Saturday, July 28, 2012

China claimed the first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games


China claimed the first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games Saturday, with a victory for 23-year-old Siling Yi in the women's 10-meter air rifle shooting.

Meanwhile, rival American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are set to go head-to-head in a battle that will be a highlight of the first official day of the Games.

And Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be sanctioned for failing an anti-doping test at the London Games.

Pulaku, 20, tested positive on Monday for the steroid stanozolol, the International Olympic Committee said, and has been excluded from the competition.

Queen Elizabeth II, who officially declared the Games open on Friday night, made an appearance at the Aquatics Center Saturday to watch the action.

Phelps and Lochte are competing in the men's 400-meter individual medley -- a race that combines four different swimming strokes -- after both made it through the heats to the final, Phelps only by a whisker.

Phelps' slightly below-par performance in the heats means the 400-meter individual medley champion is unlikely to be situated in the preferred middle lanes for the final Saturday evening.

The 27-year-old Phelps, who already has 14 gold medals from previous Games, is looking to add to his pot of Olympic gold.

Lochte, thought of as the biggest threat to Phelps, is hoping to live up to the hype and steal his thunder.

The highly anticipated match-up has had many choosing sides.

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