Olympic Games Open With Pageantry, Humor
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Date: 7/28/2012 7:45:48 AM
Sender: VOA
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China's Yi Siling, center, celebrates winning the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle event, alongside silver medalist Poland's Sylwia Bogacka, left, and bronze medalist China's Yu Dan, right, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July
The Summer Olympic Games in London begin awarding medals Saturday following Friday’s spectacular opening ceremony viewed by more than one billion people worldwide.
China earned the first gold medal of the Games when Yi Siling won the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition.
South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun, who is legally blind, claimed the first world record of the London Olympics, hours before the opening ceremony. In the first round of the archery competition, he broke his own record set in Turkey in May by three points with a score of 699.
Athletes at this year’s Games include American swimmer Michael Phelps, who is seeking to win the most Olympic medals ever; South African runner Oscar Pistorius who is a double amputee; and 40-year-old French epee fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic, competing in her fifth Olympics.
A dozen gold medals will be awarded Saturday, highlighted by cycling and swimming. Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte face off in a much-anticipated duel in the pool.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth declared the Games open Friday, a couple of hours after a stand-in for the 86-year-old monarch parachuted into a packed Olympic Stadium, aided by the film actor who portrays Britain’s iconic fictional spy, James Bond. Moments later, the queen herself stood silently while a children’s choir serenaded her with “God Save the Queen.”
The opening ceremony also featured fighter jet flyovers, fireworks and pageantry highlighting British history from 1896 – the start of the modern Games – until now.
The 17-day competition in 26 sports runs through August 12. |
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