Enjoy your break, Lewis! Hamilton back in title fight after victory in Hungary

Chatting to his father Anthony just before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton claimed he needed to win the remaining 10 races to take the drivers' title for a second time. Make that nine. And if Hamilton can replicate this level of performance, there is no reason why he won’t be in contention for the top step of the podium consistently when Formula One returns in September after its summer break.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso may have extended his lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber at the top of the drivers’ standings, but  Hamilton took a 15-point chunk out of the Spaniard’s advantage to move to within 47 points.

Champagne moment: Hamilton celebrates after winning his second grand prix of the season

Over the line: A storming display by Hamilton saw the Briton take the chequered flag ahead of Raikkonen

If he can continue to eat into Alonso’s lead at anything like that rate then the championship picture will take on a very  different complexion. ‘To claw that gap back from Fernando, we will need to finish ahead of him pretty much everywhere which is going to be insanely  difficult,’ he conceded.
‘I came here this weekend stronger than ever. I always come with the intention of winning but in my mind it was so set. I was really pumped.’
For McLaren and Hamilton, having to wait more than a month for the next race in Belgium is akin to a winning football team not wanting the half-time break. But nothing was going to dent Hamilton’s mood as he beamed through interviews about a weekend he dominated.

Leading man: Lewis Hamilton led for the majority of the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest

 

'It's quite nice to go into the break knowing that we have a win,' said Hamilton. 'Every year that we’ve done that it’s been a great feeling.
'It's very important how we manage the summer break. We should give ourselves a good pat on the back, but we must know that we’ve a lot of work to do.'
The benefits of the hard work to develop McLaren’s upgrade package are certainly starting to pay dividends.

From the off: Hamilton sprung out of the traps from pole position and rarely looked out of control

After claiming pole by nearly half a second, Hamilton got the dream start he had craved  to steer clear of the first lap  tussling which cost him so dearly in Germany the Sunday before.
After that, even if the drama was limited for the spectators, he still had to be on his mettle to make a two-stop strategy work — while fending off the very close attentions of Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, the latter muscling past his team-mate to take second.
While Hamilton could not fault the calls made by his team, the same certainly could not be said for Jenson Button, who saw the  decision to switch him from a two-stopper to a three blow what looked like a certain podium finish into a disappointing sixth place.

What Olympics? Crowds packed in to all the stands around the world famous Hungaroring

Step by step: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso came home fifth but extended his lead in the championship

McLaren may have turned a corner, but their biggest issue remains making sure both their drivers have successful  weekends.
This race was a case in point, as a good result was achievable with Red Bull and Ferrari  struggling for pace.
‘I just don’t know why we  pitted so early each time because the tyres were still in good  condition,’ complained Button after finding himself stuck behind Bruno Senna of Williams and then Alonso.

Winner: Hamilton finished ahead of Raikkonen (left) and Grosjean in Budapest

Strong Finnish: Kimi Raikkonen from Finland came home second, just ahead of his team-mate

‘I guess the team thought I would get the jump on the car in front, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t come out in clean air either time.’
At least Button can seek solace in the fact that he has already agreed a new long-term contract. As for Hamilton, the summer break will feature negotiations over his McLaren future.
His father and former manager Anthony said: ‘McLaren is where Lewis’s heart is. What is really important in this life is loyalty. It is not all about the money.’
Even so, performances such as Hamilton’s in Hungary are one hell of bargaining chip.

Olympic support: Hamilton (left) and Button wore special helmets in Hungary

 

Chelsea chief Gourlay warns rivals spending spree isn't over yet

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay has fired a stark warning to his side’s rivals: Roman Abramovich has not stopped spending yet.

The European champions have already splashed more than £60million on Oscar, Eden Hazard and Marko Marin this summer and Gourlay says their spree is not over as Abramovich looks to reinforce the club’s status as a global superpower.
Finding a replacement for Didier Drogba remains manager Roberto Di Matteo’s top priority, with Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao among the players Chelsea are looking at.

Big money man: Eden Hazard cost Chelsea £32million

 

Speaking after Chelsea’s 1-0 pre-season defeat to AC Milan in Miami, Gourlay said: ‘While we ended with a very strong season, it was clear that there were some areas where we did have to strengthen, so we knew we were always going to have to do that.

‘If the right players become available at the right time we will sign them. We’ve done that and we are still continuing to look at one or two positions and we will see how that develops over the next couple of weeks.’
Abramovich was a visible presence during the two-week US tour and Gourlay added: ‘Internationally, we have grown and grown in the last four years and I wanted him to be here to see just how his club has developed.’

Van Persie will move to United... if he can match Rooney on £220,000-a-week

Robin van Persie's move to Manchester United could hinge on the Arsenal star being paid the same amount of money as Wayne Rooney.

The Red Devils' frontman earns around £220,000-a-week at the moment while Van Persie has snubbed a three-year contract offer of £130,000-a-week from the Gunners.
Van Persie would like to move to Old Trafford to add some more trophies to his sparse collection - his last trophy was the FA Cup in 2005 - but wants to match Rooney's wages, according to the Sunday Express.

Demands: Robin van Persie wants big money for his big move

 

Arsene Wenger wants £30million for the 28-year-old but neither United or Juventus or Manchester City, the other sides in for him, are willing to pay that much because he will soon be 29 and his contract expires at the end of the season.

Roberto Mancini has expressed his frustration with the money-men at City for their inaction over his target but the club chiefs want the boss to sell unwanted strikers before they buy more.
Roque Santa Cruz and Emmanuel Adebayor are not needed while both Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez have been rumoured as possible players who could make way for Van Persie.

Aim: Van Persie wants to be level with Wayne Rooney

Some good news for Arsenal is that their pursuit of Santi Cazorla is coming to an end.
Wenger expects the club to pick up Malaga's creative midfielder for around £15m by Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old is highly rated across Europe and his signing is somewhat of a coup.
Along with Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, he will go some way to replacing the hole left by Van Persie, should he get his wish.

Change Balotelli? That would be impossible! Mancini on the challenges facing Man City

Manchester City's title-winning manager has sat down to tell Sportsmail about how Mario Balotelli can never be changed, off the field problems and his plans for the year ahead.

 

What did you make of Mario Balotelli's performance at the European Championships?

 

I think that he did well in the Euros. I also hope those performances can help him to improve. I think every time he plays well, like he did at the Euros, it's important for him because it can help him with his behaviour. Then he can understand that, if he improves his behaviour, he can be better at his job.

He thrived as a central striker for Italy? Can he get in your team in that role?

With his body and his attitude, I think he can play as a forward or like a winger, so I think he can play in every position. Maybe, for me though, he is better like a first striker. But we have four strikers, and of these four strikers, only Mario can play wide.

Title winner: Roberto Mancini takes a training session in Kuala Lumpur

How do you feel now that you are the Barclays Premier League winning manager? How many times have you watched the last 10 mintues of last season back on TV?

Just one or two times. It was enough to be there in that moment. But we deserved to win the league because, for me, we were the best team.

 

Manchester United have been saying that they lost the league rather than you winning it...

We were the best team because we played the best football, scored the most goals, conceded the fewest, beat United twice - and dominated them on both occasions. We are very proud of this because we beat a team like United, who are used to winning every year. So for us this is very important. I can understand some people saying we were lucky, not just because we scored twice in the last few minutes against QPR, but because we scored quite a lot of goals in the last three or four minutes. But that was because we wanted this title.

Sir Alex Ferguson still says United are the team to beat...

I agree with him (smiling).

Are you serious?

Yes.

Thrived: Mario Balotelli was key for Italy at Euro 2012

Have you had any contact with him since the end of last season. He likes to write letters to managers.

No. But I haven’t  been at the club. Maybe there is one there.
There was an issue on the touchline during the game between you at the Etihad...
Yes but afterwards he came to the office and we had a glass of wine.

You went to Abu Dhabi to see Sheikh Mansour. What did he say to you?

He was very happy because for him this championship was very important. It was amazing for him and for us. For us it was important that we won because the Sheikh has spent a lot of money on this club. Usually it takes four or five years to do this…to win the league. We won it very quickly, I think.

City slickers: The players are in action on a pre-season tour

You have signed a new contract and turned down approaches from the Russian FA and others. Did you consider leaving?

No. I never considered any other options.

How important is it to get players in and not stand still?

It is important for us because we are not a team who has won the title for the last 15 years. Our mentality is very strong like the other teams but if you don't change a lot of players you can't hope to win more than other teams. I think we need to improve.
We need to work even harder now because we have won the title. We need players with the right mentality, like the ones we have signed in the last year. We don't need 10 players like we did maybe three or four years ago but we need three or four players, players who can improve our team.
If we don't then we could face the same problems that we faced last season when Yaya Toure went to the African Nations Cup and we had two or three injuries. If we want to do well in all the competitions we need to have a stronger squad.

Need more strikers? City hitmen Carlos Tevez (left) and Sergio Aguero (right)

How confident are you that you can get players in before the start of the season?

I don't know this. I hope we can do this business this week because it is important you have new players three or four weeks before the season starts so they can settle in. 
Can you understand the club's stance over spending? 
I don't think that the problem is that the club don't want to spend. It is not easy when Manchester City try to buy a player. The club we are buying from asks for 30 or 40 per cent more. This is not correct.  It is difficult to do business. But I think also we need to work well [in the transfer market]. We need to work better sometimes.

City, United and Juventus all want Robin van Persie. Surely he should choose City?

No, no. I don't know what will happen with Van Persie because now he is an Arsenal player and I think Arsenal is a top team.  When you talk about Manchester City, Manchester united and Juventus, it is difficult for a player to choose between these three clubs. If we have a chance to take him, we will try.

Plenty to ponder: Mancini accepts it is going to be very tough to defend their title

Emmanuel Adebayor still hasn't gone to Spurs. Is that a problem?

I think maybe we can close this in the next few days.

You seemed to say some strange things at the end of last season. Were they mind games?

I enjoyed it. Sometimes we talk, you write, we are all happy.

How important is it that you now strengthen your position as champions and establish yourself as top dogs?

It's important because it's not easy to win a Championship in England. It's more difficult than in Italy. But after that it's more difficult to stay at the top for a long time. For this reason we need to improve by buying players and through our work. We can't just think that we won the last Championship and arrived at the top so now we deserve to stay there.

You're the one for me: Mancini with the prized Premier League trophy

What about the Champions League?

The Champions League is strange. I don't think we can start to win this yet. When I won the title at Inter, the idea was to defend the title and that should be our target this year. The same. If we also go well in the Champions League, there could also be a chance that we can arrive in the quarter, semi-final or final. We will try to win it, but it is important, for this, that we have a good squad. I don’t think we can play for the Champions League with this squad. That is my opinion, so for this reason we have to buy.
But your squad is arguably better than Chelsea's and they won the Champions League last year...
Yes, but this is why I say that the Champions League a strange competition sometimes – not because Chelsea didn’t deserve to win it, but because there were better teams than Chelsea last year. Our target for the Champions League should be to go for the second stage after the group.
How has Carlos Tevez been in training?
I am happy because Carlos has been working very well since we started training. His attitude is good and we hope he can continue like this.
Were you surprised to see him with a golf bag on his shoulder at the Open Championship?
Yes. (laughs). Maybe next time he can be the referee? I didn’t see it, but I saw it in the newspaper. I thought he had changed his job!

Respect: Mancini wants Tevez - and everybody else - to respect the club

Yaya Toure has said he will go to the African Nations Cup again next January...

I hope that Yaya stays with us, but I don’t know if this is possible.

Can you afford another season of behind the scenes problems like you had last year?

I don’t forget it, only because it is all experience and useful for the future if you have a problem. I hope that we don’t have another season with all these problems, but we won the Championship with all these problems, so maybe we should hope for another problem!

How do you make sure there are no more issues or problems?

This is impossible. With Mario, is it is impossible, but Carlos, maybe.

Club or country: Yaya Toure (left) may go to the African Nations Cup again

Has Carlos really changed? Can he stay focussed?
Carlos has another two years on his contract and I hope (he does). But I don’t think I can change Carlos. Maybe I can change Mario, because he is young, but you can’t change older players. I just want respect, for me and for the club, for my job and for their job.
That is important for me. Respect for what we do every day and what we do in our job. We don’t play and work because earn some money – we start to play when we are young because we like football and for this reason, we should play because we like the job I hope that Carlos understands that maybe he made some mistakes.

Did you learn from your mistakes as a player?

Yeah, but also as a manager. I don’t think I always do things well and I am the first to think that I maybe make a mistake. Every day probably. It is important that the players understand this too.

Was it a mistake to say in Munich that Carlos would never play for you again?

I was really upset after that game. Not because we had lost, but because it was Carlos in that situation. I always had a good relationship with Carlos and did everything for him, like other players, but Carlos in particular, so for this reason I was upset. But after two or three days, it was in the past. The problems came later, but it is important that we did well in the end and won for Manchester City.

World and European champions Spain go crashing out of Games after Honduras loss

They may have added the European Championship to their world champions status last month but Spain have failed to secure a unique third football title at London 2012 after they crashed out of the Olympics.After Jerry Bengtson had headed unfancied Honduras into a  seventh-minute lead, Luis Milla’s Spain side, which included Euro 2012 winners Jordi Alba and Chelsea’s Juan Mata, created countless chances.

No dice: Adrian Lopez goes down in the box

Early return: Chelsea will get Juan Mata back sooner than they thought

Mata had three first-half opportunities to give Spain the win they needed to stay in the competition after being surprisingly beaten by Japan in their opening game.
But it wasn’t was all Spain. The impressive Roger Espinoza, who created the winning goal, also hit the post in the second half.

Big blow: Honduras held off Spain to knock them out

Spain lost their discipline throughout as Honduras continued to frustrate them. Cristian Tello and Diego Marino were both shown yellow cards.
Meanwhile, the Japanese clinched quarter-final qualification with a 1-0 victory over Morocco.

How DID China's girl torpedo go so fast? Clare Balding's astonishment and questions over the 400m triumph by teenage sensation

• Balding asked pundit Mark Foster 'How many questions will there be over somebody who can swim so much faster than she have ever swum before'
• Question provoked storm on Twitter with some viewers backing the presenter and others calling for her sacking
• Chinese swimmer athlete Ye Shiwen smashed world record by a second and her own personal best by five

Surprised: Clare Balding's asked studio pundit Mark Foster how the Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen knocked five seconds off her best time but the question has provoked allegations that she suggested the swimmer was cheating

As Chinese swimming prodigy Ye Shiwen completed an extraordinary performance to smash the world record, the surprise in Clare Balding’s voice was clear.
At the age of 16, Miss Ye had just stunned spectators at the Olympic pool by swimming the final freestyle 50m of the 400m individual medley in 28.93seconds.
Not only was that faster than the  27-year-old American Ryan Lochte had managed minutes earlier to win his gold in the men’s version of the same event, it was part of an overall time a whole five seconds quicker than her previous best.
The result prompted BBC presenter Miss Balding to ask former British Olympian Mark Foster, in the studio as a pundit: ‘How many questions will there be, Mark, about somebody who can suddenly swim so much faster than she has ever swum before?’
Chinese swimming has previously been tainted by drug scandals – another 16-year-old world champion tested positive for doping last month – but Foster sought to play down any suggestion of cheating.
He said: ‘It was a five-second best time and it was the way she did it as well. Bearing in mind she is 16 years of age, and when you are young you do some big best times… it can be done.’
But Miss Balding’s question provoked a storm among BBC viewers on Twitter, with many praising her for daring to even hint at the possibility of cheating, but many criticising her for tainting the Chinese swimmer’s achievement and some even calling for her sacking.

 

Last night the BBC defended Miss Balding’s comments, insisting: ‘The Chinese swimmer had just knocked five seconds off her personal best to break a world record; in her role as a presenter it is Clare’s job to ask the experts (in this case Mark Foster), how she managed to do it. There was absolutely no implication of doping.’

Playing it down: Former British Olympic Mark Foster dismissed the suggestion of cheating and said her young age may have something to do with it

Record breaker: Ye Shiwen knocked five seconds off her personal best and broke the world record by more than a second as she stormed to gold in the 400m individual medley

Medal winners: Ye Shiwen shows off the gold alongside the United States' Elizabeth Beisel, left, and compatriot Li Xuanxu following the final

Congratulations: Ye Shiwen hugs Xuanxu Li after her victory at the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park

GABBY FIGHTS SEXISM ON TV

BBC presenter Gabby Logan says she has been forced to battle what she sees as endemic sexism in sports broadcasting and is often reminded of the ‘high-testosterone’ environment of her male-dominated industry.
Mrs Logan, above, said: ‘I’ve experienced sexism in my career – comments and situations that are specific to me being a woman.
‘It was quite apparent during the [football] World Cup in South Africa. I was staying in quite an isolated place, in a high-testosterone environment. I just wanted to go back to my hotel and read a magazine.’

The success of China, which won more gold medals in the pool on the first day than it did in the whole of its own Olympics in Beijing four years ago – prompted further questions, with some fearing China’s sudden resurgence is a throwback to days of the 1994 Rome world championships, when its drug-powered women swept to 13 of the 16 available golds.
In June Chinese state media said 16-year-old Li Zhesi, part of the country’s winning team at the 2009 World Championships, had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, EPO, which boosts the body’s oxygen supplies.
The Chinese, who point out that their athletes are regularly tested, have gone to great lengths to ensure there is no chance of any of their athletes failing dope tests in London and are said to have even imposed a ban on them eating the food prepared at the Olympic Village.
Miss Ye began her illustrious career when she was plucked from a primary school classroom. Teachers in China are trained to look out for pupils with promising physical attributes and noticing the seven-year-old had unusually large hands and long legs, her teacher alerted the local government sports officials.

Sensation: Ye Shiwen managed to swim the final 50m length in the race in a time of 28.93, a time that was quicker than the men's champion Ryan Lochte

She left home to begin an intensive training regime at one of China’s 3,000-plus state-run and funded ‘medal factories’, designed to transform talented youths into ruthless sporting machines.

Aged just 12, she was selected for the national team. She took her trainers by surprise at the World Championships in Shanghai last year, producing a devastating freestyle triumph in the 200m individual medley.
Her trajectory caught Communist Party propagandists by surprise, but they have since given her the kind of profile usually afforded to more established stars.
‘Her career has been rocket-like. She’s one of the other great discoveries following the 2008 Beijing Olympics,’ the Communist Party’s newspaper of choice, the People’s Daily, declared.

Ticket touts disgrace: Row upon row of empty seats... as tickets sent to foreign VIPs go on the black market

• Large areas of empty seats seen in stadia for the second day running
• London 2012 chairman Lord Coe reveals students and teachers are also being called in at the last minute
• Every tout arrested had tickets sent to foreign VIPS
  
• Organisers Locog have begun an investigation into the ticketing fiasco

Prized Olympic tickets entrusted to foreign delegations are being openly sold by touts on the streets of Britain, it emerged last night.
They are cashing in on the huge demand for seats by selling tickets sent overseas by Games organisers.
The revelation came as a row raged over embarrassing scenes of banks of empty seating at many Games venues – including last night’s swimming finals.

Plenty of room: The scene at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park on Saturday, on the first day of swimming events

Lots of empty rows at the Aquatics Centre in Stratford yesterday, even as Rebecca Adlington swam in her 400m freestyle heat and final

Earls Court in west London was virtually empty yesterday for Great Britain's volleyball match yesterday

Last night Scotland Yard said every illegal seller arrested so far had held tickets despatched overseas to national committees and official re-sellers.
One of the touts held is from Germany, another from Slovakia.
The discovery raises further questions about the way in which precious tickets are allocated by the International Olympic Committee.
And it will fuel anger among millions of British sport fans who have been left watching events on TV because they failed to get a seat in last year’s ballot.

Pointing out the gaps: Soldiers fill empty IOC seats for the women's gymnastics yesterday

Wimbledon: There were even plenty of spare seats for Andy Murray's winning match yesterday

Last night, as an official probe was launched into the scandal:

• Shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said those not using their seats should be stripped of them.
• Olympics boss Lord Coe claimed venues were ‘stuffed to the gunwales’ and dismissed pictures of the seats as ‘holiday snaps’.
• Organisers insisted the empty seats were not allocated to sponsors, claiming they were unused by athletes, officials and the media.
• Troops, students and teachers are being drafted in to sit in the empty seats to prevent a repeat of the embarrassing scenes.

All quiet: Rows of seats lay empty during the football match between Egypt and New Zealand at Manchester United's stadium, Old Trafford

The Yard confirmed that about 20 people had been arrested attempting to sell tickets since the opening ceremony on Friday.
Yesterday spectators who bought tickets for the Olympic Park, because all venues inside were sold out of lower-priced tickets, had the frustration of watching pictures on the big screen of unfilled seats.

GYMNAST FAILS DRUGS TEST

A Gymnast from Uzbekistan has become the first athlete to fail a drugs test during the 2012 Olympics.
Luiza Galiulina, 20, right, was provisionally suspended from competing after a urine sample provided on Wednesday tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent or for weight loss.
She will now have a second test.
The 4ft 9in athlete, the only gymnast competing for Uzbekistan, would have taken part in the women’s qualifiers yesterday.

But a prickly Lord Coe insisted the ticketing process had worked.
He even dismissed pictures of empty seats as ‘holiday snaps’ before admitting troops and students could be used to fill gaps.
‘We take it seriously,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to see swathes of those seats empty and that’s why we will make sure, where we can, people are in those seats when they are not used.’
The London 2012 chairman added: ‘Let’s put this in perspective. Those venues are stuffed to the gunwales. The public are in there.’
Initially, the empty spaces were blamed on ‘no-shows’ from blocks given to sponsors but yesterday the finger was pointed at the athletes, media and sports federations, who cannot be bothered to use their entitlement to a seat at the venue.
Designer Paul Chandler, 42, who travelled down to the Olympic Park from Nottingham with his family, added: ‘Standing in the wet watching pictures of empty seats on the big screen, we feel betrayed.’
Sally Pookey, 31, who lives less than a mile from the Olympic Park, said: ‘I felt disgusted when I saw all the gaps in the stands.’
Last night, Team GB cyclist Geraint Thomas said: ‘It’s quite sad, seeing all the empty seats.’
Lord Coe revealed yesterday how troops, students and teachers were being drafted in to help end the embarrassing spectacle of empty seats at Olympic venues.
The Locog chairman said fans with tickets could have them upgraded so they can sit in more expensive areas reserved for VIP members of the 'Olympic family'.
He added that tickets for sports held in double sessions, such as hockey, basketball, water polo and handball, were being recycled and re-sold as people leave.
This system is similar to the one employed at the Wimbledon tennis championships, where spectators leaving show courts can hand back their tickets to be bought by someone else

Watching on: This group of soldiers were invited to watch the Gymnastics events

Gymnastics: Serving men and women fill empty seats during the Artistic Gymnastics competition yesterday

EMPTY SEATS - VENUE BY VENUE

BASKETBALL
Some large chunks of empty seats even at United States v France at the Basketball Arena, one of the top draws. Organisers reacted by using one block as a press box overspill, while some troops were invited in to take up more empty seats.
WATER POLO
Very few empty seats for the morning and afternoon sessions at the Water Polo Arena, but the section for the Olympic Family was half-empty for the morning sessions.
BOXING
The boxing venue at ExCel, in terms of buyable tickets, was almost completely full.
TENNIS
The blocks of seats at Wimbledon reserved for those with accreditation showed the biggest gaps. The majority of the other seats were full, particularly the cheaper ones towards the back of the stands.
VOLLEYBALL
Great Britain's men started in front of a largely full house at Earls Court, although pockets of seats were left vacant. There were also unused seats in the delegation and media areas.
BADMINTON
Wembley Arena, which has a capacity of 4,800 for the Games, has been officially sold out for the badminton. The hall has been close to full for the sessions held so far, with three rows unoccupied due to restricted view.
FOOTBALL
More than 65,000 were expected for the men's football at Old Trafford although many did not turn up for the first match (New Zealand v Egypt), but it filled up for Brazil v Belarus.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Decent attendances over the first two days of competition at ExCeL for a relatively low-demand event, with the arena approximately 80% full with Great British lifters still yet to compete.
EQUESTRIAN
Some empty seats in the arena at Greenwich Park but equestrian manager Tim Hadaway said that crowds often moved throughout the venue during the day, meaning some seats may be left empty at times - spectators can walk around the cross country course.
FENCING
Almost packed at ExCeL yesterday. On Saturday it started with quite a few empty seats, but filled up as the day went on.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
The venue at Horse Guards Parade is averaging two-thirds full according to official attendances - the capacity is 15,000.
HOCKEY
Close to capacity for yesterday's morning matches at the Riverbank Arena.
JUDO
There were only a handful of empty seats at the ExCeL.
HANDBALL
The morning session at the handball was virtually full at the Copper Box.
GYMNASTICS
Fewer empty seats yesterday than Saturday- an estimated 1,000 were empty in the first session on Saturday when the GB men were qualifying. Around 100 seats were given over to soldiers yesterday at the North Greenwich Arena.
SHOOTING
Packed out for all sessions at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
ARCHERY
Reports of around 100 vacant seats in the two grandstands - which were sold out. The venue manager at Lord's said none of those were for sponsors or Olympic family as they are all housed in the pavilion.
TABLE TENNIS
The ExCeL Arena was around four-fifths full when the table tennis got under way at 9am and the rest of the seats filled up during the afternoon although it was never at capacity.

He said: 'It's not easy to ask people (in the accredited Olympic family) at the beginning of the Games exactly how, where and when they're going to be in those seats.

'This morning was a very good example, we looked at gymnastics, we could see at this moment there are empty seats in the accredited area - the rest of the venue is looking pretty good this morning, there's a good atmosphere.'

Embarrassing: Lord Coe revealed that tickets had been offered to students and teachers from London schools

'So we were able to move those troops from - I'm not quite sure whether they were on a rest period or whether it was a transition from work through to a rest period - but they're sitting there enjoying the gymnastics.

'We can and we have moved them in there.

'Yesterday, we got pre-accredited students and teachers from the local boroughs. We were able to put 115, 120 into a venue.'
A MoD spokesperson said: LOGOG has kindly offered service men and women working on venue security to make use of unutilised seating when they are off duty. These seats will be made available to venue security personnel to utilise on a voluntary basis when off duty.
Olympics organisers had to call in extra military personnel before the Games after private firm G4S failed to provide enough civilian security guards.

Asked whether the military would always be brought in whenever anything went wrong during the Games, Lord Coe joked: 'We won't be cancelling leave to make sure they're sitting in our venues.

'It will resolve itself quite quickly.'
Lord Coe also dismissed suggestions that ticket-holders who failed to turn up should be stripped of their accreditation.

'Let's not run away with ourselves here,' he said.
'We're talking about an issue on the first couple of days.

'It's not for the organising committee to remove accreditation.'

Lord Coe called for the row to be kept in perspective, claiming that thousands of people were watching events and several steps were being taken to resolve the issue.
'Let's put this in perspective,' he said. 'Those venues are stuffed to the gunwales. The public are in there.

'There are tens of thousands of people at this moment within the accredited family who are trying to figure out what their day looks like, where they're going to be asked to go to.
'Frankly just working out how you're going to divide your time.'
Mark Adams, of the International Olympic Committee, said: 'It's completely wrong to say this is a sponsors issue.'
Those who have failed to turn up include sports organisations from around the world, the media, and 'a handful of sponsors', he said.
Matt and Amanda Casson, from London, watched this morning's swimming heats at the Aquatics Centre - including British gold medal hope Rebecca Adlington's victory in her heat.
The pair said it was disappointing there were noticeable gaps of empty seats in the centre during the races.

Recycling: Lord Coe said that tickets for sports held in double sessions, such as hockey, basketball, water polo and handball, were being re-sold as people leave

Mr Casson, 36, said: 'It's really disappointing. They should do something like they do at Wimbledon where at a certain time they put them on sale to the general public, just re-sell them.

TWO CHARGED WITH TICKET TOUTING NEAR OLYMPIC STADIUM

Two foreign nationals have been charged with ticket touting after being arrested near the Olympic stadium before Friday night's spectacular opening ceremony.

Wolfgang Menzel, a 57-year-old German, and Maria Bukranova, a 30-year-old Slovakian, of Woolwich, south east London, were charged under Section 31 of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act 2006.
Menzel, 57, and Bukranova, 30, will appear before magistrates at separate hearings this month.
They were among 16 people arrested on Friday and Saturday by police trying to stamp out ticket touting at the Olympics.
The head of the Operation Podium, Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, said: 'My team has been working tirelessly to clamp down on ticket touts.
'We have been, and will continue to seek out and take robust action against anybody who tries to cash in on the 2012 Games in this way.

'Ticket touting is illegal and is a clear exploitation of those who genuinely wish to experience the Games first-hand.

'I would also urge people to think twice about purchasing tickets from these criminals: if you do, you are likely to find yourself paying over the odds for them, while at the same time fuelling criminality.'

Det Supt Downing warned that anybody buying tickets from unofficial sources could end up with their personal and credit card details being stolen for use in other crimes.

'Or even if they upgraded people downwards, closer to the front, to fill them, that would look better.'

Mari Fotherby travelled from Cirencester with husband Andy and daughters Catrin and Hana, 26 and 23.

She said: 'We were surprised at the number of empty seats.

'I'm not sure what the reason is, I just wish there were more tickets available to the public.

'We were lucky to get the swimming - this session - and the cycling, but we were the only people we knew who managed to get swimming tickets.'
Olympics organisers Locog have launched an investigation into the fiasco and the Government has voiced concern as to why the seats were not taken despite events being apparently sold out.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the empty seats were 'very disappointing'.
He added: 'I was at the Beijing Games, in 2008, and one of the lessons that we took away from that, is that full stadia create the best atmosphere, it's best for the athletes, it's more fun for the spectators, it's been an absolute priority.
'Locog are doing a full investigation into what happened, I think it was accredited seats that belonged to sponsors, but if they're not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere.
'We are looking at this very urgently at the moment.'
British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan said organisers 'owed it to the team' to ensure the seats were filled.
'The position of the British Olympic Association is very clear, we want every seat filled', he said. 'We welcome the fact this morning that Jeremy Hunt has taken responsibility and announced that he is going to lead an inquiry with Locog and Seb (Lord Coe) this morning to work on this.
'We are very keen that there should be an early solution and that the empty seats should be filled as quickly as possible.
'Yesterday it worked best at Eton Dorney, we had record crowds - there's never been 25,000 seats sold and filled for a rowing event.'
'That lifts the British team. We need every seat filled. We owe it to the team, we owe it to British sports fans the length and breadth of the country to make sure they get the opportunity to come to this unique occasion at the Olympic Games.'
Shadow Olympics minister Dame Tessa Jowell said: 'Anyone who is lucky enough to have tickets to the Games should either use them or give them up.
'I am pleased to see that unused tickets are now being distributed to members of our armed forces, local teachers and students.
'It is important that this process is stepped up to ensure that every single available ticket is offered to somebody who will use it.'

All by myself: A spectator sits among empty seats as he waits for the start of the final session on the first day of the swimming competition at the Aquatics Centre

Sparsely populated: Allowing fans to fill empty seats would end scenes like this at the Aquatic Centre

Deserted: Gymnast Pierre Yves Beny of France competes in front of empty seats in the North Greenwich Arena