LONDON (AP) ? Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:
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NAME DROPPING
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is fond of talking about 19th century South American independence leader Simon Bolivar, and found a way to do just that after fencer Ruben Limardo won a gold medal.
Chavez declared Limardo a national hero, and said he would present the athlete with the country's highest honor. The hero's welcome will include giving Limardo a replica of a sword used by Bolivar.
"I'm going to give him, since he's a fencer, a replica of the sword of one of the greatest fencers of our history, who was named Simon Bolivar!" Chavez said in a speech Friday.
Chavez calls his political movement the Bolivarian Revolution.
? Eva Vergara in Caracas ? Twitter ? http//twitter.com/evergaraap
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SECURING HER HIJAB
After being flipped onto her back, the first Saudi woman to compete at the Olympics did something that was both in line with her Islamic faith and perhaps a sign of respect to the conservatives in her homeland who had qualms about her competing: she gently reached for her head to make sure her hijab was still in place.
It was, and Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani and Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica bowed to each other and left to a loud ovation.
Shahrkhani only made it into the games after a compromise between Olympic organizers, the international judo federation and Saudi officials cleared the way for her to compete in a modified hijab.
The Saudi, wearing judo dress and what appeared to be a tight-fitting black cap, looked tentative and cautious on her feet, and Mojica quickly grabbed Shahrkhani and flipped her onto her back, ending the match.
Afterward, the teenager walked with her father past journalists and TV cameras.
"I am happy to be at the Olympics," she whispered in Arabic, her brother, Hassan, holding both her arms. "Unfortunately, we did not win a medal, but in the future we will and I will be a star for women's participation."
? Paul Haven and Barbara Surk ? Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven and http://twitter.com/BarbaraSurkAP
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DREAM TEAM CHALLENGE?
The United States men's basketball team has started another debate about whether it's simply too good to play in the Olympics after bulldozing Nigeria.
The Americans are coming off of a 156-73 thumping of Nigeria. The 83-point win led some to call for the Dream Team concept to be scrapped. But that was only one game, and the celebrating is over.
Next up for LeBron James and Co. is a date with Lithuania and its rowdy fan base.
Lithuania has a history of being a thorn in the U.S. team's side.
At the 2004 Games, Sarunas Jasikevicius led Lithuania to a stunning upset. Jasikevicius is still around and brings NBA veteran Linas Kleiza and soon-to-be Toronto Raptor Jonas Valanciunas with him to the challenge this time.
?Tom Withers ? Twitter http://www.twitter.com/twithersAP
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CLOSE CALL
Moments after winning gold, Polish shot-putter Tomasz Majewski almost ruined it.
Jubilant over his throw of 21.89 meters, Majewski ran across the track to grab a flag in celebration.
But the massive Majewski was a little too close for comfort for the women running the 10,000 meters. He got across the track before being in danger of a collision, but it was close enough to draw a big "OOOH" from the crowd.
Asked about it afterward, all he could do was smile and shake his head sheepishly.
"I'm very proud that I did it," he said.
? Jon Krawczynski ? Twitter http://www.twitter.com/APKrawczynski
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LOVING LONDON
For U.S. shot-putter Reese Hoffa, three times is a charm. He came up short during the Athens and Beijing games in 2004 and 2008, but snagged a bronze medal Friday night in London's Olympic Stadium.
Plus, he's loving the whole London vibe.
First off, "they speak English," and clearly, for the 34-year-old from Louisville, Ky., that's a big plus.
And he thinks "the food is phenomenal."
Anything else?
"This is probably the most hospitable place we've been, I guess, other than Japan. They are pretty nice people there, too," he said.
"I have nothing but fond things to say about London."
Only a small complaint: "I wish the mall was a little closer."
Now that he's got that medal, perhaps he'll have more time to shop.
? John Leicester ? http://twitter.com/johnleicester
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PHELPS GOES OUT IN STYLE
From AP's Paul Newberry at the swimming:
"Seventh at the turn, an Olympic champion at the end. Make it 17 gold medals for Michael Phelps.
What a way to go out in the final individual race of his career.
With those long arms whipping through the water, Phelps was next-to-last when he touched the wall at the far end of the pool in the 100-meter butterfly but in a familiar position when he made the touch that counted Friday ? his name atop the leaderboard, a smile on his face, another gold medal around his neck."
And from Phelps: "I'm just happy that the last one was a win. That's all I really wanted coming into the night."
? Paul Newberry ? Twitter http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
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SEVEN AND OUT
Jorgen Persson has probably just played in his final Olympics. That's saying something. This is his seventh.
Persson and his Swedish teammates were beaten 3-1 Friday by Germany in the team competition.
Persson, 46, is one of three table tennis players to play in every Olympics since 1988, when the game was first introduced into the games.
The other two ? Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium and Zoran Primorac of Croatia ? lost in singles and are not playing the team event. They have said they are unlikely to return. Persson feels the same way.
? Stephen Wade ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP
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ATHENS DECAY
There's still one group that loves the training pool for athletes at the former Olympic village in Athens.
Frogs.
They sit on debris that floats on the pool's murky waters.
Eight years after the 2004 Athens Games, many of the Olympic venues Greece built at great expense remain abandoned or rarely used. They are the focus of public anger as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and nearly three years of a debt crisis that has sent poverty and unemployment soaring,
At the Athens venue for softball ? a sport unknown in Greece and already out of the Summer Olympics ? the occasional weed is all that remains on the dried-out field.
With no shortage of real beaches in Greece, the purpose-built beach volleyball stadium has seen minimal use.
The athletes village itself has fared somewhat better, turned into housing for workers.
? Elena Becatoros ? Twitter http://twitter.com/ElenaBec
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WHAT'S COOKING?
AP's Nicole Winfield had a rare glimpse inside the athletes' dining area. Here's what some of them are eating: Traditional English breakfast, complete with fried eggs, black pudding, roasted tomatoes; kimchi and miso soup, lamb samosas and baba ganoush and, this being the Olympics, McDonald's.
Conspicuously absent: poppy seeds. ("It will show up on an anti-doping test," chief caterer Jan Matthews says.) And alcohol. The village is officially dry.
? Nicole Winfield ? www.twitter.com/nwinfield
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DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE
Just saw a group of sprinters get kicked out of the stands ? in brusque manner ? by a security guard here at Olympic Stadium.
They filed their way up the stairs and into one of the media areas. "Leave. Leave. Leave," the guard told them. They balked. "Leave now or I'll have you removed by force."
I asked the guard what the deal was and he said, simply, that their credentials didn't allow them to be there and they were taking up space and clogging up the aisleways.
OK, so, what if Usain Bolt walked up here and wanted to watch?
"I'd do the exact same thing," the guard said.
? Eddie Pells ? www.twitter.com/epells
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CANCER-FREE
Eric Shanteau finished off his Olympics still hoping for a gold medal. No matter what, he's much happier than he was four years ago about what awaits him when he gets back to the United States.
Before the Beijing Games, the American swimmer was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery less than a week after he got home. He's been cancer-free ever since.
"I'm just enjoying myself so much more," Shanteau said. "It's just so much easier to walk around with a smile on my face at this meet than it was four years ago."
While Shanteau failed to make the final of his only individual event, the 100-meter breaststroke, he has a chance to pick up his first Olympic medal after swimming the preliminaries of the 400 medley relay Friday. The Americans are a heavy favorite and everyone who competes on the relay ? either in the morning prelims or the evening final ? would get a gold if they win.
Shanteau plans to take at least two months off after the games. Then, he'll decide whether to continue his swimming career.
But at least he doesn't have cancer hanging over him.
"Wow, I can go home and relax and celebrate and do whatever I want to now," Shanteau said, breaking into a big smile, "and not have to worry about living."
? Paul Newberry ? Twitter http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
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WHO'S SHOPPING FOR KEYRINGS?
SPOTTED: Russian basketball players Natalia Vieru and Nadezhda Grishaeva just seen in Cool Britannia ? a sprawling souvenir shop in Piccadilly Circus. They were picking out keyrings as intrepid customers and staff ? pint-sized in comparison ? approached to ask for a photo.
"We don't mind it," said Vieru, who is 6 foot 6 (1.98 meters) tall. "It's fun for people, so why not?"
? James Clasper ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jamesclasper
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RED, WHITE AND BLUE
U.S. runners Sanya Richards-Ross and DeeDee Trotter won their 400-meter qualifying races Friday with relative ease ? and in stylish fashion.
Richards-Ross wore an all-red combination, with her fingernails painted different versions of red, white and blue.
Trotter had a small American flag painted next to her right eye ? complete with glitter and sparkling jewels.
"This is a mild version of what you'll get in the finals," Trotter says. "This is just the beginning. Tomorrow it'll be a little more dramatic, right 'til we get to the war paint to where it's really on to get there and get that grind on."
Trotter raced in heavy rain at Olympic Stadium. And no surprise, she was prepared for it. Trotter's face paint was waterproof.
"It's sweatproof, too," she says.
Richards-Ross has more outfits planned for Saturday and beyond.
"We have so many different options in our kit now, so I feel it's cool to be able to wear different outfits through the rounds," she says. "This is first-round look. I'll have something else on tomorrow."
? Mark Long ? Twitter http://twitter.com/apmarklong
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EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-08-03-OLY-Eyes-on-London-Package/id-e56183a6ac2542de8950fbc178439a2e
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Public release date: 5-Aug-2012
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