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Wanjiru: Brilliant winner
1020 Thanks for your company throughout a fantastic 16 days of action in Beijing during which Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt etched their names into Olympic history. It was also a superb Games for Britain with 19 golds surpassing all expectations. Triple champion Chris Hoy and the track cycling team led the way at the velodrome, while Mansfield now has its very own golden girl after Rebecca Adlington's double in the pool. Roll on London in four years time....
1010GOLDHandball - France notch the final gold of the Games with a 28-23 success over Iceland in the men's handball.
0950GOLDWater Polo - Hungary have closed out a 14-10 victory over the United States in the men's water polo final, prompting a pool invasion from their coaching staff. By my reckoning that leaves just the men's handball final left - France lead 24-17 against Iceland with about 18 gone in the second period.
0943 Water Polo - Looks like gold is heading Hungary's way in the pool, they lead 14-9 against the United States with less than two minutes to go.
0940GOLDBoxing - The final boxing gold medal goes to Italian super-heavyweight Roberto Camarelle in emphatic fashion. He dominated to open lead 14-4 against Zhilei Zhang before a big right hand forced the referee to stop proceedings early in the fourth round. Audley Harrison won this title eight years ago so it's not all good news for Camarelle.
0930 Handball - France lead 15-10 against Iceland at half-time in the men's gold medal match.
0922GOLDBasketball - The United States close out their first Olympic title since 2000 with a 118-107 win over Spain. The 'Redeem Team' have accomplished their mission in fine style.
0915 Basketball - Another three pointer from Dwayne Wade keeps the United States' lead comfortable at 111-105. There is just over a minute remaining.
0911 Basketball - Kobe Bryant drains a three pointer from down town to keep the United States in control at 108-101 ahead.
0909 Basketball - The United States have opened a nine-point lead at 104-95 with four minutes to go in the men's basketball final. Redemption awaits for the NBA stars...
0906SILVERBoxing - Egan has to settle for silver as Zhang holds out for an 11-7 success. It was a close fight throughout and Egan certainly did not get much change out of the judges, which had been expected beforehand, although Zhang was probably just about worth the win.
0904 Boxing - Another highly competitive round sees Zhang maintain a two-point advantage at 7-5. Egan looked to have been robbed of at least one point by the judges. I still think it's possible he could turn it around in the final two minutes.
0901 Boxing - Zhang opens a 3-0 lead before Egan comes to life. The round is shared 3-3 meaning Egan still trails 5-3. Good signs for the Irishman though...
0858 Boxing - Zhang leads 2-0 after a cagy opening round, both scoring shots coming from sharp jabs.
0855 Boxing - Irishman Kenny Egan's light-heavyweight final against home favourite Zhang Xiaoping is about to get under way.
0850 Water Polo - It's all-square at 3-3 with just under four minutes left in the first period of the men's water polo final between Hungary and the United States.
0844 Basketball - Kobe Bryant has just drained a three-pointer to give the United States a 77-73 lead over Spain with just under five minutes left in the third period. Looks like it is going to the wire.
0831GOLD Boxing - Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan wins the welterweight gold.
0830 Boxing - Cuba's Oscar Suarez is fighting Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan for the welterweight gold. Sarsekbayev leads 14-8 and looks a cert for the win.
0820 Basketball - 69-61 to the USA at half-time in the basketball. Spain are hanging onto their coat-tails.
0805 Basketball - 50-42 to USA in the basketball. Just five minutes to half-time.
0800GOLD Boxing - Tishchenko wins the gold. More queries about the judges scores, but I reckon the French can have no complaints there.
0754 Boxing - Russia v France in the lightweight final, or more specifically Alexey Tishchenko v Daouda Sow. At the time of typing, the Russian leads 10-8.
0750 Basketball - Sure enough, USA now lead 28-25. I've a feeling this could become predictable. Let's go to the boxing arena.
0745 Basketball - The Spaniards have taken a shock 22-20 lead early doors against the USA. It won't last.
0740 Some much needed encouragement from Graeme Purdy. He writes: "Come on!! Where are the jokes and anecdotes....don't give in now...one last push. Have loved all the commentary...more would be great... " I'll level with you Graeme, I'm flagging. Thanks for the feedback though! Someone else will take over the baton very soon, with renewed vigour for the day ahead. We hope!
0734 Basketball - There's a break in the boxing, so we'll check out the basketball for a bit. The gold medal match has just started. It's the USA v Spain, and America lead 4-3 early in the first.
0725GOLD Boxing - Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia beat Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba 16-5 on points in the Men's Bantam Weight (54kg) Final.
0717 Handball - Croatia lead Spain 14-12 at half-time in the bronze medal match.
0706BRONZE Basketball - Argentina beat Lithuania 87-75 to secure the basketball bronze.
0704GOLD Volleyball - USA take gold! 25-23 in the fourth. A brilliant match and USA are the champions.
0701 Volleyball - The USA have turned it around. They lead 22-20 now, and are edging towards the gold.
0654 Volleyball - A stunning block from Brazil makes it 19-16 to them in the fourth against the USA, who call a time out.
0651 Volleyball - This could be going to a five-setter. Brazil lead 16-14 in the fourth. It's been a cracking game, so much so I've neglected the handball. It's 8-8 between Croatia and Spain as they fight for bronze.
0645GOLD Boxing - Zou Shiming wins China's first ever boxing gold! He beat Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia who retired in round two. That's the 50th gold of the games for the hosts.
0632 Volleyball - Yes they can! 2-1 to the USA who inch closer to gold.
0630 Volleyball - 23-20 to the USA. Can they close out this set?
0620 Volleyball - Enthralling gold medal match. USA lead 16-12 in the third. They're in command of this crucial set.
0600 Volleyball - It's 1-1 in the volleyball now in a really tight match between the USA and Brazil. I can't call a winner. We've boxing to look forward to soon. Loads of finals. We've the light-flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, light-heavyweight and super heavyweight to look forward to. The highlight of the day, though, will now undoubtedly be the closing ceremony. I'll be long gone by then.
0545 Volleyball - Brazil are 1-0 up on the USA in the gold medal match for the men's volleyball.
0537 Basketball - It's half-time in the men's basketball bronze medal match. Argentina lead Lithuania 46-34.
0530GOLD Rhythmic Gymnastics - As predicted, Russia win the gold. I could judge this sport.
0512 Rhythmic Gymnastics - China are in a silver medal position. That's fair enough. Me and the judges are on the same page.
0511 Rhythmic Gymnastics - You just knew the Chinese would nail this sport. Wonder what the judges give them - it was on a par with the Russians for me. I labelled them gold medallists earlier.
0510 Triple gold medallist Chris Hoy has been confirmed as the Great Britain flag bearer for the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympics. "It is a huge honour to be carrying the flag at the closing ceremony," Hoy said."When you consider the standard of the team it is a very special honour for me"
0449 Rhythmic Gymnastics - Excellent use of the hoopla by Russia. Gold medal performance for me.
0432 Rhythmic Gymnastics - This is all I've got until the boxing at 0630. I'm no expert on the discipline I have to admit, but it is strangely transfixing. Girls. Sparkly suits. Ribbons. Pink sparkly suits. I'm off to slap myself in the face.
0423BRONZE Volleyball - Russia have taken the bronze at the expense of Italy.
0420 Rhythmic Gymnastics - With the volleyball all but over let's take a look at the rhythmic gymnastics. It's a light-hearted way to end the Olympics. No-one seems to be taking things so seriously. Young girls are wearing sparkling outfits. Here come the Ukraine. They do look serious.
0420 Volleyball - What's been happening in the last hour or so I hear you cry. Not a lot. Russia are coasting to the bronze in their match with Italy in the volleyball.
0255 There's a break from the action on the final day in Beijing. We'll be back later.
0247 Athletics - Dan Robertson with a strong finish for Team GB. He finishes in 24th position.
0240BRONZE Athletics - Tsegay Kebede robs his team-mate for bronze on the stadium lap. Fellow Ethiopian Deribe Merga limps in for fourth.
0238SILVER Athletics - Gharib comes home for the silver medal. It's a mile back to the bronze race.
0237GOLD Athletics - Wanjiru wins gold for Kenya! It's their first ever in the marathon. It's an Olympic record of 2:06:32.
0236 Athletics - Wanjiru, with a huge beam on his face, salutes a packed Bird's Nest Stadium for his final lap. What a huge boost that roar of the crowd must be after almost 26 miles of hard slog. He's sprinting to the finish!
0234 Athletics - Wanjiru approaches the Bird's Nest well clear. This has been a magnificent performance in the conditions. Gharib is plugging on for silver.
0225 Athletics - Wanjiru's kicked for home! He's about 40 yards clear now. I reckon gold could be in the bag.
0217 Athletics - Wanjiru leads by about a yard! Go on Sammy! Merga's right behind him, with Gharib on their heels in third. The rest are nowhere.
0208 In the Bird's Nest there's kids on roller skates waving flags. The closing ceremony beckons...
0206 Athletics - There's still half an hour to go in the marathon, but Wanjiru, Merga and Gharib are so far ahead the medal positions look assured... famous last words?
0202 Athletics - There's a leading group of three now, with Gharib back up with Wanjiru and Merga.
0157 Athletics - Now it's getting interesting. Lel and Kifle seem to be struggling. Merga's pushing the pace, and at the moment only Wanjiru is going with him. There's still over 12km to go.
0143 Athletics - They're going world record pace in the men's marathon, though it's getting hotter and it'll be hard to keep it up. The breakaway group in the lead now contains five: Martin Lel, Sammy Wanjiru, Yonas Kifle, Deribe Merga and Jaouad Gharib.
0138 Athletics - Now they're going quicker! They're racing just after halfway! It can't last. I predict it will all end in tears, a la Radcliffe.
0134 Athletics - 1:02:34 at halfway. A crazy pace. Surely they cannot keep this up in 30 degrees heat? Is there a dark horse in behind who has judged the pace to perfection?
0131 Athletics - The breakaway group in the lead now contains five. Ethiopia's Deriba Merga leads the leaders. Luke Kibet, the world champion, is one of those to drop off the leading group.
0119 Athletics - Wanjiru is a loose cannon. Why did I trust him with my cash? He's upped the pace again. I don't think he knows what he is doing. I'm putting it down to youthful exuberance.
0115 You think I'm flagging now, wait until the marathon finishes. There's a three hour gap until the next meaningful event. I'll be telling tales from my childhood. No-one will read. Suddenly I'm at a low ebb. Time to crack open the strawberries.
0114 Athletics - In the small leading group there are two Eritreans. I'm pretty sure Eritrea haven't won a medal. Imagine if they nabbed one on the final day. I wasn't sure exactly where in Africa Eritrea was, so I looked it up. It's in the north-east, and is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast, if you didn't know. And you're interested.
0109 Athletics - Looks like the leading group are slowing down. Wanjiru has dropped to the back of it.
0103 Athletics - The runners go past the entrance to the Forbidden City - the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Now they run past the Egg. That's a theatre, I think.
0100 Athletics - It's an interesting tactical affair. The field is strung out, and the breakaway leading pack continue to go clear. They've gone 10km in 29:25, pretty much world record pace.
0055 Athletics - The Kenyans Lel and Wanjiru are settting a hot pace. They lead an early breakaway group of seven.
0050 Athletics - Wanjiru is only 21-years-old. I'm on a youngster. He's up with the pace. The Beijing public are out in force, waving flags, supporting the runners.
0048 Athletics - Dan Robinson's settled in the second group. They are still going a fast pace for the early stages of the race. Kenyans are positioned one and two.
0043 Athletics - The Temple Of Heaven is a pretty, green park. Where's the smog? It looks beautiful. The conditions look perfect, if a little hot.
0041 Athletics - I was wrong. They are actually going pretty quick in the early stages. The runners are making their way down a long, straight, flat road towards the Temple Of Heaven. What a lovely name. Sounds like an 80s soft rock album.
0038 Found it. 98 men still running. All is well.
0035 A phone is beeping in the office because it's low on battery. That's a cry for help. I hope nothing important happens while I hunt it down.
0034 Athletics - It's a slow early pace. Very sensible given there's a long way to go. I should reveal I've had a bet on Sammy Wanjiru to win. I've no idea why. Maybe it's a cry for help.
0031 Athletics - And, they're off! 98 men do battle over 26 miles in order to be crowned Olympic champion. Right, I'll be back in two and a half hours. I'm messing with you. I'm here for the night. The runners leave Tiananmen Square as I type.
0020 And now, the end is near....It's the last day of Beijing 2008, and taking centre stage is the men's marathon - it kicks-off in about ten minutes. Stay tuned here for regular updates. Martin Lel is well-fancied to repeat his London success, while Dan Robinson runs for Team GB. We'll also keep you informed on all the events that are being wrapped up on this final day - from the boxing to the water polo. I can't believe it's over. We'll all be thinking of London 2012 when we see the extravagant handover at the closing ceremony. Anyone who fancies dropping me a line - feel free. I'm at ben.linfoot@bskyb.com. The final day of the 2008 Olympics starts here!
