London 2012: The biggest controversies

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Olympic Games tend to generate controversies and London 2012 was no exception.

Cycling
Philip Hindes admitted to deliberately crashing before propelling Great Britain to team pursuit glory but the IOC and International Cycling Union said the gold medal would stand. The 19-year-old's admission appeared to be naive but not a contravention of the rules. Hindes fell after making a wobbly start in qualifying before picking himself up to help Britain to two world record rides as Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny successfully defended their title.
Hindes: I crashed on purpose
Badminton
The Olympic badminton competition was hit by a match-fixing scandal when eight players were kicked out for deliberately trying to lose. Two Chinese players, four from South Korea and two from Indonesia all tried to fix their matches to manipulate the women's draw in front of angry fans. All four pairs had already qualified for the last eight and were trying to avoid meeting the favourites.
Four badminton pairs disqualified
Hidayat shocked by badminton fiasco
Yu quits after Olympic scandal
IOC to investigate badminton coaches
Swimming
Rumblings over the remarkable performance of Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen changed to overt suspicion when a leading American coach described her world-record breaking race as "disturbing". John Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association questioned how the 16-year-old (below), who took five seconds off her personal best and more than a second off the world record in the 400m individual medley. The IOC insisted there was no reason to question her performances.
Doubts cast on Ye Shiwen's exploits
FINA hit out against Ye allegations
Phelps believes in new swim star Ye
Ye gains support over suspicions
Fencing
South Korean fencer Shin Lam thought she was through to the final of the women's epee when, to her horror and that of her coach Shim Jaesung, the clock was reset from zero to one second. When the action resumed German Britta Heidemann scored a do-or-die hit that gave her a place in the final against Ukraine's Yana Shemyakana. Shin broke down in tears and refused to leave the piste for two hours before eventually conceding defeat.

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Sushil settles for silver in London

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Sushil Kumar lost his 66kg freestyle wrestling final bout to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu but won India a silver medal, their sixth in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Nevertheless, the Indian wrestler recorded his name in sports history annals of the country by becoming the first ever sportsperson to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals, having won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.

It was India's third wrestling medal in Olympic history with K D Jadhav (1952) and Yogeshwar Dutt (2012) being the previous winners.

With Sushil's silver, India ended its London Games campaign with six medals -- its best ever show at the biggest sports extravaganza.

Wrestling and shooting provided India two medals each, while women boxing and badminton added one medal each.

India had hoped to add a gold to its kitty when Sushil Kumar reached the final but his Japanese rival, an Asian Games champion, prevailed with his stout defence.
Sushil trailed 0-1 after the first round and was out of the contest within 30 seconds of the second round when Yonemitsu penetrated his defence, lifted him up and banged him to fetch decisive three points lead.

Sushil had made a stunning comeback in the semifinal but could not repeat that in the final, although he reduced the margin by getting one point.

Earlier, the pin-up boy of Indian wrestling fought the best bout of his life as he came from behind to beat Tantarov 3-1 in the semi-final.

Sushil first used the Iranian technique to get over his opponent and then rolled him over for two points. A head butt by Tantarov assured him another point.

The second round undoubtedly belonged to the 25-year-old Kazakh wrestler as he put Sushil on the mat and tossed him over to get 3-0 clincher.

When the third round started, the 29-year-old Indian looked tired and jaded as within the first seconds, conceded a 3-0 lead to the Kazakh. The match looked as good as over for Sushil who waited for that one inspirational moment as he caught Tantarov by his leg and pegged him down to make it 3-3 with the vociferous Indian contingent egging him on.

This was followed by a Hercules-like act as he suddenly stood up with the Kazakh hanging on his shoulders. It probably was the defining moment for the Indian contingent's challenge at the biggest sporting spectacle. An Indian's show of strength at the world stage.

Sushil Kumar can take a bow as he will now be considered at par with legendary hockey players Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Sr although theirs was a team sport and were part of back-to-back gold medal winning teams.

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Women boxing an Olympic success

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Women's boxing broke down one of the last remaining bastions of Olympic equality at the London Games.

It also served up a series of showcase sessions which eclipsed their male equivalents and ought to make more weights in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 a shoo-in.
When Russia's Elena Savelyeva beat Kim Hye Song 12-9 in the first women's bout in Games history, neither could possibly have envisaged the acclaim which would follow as the world's best female flyweights, lightweights and middleweights went toe to toe.
Ireland's almost invincible four-time world champion Katie Taylor emerged as her sport's first true Olympic heroine, accompanied to the ring by a roar of thousands of compatriots so loud it could likely be heard back in her home town of Bray.
Taylor figured in arguably the best bout of the tournament - men or women - when she waged war with Great Britain's Natasha Jonas, winning 26-15 in a furious bout which will live long in the memory of all who witnessed it.
"I'm proud but disappointed," said Jonas afterwards. "All I could do was my best on the day and I did that. When you see bouts like that how can you argue that women's boxing isn't as good as the men? I think we've done women's boxing proud."
Jonas's belief was borne out by a series of excellent performances, with Nicola Adams skating to the flyweight gold medal over her old foe Ren Cancan of China, and 17-year-old Claressa Shields claiming America's only gold in the middleweight division.
Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev was the stand-out fighter of the men's tournament, picking up the prestigious Val Barker Trophy for best boxer of the Games after finishing his excellent run with a 17-9 win over Great Britain's Fred Evans.
Vasyl Lomachenko was the other obvious star of the men's competition, skating away to his second consecutive Olympic gold medal and his first in the lightweight division, a cut above his rivals throughout his excellent competition.
Hosts Great Britain topped the medals table with three golds, one silver and one bronze, their best performance in an Olympic boxing ring since 1908.
Londoner Anthony Joshua rounded off a magnificent competition by winning a thrilling countback verdict over Roberto Cammarelle after the pair had been locked together at 18-18 at the end of three fast and furious rounds.
Earlier, Hull's Luke Campbell had boxed majestically to see off his old rival and friend John Joe Nevin of Ireland. The Irish had a good tournament, with four - Nevin, Taylor, Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes - all taking home medals.
Cuba returned to the top of the podium after missing out in Beijing, 18-year--old flyweight Robeisy Ramirez Carranza particularly impressing, and light-welterweight Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo also taking gold.
For other traditional super-powers there was not such good news. Russia took home six medals but only had one gold to show for it, Egor Mekhontcev triumphing in the light-heavyweight division, while the US men's team went home without any medals for the first time at any Games to which they have sent a team.

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Kulhavy rides to gold in mountain biking

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Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic won Olympic gold with a sprint finish at the end of the London 2012 men's mountain bike race at Hadleigh Farm.

The 2011 world champion had enough strength to hold off Nino Schurter of Switzerland in one hour 29 minutes 07 seconds, with Italy's Marco Fontana third, 25secs adrift.
Julien Absalon of France, the 2004 and 2008 champion, did not finish after falling down the field following a puncture.
Britain's Liam Killeen, who was fifth in Athens and seventh in Beijing, crashed out on the second of seven laps, tumbling at Deane's Drop and suffering a suspected broken left ankle.
The 30-year-old from Malvern was transferred by ambulance to hospital for surgery.
Germany's Robert Forstemann, who entered the mountain bike event to exploit a loophole and take a place on the velodrome track, did not even start the race, which was seven laps of a 4.7-kilometre route, carved into an Essex hillside overlooking the Thames estuary.
His team-mate Manuel Fumic, who finished seventh, said: "He's a track guy. I don't think he is able to ride a mountain bike."
Adrien Niyonshuti, a survivor of the 1994 genocide, did start for Rwanda, while Killeen began in 25th position on the grid and was never in contention.
Absalon lost touch with Schurter, who won four rounds and the overall World Cup series title this season, and Kulhavy on the first lap.
Schurter, Kulhavy and Fontana established a narrow lead at the end of the opening circuit, with Jose Antonio Hermida of Spain leading the chase. Killeen tumbled down Deane's Drop, a steep boulder section, and was joined in failing to finish lap two by Absalon.
South Africa's Burry Stander and Hermida bridged the gap at the end of the third lap to join the three leaders.
Kulhavy took the lead on the fifth lap and stretched the group with the relentless pace, opening up a narrow lead over Schurter and Fontana with two laps to go, with Stander and Hermida losing contact.
Kulhavy and Schurter were vying for the win, with Fontana dropped in the closing stages of the final lap.
Schurter moved to the front but Kulhavy rounded his rival to triumph.
"It was really hard, because we went full-gas the whole time," Kulhavy said.
"I was amazingly strong, I gave everything for this race. I put in all my energy and it's amazing. This race was important this year, nothing else.
"I won everything, world champs, world cups. Now I am Olympic champion."
Schurter had a strong season and was one of the pre-race favourites, along with Kulhavy and Absalon, the two-time Olympic champion.
The Swiss said: "It was a great race. I performed to the maximum. Just at the end, Jaroslav was a bit stronger than me.
"He's not been so strong this whole season but today he was very strong and he deserved it.
"It is hard to get second, but it was a great day. I have to be happy with silver. It was an awesome feeling to compete here."
"The first lap was the worst thing that could happen to me, because I did hard work for four years to be 100% today, and to have a mechanical problem is the worst luck," Absalon said.
"I had a puncture at a bad moment. It's hard to finish my last Olympics like this.
"I was in good shape but, after one lap, I was in 27th place, 55 seconds behind. I didn't have any chance to reach the podium."

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Asadauskaite wins modern pentathlon

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Lithuania's Laura Asadauskaite took the gold while Britain's Samantha Murray won the silver medal in the women's modern pentathlon.

Murray's silver maintained Great Britain's record of having picked up a modern pentathlon medal at every Olympics since the women's event was introduced to the programme in Sydney in 2000.
The 22-year-old from Clitheroe in Lancashire was ranked 78th in the world in February but has had a stunning season, capped off by a superb performance in Greenwich Park on Sunday.
Murray went into the final event, the combined run and shoot, in fourth place but overhauled Brazil's Yane Marques and Amelie Caze of France to finish second behind Lithuanian winner Laura Asadauskaite, the final gold medallist of the London Games.
Marques held on for the bronze but there was disappointment for Britain's world champion Mhairi Spence, who had a difficult day and finished well down the field.
Murray told BBC1: "I had a lot to make up on so I needed that run. I've made a few mistakes today which set me back in the field but I came through in the end and my shooting was reasonably good as well. I'm just so pleased.
"My legs kept running for me and I'm so happy. The hills as well were so steep and I just kept working really hard."
Murray hoped her performance would inspire others.
She said: "Honestly, if you have a goal, anything you want to achieve in life, don't let anybody get in your way, you can do it.
"There are so many people and so many things that will feel like they're trying to set you back but honestly, find the path you want to take in life and follow it, stick to it because if I can do it - I'm a normal girl - anybody can do anything they want to do."

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Barac retires from international water polo

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Winning an Olympic gold medal is the perfect way to bow out of international water polo, the Croatia captain Samir Barac said.

The 38-year-old led his team to a 100% record in the London Games, with eight wins from eight.
But now he has his gold medal around his neck, it is time to hang up his Croatia trunks and cap.
Asked what it was like to be an Olympic champion, he said: "What an amazing feeling. I can't explain it. "It's the top of the top of my career.
"This is my fourth Olympic Games. I lost three Games - Sydney, Athens and Beijing.
"And this is very, very important for me because I am 38 and I am finishing my international career."
Croatia were dominant in defence for the whole tournament, and Barac said Josip Pavic, the goalkeeper, was crucial.
He told Press Association Sport: "Pavic, I think, is the best goalkeeper in this tournament.
"We had a very good defence, and I think with him it's very, very easy."
Niksa Dobud, who was voted the 'All star' centre-forward, agreed with his captain that the defence was key: "We dominated because of our great defence. I thought that every day."
Asked about the final against Italy, he said it was not an easy game.
"The Italians are a great team," he said. "They won against Hungary and Serbia."
Miho Boskovic, who scored twice in the victory over Italy, said: "We played amazing the whole tournament. "So I think we deserve 100% this medal. We played the best water polo and did an outstanding performance last match."
He said the team's physical and mental preparation was key.
"We have amazing quality, of course," he said. "We've had the best preparation. "Physically we are very, very strong and of course mentally we were very stable no matter what was the result.
"Today it was 2-0 [to Italy], but we came back to win the game, so that's the most important thing that we had."
Asked how the team will celebrate, he said: "It is very, very lovely, and for sure we will not sleep the next two or three days."

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Anguish for beaten Pongprayoon

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China's Zou Shiming has retained his light-flyweight Olympic title after claiming a controversial victory in the gold medal match against Thailand's Kaeo Pongprayoon.

Zou followed up his success in Beijing four years ago with a 13-10 success over Pongprayoon, though the decision was greeted by a chorus of boos at ExCeL after a bout where Pongprayoon seemed to have the better of at least two of the three rounds.
Zou, the top seed and world champion, was nevertheless awarded all three rounds.
A warning in the third round for negative tactics appeared to give Pongprayoon a chance of victory but just moments later he was given the same penalty.
Zou was given the first two rounds by scores of 2-1 and 4-3 but appeared to be well on the back foot in the closer, repeatedly attempting to evade the attacks of his opponent and twice slipping to the ground to force a break in proceedings.
But after warnings for both men saw them trade two-point penalties, Zou again came out on top in the third, extending his lead to three points.
The decision was met with derision by the neutrals in the arena, with Pongprayoon's coach lifting his charge's arm in the air to loud applause.
Britain's Luke Campbell won the gold medal in the men's bantamweight with Ireland's John Joe Nevin settling for the silver.
Campbell realised his lifetime dream as he floored Nevin on his way to a 14-11 victory and the Olympic bantamweight title at ExCeL.
Campbell landed a superb left hand counter in the final round to floor his opponent, who had beaten him in 2009 before the Hull man gained revenge with a close win in last year's World Championship semi-finals.
Ukrainian top seed Oleksandr Usyk claimed the prestigious heavyweight gold after seeing off the committed Italian Clemente Russo.
It was a contest befitting the stage, Usyk the reigning world champion taking on the silver medallist from Beijing.
He closed out a 14-11 victory in the final round as Russo, looking to force the win, missed with a series of big hooks only to be caught by his more measured rival on more than one occasion.
Usyk then celebrated victory with a dance in the middle of the ring, while Russo appeared content with his second successive Olympic silver.
Usyk's compatriot Denys Berinchyk had earlier performed a similar mid-ring routine, but only after losing his light-welterweight gold medal match to classy Cuban Roniel Iglesias.
The judges awarded the bout to Iglesias by a handsome score of 22-15, but it did not flatter the 23-year-old - who had lost to the same opponent in last year's World Championships.
Berinchyk went on to take silver in Baku and had to settle for the same here as Iglesias - the bronze medallist in Beijing four years ago - made 11 scoring shots in a one-sided final round that saw the Ukrainian's defence fall to pieces.
Iglesias had done enough to edge the first two rounds by a point apiece but in the closing stages the reigning Pan-American champion kept connecting, most obviously with a thunderous left-hand counter, to win in style.
And Japan's Ryota Murata won the gold medal in the men's middleweight division.

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Brazil win volleyball; Japan take bronze

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Brazil retained their Olympic volleyball title courtesy of a simply brilliant final performance against the United States at Earls Court.

In a repeat of the 2008 Beijing showpiece, the South Americans once again got the better of their arch-rivals, seeing them off by the very score that was good enough four years ago (11-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17).
As a result, America's wait for volleyball gold goes on - this was their 10th failed attempt - and they have only got themselves to blame.
Japan took the bronze medal in the women's Olympic volleyball by securing a straight-sets success over South Korea in their all-Asian clash at Earls Court.
Masayoshi Manabe's side appeared to want the glory more than their rivals, displaying a greater appetite from the first point as they wrapped up a first Games podium finish since 1984 with the 25-22 26-24 25-21 win.
They stifled Kim Yeon-koung - South Korea's go-to hitter - throughout, with the 24-year-old appearing battle weary having carried her nation through to the last four with a string of stunning performances.
She did score 22 points but her intensity was well below what it has been for the last fortnight, with her approaches to the net seemingly more out of duty than desire.
And, with Japan on the top of the game as they chased a sixth Olympic volleyball medal, South Korea were rarely in the game over the course of the 90 minutes.
Soari Sakoda top-scored with 23 points for Japan, who won the game despite not picking up a single point on the block.
So clean was their hitting and transition that they did not need to do anything in defence at the net, being out-scored by eight points to nil.
But they did crucially register 53 points to 38 on the spike, always having enough to pull clear whenever South Korea looked like mounting a challenge.

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Sushil settles for silver in London

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Sushil Kumar lost his 66kg freestyle wrestling final bout to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu but won India a silver medal, their sixth in the London Games.

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Mandic leaves it late to win gold

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Milica Mandic claimed Serbia's first taekwondo Olympic gold when she beat Anne-Caroline Graffe of France 9-7 in the women's over-67kgs final.

Mandic, 21, was making her debut at the Games, but showed no big-stage nerves as she beat 2008 champion Maria del Rosario Espinoza and then European gold medallist Anastasia Baryshnikova en route to the final.
The Serbian continued her momentum against Graffe, landing a head kick in the second round to lead 5-4 going into the final two minutes.
Graffe, 26, is the current world and European champion at over-73kg, but initially France had selected under-73kg world gold medallist Gwladys Epangue, who was injured in the run-up to London 2012.
However, the 26-year-old demonstrated her pedigree to level up the contest at 7-7 as the clock ticked into the last 50 seconds.
Mandic, though, was not to be denied as she landed a couple more body shots to close out a memorable victory.
The 2008 Olympic champion Espinoza came through the repechage to beat Cuban Glenhis Hernandez and claim bronze.
"We are very happy because we will leave London with something in our hands," she said.
"I feel really emotional about this. All my efforts to be here paid off in the end. It was worth it."
Third seed Russian Anastasia Baryshnikova - who had beaten Mandic to under-73kgs gold at the 2012 European Championships in Manchester - claimed the other bronze medal after overcoming repechage winner Lee In Jong 7-6 on a sudden death score.
"I came here for the gold, but since this did not happen, I was determined to fight for the bronze," she said.
"I am proud to have won this medal for Russia, even if it is bronze and not the gold.

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Germany retains hockey; Aussies get bronze

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Jan Philipp Rabente was the unlikely hero as he scored twice as Germany successfully defended their Olympic title with victory over Holland.

The 25-year-old struck in either half to make it a hat-trick of successive gold medals for coach Markus Weise as he also coached the women to victory in 2004 and was in charge of the men in Beijing four years ago.
Prior to the final Rabente had scored only six times in 77 internationals and the only player in the squad with fewer goals was goalkeeper Max Weinhold.
However, he produced a brilliant first just before half-time and, after penalty corner specialist Mink van der Weerden had equalised after the break, he deflected in a cheeky second five minutes from the end.
Great Britain's men finished their Olympic campaign empty-handed after losing the bronze medal play-off 3-1 against world number ones Australia.
Defensive errors cost them in their own circle while a failure to properly test goalkeeper Nathan Burgers at the other end meant they came up short in their medal quest.
While they could not match the feat of the women in securing a podium place they did at least restore some pride after their 9-2 semi-final battering by Holland.

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US women storm to 4x400m relay gold

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The United States have won the gold medal in the women's 4x400m relay.

It was the most predictable and emphatic win of the final night of athletics at the London Games as the US stormed to gold.
The quartet of DeeDee Trotter, Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory and Sanya Richards-Ross led from start to finish to beat Russia by almost three and a half seconds.
Jamaica claimed the bronze medal with Britain in fourth.
Russia's Mariya Savinova then added Olympic gold to her world title with a commanding victory in the 800m in a season's best and world-leading time of 1:56.19.
America's Alysia Johnson Montano led the field through the bell before defending champion Pamela Jelimo hit the front, the Kenyan leading around the top bend but then fading badly down the home straight.
Savinova timed her run to perfection and eased away to finish over a second ahead of the fast-finishing former world champion Caster Semenya, with Jelimo relegated to fourth on the line by Russia's Ekaterina Poistogova.
Trinidad's Keshorn Walcott was the surprise winner of the men's javelin title, the 19-year-old claiming gold by just seven centimetres from Ukraine's Oleksandr Pyatnytsya.
Walcott's second-round throw of 84.58m proved good enough for victory, with Pyatnytsya throwing 84.51m in the third round.
Finland's Antti Ruuskanen claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 84.12m in the fifth round.
Russia's Anna Chicherova claimed high jump gold with a commanding performance, the 30-year-old the only woman to clear 2.05m.
Chicherova had cleared all of her previous heights at the first attempt, and although she needed two attempts to clear 2.05m, that was more than enough after America's Brigetta Barrett and Russia's Svetlana Shkolina failed the same height.
Barrett claimed silver on countback having cleared 2.03m at the second attempt.

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Farah in disbelief at Olympic double

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Mo Farah has told how "everything just came together for me" as he became double Olympic champion.

Speaking the morning after he added the 5,000m gold to his 10,000m title won last Saturday night, Farah felt all his hard work had finally paid off.
He said double gold was a fitting comeback from the "big disappointment" of failing to make a final in Beijing four years ago - but added he could not have done it without the deafening support of the crowd.
He told the BBC: "As an athlete you dream of becoming an Olympic champion but, for me, to become Olympic champion twice is just an unbelievable feeling.
"If it wasn't for the crowd I don't think I would have been up there, for sure. They make a big difference. In front of 80,000 people just cheering your name and getting louder and louder, it's the best feeling ever, it's just like being at a football game."
He said he felt he was able to dictate last night's race and he "knew I had it in me" to be first over the finish line.
On his remarkable progress over the last four years, Farah added: "It's been a lot of hard work and grafting. In Beijing, for me it was really disappointing. I had to move forward and recover and get into my running again, and then last year I made the big decision to move to the US.
"That was never easy. Something needed to change.
"There is a decision in your career you have to make...I'm glad I made that decision, and it just shows you it works.
"But a lot of miles have gone into these legs, week in, week out, over 100 miles, sometimes I'd be hitting 120 miles, so it just shows you it's hard work.
"There are no short-cuts, just hard work and grafting."
Asked what his achievements in London mean to him overall, Farah said: "To be double Olympic champion, to be on the podium, it's the best thing.
"There is no word to describe it because all the work, all the sacrifices, all the things you put into it, it's just unbelievable."

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Kiprotich claims shock marathon gold

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Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich stunned the Kenyan challenge to clinch a surprise Olympic gold medal in the marathon on The Mall.

The 23-year-old burst past Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang around the 38-kilometre mark to leave his two rivals trailing and claim only Uganda's second ever Olympic gold in athletics.
Kiprotich followed in the footsteps of his compatriot John Akii-Bua, who was 400 metres hurdles champion 40 years ago, and crossed the line in two hours, eight minutes and one second.
Kirui took the silver, 26 seconds adrift, and long-time leader Kipsang finished with the bronze.
Kipsang, the London Marathon winner, made an early move to try to break up the lead group, building a 21-second lead at one point.
It was a high-risk strategy in such warm conditions, though, and he paid for it as the race went on as he started to look less and less comfortable.
He missed a drinks stop and by the 25km mark his advantage was down to seven seconds.
Kenyan world champion Kirui and Kiprotich soon joined the leader to make it a three-way battle for the gold medal.
Kiprotich looked to be starting to struggle, holding the back of his leg, but he suddenly produced a big surge, leapt to the front and pulled away.
And in front of packed crowds rows deep all along the looped central London course, the Ugandan, who moved to Kenya as a teenager to train, started smiling and pointing his finger into the air as he closed in on victory before draping himself in the Ugandan flag as he crossed the line.
Lee Merrien was the first Briton home in 30th place in 2hrs 17.00mins as team-mate Scott Overall struggled late in the race.

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US women's quartet go down in history

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The United States have won the women's 4x100m gold medal in a world record time of 40.82 seconds.

The US team of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter raced away from their closest challengers Jamaica to take gold and beat the East German record from 1985 which is one of the longest marks on the record books.
Jamaica's quartet broke their national record with a 41.41 run, but it still was not quick enough to beat the Americans who led from the start.
Ukraine (42.04) also broke their national record for bronze.
Russia's Tatyana Lysenko has won gold in the women's hammer in an Olympic record of 78.18m.
She led all the way through the competition, having thrown 77.56m with her first attempt, before going even further with her penultimate effort.
Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk took the silver with a final throw of 77.60m and China's Zhang Wenxiu the bronze with 76.34.
Asli Cakir Alptekin took gold in the women's 1,500m as the British challenge failed to materialise.
The Turkish athlete won a slow race in 4:10.23, finishing ahead of compatriot Gamze Bulut, with Bahrain's Maryam Yusuf Jamal third.
Lisa Dobriskey, for whom reaching the final was some achievement having battled back from potentially life-threatening blood clots on her lungs, was 10th in 4:13.02 and Laura Weightman, in her first major championship, 11th in 4:15.60.
Dobriskey told the BBC: "I found myself in the wrong place. You have to be right on it when they go and I was too far back.
"I knew the other girls were very strong and it would have been very hard to have got a medal."
There was more agony for American Morgan Uceny as she fell for the second major final in succession, having also hit the track at last year's World Championships in Daegu when she was one of the favourites.
France's Renaud Lavillenie took gold in the pole vault in an Olympic record 5.97m.
Germany's Bjorn Otto was second with 5.91m, ahead of fellow countryman Raphael Holzdeppe on countback.

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Strombergs, Pajon ride to BMX gold

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Britain's Liam Phillips crashed and Shanaze Reade finished sixth as Maris Strombergs of Latvia and Mariana Pajon of Colombia won the men's and women's Olympic BMX titles at the London 2012 Velopark.

After Reade finished well behind, Phillips, who suffered a fractured collarbone at May's BMX World Championships in Birmingham, tumbled to the tarmac on the penultimate turn.
The 23-year-old from Burnham-on-Sea appeared to start well, but finished eighth as Strombergs successfully defended his title. World champion Sam Willoughby of Australia was second with Colombia's Carlos Oquendo third.
Reade told BBC Sport: "I'm pretty emotionless. I'm sure it will sink in, but the Olympic Games is the biggest platform you can race at and you've just got to give it your best.
"I just tried to stay focused and do my absolute best and today [Friday] it just wasn't good enough."
Reade's form appeared promising in the three-run semi-finals, but the one-run final, in less than 40 seconds, left no room for error and she was never in contention for the top place on the podium after a hesitant start.
Reade added: "I've worked for four years for this and it's over. I've just got to pick myself up and come back.
"I did everything I could. It's fantastic everyone's come out and supported me. I'm just gutted I didn't get a medal.
"I didn't want to go too early on the start and mess up my chances.
"I backed back a little bit and by the time I did that, I was on the inside, so everybody was closing in and I couldn't come back from that."

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Kanaeva soars in rhythmic gymnastics

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Russia dominated qualifying in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around event with a top-two finish as Great Britain's Francesca Jones missed out on a final place.

Reigning champion Evgeniya Kanaeva led the way ahead of Daria Dmitrieva after the final two rotations, clubs and ribbon, to live up to her title of hot favourite with a score of 116.000 after all four pieces of apparatus.
Kanaeva leapfrogged Dmitrieva (114.525) into top spot after her fellow Russian had led the way overnight after the ball and hoop routines.
Jones, Britain's only representative, finished 24th, the last place, with a total of 94.625 after 23.900 with the ribbon and 21.975 with the clubs, following on from Thursday's hoop (24.200) and ball (24.550) routines.
It meant the end of the road for the 21-year-old at her debut Olympic Games, and she was disappointed with the result after she lost control of one of her clubs in her final appearance in the competition.
"I'm really sorry I just couldn't do it justice," Jones told Press Association Sport.
"I'm very disappointed. It's such a mistake. You can't control it. There was nothing I could do to control it.
"I tried my best and I'm so grateful to be here. The support has just been phenomenal.
"The support of everybody has been amazing. I couldn't have imagined so much support from everybody. The whole spirit of Team GB has been amazing."
The six-time British champion produced a clean routine with the ribbon to follow on from her overnight 21st place but struggled with the clubs to leave her last in the rankings.
The top 10 gymnasts will now compete for the medal positions in Saturday's final at Wembley arena.
After a strong performance on Thursday, Dmitrieva lost ground after two fumbles during her clubs routine.
However, despite the mistake, she eased into the final due to the high difficulty tariff of her routines where she will face Dmitrieva, Azerbaijan's Aliya Garayeva who qualified in third and Bulgaria`s Silviya Miteva in a strong field.

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Russia impress with synchro gold again

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Reigning Olympic synchronised swimming champions Russia held onto their title, winning gold in the team event. maintain

The squad won out with a combined score of 197.030 for their technical and free routines, both set to music by Denis Garnizov.
Russia have dominated synchronised swimming in recent years, having won every World Championships since 1998 and taking gold in Beijing.
China were beaten into second place, with a combined score of 194.010, while Spain clinched bronze with 193.12.
Team GB, who competed in the team synchronised swimming for the first time at an Olympic Games, came in sixth place, in line with the target set by coach Biz Price.
Russia's Anzhelika Timanina said: "It was very good, it was really hard work. We're really happy because we've trained really hard and there were a lot of emotions but it ended very well.
"For four girls in our team it is their first Olympics and they are very emotional."
She said once again Russia had proved that they are the best in the world in this sport.
"We have amazing coaches and we have an amazing team. Of course the other countries here are very good, but I think now the results speak for themselves."

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Antipodeans take wind out of GB sails

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Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark lost their battle for gold in the women's 470 class as Great Britain were thwarted by Antipodean opposition for the second time on Friday.

Having seen Australia deny Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell top spot in the men's 470 class, the world champions suffered the same fate on the south coast.
Mills and Clark entered the medal race top of the standings alongside Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie, although it was the New Zealand pair that won the race and took the gold medal as Britain collected their fourth sailing silver of London 2012.
Mills and Clark came into the race guaranteed of winning a medal due to their points tally after the opening 10-race series.
They were assured of silver as long as they were not disqualified or black flagged in the medal race, which they began impressively.
The Kiwis tacked off at the start due to pressure from the Brits, which saw the rivals end on opposite sides in the first leg.
Unfortunately for Mills and Clark, it was the right side that paid and they were on the left so could only watch on as Aleh and Powrie powered ahead.
The New Zealand pair rounded the first mark in the lead, with one minute 13 seconds separating them and the 10th-place Brits.
As the wind all but disappeared, Aleh and Powrie moved into an almost unassailable lead - two minutes 22 seconds ahead around the second mark.
Mills and Clark saw their chances cut even further as the race officials chose to shorten the course due to the lack of wind.
It meant less distance for the British pair to catch the Kiwis, who went on to win the medal race and secure gold.
Britain won silver despite coming home in ninth, while the Netherlands' Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout took bronze ahead of France's Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron.
"I think we just feel a bit gutted at the moment that we didn't even put a good show on, really," Clark told BBC Sport.
"We had the Kiwis at the start line and then we let them go to the right and didn't follow them.
"We were wedged in with a few boats and halfway up the beat we knew that the gold medal had gone from us."
Mills echoed her sentiments, adding: "It was tricky. We felt the left had better breeze, which is why we wanted to get left, but the wind died and that was kind of game over.
"I am pretty gutted, to be honest, but we've had a wicked 18 months together. Sas is amazing and we've had a great time."

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Spain roar back to progress to final

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Spain came storming back in the second half to book their place in the final of the Olympic basketball tournament with a 67-59 victory over Russia.

The world number two and European champions have rarely looked at their best in this tournament, and struggled mightily against Russia's imposing defence in the first half.
But in a reverse of their meeting in the group stages, when Russia came from 18 points down to win 77-74, Spain came alive after the break to make what was once a 13-point deficit into victory.
Playing in front of a disappointing crowd of 13,215, a Spanish team dominated by members of 'Los Chicos de Oro', the golden generation that emerged when they won the 1999 world junior championship, came through when it mattered to give themselves another shot at a first ever Olympic gold on Sunday.
They will at least match the silver medal they won in Beijing.
Russia had edged a largely ugly first quarter, and Vitaliy Fridzon's three gave them a 12-9 edge with Pau Gasol unable to get a contested lay-up to fall on the buzzer.
The second quarter belonged to Russia, with Sasha Kaun making a point with a big dunk before back-to-back threes from Sergey Monya gave them a 27-14 edge.
Spain could not break down Russia's defence, forced to make contested shots and finishing the first half 31-20 down and shooting just 22% from the field.
Kaun's dunk gave Russia a 40-31 lead but Spain began to claw their way back, cutting it to a four-point deficit on Rudy Fernandez's three-pointer with 4:25 left in the third period.
Another three from Pau Gasol cut it to 44-41 with with 2:48 to go in the third.
Pau Gasol then followed up on Felipe Reyes' miss with a rebound and dunk to make it a one-point game, and although Anton Ponkrashov replied for Russia, it was all tied 46-46 on Jose Calderon's three to end the third quarter.
Ponkrashov's three-point play had Russia back in front, but Spain then reeled off nine straight points to turn the game.
Fernando San Emeterio missed after Pau Gasol's steal, but Sergio Llull was on hand to score with the rebound.
Calderon's three put them on top, and it kept coming with Calderon snatching the ball away and teeing up Llull for a lay-up.
Marc Gasol made a tough shot inside to make it 55-49 before Andrei Kirilenko split a pair of free throws to end Russia's drought.
Calderon nailed yet another three and Reyes hit a jump-shot as Spain stretched their lead to 60-50.
Kirilenko's three cut the gap but Marc Gasol responded by making a contested lay-up, drawing a foul and making it 64-54 from the line.
Kirilenko missed a pair of free throws, passing up the chance to make it a six-point game and Spain eased to victory.
Pau Gasol led Spain with 16 points while Calderon added 14 and Marc Gasol and Fernandez had 11 each.
Kaun had 14 points and Ponkrashov and Kirilenko 10 each for Russia.

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