Off Track ...

Eighth time a charm?

Italian kayaker Josefa Idem became the first woman to compete in eight Olympic Games when she set off in her heat for the 500m K-1 at Dorney Lake on Tuesday.

The 47-year-old Idem's first summer games were in Los Angeles in 1984 and she has finished fifth or higher at each Olympics. She won gold in Sydney in 2000 and missed out on another in Beijing four years ago when she was edged into silver by four-hundredths of a second. Idem, who was born in Germany but became an Italian citizen in 1992, finished third in her heat to reach the semifinals later Tuesday.

What a jump

Nick Skelton, who returned after breaking his neck in a competition fall, led Britain to its first Olympic show jumping gold medal in 60 years.

Skelton, 54, fractured his neck in 2000 but returned to riding two years later.

"After I broke my neck, my goal was to get back to Athens in 2004 and then to get to here," Skeleton said. "When you have a horse as good as Big Star, you look forward to getting up every day and riding him."

Bolt to man United?

It's a prospect that will have ageing Premier League defenders everywhere quaking in their boots - Usain Bolt wearing the red shirt of Manchester United.

But if the idea of the world's fastest man blazing a trail around English football grounds remains unlikely, United center-half Rio Ferdinand is enthusiastic about bringing the Jamaican sprint king into the fold.

"If you want that trial at Man Utd shout me, I'll speak to the boss!! Well done in 100m, waiting for you to smash the 200m now!," Ferdinand said in a message to Bolt on Twitter on Tuesday.

Bolt joked he would welcome the opportunity: "After the Olympics we work on that...lol..thanks man."

Complete coverage

A reported 1,600 Chinese journalists have headed to London for the Games.

Among them, nearly 300 are accredited journalists and photographers, while more than 800 are non-accredited, according to Gao Dianmin, director of the London bureau of Xinhua News Agency and member of the International Olympic Committee's press commission.

Reuters - China Daily - AFP

(China Daily 08/08/2012 page11)