Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports OlympicTalk’s writers recount some of their favorite moments from the 2012 London Games.
In a way, the All England Club was a quieter, more subdued version of Wimbledon during the 2012 Olympics in London. The total number of fans on the grounds was kept lower that the month prior, for security purposes, and Centre Court had lost just a speck of its luster as swaths of seats went unclaimed from match to match during the Games.
But that wasn’t the case when Andy Murray took to the court. Britain’s favorite tennis son is always a crowd darling at Wimbledon, but his star power, his draw, and the plainly non-club, non-tennis-clap-polite fans came to life during Murray’s matches, carrying roars into Centre Court each round that were saved more for occasions like the 2008 Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final.
While Murray’s decisive triumph over Federer in the Olympics final will go down as one of the great breakout performances by a tennis player at any major event, it was his semifinal win over Novak Djokovic that truly brought the house down.
Djokovic had won two of their last three meetings, including another overlooked gladiatorial clash: a 7-5 in-the-fifth semifinal victory at the Australian Open back in January.
But in a 7-5, 7-5 victory, Murray had shed any demons of faltering against Djokovic and moved to a place he could hardly believe he was in: the gold medal match. After raising his arms in the air, Murray sat down for a minute in his chair letting the win sink in. It was then when he got up again, walking to the middle of the court and leaping into a jump-kick of a fist pump. Centre Court exploded.
“The atmosphere is unbelievable,” Murray told reporters after the win. “Different to pretty much anything I’ve been in before. I obviously played in big matches, night matches US Open we always said was the best atmosphere, but it’s not even close to what it was today. Obviously playing with the home support, that helps the atmosphere.
“But, yeah, that was unbelievable.”
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Xinhua/Meng Yongmin
Three-time Olympic champ Veronica Campbell-Brown is hoping to avoid a maximum suspension for doping because the drug she tested positive for was reportedly contained in a cream she declared on her doping control form, according to Reuters. The Jamaican sprinter tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, which was found in urine samples taken at the…
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AFP PHOTO JOHN MACDOUGALL
Former Olympics ice dancing champs Gwendal Peizerat and Marina Anissina of France announced that they’ll reunite for a surprise comeback in hopes of qualifying for next year’s Sochi Games a full twelve years after retiring. “We got an offer from the French figure skating federation and the French sports ministry about taking part in the…
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David Rudisha injured in Central Park; will miss Kenyan championships
Jun 18, 2013, 12:15 PM EDT
World record 800m runner David Rudisha will be sidelined for about three weeks after suffering an injury while running New York’s Central Park. “[Rudisha] was jogging inside Central Park when he realized something was the matter with his knee,” his coach Colm O’Connell told Reuters Tuesday. “Two initial investigations were done, first in the USA and also in…
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Alexei Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images
Following a side-meeting at the G8 Summit in Ireland on Monday, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin decided that their two nations should join efforts in order to ensure the safety and security of athletes, officials, fans, and world leaders at next year’s Olympics. “The United States and Russia intend to continue to…
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YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages
There’s still three months until the IOC determines which city – Tokyo, Madrid, or Istanbul – will host the 2020 Olympics. But two anonymous IOC officials told the Japan Times that Tokyo has the bid nearly locked up. All its officials need to do is avoid any major mistakes before the vote. Tokyo Governor and…
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Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
A new rule set in place by the International Boxing Association that would allow pros with fewer than fifteen bouts on their records to compete in the upcoming Olympics is in jeopardy after protests from boxing organizations and promoters. Now North American Boxing Federation President Joseph Dwyer is getting into the fight, and said his…
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Following the recent failed drug test and impeding suspension of Jamaican Olympic champ Veronica Campbell-Brown, Usain Bolt’s coach Glen Mills said it was time for the government to create an accredited anti-doping lab to “ensure the purity of substances” the athletes are using for training. “It just re-emphasizes the need for all involved to be…
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Courtesy of Lindsey Vonn via Facebook
Despite the budding relationship between Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods, the Olympic champ said she’s been able to go relatively unnoticed at this week’s U.S. Open just outside Philadelphia. “I can be normal by myself; no one notices me,” she told the New York Times Friday. “But wherever he’s around, we’re living in a fishbowl.…
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Decorated Jamaican Olympian tests positive for banned substance
Jun 15, 2013, 10:53 AM EDT
Olympic champion sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown is facing a two-year suspension from racing after samples taken at the Kingston Invitational last month tested positive for a banned substance. Testers reportedly found a diuretic in her system that was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency because of its use a masking agent for performance enhancing drugs. Campbell-Brown…
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Before Usain Bolt dominated the Bislett Games 200m race in Oslo Thursday – running a 2013 world’s best of 19.79 seconds to beat the field by 0.57 seconds – the world record sprinter, showman, and noted auto enthusiast excited the crowd when he arrived in a Formula 1 car. He may be a six-time Olympic…
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AP
Hurdler turned bobsledder (and now back to hurdler, we guess) Lolo Jones has apparently decided that the best way to land a date with Olympics legend Michael Phelps is to build a pool and invite him over for a swim. Or maybe she just wants him to bring one of his 22 career medals, after…
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Getty Images
In not so surprising news, Oscar Pistorius has been left off the South African Paralympic team for the World Championships next month in France. The once inspiring Olympic sprinter and Paralympian champion ruled out racing in 2013 back in May so he and his team could focus on his upcoming murder trial. Pistorus has admitted…
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Canadian Press
After his loss to Justin Gatlin in Rome last week, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt was looking for redemption and looking to make a statement with his 200m race in Oslo Thursday. He didn’t disappoint, breaking the tape in a meet record and 2013 world’s best 19.79 seconds, well clear of the pack. “I’m not in as…
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Madrid hopes new anti-doping law will strengthen Olympics bid
Jun 13, 2013, 11:43 AM EDT
DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images
On top of Madrid’s relatively minuscule budget of $1.9 billion for the 2020 Olympics – one-tenth of the $19 billion Istanbul has earmarked – Spain hopes the introduction of a new doping law three months before the vote will strengthen its bid. The new “Law for the Protection of Athletes’ Health and the Fight Against…
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OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
Istanbul 2020 Officials said Wednesday that the recent violent protests in their nation will have “no bearing” on whether or not Istanbul is chosen to host the 2020 Olympics when IOC members meet for a final vote in Buenos Aires this September. “The feedback Istanbul 2020 has received from IOC members and the wider Olympic…
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Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
During his annual quasi-State of the Union address Wednesday before the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that time is running out on locking up a deal between the NHL and the Olympics. The talks between the NHL, IOC, and IIHF have been ongoing since January, after the NHL…
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All-time Olympic great Ole Einar Bjørndalen, 39, said Wednesday he finally plans to retire from the biathlon following the Sochi Games in February. “It’s clearly a heavy decision,” he told NRK Wednesday. “I think it’s fun to take part, to train hard and sacrifice everything – to put everything else aside to be the best…
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GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram
Despite Olympic champ Ted Ligety becoming the first man since 1968 to win three golds at the Alpine Ski World Championships, his career has been a bit overshadowed this year by both the injury and social life of fellow skier Lindsey Vonn. And now, so has his drug test. While Vonn being surprised by USADA…
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EPA
After his only-somewhat-surprising loss to Justin Gatlin in the 100m at the Rome Diamond League meet last week, Usain Bolt has vowed to bounce back from the rare defeat when he runs the 200m at the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday. “I’m feeling pretty good,” Bolt told reporters. “I think I’m in shape to…
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Darren Calabrese/National Post
Disgraced 1988 Olympic 100m champ Ben Johnson ran in his first “competitive” race in about two decades on Tuesday, as he took part in a celebrity 4x100m relay at the Toronto International Track and Field Games. So how did he feel after anchoring his team to victory in two heats? “Exhausted,” Johnson admitted to the…
