Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan claimed an unexpected but deserved win in the men's Olympic road race Saturday, wrecking Mark Cavendish's hopes of delivering a first gold of the Games for the hosts.
Medals are up for grabs in cycling and swimming on Saturday after a spectacular opening ceremony to the London Olympics was watched by more than one billion TV viewers.
A billion people across the globe turned on their TVs to watch the opening ceremony of the London Olympics live Friday, but very few of them were in US.
Chinese Olympians were subjected to a state-sponsored doping regime in the 1980s and 1990s, a retired chief medical supervisor revealed to Australian media on Friday.
US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made some undiplomatic criticism of London's preparations for the Olympic Games on Wednesday, expressing concern about Britain's readiness to host the event.
London's Olympics got off to an embarrassing start Wednesday when North Korea's women footballers refused to play after a mix-up over their national flag, in one of a series of blunders.
The eight tons of gold, silver and copper unearthed from mines in Mongolia and Utah and now under guard at the Tower of London is the largest ever haul used to make Olympic medals.
Britain's women footballers kicked off the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony, but controversy erupted later over a mistake with the North Korean flag.
Stars of sport and screen gathered in London on Wednesday to honour legendary heavyweight boxer and Olympic champion Muhammad Ali as the countdown to the 2012 Games neared its finale.
Britain has drafted in another 1,200 troops to plug a security gap at the London Olympics left by the failure of a private security firm to provide enough guards.
Thousands of VIPs including some 120 national leaders will jet into London for Friday's Olympic opening ceremony, with guests ranging from Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama to the king of Swaziland.
From the 10,490 athletes heading to London, to the flock of 70 sheep taking part in the opening ceremony on July 27, AFP takes a look at the 2012 Olympic Games in numbers.
The London Olympics are not big business for everyone -- sex workers say they are being cleared from the streets around the stadium to make the area more presentable for the Games.