In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 photo, U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 photo, U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas reacts after her performance on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Ireland's Katie Taylor celebrates after defeating Britain's Natasha Jonas in a women's lightweight 60-kg quarterfinal boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
United States' Alex Morgan, center, celebrates with teammates including Abby Wambach, left, and Sydney Leroux after the winning goal was scored past Canada's goalkeeper Erin Mcleod during their semifinal women's soccer match at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Latvia's Janis Smedins, left, tries to block US Sean Rosenthal, right, during their quarterfinal men's beach volleyball match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
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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GABBY'S GRAND FINALE
Gabby Douglas is back for her grand finale.
The American two-time gold medalist has a chance for one more title before she leaves the London Games, competing Tuesday on the balance beam.
Even Douglas wouldn't have expected to make the final in the event a month ago, considering she had been so shaky in training. A fall off the beam on the second day of the U.S. championships in June cost her the national title.
But lately Douglas has the highest scores of anybody on the talented U.S. women's roster. She is determined to keep that run going and finish strong after placing eighth ? and last ? in the uneven bars final Monday with a score of 14.9.
"I want to finish strong and I'm going to do as best as I can," Douglas said. "Fresh day. Leave on a good note."
? Janie McCauley ? Twitter http://twitter.com/janiemccAP
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IRISH KNOCKOUT
Monday's Olympics debut of Irish boxer Katie Taylor has transfixed her homeland.
Her 26-15 quarterfinal pummeling of Britain's Natasha Jonas brought thousands to a standstill in shopping malls and other public places. With a semifinal looming Wednesday and the final Thursday, Taylor is considered Ireland's best bet for Olympic gold.
It's no home bias, either. The 26-year-old Taylor is renowned as a hard puncher and is the reigning Irish, European and world champion in the lightweight class, a.k.a. under 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
Global demand by Irish emigrants to see the match proved so great that the live media stream by RTE, the national broadcaster, crashed midway through the four-round bout.
And in the most dramatic show of support, more than 6,000 people traveled from across Ireland to the beachfront of Taylor's hometown south of Dublin, Bray, to watch the fight live on a big-screen TV.
One grandma was seen repeatedly shouting to the TV: "Go on, beat the stuffing outa her!"
? Shawn Pogatchnik ? Twitter http://twitter.com/ShawnPogatchnik
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QUICKQUOTE: TOUGH LOSS
"We've been playing really well lately. To come up short on what our goal was, it's a hard loss. It was a tough loss ? the toughest loss of our careers." ? American beach volleyball player Sean Rosenthal after he and Jake Gibb lost to Latvia in the Olympic quarterfinals.
? Jimmy Golen ? Twitter http://twitter.com/jgolen
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USA TOPS CANADA 4-3
It took a full 90 minutes, then another 30 minutes of overtime, then three more of injury time, but Alex Morgan's header gave the U.S. women a 4-3 win over Canada at the London Olympics.
The U.S. soccer team will now face Japan in the gold medal game ? the same team they lost to in the World Cup final.
Canadian captain Christine Sinclair had a hat trick to propel the two teams into overtime. Megan Rapinoe of the U.S. put two in the net for the U.S. and Abby Wambach deftly scored on a penalty kick for a handball.
? Joseph White ? Twitter http:www.twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
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OLYMPIC PROPOSAL
She didn't win the gold, silver or bronze ? but Britain's Holly Bleasdale is walking away from the Olympic pole vaulting competition with something pretty special: a fiance.
The 20-year-old pole vaulter has said she was disappointed by her 6th place finish at the Olympic stadium on Monday night.
Soon after her finish, Bleasdale tweeted that she was "devastated" and "sorry for letting people down."
But just hours later, her message on the microblogging site took a turn for the positive.
"6th in the Olympics and (at)bradshaaaw proposes to me :) epic day!!!" she wrote.
Her boyfriend, Paul Bradshaw, also posted about his excitement, saying he had just proposed to Bleasdale and she'd said yes. "Best day ever!" he wrote.
? Cassandra Vinograd ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/CassVinograd
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JETER WANTS TO SEE
The U.S. women's soccer team can count Derek Jeter among their fans.
The New York Yankees star was following the women's Olympic match on TV in the visitors' dining room at Comerica Park in Detroit ? until he had to go for batting practice before playing the Tigers.
"It's 3-3, can someone get the game on up there?" Jeter asked, motioning toward the video board that looms over the left-field wall.
Alas, the game wasn't put up.
At least the U.S. women pulled it out at the last minute in overtime and avoided having to go to penalty kicks. Alex Morgan's header gave the U.S. a 4-3 win over Canada.
The Americans now head into the gold medal game against Japan at the London Olympics.
? Larry Lage ? Twitter http:www.twitter.com/larrylage
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GRENADA CELEBRATES
People danced, cheered and waved flags in the streets of Grenada after Kirani James won the gold medal in the 400-meter run with a time of 43.94 seconds ? giving the small Caribbean nation its first-ever Olympic medal.
Hundreds of people had gathered at outdoor viewing sites to watch the race.
The government of Grenada has declared Tuesday afternoon a holiday to mark the feat. Prime Minister Tillman Thomas calls James' victory an inspiration to the country.
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WAITING GAME
American Michael Tinsley paced back and forth underneath Olympic Stadium, making call after call on his cell and doing anything else he could to stay busy.
The wait was agonizing.
Tinsley was ready to go celebrate his silver medal in the men's 400-meter hurdles. But he couldn't leave until Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic finished some media obligations. Tinsley was getting impatient, so much so that he started pleading with officials to let him get his drug test out of the way.
Eventually, they obliged, and Tinsley emerged from doping control with a piece of folded-up paper above his head.
"Got it," he said.
He still had to wait for Sanchez, but that test cleared the way for him to get to the party.
? Mark Long ? Twitter: http://twitter.com/APMarkLong
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HERO'S WELCOME
Gold medalist fencer Ruben Limardo returned home to Venezuela to find dozens of cheering fans waiting for him at the airport with flags and balloons.
In tears, Limardo said: "I never imagined they'd receive me like this."
Limardo's gold medal was Venezuela's first since boxer Francisco "Morochito" Rodriguez won the light flyweight division in the 1968 games. Rodriguez was among the crowd that welcomed Limardo at the airport.
President Hugo Chavez announced last week that he will present Limardo with the country's highest honor, the Order of the Liberator, and will give him a replica of a sword once used by South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
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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, and get even more AP updates from the Games here: http://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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