And now we're cheering for synchronised swimming! Water babes Randall and Federici are the first British duo in the final for 20 YEARS

When they step out into the Aquatics Centre at today's synchronised swimming final, Jenna Randall and Olivia Federici will make history.
They'll be the first British pair to mix with the world's elite at an Olympic Games since Barcelona in 1992.
The feat is made all the more impressive by the fact Britain only started taking the sport seriously five years ago.

Team GB's Jenna Randall and Olivia Federici finished ninth after the first two rounds, meaning they qualified for the final

Britain are making huge strides in the sport since Biz Price was appointed national performance director in 2007

The Team GB pair are already on course to improve on their performance in the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai

The Russian duo of Svetlana Romashina and Russia's Natalia Ishchenko will take a convincing lead going into tomorrow's final, where they're expected to win gold.
It might possibly be the biggest shock of the Games if they don't triumph.

 

Russia has totally dominated the sport for more than a decade, winning every duet and team Olympic gold dating back to Sydney in 2000.
But Britain are making huge strides in the sport since Biz Price was appointed national performance director in 2007.
In September of that year a high performance centre was set up at army barracks in Aldershot and central funding allowed the athletes to go full-time.
This has reaped huge rewards over a relatively short space of time.

Britain's synchronised swimmers have benefitted from a high performance centre whichwas set up at army barracks in Aldershot and central funding which allowed them to go full-time

Their qualification means they're the first British duo to compete in a final since 1992

Randall and Federici have been roared along by a fiercely patriotic crowd at the Aquatics Centre

Randall is held up above the water by her partner during their routine. They require endless hours of practice in the pool to get right

Federici and Randall crane their necks to the roof of the Aquatics Centre, which was packed with British supporters cheering them on

Randall and Federici were 14th a year later at the Beijing Games, the first Britons to compete in synchro since 1992 when Kerry Shacklock and Laila Vakil finished sixth.
They managed second at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and last year saw the pair finish 10th in the technical routine at the World Championships in Shanghai.

Ninth place in both the technical and free routines in London has proved enough to book their place in the top 12 nations and advance to the final, where they'll perform to a medley of music by the Chemical Brothers and Ryan Amon.

Randall and Federici may not be ready to contend for medals, but they've already done enough to captivate a home crowd - who have greeted them with raucous cheers every time they've stepped out into the Aquatic Centre.

Going for gold: Russia's Svetlana Romashina and Russia's Natalia Ishchenko are the favourites going into tomorrow's final

Best of the best: The world champions have dominated the sport since 2000

With 98.600 points, the Russians are almost two points clear of their closest rivals, China's Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou

Their costumes suggest otherwise, but the Russian duo of Natalia Ischchenko and Svetlana Romashina weren't clowning around in their routine

Speaking after Sunday's first heat, Randall said: 'Hearing the crowd cheer for us when we were walking out was fantastic, it gave us that extra little buzz when we were swimming.'

Federici echoed her team-mate's sentiments over the crowd, adding that once the routine starts they are locked in to their routine.

She said: 'We are focused on each other and the music and what we are doing.

'When you start and stop you really feel it, it's good.

'I think sticking to our preparation, we do these routines day-in, day-out.

'We train eight hours a day, we are constantly doing these routines so its ingrained in us and it makes easier for us to just go out and perform.

'It felt like a good swim, but we've got corrections we need to do.'

Ballestero Carbonell and Andrea Fuentes Fache of Spain currently sit in the bronze medal position

The Spanish pair Ballestero Carbonell and Andrea Fache Fuentes. Don't worry, the shocked expressions are part of the routine and not a reaction to the scoreboard

Legs: North Korea's Jang Hyang Mi and Jong Yon Hui didn't do enough to avoid elimination, finishing 16th after the heats

Mary Killman and Mariya Loroleva of the U.S. perform the routine that helped them squeeze through to the final in the penultimate place

Raising the bar: Tweddle bows out with a bronze, going one better than Beijing

Olympic success is not just counted in gold medals but by how you match up to personal goals. That is why Beth Tweddle, for so long the smiling face of British gymnastics, was welling up with tears of delight here.
The one hole in her glittering c.v., which contains three world and six European titles, was an Olympic medal. She is 27 — a  geriatric in the joint-busting gymnastics world — and these are her last Games.
History said her task was hard because no gymnast as old as her had stood on a podium for nearly 50 years. No British woman had ever done so in an individual event.
So when a small, faltering step on her dismount ended her hopes of taking gold in the uneven bars she was not heartbroken. Then, after a wait while the three remaining routines were completed, the scoreboard confirmed her as a bronze medallist at last.

Top three: Beth Tweddle (right) with Aliya Mustafina (centre) and He Kexin

High standard: Beth Tweddle claimed the bronze medal for her performance on the uneven bars

At that moment she could banish the upset of Beijing, when a similar mistake to the one here cost her a medal in the parallel bars by 0.025 of a point. It condemned her to fly home economy class rather than with her beribboned team-mates at the front of the plane.

The other reason she could be pleased with her achievement is that 12 weeks ago she had keyhole surgery on her left knee.

‘I cried myself to sleep the night I found out I needed an operation,’ she admitted yesterday. ‘I thought my Olympics were over.’

Her dream lived on thanks to her ‘new best friend’, a £3,500 ice machine. She wore the contraption night and day at first and then just at night, including in the Olympic Village this week as she prepared for her swansong. She paid tribute to her ‘fantastic’ medical team.

Twists and turns: Beth Tweddle had been working on a new, more complicated dismount

‘At first it felt strange waking up with a cold leg but it worked,’ said Tweddle with her usual amiability after what amounted to a dazzling routine. Her score put her into second place before the eventual winner, Russia’s Aliya Mustafana, registered the highest mark of the competition and bumped her down one place.

She had watched anxiously while it all unfolded in front of her, helpless now to change the outcome. But the two final rivals both scored poorly, leaving Tweddle third.

‘This is incredible,’ she said. ‘Everyone kept saying to me, “You’re a great champ. It doesn’t matter what happens today”. I kept trying to tell myself that but I knew if I walked out of here  without a medal, I’d have been really disappointed.

‘Getting the bronze is the best feeling ever. I never get emotional but I saw my mum and started welling up. The podium doesn’t usually get to me but today it did.’

We have a winner: Russia's Aliya Mustafina took the gold medal for the uneven bars

There is a great affection for Tweddle, the Cheshire-born girl who captured people’s hearts with her vivacious personality and  professional brilliance. The crowd’s cheers were warm, though she said she all but managed to cut out the noise while she went through her routine.

Like all Olympic athletes, her sacrifices are near total. She trains for 30 hours a week under Amanda Reddin at Liverpool Gymnastics Club. She has Sundays off and half of Thursdays. But other than that she puts her body through three-hour sessions of jumping, twisting and somersaulting.

No gymnast can ever say he or she is totally injury-free, with all that hard landing and inadvertent falling. She has not had a drink since last year at the European Championships. Ask Reddin why Tweddle is so successful, the answer that comes back is ‘hard work’.

Sheer graft is an unavoidable ingredient for Olympic success, along with talent. Finally, the pain becomes too much. The wonder in Tweddle’s case is that she has gone on so long.

Back down with a bump: Kristian Thomas failed to land his second vault

Now, she has absolutely ruled out the idea of going to the Rio Games in 2016. ‘My Olympic career is over,’ she said. ‘I haven’t slept for three weeks. This has been the hardest week of my life. I have been going to sleep with butterflies in my stomach and waking up with butterflies. Winning the medal ends my career perfectly.’

Tweddle can take great delight in the way her sport has blossomed during the years when she has been its most prominent and successful member. Here in London, British Gymnastics have won a men’s team bronze, silver for Louis Smith and bronze for Max Whitlock, both in the pommel. It is unheard of success.

What can flow from it? The Soviet Union’s waif-like heroine of the 1972 Olympics, Olga Korbut, believes revolution is afoot. ‘Look at them, the men and women,’ said Korbut, now 57. ‘They will bring more men to gymnastics, which means you can choose more.

‘This Olympic Games is just the beginning for British gymnastics. You will see.’

United States 126 Argentina 97: Dream Team continue gold medal charge after topping Group A

 

The United States wore down battling Argentina in the second half to lock up top spot in Group A with a 5-0 record.

Argentina matched the Americans blow-for-blow in a pulsating first half, trailing 60-59 at half-time.
But the Americans outscored them 42-17 in an incredible third quarter in which the red-hot Kevin Durant hit five three-pointers from increasing distance.

Unstoppable: The US team had to fight hard to overcome the Argentinians

Tensions flared down the stretch with both sides collecting technical fouls, but that was simply a measure of Argentina's frustration at their inability to stop the Americans, and the Americans' eagerness to let them know it.
It had been a different story in the first half, when Argentina used some excellent shooting to keep pace, never letting the Americans pull more than four points clear.
That soon changed in the third quarter. LeBron James scored seven quick points including a huge three to power them into a 67-62 lead before Durant hit the first of five quickfire three-pointers that carried the United States out of sight.

Basket case: Andres Nocioni cuts through the American defence

Lift off: Luis Scola goes in for a lay-up as Tyson Chandler can only watch on

A huge shot from well outside the arc made it 85-68 midway through the quarter and his fifth of the period made it 93-74 with 1:52 left in the period.
When Carmelo Anthony's three made it 102-76 to end the third, Argentina seemed to take exception and several players clashed at midcourt, leading to technical fouls against both teams.
Early in the fourth, Russell Westbrook was called for a technical, apparently for his reaction to scoring a monster dunk that had made it 107-79.
But no amount of posturing from either team was going to change the result as the United States ran out big winners.

Team spirit: The US team know they remain on course to land the gold medal

Durant finished with 28 points while James had 18 and Chris Paul 17. Manu Ginobili led Argentina with 16 points and Carlos Delfino had 13.
The result finalised the bracket for Wednesday's quarter-final round. The United States will play Australia, Argentina take on South American rivals Brazil, Spain meet France and Russia play Lithuania.

Down but not out: Carmelo Anthony is floored during the clash at the Basketball Arena

Man United outbid by oil-rich PSG for £35m Brazil startlet Lucas Moura

Highly-rated: Lucas Moura

Paris Saint-Germain have outmuscled Manchester United in the battle for Brazil midfielder Lucas Moura.
Sportsmail exclusively revealed the French club’s interest in the 19-year-old last week and United’s fears seem to have been realised after the player’s representatives indicated they were ready to agree terms with Carlo Ancelotti’s club.
The move was attacked by Inter Milan, who had also been keen on the player.
Inter president Massimo Moratti claimed that Sao Paulo had agreed a deal with PSG for £35million - £5m more than the Brazilian club were poised to accept from United.
Moratti said: ‘We would never have gone up to that sum. In any case, there are no regrets that we didn’t finish off the move, as the cost was already pretty high a few days ago.’
Moura, who already has 15 caps for Brazil's senior side, is currently in England competing in the Olympic football tournament.

Man City still pursuing Agger as Liverpool team-mate Bellamy nears Cardiff return

Wanted man: Agger

Manchester City are continuing to press for Liverpool’s Daniel Agger. The defender, 27, is valued close to £30million and has been the subject of an offer of around £14million.
There are growing concerns over Agger's situation at Liverpool. There have been differing points of view from his representatives and Liverpool about what amounts to talks over a new contract.
When Agger missed Liverpool's Europa League tie last week there were quotes in Danish publications which said he was not injured and that talks had yet to begin over a new contract. Liverpool insist that is not the case and that initial talks have begun. Brendan Rodgers also said he always intended for Agger to stay behind.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Craig Bellamy is expected to move to Cardiff.
Bellamy has always maintained that it would take a special deal to make him leave Anfield and Cardiff is the place he and his family regard as home.
He made a promise while on loan that he would try and help them to promotion and that desire still remains. 

Cazorla part of Arsenal touring squad in Germany... and Van Persie's there too

 

Santi Cazorla has flown to Germany as part of the Arsenal squad even though his £16.5million transfer has yet to be completed.

The Gunners were given special permission by Malaga on Monday to take Cazorla to a training camp near Cologne as the details of the move are finalised.
His transfer has been slowed by the financial turmoil which has taken hold at the La Liga club during recent weeks but the loose ends will be tied up soon and the 27-year-old Spain international will train with Arsene Wenger's squad.

Santi's coming to town: Arsenal have been given permission to take Cazorla with them on a pre-season training camp in Germany, with rebel striker Robin van Persie also included

 

He is on course to make his debut in Sunday's friendly against Cologne as are Arsene Wenger's other summer recruits Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

Robin van Persie, yet to play for Arsenal since declaring his plans to leave the club, was also on the plane as part of the 24-man squad which travelled to Germany on Monday.
Nicklas Bendtner and Sebastian Squillaci were not included. Aaron Ramsey has been given some time off to recover from his involvement in Olympic football tournament.

Moving on: Nicklas Bendtner and Sebastian Squillaci were both left at home

Arshavin on his way out of Arsenal at Galatasaray bid £4m for Russian flop

 

Arsenal have edged closer to offload big-money flop Andrey Arshavin after Galatasary made a £4million offer.

QPR boss Mark Hughes is also interested in signing the Russian playmaker but the Turkish club have made their move to take him ahead of the new season.
The club are working hard to trim Arsene Wenger's squad, with Arshavin one of the key players Arsenal are keen to sell given his £70,000-per-week wages.

Exit door: Andrey Arshavin will leave Arsenal as soon as the right offer comes in

Arshavin, 31, was loaned out to former club Zenit St Petersburg last season but a permanent move back to his homeland has fallen through.
The Russia captain has expressed an interest in a potentially lucrative move to the Middle East but QPR and Galatasaray are watching developments.
Arsenal want in the region of £7million for Arshavin, but are willing to negotiate on a fee given their desire to offload the Russian.

I couldn't say no to a trial at Man United, says football-mad Bolt

He’s conquered the world, run the fastest Olympic race of all time. Now Usain Bolt wants to go a ridiculous step further.
‘People think I am joking when I say that I would like to play for Manchester United,’ said the Jamaican (after he had collected his 100 metre gold medal).
‘But if Alex Ferguson called me up and said, “OK, let’s do this, come and have a trial and see if you are good enough” it would be impossible for me to say no.’

Golden moment: Bolt collects his 100m gold medal

Bolt has already dabbled in football, giving sprint training to Cristiano Ronaldo during pre-season at United a few years ago. 

He added: ‘I wouldn’t take up the challenge if I didn’t think I was good enough. I’m a very accomplished player and know I could make a difference. I’d be the fastest player, but I can play as well.
‘I feel that I really helped Cristiano Ronaldo become a more complete player.’
Well, if you can’t get Robin van Persie, Fergie...

Job done: Bolt (centre left) won the 100metres comfortably with Yohan Blake and Justin Gatlin coming second

Football mad: Bolt is a fan of Man United

But Bolt's sprinting isn't even finished yet at the London Games.
After running the incredible 9.63sec to beat a field of runners who all - bar the injured Asafa Powell - ran under 10 seconds, the Jamaican is hoping to fend off compatriot Yohan Blake in the 200m.
The pair will face off again in another mouth-watering final on Thursday and - like in the 100m - Bolt was beaten by Blake in their national Olympic trials in July.
Bolt, who had his doubters ahead of the 100m final after losing to Blake in his previous race, said after his triumph: 'It means one step closer to being a legend.
;That’s just one step — I have the 200m to go. I’m never going to say I’m the greatest until after the 200m. I’ve told YB (Blake) that the 200m will be different. I’ve told him already. That’s my pet event — I’m not going to let him beat me.

Who's taking the next one? Yohan Blake (left) is vying to take the 200m crown from Bolt (right) on Thursday

Who's taking the next one? Yohan Blake (left) is vying to take the 200m crown from Bolt (right) on Thursday

‘The trials gave me a wake-up call. Yohan knocked on my door and said, “Usain, this is Olympic year”. So I’m grateful for that. My back was hurting. I went and got treatment.
‘It was one of the best races of all time. I think the only reason it wasn’t better is Asafa got hurt. Otherwise everyone would have been under 10 seconds.
‘You guys doubted me. This is what I do. It’s fun for them (the fans) and I enjoy giving them the show. On your marks is when the focus starts.’
Blake, who appeared at his first Olympics and finished second to his training partner by running 9.75sec, said: ‘Tonight was just a wonderful night for me. I’m still young, I’m 22, I’m so proud. 
'A Jam one-two was just fantastic. The 200m coming up will be an interesting one. We can get a clean sweep in that. Is Bolt a legend? Let’s wait for the 200m.’

Familiar sight: Bolt is hoping to strike a pose like this again after the 200m final

Nani considers United exit plan as new contract fails to materialise for winger

Manchester United's Nani is becoming increasingly disillusioned with life at Old Trafford after failing to agree a new contract.

The Portuguese international was expected to sign a new deal this summer and cement his place as a key part of manager Sir Alex Ferguson's future plans.
But with the new season less than fortnight away, the 25-year-old has not managed to find an agreement and sources close to the player have revealed that he has been left feeling unwanted.
'Nani wants to stay but is feeling a little unloved,' said the source on Monday night. 'He hasn't given up on a new contract but is upset that there hasn't been greater urgency shown by United.

Eye on the ball: Nani is unhappy with the uncertainty surrounding his future

'At the moment he is not in a great frame of mind.' Spanish champions Real Madrid are interested in Nani but the winger would ideally like to stay at United.
He currently has two years left on the contract he signed back in 2010. Talks failed to progress at the start of the summer after United failed to match his £120,000-a-week demands with their offer.
United still hope that they can resolve the issue and will talk to Nani's representatives again before the start of the season.