Day 5

Sculling hero #1 Michelle Guerette secured her place in the final, three seconds ahead of Knapkova (the predictions are slipping even more). Zhang, of China, may well be unstoppable, posting a faster time than Karsten on the other side of the draw.

Hacker is out of the men's singles, with the Belgian Maeyens in, but all else as expected in terms of personnel if not in speed order, though I suspect collective powders are being kept dry.

Some predictions are definite duds: Croatia will be contesting the B final of the M2-, not getting a bronze, and there will be no New Zealand presence to pick up their bronze in the coxless four.

Two more golds for Phelps. What is the Baltimore Bullet having for breakfast? Still a lack of success for Katie Hoff, though, but Kirsy Coventry, the sounds-like-an-all-American-girl ('I'm super-excited') from Zimbabwe won her third silver. Simon Barnes, in The Times, reckons the double hats are for 'hydrodynamic efficiency'. Must be difficult to get the second one on, though; the Australians have a dedicated suit-zipper to get them into their speed suits.

In other news, the sailing was postponed owing to lack of wind, and the Murray brothers are out in the tennis. I blame Jamie Murray's haircut: he had been sporting a luxuriant McEnroe-esque 'do, complete with red headband, but had a pre-Olympic buzz cut and there's clearly some kind of Highlander/Samson thing going on.

Another medal, silver in the women's time trial. Will the Brit women outstrip the men? The totaliser is in development.

Quote of the day - Simon Barnes (again) on sychro diving:

Theirs is a sport not without beauty, but it always seems to have a
homoerotic whiff about it as well. It all looks like a wonderfully elegant gay
suicide pact.