KEY POINTS:
19.25: We end today's day 12 Olympic blog with a quick update of the medal table. China (45) lead by 18 golds from the US (27) with Britain third on 16 golds, followed by Russia, then Australia in fifth with 11 golds. NZ dropped one place today to
17th overall.
But that could all change tomorrow. Look for at least one medal from Sarah Walker and Marc Willers in the BMX finals from around 2.30pm. Our kayakers are also in action tomorrow night in the K1 and K2 finals trying to cap off a fabulous Games for NZ. We'll be covering all the action for you in this blog from 2pm tomorrow. We'll see you then.
19.03: Great news for men's Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod. He's been offered, and has accepted, a contract extension which will take him through to the 2012 London Olympics.
18.54: IOC president Jacques Rogge has criticised Usain Bolt for showing a lack of respect to other competitors after his record-breaking gold medal performances in the 100 and 200 metres."That's not the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said."I have no problem with him doing a show.I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 metres."
18.21: Usain Bolt will go for his third gold medal of the Games in the 4 x 100m relay tonight. And Jamaica's favoured woman will go for a sprint double. Jamaican sprinters took the first three places in the woman's 100m final.
17.50: Despite a tirade of screams, New Zealand taekwondo exponent Logan Campbell lost his first contest today. Campbell was the aggressor against world No 1 Yu-Chi Sung but the judges gave the Taiwanese fighter marks for his better-timed kicks and the contest ended 4-0.
17.05: Kiwi Stuart Farquhar has failed to qualify for the final of the javelin. He recorded a best throw of 76.14m from his three attempts.
16.48: New Zealander Robin Cheong is into the last eight of the
taekwondo in the under 57kg class. She took down Ivory Coast's Miriam Bah in a sudden death tie-breaker. It's the first time a Kiwi has moved past the first round in taekwondo. Cheong, 19, will meet Korea's world No 1 Sujeong Lim in the quarterfinals later today. Fellow Kiwi Logan Campbell competes at 4.45pm NZT against Yu-Chi Sung of Taiwan in the men's under 68kg event.
16.35: Rohullah Nikpai has won Afghanistan's first ever Olympic medal in the taekwondo men's 58kg category. Nikpai beat world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to take the bronze medal. Taekwondo is one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan, with more than 700 clubs and 25,000 competitors.
16.28: NZ has beaten Pakistan 4-2! They were under the pump for the last three or four minutes but defended grimly and NZ finish on a high. They had a great chance to make the semis, couldn't quite do it, but wins over Korea, Belgium and Pakistan and a draw with China have confirmed their standing amongst hockey's elite. Well done today to the NZ men's hockey team, 4-2 winners over Pakistan.
16.14: Hayden Shaw does it again! 4-1 NZ! And that will wrap it up. Another penalty corner and Shaw unstoppable.
16.09: 3-0 NZ! Simon Child does it again with a lovely break, beats his man and bangs it home. He's only 20-years-old with nearly 100 caps to his name, he's going to have a brilliant career. But Pakistan has just struck back, 3-1 to NZ with 22 minutes to go. NZ need to concentrate here.
15.59: The second half is underway, still 1-0 NZ. Pakistan is on attack, NZ looking slightly sloppy. And as I say that NZ win a penalty corner and Hayden Shaw does what he does best, and he puts it away! 2-0 NZ! The drag flick specialist strikes again and NZ's confidence is surging.
15.38: NZ lead Pakistan 1-0 at half-time in the men's hockey playoff for seventh and eighth. The Black Sticks very dominant in the last 10 minutes will want to close this out in the second half and finish their tournament on a high note.
15.34: New Zealand has scored in the hockey! Simon Child with the goal, his fifth in the tournament, and it should have been 2-0 - Child just missed an open goal. But NZ starting to play with more confidence late in the first half.
15.27: Eleven minutes to go in the first half at the hockey, still no score NZ-Pakistan. The Pakistani's with by far the better chances in a first half played in the driving rain in Beijing.
15.18: Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands has won the inaugural men's 10-kilometre open water swim marathon. Van der Weijden used a better angle in the three-way sprint at the finish to touch in 1 hour, 51 minutes, 51.6 seconds.
15.07: The NZ men's hockey team have begun their final match against Pakistan. Pakistan has completely dominated the opening five minutes but couldn't take advantage of a penalty corner opportunity. No score after five minutes.
15.00: Olga Kaniskina of Russia has won the women's 20km race walk gold medal in a dominating start-to-finish performance in wet conditions in Beijing. The 23-year-old Kaniskina opened up a 35 metre lead before leaving the Bird's Nest stadium at the start of the race and finished in an Olympic record 1 hour, 26 minutes, 31 seconds.
14.43: The New Zealand men's hockey team play their final match of the Olympics this afternoon when they take on Pakistan at 3pm NZT. The two sides are playing off for seventh and eighth. We'll bring you updates of that match once it is underway.
14.36: Michael Phelps' mum hopes his eight golds will help draw attention to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. Debbie Phelps was honoured as the 'Johnson's Baby Mom of the Olympic Games' this week and has been busy shooting commercials for them. But she says she is ready to return to her job as the principal of Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore on Monday.
14.02: In the woman's walking race there have been some suspensions, coping red cards for the way they walk. It's all in the technique.
The race is being lead by the Russian Olga Kaniskina with about 7km to go.
13.56: The men's swimming marathon has not been put off by the rain. The 10km race in choppy water is being lead by David Davis of Great Britain. The race could take about two hours.
At a water stop, attendants are holding out bottles of water on poles from a pontoon. The water bottles were tossed into the ocean but hopefully it's someone's job to pick those up.
13.35: The rain in Beijing has not put off either the women's 20km walk or the men's swimming marathon, both of which are now under way.
13.30: After Tom Ashley won New Zealand's third gold in the boardsailing last night, we're looking for another strong day in Beijing but Marc Willers and Sarah Walker in the BMX will have to wait until tomorrow due to rain.
At the Bird's Nest Stuart Farquhar is in qualifying for the javelin from 1.10pm.
At 3pm the men's Black Sticks play off for 7th and 8th against Pakistan and this evening Steven Ferguson goes in the men's K1 500m and Erin Taylor in the women's.
Back in the sailing Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams compete in the star event at 5pm.