaders by too big a margin on the steep Box Hill, which must be climbed nine times, so that he can chase and overtake them on the way down.
The fact he will be a marked man adds to the pressure on Cavendish of being expected to secure his first Olympic gold and Britain's first of the Games.
"An Olympic medal, regardless if it's the first or last on offer, is an Olympic medal for your team," he said.
"It's easy to get emotional about it - I've been nervous this week. We've trained to be able to deal with those nerves and we've got to put it to bed."
(Additional reporting by Stephen Addison, Gene Cherry, Guy Faulconbridge, Vincent Fribault, Peter Griffiths, Sara Ledworth, Mike Collett-White; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
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