Latest news from Beijing

August 21, 2008

BT Ambassador Shanaze Reade has to wait an anxious 24 hours as the BMX semi-finals and finals were postponed until tomorrow due to heavy rain this morning at the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course in Beijing. Yesterday, Shanaze recovered from a crash in her first time trial effort and then rode the second fastest time to earn the second seeding spot for the semis. The 19-year-old is aiming to continue her recent domination of women's BMX, having won the 2007 and 2008 World Championships.

Stating its claim as the top Olympic sailing nation – Britain bagged its fourth sailing gold medal of the Olympic Games when Iain Percy finally nailed his second gold, this time with team-mate Andrew Simpson, in the Star class, two-man keelboat.

BT Ambssador Ben Ainslie, who started the gold rush, was waiting back at the dock to greet them and throw them in the water in celebration. Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson's Star class gold medal finished off the final day of the Beijing 2008 Olympic sailing regatta ensuring Team GB’s sailors recorded their best Olympic medal haul for 100 years.

Meanwhile, Salford’s adopted son and BT Ambassador Chris Hoy will be given a hero’s welcome next week when he returns home after his triple Olympic triumph. Hoy scooped three gold medals in Beijing, and will be proudly displaying them when he heads up the Salford Nocturne cycling event on Saturday.

In other British medal news:

Marathon swimmer David Davies picked up Team GB’s sixth and final swimming medal of the Beijing Games winning silver medal in the 10km open water race at the Sunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park near Beijing. The 23-year-old’s brave effort brought the inevitable question of whether he can go one better in four year’s time on ‘home waters’ in London.

Phillips Idowu has won silver in the men's triple jump with a leap of 17.62, falling short of Portugal’s Nelson Evora who jumped 17.67m to win him the gold medal.