BRITAIN TRIUMPHS IN BEIJING OLYMPICS

Congratulations to Britain's cyclists, rowers and swimmers who won an amazing 9 Olympic Medals today, the most medals ever won by a British Olympic Team in one day. Britain has moved from 10th to 7th place with 17 medals, including 7 Gold.

Rebecca Adlington, aged 19, won her 2nd Gold Medal in the Women's 800 metres freestyle and is now the most successful British woman swimmer in Olympic history!

Fresh from Friday's success in Men's Team Sprint cycling, Chris Hoy won a 2nd Gold Medal in the Men's Keirin and Edgar Ross his team mate won the Silver Medal. Bradley Wiggins made Olympic history by becoming the 1st cyclist to be Olympic Champion twice in the Men's Individual Pursuit and his team mate Steve Burke won the Bronze Medal. Also Chris Newton won a Bronze Medal in the Men's Points. Our cyclists have won an amazing 8 Olympic medals so far, including 4 Gold Medals.

In Rowing the Men's Four - Tom James, Steve Williams, Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge - won the Gold Medal. Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington won the Bronze Medal in the Women's Double Sculls and the Men's Double Sculls team - Matthew Wells and Steve Rowbotham - also won Bronze Medals.

Team GB would have won even more medals but 2 Sailing events were postponed - Ben Ainslie and the Women's Yngling Team will get at least a Silver Medal each tomorrow.

Watch out tomorrow for Bedford's own Paula Radcliffe and her team mate Mara Yamauchi in Sunday's Marathon, and Victoria Pendleton, World Champion Women's Sprint cyclist from Stotfold who will be cycling in the Women's Sprint.

BRITISH GIRLPOWER IN BEIJING

Emma Pooley, a 25 year old Cambridge graduate won a Silver Olympic Medal yesterday and demonstrated the true Olympic spirit. On Sunday she took part in the gruelling Beijing Road Race, helping her team mate Nicole Clark to win Britain's 1st Gold Medal but only came 23rd herself. Yesterday it was Emma's turn and this tiny 7 stone cyclist battled up the Beijing hills on a specially adapted bicycle in the Women's Time Trial Cycling Event, missing a Gold Medal by just a few seconds.

On Tuesday the Equestrian Team achieved a double bronze in the 3-day Event, with Tina Cook, a 37 year old mother of two winning individual and team bronze medals with her 4 team mates including Mary King, Daisy Dick and Sharon Hunt.

Where are the British men? So far British women have won 5 of the 6 individual medals, including 2 Gold Medals for swimming and cycling and 9 of the 11 British medals overall. David Florence won a Silver Medal in canoeing and William Fox-Pitt a Team Bronze Medal in the 3-day Event but what happened to Andy Murray and Tom Daley the 14 year old British diving wonder?

Our Bedfordshire women have a chance to shine this weekend. On Tuesday Gail Emms, the Bedford badminton player won a ferocious 1st round match with her partner Nathan Robertson against the 2004 Chinese Olympic Champions. Victoria Pendleton, 2007 World Cycling Champion from Stotfold cycles on Saturday and Paula Radcliffe, 2005 World Marathon Champion, runs in the Sunday Marathon. Good luck to them all.

OLYMPIC GOLD FOR BRITISH WOMEN

Many congratulations to Nicole Cook a 25 year old Welsh cyclist from the Vale of Glamorgan who won the 1st Beijing Olympic Gold Medal for Team GB in the Women's Road Race on Sunday
and is the 1st Olympic Gold Medal winner for Wales in 36 years.

Britain's 2nd Olympic Gold Medal was won by 19 year old Rebecca Adlington in the 400 metre Women's Freestyle. Rebecca is the 1st female British swimmer to win an Olympic Gold Medal in 48 years. Team mate Joanne Jackson won a Bronze Medal.

David Florence was the first British man to win a medal - a silver in canoeing and The British Equestrian Team won bronze medals in 2 events. Kristina Cook won both individual and team bronze medals and was one of 4 women in the successful team.

Great Britain is now in 9th place with 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals and the women have performed best so far, winning 70% of the British Olympic medals.

STOP PRESS

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2008 OLYMPICS LAUNCHED IN CHINA

China launched the 2008 Olympic Games with a spectacular Opening Ceremony in front of 80 world leaders and a worldwide audience of 8 billion. Number 8 has religious significance for the Chinese, so the Opening Ceremony began at 8.08pm on Friday 8 August 2008 with a £25 million extravaganza.

The British Olympic Team includes Paula Radcliffe, Bedford trained 2007 New York Marathon winner and 2005 World Champion. Other Bedfordshire sportswomen including Gail Emms, who won a silver medal in badminton at Athens in 2004 and Victoria Pendleton, 2007 World Champion cyclist. So far the British women swimmers and sailors are performing well and in their first heat the 200 metre men's relay swimmers broke the British record. Let's hope that the British team can beat the 30 medals they achieved at Athens in 2004.