London 2012 Olympics: Day 12

The latest news and views from the London 2012 Olympics

Handball: France and Spain's quarter final at the Copper Box was an absolute thriler, with reigning champions France squeezing into a last four clash with either Tunisia or Croatia, 23-22.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 3:23:10 PM
BMX: Britain's Liam Phillips currently sits tenth in the seedings with two riders to come. USA's Connor Fields, many people's tip for the gold medal, is up next.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 3:28:00 PM
Hockey: Sickening injury in the women's match between Netherlands and New Zealand, Katie Glynn taking a stick to the head and unsurprisingly going off injured.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 3:35:54 PM
Join in the blog by tweeting your comments to #indyolympics

by Alan Cleaver 8/8/2012 3:46:46 PM
Chris Hoy has just tweeted to say...
First chance to check my messages, what can I say except thank you to all of you, so kind! Still buzzing from yesterday, what an experience!

by Alan Cleaver 8/8/2012 3:49:04 PM
Is the 'empty seat' saga at an end? Organisers say there are only 50,000 tickets left... www.independent.co.uk

by Alan Cleaver 8/8/2012 3:51:29 PM
Wednesday 8, August: Greenwich Park was awash with Union Jacks for the individual showjumping this afternoon. Despite a valiant attempt though, we failed to win a medal. (Getty Images).

by Alan Cleaver 8/8/2012 3:54:55 PM
Hockey: The first women's semi-final between New Zealand and the Netherlands has been an absolute thriller so far and with five minutes to play the score is locked at 2-2. Whoever wins could be Team GB's opponent in the final if they can overcome Argentina this evening.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 3:56:07 PM
Sailing: Bad news for Lucy Macgregor, Kate Macgregor and Annie Lush in the Elliot 6m who have lost their quarter-final to Russia.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:03:33 PM
Hockey: New Zealand v Netherlands has gone to extra-time after finishing 2-2. Amazingly New Zealand's Katie Glynn, who earlier got a hockey stick to the head, is back out on the pitch although sporting some serious head bandages.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:05:46 PM
Hockey: Golden goal extra-time now underway, with two halves of seven minutes. The first side to score wins.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:11:18 PM
Hockey: One half of extra time down and no winner yet. However the Dutch have a penalty corner after a New Zealand stick tackle.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:19:54 PM
Hockey: Agonisingly close for the Dutch who once again fail to convert a penalty corner, firing wide. Can New Zealand now make the most of their opponents profligacy?

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:24:06 PM
Ian Herbert:
Good time to switch to that Ned v NZ hockey semi 2-2, three minutes to go in golden goal period. five-shot pen shoot-out if no more score

by ianherbs via twitter edited by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:24:46 PM
Hockey: New Zealand v Netherlands goes to penalties!

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:31:08 PM
Dont worry, not going to report every pen of this hockey shootout but NZ body language looks the better...
— ian herbert (@ianherbs) August 8, 2012

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:31:10 PM
.... NZ's Katie Glynn took massive whack to head with stick and returned in 10 mins with entire head bandaged. they'v never made semi before
— ian herbert (@ianherbs) August 8, 2012

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:31:45 PM
Hockey: Netherlands convert their first but New Zealand see their effort saved. However a fantastic save from New Zealand's keeper gets them back in it and they make the most of the opportunity by scoring their second. Netherlands restore the lead with a fearsome long range strike and then deny the Kiwis again with a great stick save. Both sides then miss and the score remains at 2-1. If the Netherlands score their next penalty then they go through to the final... and they do it! Netherlands will play the winner of Team GB v Argentina.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:37:08 PM
Majid Mohamed:
Dutch women win penalty shoot-out 3-1 against New Zealand in semi-final to face Team GB or Argentina in the hockey final #indyolympics

by Majid_Mohamed via twitter edited by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:37:41 PM
I'd like to cordially invite New Zealand to join the British in the hall of shoot-out failures. Tough luck ladies.

by andrewmagee3 via twitter 8/8/2012 4:42:45 PM
Ever wondered which athlete has the longest name at London 2012? Our friends at Infostrada Sports have the answer:
It is a tie between Jose Roberto Reynoso Fernandez Filho (Brazil, Equestrian) and Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Portugal, Road Cycling).

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:48:55 PM
"You gave me the chance to wrestle, I want to give you a medal and show you it was worth it.” - so says Ukranian-born Olga Butkevych who will represent Great Britain tomorrow in wrestling. Read more here.. www.independent.co.uk

by Alan Cleaver 8/8/2012 4:56:10 PM
Athletics: The Decathlon High Jump is getting underway now. USA's Ashton Eaton currently tops the leaderboard ahead of compatriot Trey Hardee.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 4:59:01 PM
Spanish guard Sergio Llull dunks against France in their quarter-final (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:03:26 PM
Athletics: Yordani Garcia is currently leading the high jump in the men's Decathlon, having cleared a distance of 1.90m

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:08:07 PM
Handball: For all of the new Handball fans out there, make sure you tune into the men's quarter-final between Sweden and Denmark, which is going on right now. With both teams among the top six in the world as well as being fierce local rivals, this should be a thriller. Sweden currently lead 4-2.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:13:04 PM
Netherlands players celebrate their penalty shootout win over New Zealand in today’s semi-final (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:17:49 PM
Marc Gasol of Spain and France’s Kevin Seraphin clash in today’s quarter-final (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:21:35 PM
Athletics: Pascal Behrenbruchis currently leading the high jump in the men's Decathlon, having cleared a distance of 1.96m

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:25:28 PM
Sailors Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen celebrate a rare gold medal for Australia (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:34:22 PM
Shanaze Reade in action in the BMX seeding time trial today (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:44:38 PM
Athletics: Willem Coertzen is currently leading the high jump in the men's Decathlon, having cleared a distance of 1.99m.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:50:26 PM
Handball: The second half of Sweden v Denmark is getting underway now. The Swedes currently lead their local rivals 12-10.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 5:55:46 PM
Mi Gyong Choe (red) of North Korea competes against Monika Ewa Michalik of Poland during their Women's Freestyle 63 kg wrestling bout (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:04:38 PM
Athletics: 110m hurdles semi-finals coming up, with Team GB's Lawrence Clarke in action in the first heat at 19:15 and Andrew Turner in heat two.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:08:30 PM
Diving: The preliminaries for the women's 10m platform are up and running now with Stacie Powell and Monique Gladding the British hopes.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:14:13 PM
Athletics: Lawrence Clarke in action now in the 110m hurdles and he has an excellent race, finishing third with a new personal best of 13.31. He has given himself a good chance of claiming one of the fastest loser spots for the final later tonight.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:16:49 PM
Athletics: Andy Turner is up in the next heat.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:18:39 PM
Jerome Taylor:
Bronze medal match at the beach volleyball and there are a lot of empty seats, mainly in VIP areas #indyolympics

by Jerome Taylor via twitter edited by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:18:56 PM
Anyone noticed that Team GB hasn't won any medals today? Time for a new manager perhaps?! #indyolympics

by MisterBus via twitter 8/8/2012 6:21:17 PM
Athletics: Disappointment for Andy Turner in heat two, he can only finish in fourth place. However Lawrence Clarke is still in one of the two fastest loser spots with one heat to go.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:26:50 PM
The first semi-final in the men’s 110m hurdles (Getty Images)

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:30:09 PM
Athletics: Great news for Lawrence Clarke who has qualified for the final of the men's 110m hurdles as one of the two fastest losers. He will run again at 21:!5.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:33:33 PM
Cahal Milmo:
Our very own Lawrence Clarke in the final of 110m hurdles after running personal best of 13.31. #indyolympics

by cahalmilmo via twitter edited by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:35:17 PM
Diving: In the women's 10m platform preliminaries, Britain's Monique Gladding is currently in 9th and Stacie Powell in 14th after two dives.

by Charles Reynolds 8/8/2012 6:42:04 PM