Jamaica will seek to extend its sprint dominance at London 2012 late on Wednesday when Usain Bolt sets out to book his place in the men's 200 metre final and Veronica Campbell-Brown attempts to become the first woman to win three golds at that distance.
On a cold, wet Tuesday night at the Olympic Stadium, Taoufik Makhloufi ran a scorching last lap to take gold for Algeria in the 1,500 metres and attributed his victory to "the will of God", a day after dropping out of an 800m heat with what his team said was a knee injury.
Makhloufi had been disqualified from the 1,500 final for not trying in his heat at the shorter distance, but was reinstated on the eve of the race thanks to a medical report.
Evidence provided by two doctors said "the athlete suffered from a painful injury, which however, with appropriate treatment, may allow him to compete in 24 hours."
Bolt on prowl
Bolt, running in the 200m semi-final on Wednesday, says he will take to the stadium the skipping rope he uses for training, after complaining about "weird rules" when it was confiscated from him on the way to the 100 metres final.
"I am going to do it tomorrow ... I am going to stick it under my bag, bottom of my bag or something," he told reporters.
The gangly sprinter is seeking to secure an unprecedented double-double — 100 and 200 golds at successive Games.
In other action on Tuesday, Australia's Sally Pearson won the women's 100m hurdles by two-hundredths of a second.
"I am going to do it tomorrow ... I am going to stick it under my bag, bottom of my bag or something," he told reporters.
The gangly sprinter is seeking to secure an unprecedented double-double — 100 and 200 golds at successive Games.
In other action on Tuesday, Australia's Sally Pearson won the women's 100m hurdles by two-hundredths of a second.
Lucky vest
Russia's Ivan Ukhov was forced to borrow a T-shirt from a team mate to win the Olympic high jump title after his vest was stolen midway through the competition.
The shaggy-haired Russian jumped 2.38 metres in rainy conditions on Tuesday night to clinch the gold while his nearest rival, American Erik Kynard, could only manage 2.33m.
Fans were amazed to see Ukhov making the winning attempt in a light-blue T-shirt instead of his national team kit. Ukhov asked compatriot and 2008 Olympic champion Andrei Silnov to give him a spare shirt after he discovered the loss.
"It (the t-shirt) was symbolic that I won gold in Silnov's shirt. I guess Andrei being the 2008 champion just passed me the good luck," Ukhov said.