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Live Commentary: Olympic swimming - day six as it happened

Sports Mole brings you live updates from day six of the Olympic swimming.

Good morning and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of day six of the Olympic swimming.

It's a big day for Team GB in this event, with Rebecca Adlington defending her crown in the women's 800m freestyle.

With bronze already under her belt at this year's finals, she is arguably the host nation's best shot at a gold medal in the pool.

There are four gold medals up for grabs this evening, and Britain have a chance at making the podium in the women's 100m freestyle, in which Fran Halsall is in action.

Meanwhile, US rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte go head to head in the men's 200m individual medley final in what promises to be a close contest. Lochte will also go for gold in the men's 200m backstroke final.

Please note that the heats get under way at 10:00am.


21.23Do join us tomorrow from 9:30am!

21.22That's all from me today. A great evening for the United States in the pool as they continue to dominate the event. Maybe it will be our day tomorrow with Rebecca Adlington in action in the women's 800m freestyle final.

21.11So, it's double cause for celebration for Phelps, who goes into the final as the swiftest qualifier.

21.09Le Clos gets the touch first ahead of Tyler Mcgill of the US. the South African winner wasn't as quick as Phelps with his time of 51.42.

21.05His time of 24.20s is the one to beat. Le Clos steps up for his heat.

21.04Very strong from Phelps, you wouldn't know he'd just swam a 200m medley. He wins his semi-final!

21.03Phelps's heat is up first.

20.56This will be an endurance test for him, especially with Chad le Clos of South Africa to compete with. We wouldn't bet against him making the last eight, though.

20.55Having just received his gold medal, Phelps is about to take to the pool again for the men's 100m butterfly semi-final!

20.45Kromowidjojo lives up to that reputation and takes the gold.

20.44Halsall was so close to a medal at one point, but she comes in sixth.

20.43This is a tough one for Halsall. We have Missy Franklin in this, as well as Ranomi Kromowidjojo of Holland - the fastest woman in the world, apparently.

20:40So here comes Halsall in the women's 100m freestyle final. Good luck Fran!

20.36Well done Michael Phelps. You can read all about how he's just extended his lead as the most decorated Olympian of all time here.

20.25Phelps first, Lochte second, Cseh in third

20.24A powerful backstroke leg from Phelps puts him right on world record pace!

20.23Phelps and Lochte almost neck and neck going into the backstroke.

20:22Lochte holds the world record in this event, and Phelps the Olympic record.

20:21Phelps is in with a great chance at the gold tonight with Lochte having had little time to recover from the backstroke.

20.17Japanese duo Kosuke Hagino and Ken Takakuwa aren't to be written off either. This is a group of death!

20.14It will be a very tough test for him. Both Americans are expected to make the podium, and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary is also a strong contender.

20.13We have home interest in this one too in the shape of James Goddard. What more could you want?

20.11What is arguably the biggest event of the evening is coming up now, the men's 200m individual medley, where Phelps and Lochte will clash.

20.10Proud was unlucky not to go through herself. She came in fourth in a tough heat, but her time of 2:09.04 put her in an overall nine. Agonisingly close!

20.07Franklin wins the semi and isn't far off the world record. Coventry in second, but the good news for Team GB is that Simmonds is in the final!

20.06Missy The Missile leads at the halfway stage, Coventry in third.

20.04A tough test for her against Missy Franklin and Kirsty Coventry.

20.02And Steph Proud is looking to do Britain proud in the second heat of the 200m backstroke.

20.00Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds has just come in fifth in her 200m backstroke semi-final. Will her time of 2:08.48 be fast enough for the final?

19.54A sensational result in the men's 200m backstroke! Tyler Clary wins the gold, Ryosuke Irie of Japan grabs silver, and the favourite Ryan Lochte has to settle with bronze.

19.45Satomi Suzuki of Japan takes silver, and bronze goes to Iuliia Efimova of Russia.

19.45She does it! It's the gold and a new world record!

19.45Soni is right on world record pace!

19.44Soni is the first to turn, but Suzuki of Japan is gaining ground on here.

19.43Soni faltered at the start there. She's lost maybe half a second. Will that be costly?

19.41A lot has been made of the home support for our athletes, but Soni has brought a lot of noisy fans with her!

19.39The women's 200m breaststroke final is coming up, and Rebecca Soni of the US is the hot favourite in this one. Rikke Pedersen of Denmark could pose a threat.

19.38Fratus was the fastest into the last eight with a time of 21.63s.

19.36He comes in second behind Bruno Fratus of Brazil. Another speedy heat there, and that result puts Magnussen out!

19.34George Bovell of Trinidad is the one to watch in the next heat. He was the fastest qualifier this morning.

19.32Cielo and Cullen Jones of the US are joint-first, coming in in 21.54 in the first semi. Magnussen in sixth!

19.30The swimmers are poolside now. Expect this one to be over in the blink of an eye. There are some blisteringly fast swimmers in there!

19.23First up tonight, it's the men's 50m freestyle semi-finals. There may not be any home interest in this one, but the skills of James Magnussen and Cesar Cielo are something to behold.

19.21Well, you can't knock her determination, but will that be enough when you're up against the likes of Missy Franklin and Jeanette Ottesen Gray? We'll have to wait until 8.37pm to find out.

19.19"It's important that I get the touch on the wall first and I've been growing my nails to get there first.

"I want to go out tonight and give it my best shot. I'll be there or thereabouts gritting my teeth but I want the win. I'm in the final and that's all that matters. Plus I've got more to give."

19.17Halsall certainly has a shot at getting onto the podium tonight, and she had this to say ahead of her big final...

19.05That latter contest is too close to call. Lochte has certainly been in better form than Phelps, but the fact that he is competing in the men's 200m backstroke final tonight as well will no doubt have a bearing on things.

19.04We have yet another exciting evening ahead of us at the Aquatics Centre as Team GB's Fran Halsall goes for gold in the women's 100m freestyle, and US greats Phelps and Lochte lock horns once again in the men's 200m individual medley final.

19.00Good evening and welcome back to our live coverage of day six of the Olympic swimming.

12.00That's all from me this morning. Join us from 7.00pm tonight for all the action from the semi-finals and finals.

11.50Franklin and Coventry are a respective first and second. Proud comes in fourth, and the good news is that both her and Simmonds will go into the semi-finals!

11.49Team GB's Stephanie Proud is up in the final heat against heavyweights Missy Franklin and Kirsty Coventry. Let's hope she does up proud!

11.47Her time of 2:10.37 might just be good enough for the semi-final.

11.46She faltered at the final turn there, and dropped to sixth, bough fought hard in the final length for a fourth place finish.

11.46She faltered at the final turn there, and dropped to sixth, bough fought hard in the final length for a fourth place finish.

11.45She's coming in second with 100m to go. Jenny Mensing of Germany leads.

11.45Elizabeth Simmonds of Team GB is off to a great start in her heat!

11.42The women's 200m backstroke is now under way, and Beisel of the US wins the first seeded heat with a time of 2:07.82, so that's the one to beat.

11.29It's Phelps in first on 51.72. Not a great swim for Antony, who crashes out in eighth place.

11.26Le Clos has just come in first in his heat with a time of 51.54. Can Phelps outdo him this time?

11.25There are some big names yet to swim in this, such as Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos.

11.25He came in seventh in the fourth heat with a time of 24.13.

11.22It's men's 100m butterfly time now, and Team GB's Michael Rock doesn't look like he's done enough to make the semi-finals.

11.11Rebecca Adlington has booked her place in the final of the women's 800m freestyle.

11.11She finishes with the best time of the heats 8:21.78. Well done Adlington.

11.10She's working really hard despite having a significant lead. Let's hope she had a lot in reserve for the final stretch.

11.09Four lengths to go now, and she turns well ahead of Boyle.

11.07Adlington has powered into a good lead now with 300m to go, and the crowd is reacting as though this is a final!

11.06Nobody is really pushing her here, which could shave a second or so off her time.

11.05Adlington is looking good and isn't about to relinquish that lead. Boyle of New Zealand has done well to claw her way into second.

11.03She maintains the lead after 100m, but Shao of China is pushing her, and King of Canada isn't far behind her.

11.03She's first to turn and the crowd goes crazy. She looks in control.

11.02Step up Ms Adlington!

11.01She wins it on 8:21.89. That's a good time, well ahead Kaplas and Perez in join-second.

10.59Friis looks like she's give Adlington a run for her money here. She's well out in front.

10.55She has a massive lead on Balmy of France, but is off Adlington's world record.

10.53The next heat is now under way, and Lotte Friis of Denmark is off to an early lead. She has been tipped as the greatest threat to Adlington's crown.

10.52Faulkner in sixth is unlikely to progress.

10.50No surprise to see Ledecky win that on 8:23.84. Belmonte is in second, Komarnycky in third.

10.49Ledecky is still out in front, Belmonte isn't far behind in second, but then there's a huge gap between her and third-placed Canadian Komarnycky.

10.46The Brit is starting to fall off the pace, though, she's in sixth now.

10.45Ledecky still has a significant lead. Sokolova of Solvakia and Belmonte of Spain are in the chasing pack. Faulkner still going steady.

10.42Ledecky of the US has gone out all guns blazing. She's in first and on the world record after 150m, but this is an endurance event. Does she have enough in reserve to keep this up? Faulkner is going steady in third.

10.40Faulkner of Team GB is up in the first seeded heat, as is Grainne Murphy of Ireland.

10.39She clinches it at 8:35.18, and that's the unseeded heats wrapped up.

10.39Julia Hassler of Liechtenstein looks like she'll take this one...

10.30One more unseeded heat to go.

10.29Samantha Arevalo Salinas of Ecuador win the first heat with a time of 8:49.21. Not bad for an opening heat.

10.26The first heat of the women's 800m freestyle is under way. Adlington isn't in action until the fifth, but Team GB's Ellie Faulkner will swim in the third.

10.17Unfortunately, Brown's time is only good enough for an overall 20th. He bows out.

10.15World record holder Cielo wins it on 21.80. His compatriot Fratus is a faction of a second behind him.

10.14The final heat now, and we have the ever impressive Cesar Cielo of Brazil in this.

10.13Magnussen can only manage fourth in his heat with a time of 22.11s. Schoeman of South Africa wins it on 21.92.

10.12It's won by Bovell of Trinidad in a blistering 21.77s. Brown in seventh, but he finishes in 22.39s.

10.10Adam Brown of Team GB is in action in heat six now. Good reception from the crowd.

10.10Aerents of Belgium wins the fifth heat with a very quick time of 22.43s.

10.08Murphy comes second, behind Burch of Bermuda. They came in in just over 22 seconds, which will likely make the semi-finals.

10.07Barry Murphy of Ireland is in heat four.

10.05Hadley of the Federated States of Micronesia wins heat three in 24.82. We're getting quicker.

10.0327.35 wins the second heat, not an amazingly fast one. Osman of Djibouti wins it.

10.02Christian Nassif of the Central African Republic wins it with a time of just over 28 seconds.

10.00The first of the unseeded heats is about to commence, with the swimmers poolside now.

9.56It promises to be a tough test for him with the likes of Australian James 'The Missile' Magnussen involved. He took silver in the 100m version of this event yesterday.

9.54Moving back to the present, Adam Smith is our hopeful in the men's 50m freestyle, which commences in about five minutes.

9.50Looking further ahead to tonight, Fran Halsall is in with a shot at a medal in the women's 100m freestyle. She came through a tough semi-final to finish as the joint-fifth fastest qualifier. You can read about how that unfolded here.

9.48He will have to raise his game if he wants to make the podium, though. Both Americans are expected to secure medals, and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary is a strong contender for at least bronze.

9.46Goddard was superb during the semi-finals, coming in just behind the Americans in his heat. You can read about how the action unfolded here.

9.41Looking ahead to this evening, the men's 200m individual medley final promises to be a cracker. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are in direct competition, and we have home interest in there in the shape of James Goddard.

9.36Adlington has made it clear that she is going to give it all today, having dropped out of the women's 4x200, relay yesterday to focus solely on this. The heats are scheduled to begin at 10:19am, shortly after the men's 50m freestyle.

9.33Today is a big day for Team GB in the pool, with Rebecca Adlington defending her crown in the women's 800m freestyle. As this is her strongest event, it's surely our best chance at precious metal in the swimming.

9.30Good morning and welcome to our live coverage from day six of the Olympic swimming.
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