The Sports Matrix: Thursday 2 August 2012

Wiggins wins time trial on golden day for Team GB

Bradley Wiggins yesterday celebrated winning the men's cycling time trial at Hampton Court on the day Britain won two gold medals. Wiggins, right, who last month become the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France, crossed the line on the 44km course in 50 minutes 39 seconds, in turn claiming a British record seventh Olympic medal. Germany's Tony Martin came second and Britain's Chris Froome claimed bronze.

"I never considered this to be London over here," Wiggins said, when asked if there might be an emotional attachment to winning gold in his home town. "It used to be called the Home Counties. I'm very much a Wiganer these days."

Asked about a knighthood, he said: "Sir Wiggo doesn't sound right, to be honest. As much of an honour as it would be to receive it, I would just put it in a drawer. I'll always be Brad."

Wiggins's gold came after the rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning triumphed in the women's pair to claim Britain's first gold of the Games. MORE

Steely Strauss sure England can win

Andrew Strauss believes England can beat South Africa to turn the series around. "There's a steely determination among the troops," said the captain ahead of today's second Test. "It's going to take a bit of character and guts [to win]." MORE

Sturridge's strike sends GB through

Great Britain's men joined their female counterparts in the quarter-finals by beating Uruguay 1-0 last night. Daniel Sturridge's 45th-minute goal meant they topped Group A and set up the knock-out game against South Korea at the Millennium Stadium. MORE

Jamieson's superb swim seals silver

Michael Jamieson broke his own British record to win silver in the 200m breaststroke final, the first medal for a British man in the pool since Steve Parry's bronze in Athens in 2004. Hungary's Daniel Gyurta won gold and Japan's Ryo Tateishi took bronze. MORE

Flower's coaching helps us flourish

An outstanding feature of this England team and why we have managed to be successful for two years or so is our honesty, both in victory and defeat. It is what makes Andy Flower such an exceptional coach. MORE

Enigmatic Idowu 'fit' for Games

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu, who cut himself off from the GB team, has ceased contact with coach Aston Moore. Charles van Commenee said: "All the we have about Phillips is now coming from the BOA [saying] he is fit." MORE

British sprint coach 'optimistic'

British Cycling's sprint coach, Iain Dyer, has confidence in new member, Philip Hindes, 19, ahead of today's team track event: "It went very well for him [at the training camp] and continued to go well here, so we're optimistic." MORE

Glover hopes gold sparks inspiration

Helen Glover hopes her feat of winning the women's pair with Heather Stanning yesterday can inspire youngsters. "I really hope it has a snowball effect," she said. "I worked as a PE teacher and have seen how inspired young people can be." MORE

Relieved Murray defeats Baghdatis

Andy Murray was relieved to have regained his composure to beat Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and reach the singles quarter-finals. "I was unsure of myself at the beginning. I managed to settle myself. I played good tennis after that," said the world No 4. MORE

Opinion: James Lawton

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were not here for any speculative lunges of pace. They were here to do a job, nail it from start to finish, and suffer whatever was required. MORE