I know were all following the New Zealanders Olympic efforts passionately, but lets pause just for a moment to take in the global sports stage. There are three mega-superstars of world sport just now Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt and two of them graced the London Olympics in finals today. Federer, often cited as the finest tennis player of all time, took the court at his home-away-from-home, Wimbledon, in an emotion-packed singles final against Andy Murray. Most of the year Murray is described as Scottish, but when Wimbledon rolls around he becomes British. So it is for the Olympics, where he is a proud member of Team GB. Its not often that Federer charismatic, serene and mature doesnt have the crowd on his side, but so it was today. He beat Murray in the Wimbledon final just a few weeks ago, and the British crowd were keen for that result to be reversed. They had every reason to be hopeful. Okay, Federer has won the small matter of 17 Grand Slam titles and Murray none, but tennis followers know he is very close to the big three of tennis Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In the semi-finals, Federer had to battle for 4 hours to get past Juan Martin del Potro, while Murray upset the formidable Djokovic in straight sets. Murray had the crowd euphoric with his play in the final. He won 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in under two hours, and Federer was just about shrugging his shoulders in surrender before the end. Seldom has he received such a thrashing in a major match. And make no mistake, Federer was desperate to win the gold medal. The Swiss has had a varied Olympic career. In 2000 in Sydney he met his future wife, Mirka, during the games. In 2004 at Athens he carried the Swiss flag. In 2008 he won a doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka. In 2012 he was really after the singles gold. But Murray was too good. Federer took his defeat embarrassingly comprehensive by world No 1 standards with good grace. Murray said later it was the best win of his career and hoped it would propel him to another level. Its possible the match signals a passing of the baton in world tennis. If so, how ironic it should happen at the Olympics, where so many (ignorant) sceptics have said tennis didnt belong because the top players dont care. So that was one superstar beaten. Next up, defending his 100m title, was Jamaican Usain Bolt, the world record-holder. Bolt, the Muhammad Ali of his generation, is colourful, showy and supremely talented. His is inevitably the most popular person and biggest drawcard at any track and field meet. But he hasnt had the best of seasons, struggling with injury and mediocre form. Could he come right on the biggest stage of all? He jogged through his semi-final, winning it in 9.87s. He slowed up before the end, but still managed a time only 0.1s slower than Carl Lewis best. As he stood on the track before the final, Bolt never stopped showboating. Signalling to the crowd, waving, flexing his muscleshe seemed intent on putting on a one-man show. Even after the runners were called to their marks, he continued with the gestures. Was it bravado, or could he back it up with a Bolt-like performance? After all, at the world champs last year he broke and was disqualified. Bolt was relatively slow away, but once he ignited the afterburners, he was the only man in the field. His winning time, 9.63s, has been bettered by only one man himself. Behind him, world champion Yohan Blake ran a sizzling 9.75s, yet he was beaten by 0.12s enough time for a coffee and a bun in sprinting terms. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place-getters ran the fastest times in history for those finishing positions. It was by any measure an amazing race, but all eyes were on the big man from Jamaica. Bolt put an emphatic exclamation mark on his career. At Wimbledon, tennis fans watched the final and wondered if one superstars era was coming to an end. In the Olympic stadium, athletics fans were sure another was still in his prime. London 1908 Olympic Summer Games
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