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After four days of near misses and disappointing performances, Team GB finally claimed their first gold medal yesterday. And, just like buses in London, you wait for ages and then two come along at once.

Gold in the Rowing

First to break Britain's duck were rowing pair Helen Glover and Heather Stanning. They set out as favourites, but with the weight of expectation from a whole nation they were under huge pressure. However, almost from the start it was clear they were feeling good, and just 250m into the 2000m race, they were miles ahead of their rivals. They carried it on and comfortably won Britain its first gold medal of the London 2012 Games, also becoming the first British female rowers to ever win an Olympic gold. After the race, Helen Glover revealed:

"We kidded ourselves that there was no pressure. The last thing we said to each other was 'it's just for us, it's just for us', but it was for the whole of the team and the whole of the country. Now we've finished we can say there was pressure; there was expectation. It's just brilliant. I hope the crowd really enjoyed today."

Meanwhile, Heather Stanning is already planning to return to her day job- in the army:

Two female swimmers have been attracting all the headlines in the Aquatics Centre at London 2012 over the last few days. One Chinese swimmer has broken world-records and set faster times than her male equivalents, whilst a Lithuanian has just won the first Gold medal her country has ever won in the pool. The truly extraordinary thing is they are 16 and 15-years-old respectively.

Ye Shiwen: Faster than the Men?

Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen (pictured above left) shocked the world of swimming on Saturday when she smashed the world record for the 400m individual medley. She broke her own personal best by more than five seconds and, most incredibly, she swum the final 50m faster than the winner of the men's event. All this at 16-years-old.

However, her performances have been so astounding that some figures in swimming are questioning whether they are a little too good to be true. She is at the centre of a row over doping, with a top coach accusing her of taking performance-enhancing drugs, and others rushing to her defence.

After seven years of planning, the London 2012 Olympics are finally officially starting tonight with the Opening Ceremony taking place at the brand new Olympics Stadium in Stratford. Whilst there will be 80,000 spectators there in the stadium, there will be millions (possibly even billions) more watching at home on TV. It will all be kicking off at 9pm tonight and is being shown live on BBC 1. 

What better way for you to start the Olympics than by having an Opening Ceremony party? Gather your friends in front of a TV and make it a night to remember (or not, depending on the amount of alcohol drunk). Here we have gathered some of the very best ideas for Olympics parties. 

The London 2012 Olympics are finally almost upon us. After seven years of planning, building and preparing, the Opening Ceremony will officially be opening the Games at the brand new Olympic Stadium on Friday. Here we have a round-up of all the latest news, including the opening events, some unusual statues and the weather finally turning.

Sunshine Appears in Time

After months of rain and floods spoiling the British summer, the sun has finally turned up just in time for the Olympics. Britain is expected to enjoy its hottest weather of the year this week, with forecasters predicting temperatures of over 30C (86F)- that's hotter than Hawaii. This good weather is expected to remain for much of August, though forecasters are predicting that heavy showers and even storms could afflict the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

A Met Office spokesman described how we face a "typical British summer" this weekend with unsettled conditions: "For Friday, it is still looking reasonably warm but at the same time there is a slight chance of a shower in the South but these showers should be few and far between".