2016-08-10

Olympics medal table and live results | Schedule for day five of Games

Swimming’s credibility in doubt after questions over entry times

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6.45pm BST

Oooh dear. Great Britain have missed a penalty and the chance to get a bit of breathing space against Argentina. It remains 3-2.

6.40pm BST

Australia cruise to victory in the first heat of the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Great Britain and the USA up next …

6.37pm BST

No play before 3:30pm … so Andy Murray et all will have to twiddle their thumbs that little bit longer.

6.34pm BST

Argentina have another goal back, again it was scored by Florencia Habif. Great Britain still lead 3-2.

6.31pm BST

So, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps advance through the 200m IM as the first and third fastest respectively, followed by two Brazilians, while Great Britain’s Dan Wallace and Ieuan Lloyd go through in 11th and 15th. Ooosh.

Time for the women’s 4x200m freestyle heats now …

6.29pm BST

Sophie Bray has scored over at the hockey arena which means Great Britain are 3-0 up against Argentina.

6.27pm BST

Brazil’s Thiago Pereira has the crowd on their feet by taking a lead into halfway but Phelps is reeling him in in the second half of the race. That was awesome.

6.25pm BST

Phelps goes in the last heat now, complete with purple crop circles …

6.20pm BST

After 20 of the competitors of the dressage individual grand prix, Great Britain’s Spencer is lying second to Germany’s Sonke Rotherberger. The defending champion, Charlotte Dujardin, is yet to begin. Here’s what our man on the ground has to say …

I've travelled six thousand miles to watch a horse dancing to Donna Summer

6.12pm BST

And in the canoe slalom, Great Britain’s Joe Clarke has posted the third best time in the semi-finals to safely make the final. He’ll go third last in the medal showdown, which is scheduled to begin at 4:15,

6.11pm BST

In the weightlifting, Rebekah Tiler’s personal best equalling score of 227 was enough for second place in group B. Group A still to come.

6.09pm BST

So both Brits, Chloe Tutton and Molly Renshaw, advance to the semis as third and fourth quickest respectively. Yulia Efimova is also through as eighth fastest, Lilly King as 15th. A lot of swimmers holding something back for the semis and finals there.

The men’s 200m IM now, which is Michael Phelps v Ryan Lochte, which is always fun.

6.05pm BST

Efimova up now in the pool – she was absolutely nowhere after 100m but she’s now stepped on the afterburners, so to speak, and she touches home in third. She didn’t waggle her finger …

6.04pm BST

Great Britain have raced into a 2-0 lead against Argentina in the women’s hockey by the way – Kate Richardson-Walsh, she of the bashed up jaw at London 2012, scored the first, in fact she has both.

6.02pm BST

Great Britain’s Chloe Tutton comes third in her heat in an impressive swim and that should be fine to advance to the semis …

5.58pm BST

In the pool, as suspected, Lilly King has finished fifth in her 200m breaststroke heat and so may well not make it through. Great Britain’s Molly Renshaw was second though so has a better chance.

5.55pm BST

This is all news to me, but I would tend to agree with Sean … ridiculous.

This is ridiculous: Gabby Douglas is smiling and happy in the photo. Of course there was no disrespect. https://t.co/XuQXDAdieP

5.54pm BST

And to confirm the quarter-final lineup …

Fiji v New Zealand – 5pm

5.53pm BST

I think you may be right Mike …

I think that missed US conversion at end has kept NZ in - by a point #Rugby7s

5.52pm BST

Confirmation that Fiji have beaten USA 24-19 in the rugby sevens which means they will play New Zealand in the next round, the All Blacks Sevens advancing by just a point …

5.50pm BST

In the rugby sevens, Fiji are leading by five against the USA which means New Zealand would squeeze through to the quarters by the narrowest of margins. Not long to go …

In the meantime, read about Great Britain’s progress to the last eight here.

5.47pm BST

A weightlifting update for you and news of a British personal best for Rebekah Tiler.

Ending with a clean and jerk of 126, Tiler equals her overall personal best of 227. Excellent stuff.

5.44pm BST

Up next in the pool, the women’s 200m breaststroke heats which means Lilly King and Yulia Efimova, round two … although King isn’t as strong in this event so perhaps not quite the tasty rematch that we’d hope for.

5.43pm BST

The men’s 200m backstroke heats have finished and Australia’s Mitch Larkin, the hot favourite for the 100m only to finish outside the medals, wins the last heat and advances as the third quickest behind Russia’s Evgeny Rylov and China’s Jiayu Xu.

5.38pm BST

Sally Conway is into the women’s -70kg semi-final, having eliminated the world and European champion in the last 16. She’ll be back on the mat at approximately 4pm.

And both Tim Kneale and Steve Scott are into the six-strong men’s double trap semi-final after advancing through a qualification round, that saw two Olympic records, in third and fourth place respectively.

5.36pm BST

Hello world! No time for small talk, straight into the action. Great Britain’s Joe Clarke is up soon in the K-1 canoe sprint after impressing in qualifying while Great Britain against Argentina has just started in the women’s hockey.

And I have news from the judo hall and the shooting range …

5.30pm BST

But that’s all from me this day - Gerard Meagher will take you through the next little bit, so thanks all for your company and comments.

5.29pm BST

Meanwhile Rebekah Tiler is getting going in the 69kg weightlifting.

5.27pm BST

In the pool, the men’s 200m backstrokers - surely they can’t be called that? - are starting their heats.

5.26pm BST

In the football, it’s Argentina 0-0 Honduras, Portugal 1-0 Algeria.

5.25pm BST

Bronte Campbell finished third and qualifies; her heat was won by old mate Sarah Sjostrom, gold medalist in the 100m butterfly and silver medalist in the 200m butterfly.

Only 15 places have been allocated for the semis - there will be a swim-off to determine the final competitor.

5.22pm BST

Argentina have beaten Brazil 31-0 in the rugby.

5.20pm BST

The day’s swimming is underway with the heats for the women’s 100m freestyle. Roughly the people who should win are winning, and Cate Campbell, Australia’s world record holder, has just streaked home despite the slowest start in the field. Bronte, her world champion sister, goes in the next race, and wasn’t at the meet where the world record went. Her da phoned to tell her, and she didn’t believe him.

5.16pm BST

In a day of weather-related disappointment, the cycling time trials did let no one down. Read Barry Glendenning on an incredible gold-medal winning performance from Fabian Cancellara - and a bronze for Chris Froome.

5.14pm BST

Brazil do absolutely loads of half-time shouting, guaranteed to resolve the 19-0 deficit they face. They have all turned into Blanka.

5.11pm BST

“Fina have released a statement on the state of the water in the diving pool. Essentially it amounts to: don’t panic! trust us! Here’s the full thing: ‘FINA can confirm that the reason for the unusual water colour observed during the Rio 2016 diving competitions is that the water tanks ran out some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process. As a result the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discolouration. The FINA Sport Medicine Committee conducted tests on the water quality and concluded that there was no risk to the health and safety of the athletes, and no reason for the competition to be affected.’ They are, of course, an eminently competent governing body.”

5.09pm BST

And backed it up with a second try. They may well be GB’s next opponents.

5.09pm BST

In the sevens, Argentina have taken the lead against Brazil by way of unconverted try.

5.06pm BST

Or 55 minutes from now. There are going to be some games at funny times, or some punishing schedules, if things don’t improve soon.

5.04pm BST

Argentina and Brazil have just started their sevens match; Argentina and Honduras - and Portugal and Algeria - have just started their football matches.

5.01pm BST

Fabian Cancellara is a happy man, and rightly so. He has taken the field apart, in tricky conditions, not just the best, but the best by far.

4.57pm BST

But spare a thought for Rohan Dennis, who finished nine seconds behind Froome, who spend more than nine seconds changing his bike. What can you do.

4.56pm BST

Silver goes to Tom Dumoulin of Netherlands.

4.55pm BST

He found some extra gas from somewhere, punished himself some more, and got his druthers.

4.54pm BST

Froome bousts around the final corner, face contorted in agony; can he grab bronze? YES HE CAN!

4.53pm BST

And here comes Dumoulin, he’s 47 seconds slower than Cancellara - and into the silver medal position! Can Froome go fast enough to snaffle a bronze?

4.52pm BST

“A wild fire is currently raging in the hills above the Deodora Olympic Park, although sadly not close enough yet to show any signs of creeping down in the night and devouring the entire park leaving nothing standing to remember it by.
Meanwhile at the equestrian’s centre do hipismo - staffed naturally by men with beards and an interest in artisanal pickles - the first day of the dressage grand prix is well under way. Great Britain’s Spencer Wilton is currently in the lead after a round of 72.86, but a long way to run in this competition. Charlotte Dujardin, the horse dancing queen, is 52nd on the start list. She will be aiming to produce something near-perfect as anyone’s likely to get with her new, slightly secretive routine. I know what you’re thinking. Dressage. Meh. But this is a sport Dujardin (who is not, depsite her name, posh) has sent a bolt of electricity through, a kind of equine high art, with prancing. Well worth catching in about an hour from now.”

4.51pm BST

Dumoulin is heading back towards the finish line, as Phinney finishes more than five minutes behind Cancellara.

4.50pm BST

GB top the group, NZ finish third.

4.49pm BST

Back in the rugby, New Zealand score another try, and though GB try and force the scorer wide, the conversion goes over anyway. 20 seconds left, one score needed to settle it for either side.

4.48pm BST

It’s hard to see how Cancellara can lose from here - there just isn’t anywhere that time can be made up. And he comes down the final stretch, and is 1:06:08 inside Castroviejo’s clubhouse lead.

4.46pm BST

New Zealand have made it 5-21 in the sevens - there are three and half minutes remaining. But there’s another try! 21-10! And it’s converted! New Zealand need two scores.

4.45pm BST

So, what does Froome have left? It’s looking like Cancellara will take gold and Dumoulin silver, but bronze is still available, as Dennis finishes. Froome needs to make up ten seconds.

4.39pm BST

Dan Norton has scored another try for GB. They are looking ridiculously strong and powerful.

4.38pm BST

“If the gale blowing through the media tent is anything to go by, conditions out on the course must be very punishing. After 10 kilometres, Geraint Thomas posted a faster time than any of the 21 riders who set off before him and is now the leader in the clubhouse with a time that will almost certainly be beaten. In his final season as a professional cyclist, Swiss automaton Fabian Cancellara is the fastest man on the track so far, thanks in part to a mechanical suffered by Rohan Dennis who had been quicker but had to stop for a bike change. Chris Froome isn’t doing brilliantly, although it’s difficult to know if he’s pacing himself or having a bad day. In a race against the clock, it seems fitting that time will tell. The Swiss they call Spartacus looking good at the moment, but these climbs won’t be to his liking”.

4.37pm BST

And there’s another try for GB! James Davies, brother of Jonathan, draws the challenges, bundles through, and another conversion makes it 14-0.

4.36pm BST

In the dressage individual, Spencer Wilton of GB still leads, but has been joined by Allison Brock of USA.

4.35pm BST

GB and New Zealand are underway, and GB have done well to withstand the early barrage. And then some incredible skill from Norton is followed by a clever kick from Mark Bennett, who collects and scored under the posts! Over goes the conversion, and that’s 7-0.

4.31pm BST

“Popole Misenga, one of 10 athletes on the first ever Olympic Refugee Team, won his first-round match in the men’s 90kg draw over India’s Avtar Singh on last-second yuko after refusing to tap out during a 20-second armbar attempt. The inspired win drew raucous cheers from the near-full Carioca Arena 2. He would lose his following match by ippon against the top-ranked reigning world champion Gwak Dong-han of Korea for a ninth-place finish. A former judoka for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national team, Misenga traveled to Brazil for the world championships three years ago and sought asylum here.”

4.31pm BST

Froome is nearly out of this. He’s 32 seconds off Cancellara which puts him in fourth place; he’s seven seconds off a medal, which might be doable.

4.28pm BST

Rohan Dennis has had to change his bike - that might just kill his medal hopes. Played by the helper though, who had the bike off the roof before the van had even stopped.

Tony Martin is two minutes off the pace.

4.26pm BST

Cancellara turned over a 24-second between the second and third checks - he and Froome were level at the former.

4.25pm BST

They reckon Cancellara saved himself for the dry roads on the descent, but however he’s done it, he’s in a very strong position.

4.24pm BST

Perhaps Dennis is tiring - or Cancellara was taking it easy. Because suddenly, he’s well ahead!

4.23pm BST

Froome is standing in the saddle now, preferring power over aerodynamics. He’ll need to have closed when he reaches the third check, else he’s not winning nowt.

4.22pm BST

Japan have beaten Kenya 31-7 in the sevens, and move on to the quarter-finals. They’re a serious medal threat.

4.21pm BST

Dennis has just finished a nasty hill and pegging it down, but he’s only holding his own against Castroviejo - perhaps he’s tiring.

4.16pm BST

19-7 to Japan now, so assuming they win and Argentina beat Brazil, New Zealand are out unless they beat Britain.

4.13pm BST

Or in 45 minutes, minimum.

4.13pm BST

Dennis is ploughing up a hill along the coastal road. He looks very strong indeed.

4.11pm BST

Froome is falling further behind - he’s 24 seconds slower than Rowan Dennis, who’s looking set. Dumoulin is second.

4.10pm BST

Chris Froome is supposedly 20 seconds off the pace - he’ll be at the second checkpoint soon, and will need to be closer than that.

4.09pm BST

Back to the sevens, Japan have just scored under the posts against Kenya - they lead 12-7, soon to be 14-7, you’d imagine.

4.07pm BST

Shafiq is out, but in the women’s 70kg judo, GB’s Sally Conway is looking good. She won her first match of the day in 57 seconds, and now, after a yellow card for non-combativity, she has beaten Gevrise Emane by ippon via Kami-shiho-gatame. She moves into the last eight.

4.03pm BST

Shafiq is doing his best, but Butdee is bit canny for him, and has more power too. Not a helpful combination.

4.00pm BST

Shafiq has taken a booming overhand left to the full face of the face, and it sat him down sharpish. He lost round 2 10-8 across the board, and needs a stoppage to win.

3.58pm BST

Froome is only seventh at the first check, on terrain that should be good for him. There’s more than an hour of racing left, so plenty of time for him the remedy the situation, but that is not what the experts predicted. Geraint Thomas, meanwhile was third fastest with everyone now through the opening stretch.

3.57pm BST

Ashfaq has lost a busy first round on all three scorecard, while, before our next sevens match - Kenya v Japan - we see footage of what looks like a forest fire.

3.54pm BST

“No sooner had Chris Froome slid down the starting ramp as the last to go in the men’s time trial then the rain started up again. Feels more like a blustery day in Bridlington than the picture postcard setting the organisers had planned to be honest.”

3.53pm BST

Which I think means both move on, Australia by right and South Africa as a best loser.

3.51pm BST

Cancellara’s time for the first section was marginally quicker than Dennis’.

3.51pm BST

Team GB’a Qais Ashfaq is on his way to the ring for his bantamweight bout. He’ll fight Chatchai Butdee of Thailand.

3.49pm BST

Cancellara is 52 seconds ahead of Konig at the first check, but Konig, though the clubhouse leader, did not start quickly. We could use knowing how he did in relation to Dennis.

3.47pm BST

South Africa have scored against Australia in the rugby, but missed the conversion; they trail 12-5.

3.46pm BST

Rowan Dennis of Australia has beaten Geraint Thomas’ time through the first check, but only by a little.

3.46pm BST

Ding Ning is now 3-1 up in the table-tennis semi; in women’s hockey, Australia lead India 2-0; GB’s Spencer Wilton on Super Nova II leads the individual dressage.

3.42pm BST

And here comes Froom-o, the Froomester, Froominho, and Boardman reckons we can tell already that he’s going to attack this course. He really does look like someone very intent on winning, and equally intent on not being beaten.

3.41pm BST

While we’re on the subject, why do supermarkets now sell basil in plant form, thus making your kitchen smell?

3.38pm BST

Australia now lead South Africa 12-0 in the sevens. It’s beginning to look like they must just australia this, while south africa southafrica it.

3.37pm BST

Tony Martin, runner-up behind Bradley Wiggins last time, sets off. He’s not in the best of form, but is not unsuited to the course.

3.35pm BST

Geraint Thomas’ time at the first check is 22 seconds faster than the next best; Simon Geschke of germany is the new clubhouse leader.

And here goes Cancellara down the starting ramp! What has he left in the tank?

3.34pm BST

Jesse Parahi scores a try for Australia and it’s under the posts too, so will presumably be converted.

3.33pm BST

Second rugby sevens of the afternoon has begun - Australia must win to make the quarters.

3.31pm BST

Preidler is our new leader in the cycling, while Philippa Matthews is killing two birds with one stone, calling her dressage horse Trotsky.

3.30pm BST

“Kristin Armstrong has done the UCI a massive favour by beating Olga Zabelinskaya, who won silver in the women’s time trial on Wednesday after serving an 18-month doping ban.

After the race, Zabelinskaya — who at 36 was the second oldest cyclist in the race, after 42-year-old Armstrong — insisted she was clean. Asked if she had ever doped, she said: “No. I have never in my life. Never.”

3.29pm BST

The morning boxing session has started with the men’s light flyweight quarters. Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba bear Peter Mungai Warui of Kenya 3-0; the fight after the fight after next features GB’s Qais Ashfaq in the bantam prelims.

3.27pm BST

Mizbanhi from Iran is the first finisher in the time trial, so there’s now a time to beat. It was 1:21:39.

3.24pm BST

Some detail on that tennis delay, courtesy of PA:

“A packed schedule was due to feature the women’s singles quarter-finals and all eight men’s third-round matches as well as doubles. But the steady rain meant the start of the first women’s quarter-final between Madison Keys of the USA and Russia’s Daria Kasatkina on centre court was pushed back from 10.45am local time (2.45pm BST) until at least 11.30.
Play on the outside courts, which had been due to begin at 11, will not take place before midday.”

3.22pm BST

France have beaten Spain 26-5 in the sevens - and in just over an hour, we have Great Britain against New Zealand, who will be eliminated should they leave.

3.20pm BST

It’s still windy, but the rain appears to have stopped. Meanwhile, the BBC swimming team are chilling on the beach in the sun, which supports that localised point from earlier.

3.19pm BST

And her comes Geraint Thomas, the late entrant. Can he do a Denmark 1992?

3.16pm BST

Edvald Boassen Hagen sets off, the first of the likely winners. He’s in a curious all-white number, with the Norwegian flag around his waist as though it’s constricting him.

3.15pm BST

Rugby sevens, the hit of the games so far, is up and running (very quickly) - France are 19-0 up on Spain in the second half.

3.13pm BST

We’re also two minutes away from the release of the sharp-teethed canines.

3.13pm BST

Geraint Thomas will be off in six minutes, while Jo Barlow’s horsename is “Gunnacomefourth”.

3.11pm BST

“Your dressage horse name is EITHER your surname in Spanish, Italian or German...” tweets D Young, “OR the first (proper) title word + any part of your favourite character’s name from your favourite novel.”

In which case, I am Windupbird Manskinner. I’ll take it.

3.10pm BST

Geschke of Germany is nearly three seconds ahead at the first time check, usurping Wellens of Belgium.

3.09pm BST

Ding has taken the first set from song in the table-tennis. They are really, really good if you fancy a look-in. I mean, of course they are, but the beauty of the game is that we’ve all had a go at it and can play a bit. And drum the ball prior to serving, “just to get the feel”.

3.07pm BST

Incidentally, Chris Froome will be setting off in 40 minutes, the final rider to get going. There are so many obscenely nails characters involved - it should be quite an afternoon.

3.06pm BST

“Dressage horsey name? Neighmar,” says Calie Rushton.

3.03pm BST

“Dressage horse name,” tweets Chris Mitchell. “Eric Canterna. We are doing puns, yes?”

Minds of my favourite play, Cantona Hot Tin Roof.

3.00pm BST

Talking of which, the weather is localised, no fronts or anything, so impossible to predict.

2.59pm BST

The weather for the cycling is kind of apt, given that the coastline is beautiful, and the sport is a suffering competition, so why should it be picturesque? Exactamundo.

2.58pm BST

“Snakebite or Pint’o’stella”, says Geoff Foley as to horse names; he’s obviously fairly well-to-do, as Stella can only be consumed from a can.

2.56pm BST

Xiaoxia Li of China has beaten Ai Fukuhara of Japan 4-0 in the women’s table-tennis semi-final. She’ll play either Ning Ding, also of China, or Kim Song I of North Korea in the final.

2.52pm BST

Spain’s Claudio Castillo Ruiz, on Alcaide, leads the dressage currently; Akane Kuroki of Japan is second, riding Toots. I hope she has a twin called Sidney.

2.49pm BST

Just what you need.

2.48pm BST

Meanwhile, Preidler is still in front in the cycling.

2.47pm BST

“Good morning from a grey and grizzly morning at Rodrigo de Freitas, where - for a second day this week - the rowing has been postponed. We’ve just been speaking to David Tanner, the performance director of British rowing, who is predicting more bad weather tomorrow.

‘I’m not going to be a meteorologist but tomorrow doesn’t look great,’ he said. ‘FISA, the governing body of world rowing, will do their very best to finish this by Saturday morning because if you go into Sunday morning there is no escape if bad weather turns up, and what we do know is that the weather here has been quite unpredictable. We can’t go past lunchtime on Sunday - after that the canoeing course is set up which takes nine to ten hours and have nine lanes and that need reconfiguring. think we will have problem tomorrow, looking at the forecast, but then you have Friday and Saturday they can fit all the racing into those two days.’

2.46pm BST

“What would I call my dressage horse?” tweets Rich B. “Horsey McHorseface, obviously.”

Strangely apt.

2.38pm BST

What would you call your dressage horse? I’m going for Socialist Worker.

2.38pm BST

The dressage prelims are well underway, and scrolling down the names of horses, there’s a Bukowski, a Rolex - dearie me - and Donnperignon (one word). But, on first glance, Jimmie Choo Seq has me scratching my head hardest, which is the point, right?

2.35pm BST

The roads look much cleaner now, so there’ll be a distinct advantage to going last, more so than usual. But we’ve still a while to wait before things start happening in earnest - in the meantime, Georg Preidler of Austria is ahead.

2.31pm BST

Boardman tells us that he used to start with glasses and often throw them away, with rain in coupon preferable to constant clearing of vision.

2.29pm BST

“A three-part name where the parts can appear in any order”, tweets Joe Cox about our pal Brent. Anymore for any more?

2.28pm BST

Tim Wellens of Belgium is about to set off, and he’s the last member of the first group. But the big dawgs are all still in the hatch, as we learn the Sepulveda is now in the lead.

2.21pm BST

Ouch. Brent Bookwalter of USA - great name, sir - touched the breaks going round the corner, crashed, and ripped his top. He’s fine, and now looks like Hulk.

2.14pm BST

Your medal table:

2.12pm BST

The Argentina flag that’s blowing as Eduardo Sepulveda sets off tells us that’s it’s still windy as a summer’s day in San Franciso. I wonder if the men have picked up any tips from watching the women.

2.10pm BST

We’re underway in the men’s time trial, and also in the team and individual equestrian.

2.04pm BST

“An unbelievable story in the women’s time trial. America’s Kirstin Armstrong, the oldest woman in the race by eight years, has won. She turns 43 tomorrow and has just won her third consecutive gold medal. She beats London 2012 bronze medalist Olga Zabelinskaya, who served an 18-month ban after failing a drug test between London 2012 and Rio 2016 into second place. Anna van der Breggen from the Netherlands was third.”

Related: Kristin Armstrong beats wild weather to win Olympic cycling time trial gold

1.54pm BST

So, it’s Armstrong, who has retired twice, gets gold, Zabelinskya silver, and Van der Breggen bronze, added to her gold from the road race.

Armstrong is now beginning to cry, and flexing three fingers. What a ridiculous achievement this is. What ridiculous mental strength.

1.52pm BST

Armstrong of USA leads! 5.55 seconds inside the leading time, the oldest rider in the race, a day before her 43rd birthday, and that’s her third consecutive gold medal in this event! What a ridiculous effort! She comes off her bike and puts herself in the recovery position, but seems fine.

1.51pm BST

We see Zabelinskya shaking someone - she seems to think that she’s going to win, not all that long after coming back from a doping ban. But Armstrong pushing is into a headwind, and here she comes!

1.50pm BST

Villumsen finishes in fifth place.

1.50pm BST

Zabelinskya is now the overall leader; Linda Villumsen is in pursuit, but not near enough to do anything but snatch bronze. It’s looking like only Armstrong is in striking distance of gold, of those left on the course...

1.45pm BST

Zabelinskya of Russia is going well, to general surprise - there’s no camera on her, on that basis.

1.43pm BST

Ellen van Dijk is pacing to the line, and she’s the new leader! Inside Longo Borghini’s time by a little over three seconds! Gosh, she must be fuming already about that little accident earlier.

1.42pm BST

Pooley is disappointed, but doesn’t regret coming back - gave it her all, wasn’t quick enough, not the fault of the conditions.

1.41pm BST

1.41pm BST

And already, Whitten is out of top spot, Longo Borghini 9.22 seconds slower. Meanwhile, Armstrong is through the second checkpoint in second place.

1.40pm BST

Cloud is now higher in the sky, he typed looking at his ceiling. But the weather is more, though not very, clement - which will not please Tara Whitten, praying for rain like Choni HaMagel.

1.37pm BST

We’re with Brennauer of Germany, who’s trying to step it up, and see Duyck of Germany coming into finish. Van der Breggen, meanwhile, is third at the second checkpoint.

1.35pm BST

Karol-Ann Canuel of Canada has finished and done well enough to barge Pooley out of the top three. And we’re now fairly close to business end of things, with the top lot starting to plan their finishes.

1.33pm BST

Pooley is bousting into the finish, and she’s 1:30.82 behind Tara Whitten. That puts her on lounger three for now, but she’ll not be there long.

1.30pm BST

Boardman reminds us that radios, forbidden in the road race, are permitted in the time trial. So they know where they are and what they need to do - and I guess, where others have come a cropper.

1.29pm BST

Calie Rushton tweets on the subjected of Sunday’s crash: “Re Anna’s crash I’d say she braked too hard on the front from how the back wheel lifted, but can’t bear another look to check.”

1.27pm BST

In a move of bitter irony, the chairs occupied by finishers in first, second and third place are in fact sun loungers.

On which point, Tara Whitten is done, 1:41.94 in front of the previous leader.

1.25pm BST

But we have a new leader - sort of - Kristin Armstrong of USA, last to go out, was fastest at the first time check. She’s also got a nose bleed, by the look of things - if her mum’s reading, she was just itching.

1.23pm BST

Yonamine of Japan has finished, 1m16s and change quicker than Plichta - she’ll shovel her off the big chair. But Longo Borghini is still in charge, and I wonder, in conditions such as these, it makes sense to go off dead fast, on the basis that no one will be able to trust the roads enough to catch up.

1.21pm BST

It’s not going well for Emma Pooley, who is now far enough behind to be certain of not getting a medal. Boardman, meanwhile, reckons Van der Breggen is the favourite, and she’s looking very strong.

1.20pm BST

Plichta is round the course and done - she’ll sit in the leader’s chair, for as long as it takes someone else to get there.

1.18pm BST

Longo Borghini still leads, with Evelyn Stevens, formerly of Lehman Brothers, more than a minute behind - this is a great ride by the Italian so far.

1.17pm BST

“Truth is Ipenema today looks pretty much like Whitley Bay”, tweets Carole Bromley in verse.

Rain in Rio is better than sun in Hounslow.

1.14pm BST

Elisa Longo Borghini is ahead now, and oh dear - Ellen van Dijk has gone into the bushes at the foot of the climb. There’s no damage, though, so all she;s lost is rhythm.

1.13pm BST

“Far be it from me to attempt to contradict the oracle Naylor, emails Charlie Talbot, “but whilst the road was pretty inappropriate and the street furniture/storm drain utterly unforgiving the crash was actually caused by her riding over the road markings and losing grip on the paint. Exactly the same initial cause to Froome’s spill on the TDF descent but sadly thanks to the road layout with much worse consequences.”

Unforgiving storm drains is a new one on me, though “street furniture” is a phrase I learnt as a student, in conversation with a policeman who stopped me walking through the street at four in the morning, wearing a roadblock. Oh, how they laughed.

1.09pm BST

Emma Pooley is 33 seconds off the lead at the first checkpoint - that puts her second, though of course, the better riders have yet to reach that point.

1.06pm BST

Tara Whitten, the 2010 Commonwealth champion, looks to be going well. But the majority of the medal threats have yet to get very far, though Anna van der Breggen, road race champion, recently set off.

1.05pm BST

“Everybody trying to avoid the white line, or the yellow line in this case,” might be my favourite commentary of the Olympics so far. Well-in Chris Boardman.

1.04pm BST

“Inappropriate road”, pshaws Helen Goulden. “Why be euphemistic? It was downright rude.”

Cobbles are for Corrie.

1.02pm BST

The Belgian cyclists are effectively clad in that lovely away kit that was more or less disgraced in Euro 2016. I wonder if we’ll see more of that - though it’d also be nice to see more Croatia, national flag-style, as worn today by Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Poland.

12.59pm BST

Yonamine of Japan is the early leader, one minute and nine seconds ahead of Whitten.

12.55pm BST

Gary Naylor tweets an answer to Dan Thomas: “The crashes were caused by racing bikes downhill pretty much flat out: the consequences were caused by an inappropriate road.”

12.55pm BST

Audrey Cordon of France has a splendid name, but also a problem - she’s been caught and passed by Tara Whitten of Canada. It’s unlikely that’s simply because she’s not riding fast enough, as there was 90 seconds between them to begin with and they’ve not gone very far.

12.53pm BST

Eeek. We’ve just seen Lottie Kopecky of Belgium winding round a downhill corner with a foot out - or, in other words, you have to ride even slower than you thought, and can’t hit the breaks because you’ll go over the handlebars.

12.51pm BST

In little over an hour, the dressage will begin - get yourself ready for that with this video explainer.

12.49pm BST

“If you get bored of the sight of endless skin-suited women rolling down a ramp and onto a wet road, read this excellent ESPN profile of the defending champion, Kristin Armstrong, who sets off last today. The American turns 43 tomorrow and her five-year-old son is here today cheering his mum along. Armstrong - no relation - is an old-school Olympian, in that she actually has a proper job and just rides in her spare time. She works as a community health director in Boise, Idaho. Her selection for this year’s Games was not without controversy, with some suggesting her best form was now behind her. I would not write her off. She won the 2015 USA national champion ships in the individual time trial and was second in GC at the 2016 Tour of California.”

12.49pm BST

The starter is wearing a rather fetching pair of mustard-coloured, calf-hugging chinos, moving the conversation on from red and green. You can always rely on Rio.

12.47pm BST

Emma Pooley, who came out of retirement specially for this - and to work for Lizzie Armitstead in the road race - is on her way.

12.46pm BST

“Question,” emails Tim Todhunter. “What do people think the crashes on the weekend were caused by? Annemiek van Vleuten seemed to lose traction and go sideways before she went over her bars - was it the camber, or the surface, or the rain or... what?”

I’ll have to open this one out to the experts, for I am not one. I’ve not been on two wheels since falling off a moped in Ios, summer 1999.

12.45pm BST

“Understandable emphasis on medals,” emails Dan Thomas, “but I would prefer an overall points table based on something like: 5 points gold, 3 points silver, 2 points bronze and 1 point for each athlete finalling (verb intended!). Think it would be a better overview of nation performance and personally I like it when an athlete gets into the final bundle and it rewards 4 years work. Clearly this system doesn’t work for all sports - any thoughts?”

“If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing,” said Bill Shankly, and though it’s not as straightforward as that, winning and getting down to the last few - or not few in some events - can’t be measured on that scale. In mine.

12.41pm BST

“In hot pursuit is Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky, who zipped off on an heroic but ultimately doomed solo breakaway in Sunday’s road race. We will find out if the 20-year-old kept enough in the tank to challenge here, but she’s only the second best individual time trialist in Belgium so it seems unlikely. (The best is Ann-Sophie Duyck, who will set off shortly after Emma Pooley.) “

12.40pm BST

Plichta is now ploughing up a hill, though it’s not actually a particularly long one. But it’s sufficient to the calves going.

12.37pm BST

The route takes the riders along the sea-front, which is nice. Meanwhile, Mark asks as follows: “Any idea how the running order for the TT is determined?”

In theory, the best go last - it’s not quite according to ranking, with attention also paid to form. How does form in cycling work? I can see it in sprint finishes, when sometimes you might see the route through, but otherwise, is it not a synonym for fitness, more or less?

12.34pm BST

The riders are speeding up a little on a “fast, sweeping road” - but it’s not going to get any the less gloomy by the sound of things.

12.33pm BST

“First down the ramp in a very damp and murky Pontal should be Poland’s Anna Plichta. The 23-year-old from Krzywaczka isn’t yet a big name in the sport, with her best result to date 10th in GC at the 2014 Thuringen-Rundfahrt and a second place in this year’s Polish national championships. Like a lot of time-triallists who aren’t Emma Pooley, Plichta is quite a strapping lass, standing 176cm (5’9) without her cycling shoes on.”

12.32pm BST

Anna Plichta of Poland is first at Pontal, and she’s taking care at the first corner, which is particularly slippy. The majority of the corse is “untechnical”, apparently, so the rain might not intervene too much.

12.31pm BST

Right, here goes with the women’s time trial.

12.27pm BST

John Inverdale has just heard that a double-drop of rowing is likely on Friday. Let’s see...

12.26pm BST

Team GB so far and relatively...

12.25pm BST

Boardman also thinks that the weather will help Emma Pooley of Team GB, winner of the silver medal in Beijing and an outside bet to medal, podium, rostrum and verb here.

12.23pm BST

It is not a nice day in Hio. The wind and rain will be particularly ill-received by the road cyclists, who’ll be using wider tyres so they’ve got the confidence to push hard. But in general, they’ll need to exercise caution on the descents. Well, that’s what

I think
Chris Boardman thinks.

12.22pm BST

Points for discussion:

12.18pm BST

Anyhow, even without the rowing, we’ve still got

a marriage
plenty to keep us entertained and enthralled, starting with the women’s individual time trial, which seems not to take a hyphen; I’d have awarded it one myself. Nonetheless, it begins in 13 minutes.

12.15pm BST

Send other bad puns and observations to daniel.harris.casual@theguardian.com, or tweet @DanielHarris.

12.10pm BST

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION: Racing postponed. No racing today. A new schedule will be announced soon. #rowing #rio2016

But fear not - there remains plenty of scope for arguments, disagreements and fights.

12.08pm BST

Greetings all, and welcome to yet another day of the nowhere over run of days of wall-to-wall, ear-to-ear, Soul II Soul elite sport. Well-in, world!

12.06pm BST

And on that note, I’m off. Thanks for your company through the graveyard shift. It’s now over to Daniel Harris to kick off the day five action. See you tomorrow.

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