Beijing 2008: Day 5

Wednesday August 13

Whacked fact

The Frenchwoman Jeannie Longo, who will be involved in today's time-trial, is 49 and has competed in every Games since women's cycling was introduced. She persevered despite finishing sixth in the 1984 road race and 21st in 1988 to scoop a gold, two silvers and a bronze between 1992 and 2000. She finished 14th in the Athens time-trial, suggesting that she may be closer to the paramedics than the podium today.

Chinese whispers

Boxing was banned in China until 1986 because it was too western, but then they realised how many Olympic medals it offered and changed their minds. Some 22 years later they have a chance to win their first ever gold thanks to Zou Shiming, right, a 27-year-old light-flyweight who has two world amateur championship wins to his name, as well as a bronze medal from Athens. One less than encouraging sign: he has a small scar by his left eye - not the result of a particularly rough and manly bout but a souvenir from a girl who used to bully him at school. "My mother raised me like a girl," he says. Also today China's best male swimmer, Wu Peng, takes on Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly, though gold might be beyond him. "If I could use an engine in the pool, I could probably beat him," Wu surmises.

Brit of all right

The Chinese can put away their God Save the Queen CD, for now at least - this does not promise to be Britain's finest hour. Desperate patriots can cross their fingers and turn to the men's foil where, 44 years after Britain's last fencing medal, Richard Kruse hopes to improve on his 2004 quarter-final finish. Interestingly, he started fencing after his mother bumped into a Polish former Olympian in the supermarket and promptly packed her son off to a class.

Commentator's nightmare

Today is the first day of the dressage, a weird and unfamiliar world for many. Amid the piaffes and the passages silly horse names promise to be the greatest problem, though at least the Brits have helped - of our three horses two have straightforward enough names in Lucky Star and Lancet while the third, Laura Bechtolsheimer's potentially tricky-to-pronounce Mistral Hojris, is commonly known as Alf.

Medal madness

It is the end of the cycling road races, which account for two of the day's 17 golds, another two of which are likely to be joining Michael Phelps' collection.

Alternative attraction

Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, and Venus, the party planet, are due to form a 120-degree angle today, which allegedly promises happy times for Capricorns and Virgos. On the other hand, it is also international Left-Handers' Day.

Confucius says...


· So that's what makes boxers appear so happy. Well, that and the brain damage.

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