London 2012 Olympics

Special Report

Last modification: 11/08/12

The long wait for the 2012 London Olympic Games is over. From July 27 to August 12 thousands of athletes from all over the world will go head to head in their quest to win gold. In all, over 203 countries will be represented in 36 different sporting events from archery to athletics and weightlifting, with a total of 302 gold medals up for grabs. Follow all the action with FRANCE 24’s special Olympics coverage.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Bolt anchors Jamaica to gold in 4 x 100-m relay

Jamaica took the gold medal in the men's 4 x 100 metre relay at the London Games on Saturday, setting a new world record when anchor Usain Bolt stormed across the finish line, claiming his third gold of the Games.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Mexico ruin Brazil's gold medal football dreams

Mexico snatched the gold medal in the men’s football final at the London Games on Saturday, defeating Brazil 2-1. Brazil claims more World Cup wins than any other country but has never won the Olympic title.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

France takes Olympic gold in women's mountain biking

Julie Bresset stormed to victory in the women’s mountain bike cross-country event on Saturday, winning France its 10th gold medal at the London Games. Germany's Sabine Spitz and American Georgia Gould took silver and bronze, respectively.

LONDON 2012 GAMES

French Olympic runner fails doping test

French runner Hassan Hirt failed a drug test and was removed from the squad at the London Olympic Games, a source in the French team said Friday. Hirt will now face a disciplinary investigation. Hirt was eliminated in the heats of the 5,000m race.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

French women's basketball to face US in Olympics final

France's women's basketball team head into the Olympic final on Saturday to face off against the sport's reigning champions, the United States.

LONDON GAMES 2012

Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins 200-metre Olympic gold

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt took the 200-metre Olympic gold on Thursday, securing his second top title of the London Games after winning gold and setting a new Olympic record in the 100 metres. All three 200-metre medallists were Jamaican runners.

LONDON GAMES 2012

Kenya's Rudisha breaks record to win 800-metre gold

Kenya's David Rudisha won Olympic gold in the men's 800-metre race on Thursday, breaking his own world record of two years ago with a winning time of 1:40:91.

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

French Olympic 'cheating' claims rile British PM

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Britain rejects suspicion surrounding cycling golds

Britain's cycling team dismissed suspicions surrounding its stunning success in the Olympic velodrome, insisting it was down to attention to detail. Sir Chris Hoy won the keirin event on Tuesday to claim Britain's seventh gold medal on the track.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Algeria's Makhloufi wins men’s 1500m gold

Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi (pictured right) took home the 1,500-metre gold medal at the Olympics on Tuesday night, only a day after being reinstated. He had been disqualified for not trying hard enough during a heat in the 800-metre.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

The unnoticed records of the London Games

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Gold for sobbing Sanchez as he reclaims Athens glory

The Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez clinched the gold medal in the men’s 400-metre hurdles at the London Games on Monday night, sobbing as he mounted the podium to reclaim the title he won at the Athens Games eight years earlier.

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

British PM commemorates Munich Olympics massacre

British Prime Minister David Cameron paid homage Monday to the Israeli athletes killed 40 years ago in a terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The 11 athletes were taken hostage by Black September, a Palestinian militant group.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Usain Bolt puts on game face to take 100-metre glory

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt added another chapter to his legendary career Sunday, setting a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds for the 100-metre race at the London Games. Bolt's time was only .05 seconds slower than his own 100-metre world record.

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Olympic Games 2012

Andy Murray routs Roger Federer for Olympic gold

Andy Murray beat Switzerland’s Roger Federer to claim Olympic gold in the men's singles tennis on Sunday, winning 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. The victory was welcome relief for the Brit, who has lost three Grand Slam finals against Federer.

Olympic Games 2012

Ethiopia's Gelana sets record in women's marathon

Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana took gold in the women's marathon on Sunday, setting a new Olympic record with 2hr 23min 7sec. Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo and Russia's Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova placed second and third respectively.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Serena Williams demolishes Sharapova to take gold

Serena Williams demolished Maria Sharapova in the Olympic Games women's singles final to clinch gold on Saturday. The 6-0, 6-1 victory was the most one-sided women's final in the Games history.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

French swimmer Manaudou follows sister's lead by taking gold

France won its fourth gold in the pool on Friday when Florent Manaudou – the younger brother of 2004 gold medalist Laure Manaudou – shocked defending Olympic champion and world record-holder Cesar Cielo in the 50-metres freestyle.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Phelps claims gold in 100-metre butterfly

US swimmer Michael Phelps surged to victory in the men’s 100-metre butterfly at the 2012 Olympics in London on Friday, claiming his 21st career medal and 17th gold.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

US women's football team advance to Olympic semis

The US women’s football team eased their way into the semi-final round of the 2012 Olympics in London on Friday after eliminating New Zealand 2-0. The US, which is ranked world number one, is competing for its third successive gold.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

How France became a swimming superpower

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Track and field takes centre stage at Olympics

All eyes will be on the Olympic stadium on Friday as the eagerly awaited track and field events get underway. Long delays were reported on London's transport network as thousands of spectators tried to make their way to the Olympic Park.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Phelps makes Olympic history with another gold

American Michael Phelps made history yet again on Thursday after triumphing in the men's 200-metre individual medley and becoming the first male swimmer to win gold in the same event at three successive Olympics.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

South African amputee makes Olympic history

Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter nicknamed "blade runner", made Olympic history on Saturday by becoming the first double-amputee runner to compete. The South African, who runs on carbon fibre blades, has reached the 400-metre semi-finals.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

UK men’s track cycling team take sprint gold

Britain rode to victory during the final men’s track cycling team sprint on Thursday, breaking its own world record to beat France for a second straight gold medal in the event on day six of the Olympic Games.

Olympic Games 2012

Chinese badminton star 'quits' after Olympic scandal

Chinese star Yu Yang has reportedly quit badminton in the wake of a scandal at the 2012 Olympics in which Yu and seven other doubles players were disqualified for trying to lose a match to secure a more favourable position in the next phase.

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Romney wife 'thrilled' by horse's Olympic debut

US presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s wife Ann said Thursday she was "thrilled" by her horse Rafalca's dressage debut (pictured) at the London Olympics, almost a week after her husband offended hosts by calling its organisation “disconcerting”.

Olympic Games 2012

Saudi teenager makes Olympic history in judo

A 16-year-old judo competitor from Saudi Arabia made Olympic history on Friday when she became the first female athlete from the country to compete at the Games. Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani was easily beaten by her Puerto Rican opponent.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Lucie Decosse wins France first judo gold in 12 years

French judoka Lucie Decosse won the women’s under-70kg judo at the London Games on Wednesday, defeating Germany’s Kerstin Thiele and bringing France’s medal count to 12. It is the country’s first Olympic judo title in 12 years.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Britain's Wiggins rides to historic cycling gold

Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins won Britain a second Olympic gold on Wednesday after an impressive victory in the cycling time trial. The gold means Wiggins becomes the most decorated Briton in Olympic history with seven medals overall.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Olympic badminton players disqualified for throwing games

Eight women badminton players from China, Indonesia and South Korea were disqualified from the Olympics doubles at the London Games on Wednesday, after being charged with attempting to lose games by deliberately underperforming.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

First gold medal for Britain as women rowers triumph

Rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning became the first Britons to give their host nation a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics on Wednesday as 25,000 screaming fans cheered them to victory.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Michael Phelps now most-decorated Olympian

US swimming superstar Michael Phelps clinched his 19th Olympic medal Tuesday at the London Games with a gold in the men’s 4 x 200-metre freestyle relay, making him the most decorated Olympian in history.

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

Olympic officials defend 'clean' Chinese swimming sensation

International Olympic Committee and British Olympic Association officials defended 16 year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen against doping allegations on Tuesday, after a top US coach called her record-breaking victory “suspicious”.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

France’s Estanguet wins third canoe slalom gold

Tony Estanguet of France took the gold medal in the men’s canoe slalom event at the London Games on Tuesday. It is his third gold at an Olympic Games, after claiming victory in the same event at the 2000 Sydney Games and 2004 Athens Games.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

France's Agnel wins 200-metre freestyle gold

Frenchman Yannick Agnel won the gold medal for the 200-metre freestyle at the Olympic Games in London on Monday, with a time of 1 minute, 43.14 seconds, while world champion Ryan Lochte of the United States finished fourth.

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

France secure two gold medals on Olympic opening weekend

France took two gold medals as the London 2012 Olympic Games got underway this weekend, with strong performances in swimming and a decisive victory against the hosts in the Games first handball match.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012

France beat US ‘favourites’ to win freestyle relay

The French took gold in the men’s swimming 4x100m freestyle relay final on Sunday, overwhelming a US team that consisted of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. France, anchored by Yannick Agnel, finished with a time of three minutes and 9.93 seconds.

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