London 2012 Olympics: Gary Lineker own goal causes Max embrrassment

Published on 07/08/2012 00:58

THE BBC’s coverage of the Games has been superb but with so much going on a few errors are bound to creep in.

It is impossible not to draw attention to a howler by Gary Lineker on Sunday night. The former England football captain was interviewing GB gymnasts Louis Smith and Max Whitlock in the Olympic Stadium fresh from their medal-winning exploits. For some reason Lineker mistakenly thought he had been joined by a former newspaper editor and Falklands War chronicler as he introduced us to “Louis Smith and Max Hastings”. Whitlock was too polite to correct and carried on the interview with the same poise that took him to pommel horse bronze.

Russia’s Olympians are under prime minister’s orders to give undivided attention to their sports while in London.

According to synchronised swimming star Svetlana Romashina, who with Natalia Ishchenko secured a place in their final today, Dmitry Medvedev has been in touch to insist on an all-out medals assault.

Discussing how preparation for the final would go, Romashina said: “No, no shopping, Dmitry Medvedev has given the order to all athletes that they are not allowed to shop or walk around London.”

Ending with a laugh, she added: “We only relax in the Olympic Village.”

British tennis ace Laura Robson has told how she is having trouble getting used to the feeling of having her Olympics silver medal around her neck. But it’s not the disbelief at her mixed doubles success with Andy Murray at Wimbledon, nor the feeling of the weight of the metal, that is bothering her. She told BBC Radio Five Live that she can’t really wear it because “the ribbon is itchy, I must have sensitive skin”.

Great Britain men’s hockey team’s thrilling comeback from 3-0 down to draw against world number ones and gold medal favourites Australia continued to resonate the day after. A ball used in the game - there are around a dozen provided for each match - was selling on the official London 2012 auction site for £155 - 10 times what it would cost to buy in a shop.

While 20 million Britons were captivated by live BBC coverage of Usain Bolt charging to Olympic 100 metres glory, in the United States it was a different story. Many an American athlete has over the years grumbled about the attention paid to track and field at home, but to neglect to show the biggest race of this or any year live seems a staggering move. Particularly when you consider what was shown by broadcaster NBC across its channels. At 9.50pm UK time – 4.50pm in New York – you could watch men’s quarter-final boxing action on CNBC, women’s track cycling on NBC, women’s volleyball preliminaries on NBCSN, and Greco-Roman wrestling finals on MSNBC. The NBC athletics broadcast from the Olympic Stadium began just before 7pm EDT – approaching midnight in the UK, long after the last stadium spectators had departed.