LONDON – It was past midnight here, long after Usain Bolt electrified the Olympics again, having emerged from a slow start to not merely defeat but also break the will of the fastest group of humans ever assembled en route to another gold in the 100 meters.

He sat in a jammed news conference, talking about how the reality of losing in the Jamaican trials had awoken him. He talked about how a confidence borne from his own greatness had made him calm no matter how often he lumbered from starting blocks not built for his 6-foot-5-inch frame. He talked about how the energy from 80,000-plus onlookers left him in the optimum mood to run: calm, relaxed, and ready. He talked about how he'd eaten McDonald's before the race. "Don't judge me," he said.

And then Usain Bolt was asked how desperately he wanted to be known, now and forever, as a legend.

"Do I really need to answer that question?" he said.

[ Related: Bolt blazes to Olympic record in 100-meter final ]

He already had. Over

Read More »from Usain Bolt's legend grows after he breaks Olympic record in epic 100-meter final

LONDON – The tears welled up in McKayla Maroney's eyes and soon the mascara was staining her cheeks. Her lips then began to quiver and her voice cracked.

She wore a silver medal around her neck and couldn't even pretend to smile.

The 16-year-old out of Laguna Niguel, Calif., had electrified the gymnastics world this week with her moon-shot vaults that went almost as high as her scores. Bela Karolyi was heralding her as the purveyor of the greatest vaulter of all-time. Princess Kate showed up Sunday to see it for herself.

And then in an instant it was gone.

On her second vault, with a commanding lead and gold within her grasp, Maroney attempted her tough yet signature Mustafina only to slip and wind up landing on the padding in a seated position.

[ Photos: McKayla Maroney falls during vault final ]

Two vaults later Romania's Sandra Izbasa passed her, winning the gold with a two-vault average of 15.191. Maroney, sunk by her uncharacteristically poor score of

Read More »from Despite her fall, McKayla Maroney shows true grit and grace in winning her silver medal in vault

LONDON – With a gold medal in her grasps in individual vault, McKayla Maroney failed to land cleanly on her second jump, instead sliding off her heels and hitting the padding in a seated position. (Getty Images)

The mistakes sent the gymnastics hall into gasps of shock as the heavy favorite to win gold left the door open for Romania's Sandra Izbasa.

Maroney's second vault of 14.300 combined with her initial 15.866 gave her a two-jump average of 15.083. It was good enough for a temporary spot in first place, but allowed the final competitor, Izbasa, a chance.

The Romanian seized it with a two-vault average of 15.191 to take the gold. Russia's Maria Paseka captured bronze.

Maroney was disconsolate after she failed to land on her feet on her second vault. She was expected to win America's first gold in the vault after a breathtaking performance during team competition.

On Tuesday she delivered a remarkable 16.233 that legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karoyli deemed the greatest

Read More »from McKayla Maroney misses shot at U.S. history after falling in vault and takes disappointing silver

LONDON – The action was typical for a Sunday morning in a British betting parlor with lots of football (soccer) and horse racing.

However, there was – at least at a William Hill in Central London – a steady interest in an event where the field wasn't even yet set: the men's 100-meter final scheduled for Sunday evening at Olympic Stadium.

British bookmakers, and they are on nearly every corner of this city, said while Olympic betting overall has been slow this one highly anticipated event has taken the bulk of the action. Even if the semifinals are still to come (two hours before the final).

[ Related: Can Usain Bolt quiet the doubters and claim gold again? ]

Regardless, most of the action has been on Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the world record holder, defending Olympic champ and biggest global star of these Games.

At William Hill, Bolt is an 8-to-11 favorite to win – for you non-bettors, that means you need to bet 11 dollars to win eight – and he goes off at 5/2 to win and set a

Read More »from British bookmakers still favor Bolt in 100 meters

LONDON – Usain Bolt stood barefoot at the top of an Olympic Stadium staircase, craning his neck for a glimpse of the starting line.

The fifth heat of round one of the 100-meter race was about to take place – eight more guys with the dream, if not the ability, to chase down the reigning Olympic champ. Bolt just completed an easy victory in heat four, practically jogging in with a 10.09 to move into Sunday's semifinals.

Now he wanted to see who else would join him, perhaps the most telling sign of exactly how enormous the buildup to the 100 final has become.

Even the Lightning Bolt doesn't want to miss a moment of a humble preliminary round.

"I'm really looking forward to the semifinals tomorrow," Bolt said after coming down the stairs and watching the heat on a television in the bowels of the stadium.

The semis are at 2:45 p.m. ET. Bolt didn't mention the final, which will take place at 4:50 p.m. ET. It wasn't

Read More »from Usain Bolt gearing up for 100-meter final in Olympics' most hyped event

WIMBLEDON, England – Serena Williams had been dreaming of this moment all her life. Now here it was.

She was standing on top of a Centre Court podium, the gold in women's singles around her neck, "The Star Spangled Banner" playing loud and her eyes locked on the American flag raising triumphantly in the air.

Suddenly, one of those powerful gusts of British wind came through, the flag came undone and, without warning, the Stars and Stripes began floating through the air, right toward the tennis great.

[ Inspirational Moments: Olympic celebrations ]

"I just saw all these gusts of winds," Williams later said as she began to laugh. "Then I saw the flag flying. It was probably flying to hug me … It was fluttering towards me trying to wrap its fabric around me."

She kept smiling at the memory. It was, perhaps, the only mishap of a day in which she simply annihilated Maria Sharapova, 6-0, 6-1 in just 63 minutes to seize that long-awaited gold medal.

She started the day by

Read More »from Flag mishap doesn't dampen Serena's golden moment

WIMBLEDON, England – Serena Williams annihilated Maria Sharapova to win the women’s tennis singles gold medal at the All-England Club.

When it was over, Williams, who owns 14 major championships as a professional and has earned more prize money than any other female, danced like a 6-year-old in joyous celebration. She beamed during the medal ceremony like this was the first title she'd ever won. And she couldn't keep herself from giggling when the brisk winds blew the U.S. flag down to the ground as it was being raised during the ceremony.

"That was a surprise," Williams said. "It was just so windy."

Williams breezed her way to the gold medal to become the first woman since Steffi Graf to complete the career singles Golden Slam: victories in all four Grand Slam titles plus the Olympics. Throughout these Games she said that winning a gold was a lifelong dream that she didn’t want to take lightly.

She certainly didn’t here in the final.

Using a powerful game that cut

Read More »from Serena Williams crushes Maria Sharapova to win Olympic gold medal

LONDON – When Roger Federer finally, at last, finished off Juan Martin del Potro in the longest tennis match in Olympics history, he raised his hands in joyous celebration and then leaned on the net in exhaustion.

This was a three-set marathon, 4 hours and 26 minutes of Federer and Del Potro going shot for shot, comeback for comeback, last-drop-of-sweat effort for last-drop-of-sweat effort. In the end, the 30-year-old great from Switzerland outlasted the young Argentine 3-6, 7-6 [5], 19-17 in this singles semifinal.

Olympic tennis is best of three sets, not five like the professional ranks, yet it lacked nothing. The final, furious set lasted 2:43. The match featured 366 points, 115 winners, and one tired embrace at the end.

"It was an emotional hug we shared at the net," Federer said. "Emotionally I'm extremely drained. I guess I'll feel it tomorrow … I was very, very touched at the end."

ReutersIt was marked by relentless play, passionate rallies, and the kind of all-out effort

Read More »from Roger Federer wins longest tennis match in Olympics history, proof this matters to millionaires