Eyes on London Olympics

Skooter reporting 08/02/12

KERI WALSH JENNINGS' PINKEYE PLAY

Beach volleyball pair Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor of the United States, the two -time defending gold medalist, finish off pool play Wednesday against Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger. Walsh asserts she won't be slowed by a case of pinkeye in her left eye. Her left eye was red and watery as she peeked through it, applying it repeatedly with a tissue to wipe away the gunk and teardrops.

The pair have opened the London Olympics with victories in their first two matches in pool play and is guaranteed of a spot in the elimination round despite the consequences of what happens in Wednesday night’s match.

AFRICA'S FENCING WIN

Egypt’s Alaaeldin Abouelkassem won the first silver Olympic medal ever claimed by a fencer from Africa. Abouelkassem lost to his Chinese rival at the final 15-13, still he could barely believe what he'd accomplished. He said his triumph would not just improve fencing in Egypt, but in all over Africa. Abouelkassem beat world champion Andrea Cassara of Italy and former four-time world champion Peter Joppich of Germany.

FIERCE FIVE

Adorned around the necks of the U.S. women's gymnastics team were gold medals, but one thing is still missing. They are seeking for a perfect moniker for the team such as “The Magnificent Seven” from 1996, the last time American women stood on top of the medal dais.

McKayla Maroney said she like Fierce Five because they are definitely the fiercest team out there.

TUNISIAN SURPRISE

Nobody expected the Tunisians were supposed to be beaten down easily. Their rival Americans were having a great surprise at the opening of the games on the basketball court Tuesday. The Tunisian team began fearlessly, with Makram Ben Romdhane speeding all the way for a dunk, the kind of athletic plays that are commonly made by the Americans, not against them, taking the lead 8-4. With 2:39 left in the period Tunisia still led by three before the U.S. second unit ran off the final nine points for a 21-15 advantage.

The U.S. team came back and at the end won 110-63.

VAULTING TO THE TOP

Amanar, one of the toughest vaults, named after 1996 vault champion Simona Amanar. To accomplish this, one has to roundoff onto the takeoff board, then back handspring onto the table and 2.5 twisting somersaults before landing.

Having one or two gymnast to try such skill and can do it will, those countries are lucky, but four of the five Americans namely, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas and world vault champion McKayla Maroney, got the high scoring skill.

It has a start value, the measure of complexity of 6.5, a huge 0.7 above the vault most other gymnasts do, and on Tuesday the Americans broke off one massive one after another. It gave them a 1.7-point ahead, and they never looked back.

AURORA CHEERS

Stunned recently by a mass shooting in a movie theater, the Colorado town has something to celebrate, a gold medal won by local swimming star, Missy Franklin. She is only 17, attends Aurora’s Regis Jesuit High and lives in the nearby Denver suburb of Centennial. After the July 20 shootings, she committed her Olympic races to her home state.

After having opened her games with a relay bronze, Franklin won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke Monday.

Reuters