good morning. gab fest. gabby douglas has a nearly flawless night to become the fourth american woman to bring home gold in the gymnastics all around as michael phelps makes his 20th career medal a gold one in his final race against ryan lochte. now the greatest olympian of all time competes in the final individual race of his olympic career today, friday, august individual race of his olympic career today, friday, august 3rd, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning everyone. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. as you can see from the view from above the olympic stadium is full since the first time at the opening ceremony because track & field gets under way. i think i joined millions of americans standing in front of my television set last night three inches from the screen waiting for gabby douglas's final score and, of course, she got gold. >> but if she hadn't won it would have been due to nothing that she did. she did everything right.

i mean, if you're going to have a great night that's the night to have it. >> it was the 16-year-old's night last night. she owned every exercise displaying her explosive power and, yes, that megawatt smile on her way to winning gold. we are delighted that gabby is with us this morning live. and guess who else is here? actually all three of the other american women who have won the coveted all-around title so, gabby, you are in good company. we'll talk to all of them together. >> we have another superstar at these games with us this morning. we're talking about ryan lochte. he won five medals here in london, two of those gold just last night. he took silver in that final showdown with michael phelps and a bronze in the 200-meter back stroke. we look forward to talking to ryan now that his competition is over and he has a real different reason to celebrate this morning. it's his birthday. so happy birthday to him. >> indeed. we know the royals are having a great time at these games. just look at how the duke and duchess of cambridge reacted to a big win for the home country on thursday. genuine joy.

we'll have more on that a little bit later on. >> let's begin on a friday morning with the olympic highlights of the day. for that let's head over to natalie morales. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and savannah. the u.s. now tops the overall medal count thanks to some record-breaking performances and of course our new golden girl in gymnastics. gabby douglas, the power house known as the flying squirrel now known as olympic gold medalist in the all-around. >> it feels amazing. my coaches and a lot of hard work and effort put in at the gym. i'm speechless right now. >> a double layout to her feet. >> the 16-year-old is the first african-american woman to win the individual title with explosive performances in all four events. teammate aly raisman tied for third but under olympic

tiebreaker rules it was the russian who took home the bronze medal. >> it's definitely disappointing, but still something to be proud of. >> another duel in the pool for u.s. champions michael phelps and ryan lochte. this time phelps the gold. >> and michael phelps has got the gold. >> it's the 20th medal for phelps as the most decorated olympian in history. he is also the first ever to win the 200-meter individual medley three olympics in a row. >> to be able to do something that no male has done in the sport or something, you know, that is pretty cool. >> in an olympic upset tyler clairy stunned lochte to take gold in the 200-meter back stroke. >> clary wins the gold? >> now that i have this under my belt i'm looking forward to the next four years and especially doing something real big and special and real.

>> for the u.s. women more gold, rebecca stony breaking her own world record in the 200-meter breast stroke. >> i decided to keep it low pressure and have fun and great things happened. >> the americans are golden once again. >> the u.s. women won a gold medal in rowing, defending their six-year winning streak. they showed their coach how to celebrate. in judo, kala harrison takes a place in olympic history with america's first ever gold medal. and the dream team dominating on the court beating nigeria 156-73 breaking the olympic record for most points in a game. what to watch for today? phelps' final individual olympic swim and again track and field begins including medals in the men's shot putt and the women's 10,000-meter race. speaking of medals team usa now

topping the medal count with 37 including 18 gold. china's in second with 34. japan is in third with 19. savannah? >> all right. natalie, thanks. 16-year-old gabby douglas is the only american woman to win gymnastics gold in both the team and individual all-around. gabby, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> have you stopped smiling? >> thank you. no, i haven't stopped smiling. i could barely sleep last night. >> i bet you couldn't. you know, two gold medals in one week. can you even describe what it was like to be standing on that podium and hearing our national anthem? >> hearing the national anthem and the flag raised up is definitely such an honor and you feel so proud to represent the usa and yourself and your coaches and you go out there and perform and do the best that you can and just being on the podium is an amazing feeling. >> you are the first african-american woman to get this individual all-around gold. i know that is something that is really meaningful to you. >> it is so meaningful to be the first african-american to win the all-around gold medal in the

individual and making the history books is definitely one of the perks and it just feels amazing. >> i heard that president obama called you and your teammates a couple days ago after you won team gold. what did he say to you? >> he was just telling us that he was so proud of us and to keep up the good work and we should come visit him at the white house sometime. >> i bet that could probably be arranged. >> yeah. >> now, let's talk about last night. we were all nervous watching. you didn't seem nervous at all. how did you feel inside? >> i felt very, very good. and i just want to go out there and perform as best as i could and show everyone what i was capable of doing. and i remember coach telling me to stay calm, remain focused. >> you know, something that early on, early in your career i know you talked about focus was kind of hard in the beginning right? >> focus was definitely hard. you have to train yourself mentally to look away when you need to. and you don't want to waste your

energy just looking at the scoreboard or, okay, what is she doing or -- you have to focus on yourself and what you're going to do at that time. >> i was going to ask you that. were you aware of the score as you were going along? were you aware of what you needed to do? >> i was definitely aware. chao told me not to keep track but once in a while just peek up and see that, you know, staying in the first place and at the top of the leaderboard. it was definitely an amazing feeling to know that i was at the top the whole time. >> after the floor routine you bounced off the floor. you knew you nailed it but then there are the excruciating moments when you have to wait for the score. was it in doubt in your mind? were you thinking anything can happen, i may not win gold right now. >> definitely it was going through my mind, after the personal floor routine. i was like okay. do i have the gold? do i have the silver? it was a crucial moment. my heart was just pounding. it was definitely nerve-racking. i was like, okay. do i have it? do i not? and when the score popped up and

i was still first, definitely one of the moments that i have to cherish. >> talk about moments to cherish. i mean, this is something that you have worked so hard for and sacrificed for. you moved away from home, from your family at age 14. a lot of people see this moment of glory but they don't know about all of those days you poured into it. what would you want people to know about what it took to get to this place? >> i want people to know it took a lot. it took a lot of hard days in the gym and drive and gold medals are made out of your sweat, blood, and tears and effort in the gym every day. sacrificing a lot that you have to do and i moved away to get better coaching from coach chao. sacrifice was not in vain. at the end everything will pay off. >> it paid off for you, gabby. we are so proud of you. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we'll talk to your mom coming up and also you'll be back a little later to chat with the three other american women who you have now joined in this wonderful company. thank you. >> thank you. for now we'll send it back to

matt. >> thank you very much, safrnlt. ryan lochte wrapped up his games with a very busy night in the pool. he took bronze in the 200-meter back stroke and i think it was less than 30 minutes later he grabbed silver in the 200-meter. lochte leads london with five medals, 11 for his career. great to see you. good morning and congratulations. how do you feel? >> i'm relieved that it's finally over. it's been a long four years but you know what? i'm coming home to my country with five olympic medals and i couldn't be happier. >> were these the games you envisioned? was this the meet you envisioned? >> whenever i step on the blocks i'm always going there to win. i'm not going for second or third. i'm going for the gold. sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. but overall i'm pretty happy. >> so much was made of the duel in the pool. okay? you versus michael phelps. two main events. and you split. you won the first. >> yes. >> he won the second. do you think people got their money's worth? >> oh, by all means.

i think in swimming me and michael will go down as one of the greatest rivalries in history. i mean, i'm just happy i was part of that. >> i want to take you through the race last night, the 200 i.m. he got off to a very quick start. i want to mention you had just been in a race prior to that. i watched you warm down for about 20 minutes. were you surprised how fast he got out? >> no. i knew that's what he was going to do. i mean, his butterfly is so strong and that is one of his strongest strokes. i knew if i had any kind of a fighting chance i would have to go with him. and it kind of hurt me toward the end but i'll take it. >> i was sitting next to a guy last night at a swimming event, a former college swimmer. one of the things he kept talking about and i realized also, you were almost always the biggest guy in the pool in terms of muscle. and you and i talked about this a couple of months before the game. >> yes. >> you really bumped up going to

these games. do you think that was exactly the right move or is it possible you bulked up too much? >> i don't think i bulked up too much. i think it was perfect. just because i've gone a lot faster since '08 and i've gotten a lot bigger. it's just all the training, the extra training i've been doing. i know it helped me out a lot so i'm just going to stay hopefully the same. >> keep up that kind of training regimen? >> oh, yeah. >> you said to me a couple months ago, i said to you, write the headline, ryan, for what the papers will say when these games are over and you said, i hope it says ryan lochte takes over. what's the headline? >> that's hard to say. just because, i mean, i had some ups and downs swims at this olympics. so i don't know. it's hard to say. i'm going to have to wait and see what the actual media says. >> when you look at rio four years from now, you just said before we went on, this has been a really long four years.

can you gear up mentally and physically and think about putting four more years in to get to the games in rio? >> it has been a long four years but i'm having a blast. i love just getting up on the blocks and racing the top people in the world. i get excited for that. by all means i'm going another four years. >> no question. >> there is no question about it. i'm going another four. >> two things finally. we had your family on here the other day. i just want you to talk a little bit about what they've meant through this process, these long years. >> they're my biggest fans and supporters. they've been through everything with me. they've been there every big national meet that i've -- or international meet that i've ever swam. having them supporting me, i think there are 40 plus people there. it's amazing knowing that i have my small entourage with me all the time. it's not such a small entourage. >> you have a lot of fans here

ryan and we want to say, also, happy birthday. thank you. 28. >> you have a lot to celebrate. >> we brought you a present. here you go. >> oh, nice. >> they look great. fantastic. >> it's perfect. >> thank you. >> happy birthday. >> ryan, congratulations. >> we want to change gears for a second and now to our exclusive conversation with british prime minister david cameron. he spent some time here in olympic park on thursday. i got to talk to him and began by asking him his thoughts on the game so far. >> i think they're going really well. i was very proud of the opening ceremony. i thought it was a great show case for britain and the games have really set off a lot of excitement here and around the world. i'm very proud of the british team. they're winning a lot of medals. >> your media is tough around here. some have pointed the finger at you and kidded i think, hope kidded. they called it the cameron curse that you've been to a couple

events and prominent british athletes under performed. how do you plead? >> i plead not guilty. i was just at judo and gibbons got the silver. >> it's broken? >> i'm not sure it was ever there in the first place but, you know, i want to be there to cheer on some of our athletes and do what i can to support them. >> this is a huge spectacle but often times we're reminded that it is just sports and there are priorities around the world. you were mentioning you were at judo. you were there with president putin of russia. i know you spoke and met with him and one thing on your agenda was syria. can you tell me how that conversation went? >> well yeah. it was a frank conversation because i think what's happening is so unacceptable. we need to put the pressure on that regime. we all need to say frankly that assad has got to go. and the russians aren't at that place yet. >> do you think that president putin has the best interests of the syrian people in mind the way he's handling this situation? >> well, he has to answer for himself. in my view the best interests of the syrian people cannot be best provided by assad staying in

place. we need to turn the pressure valve up. >> we just got news kofi annan the mediator for the united nations plans to resign at the end of the month. you say we need to turn the pressure up. might you be willing as a government to go it alone and take some kind of action? i'm talking about including military action to ease the situation? >> i don't think military action is right in the case of syria but i think we should send a very clear warning to the syrian leadership that if they on any scale use chemical or biological weapons very severe consequences could follow. >> interesting political time in our country. we're in the midst of a presidential election. i know you've recently met -- you've heard something about that? you've had a chance to meet with mitt romney. what is your impression? >> he is clearly a very capable man. i'm not going to get involved in u.s. politics. you guys will decide whose your president. it's in our interest to work with whoever wins that contest. the special relationship is very special to me. i work very closely with president obama. i admire him a huge amount and i

enjoy working with him. >> how important is personal chemistry in your opinion between the leaders of our two countries in terms of maintaining that special relationship? >> i think it helps because you want to have a personal relationship because you're talking about deep problems. you're talking about big challenges and you want to have trust. >> so come the first of the year you feel as if you can have that level of trust with either president obama or president romney. >> i will work with whoever the american people elect as your president. i will be straight in atlanta i want to work with you because we have so many things we need to do together. >> that was our conversation with british prime minister david cameron. and now let's get to the morning's top stories from natalie morales. natalie? >> good morning, matt. good morning, everyone. the united nations' general assembly is set to slam syrian president bashar al assad today voting on a resolution to denounce his regime's attacks on civilians. this just one day after u.n. special envoy kofi annan

resigned from his role in mediating the syrian conflict. meantime this morning in damascus mortars rained down on a refugee camp killing at least 15 people as rebels and government forces battled in the streets. officials are investigating thursday's fatal crash of a double decker megabus. the charter bus from chicago to kansas city plowed into a bridge on an illinois interstate killing one person and injuring some 38 others. new information this morning suggests there may have been warning signs that the colorado shooting suspect james holmes was dangerous. unconfirmed reports now show that holmes' psychiatrist at his university alerted the school's behavioral threat team. no action was taken by the threat team and holmes withdrew from the university of colorado before the july 20th shooting. same sex marriage supporters plan a kiss-in at chick-fil-a restaurants around the country today to protest the fast food chain owner's comments against gay marriage. this after wednesday's

demonstration to support chick-fil-a's stance. i'm sorry. pouring rain here and it's coming insi sideways. this is after support for chick-fil-a set a record for sales for the company. the music man at the ballpark was taken to heart when he played three blind mice after an unpopular call. watch what happens. >> you're gone! >> he's out of there. the p.a. operator is just an intern with the daytona cubs but got a real world lesson in work place politics. it is now 7:19. back to matt, savannah, and the monsoon came in during the newscast. very hard. we put up these glass screens behind us. wow. >> good effort by our crew, everyone. >> nice job. >> trying to do the newscast here and they're running behind

me. >> we thought gymnastics was hard last night. >> we were jumping through hoops here. >> this may sound like a weird question but what's the weather mr. roker? >> if you recall we said it was going to do this and, unfortunately -- whoa. man. but we've got die-hard fans out there. we love it. all right. let's show you what we've got. in fact, this is just the shape of things to come, coming up this weekend. we've also got ernesto, 35 miles pour winds moving to the west. we expect that sometime by wednesday it's going to be somewhere in the gulf of mexico as a minimal hurricane, a category one storm. keep an eye on that. now let's look at the rest of your forecast and you're going to see, take a look. saturday, tomorrow, heavy showers, thunderstorms. 70 degrees. sunday, more of the same. and, in fact, we're talking about the possibility of flooding on sunday so it's going to be kind of interesting at

track and field and all the outdoor events going on. that's what's going on arournd the country and h >> a bit of a sticky dough. higher humidity making it feel even hotter than the mid 90's. >> and the roof is leaking. >> thank you, al. >> thanks, al. >> we'll have much more from beautiful london including the olympic moment that has the duke and duchess of cambridge overcome with emotion. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back to rainy london. we are used to seeing prince william and kate reserved in public but look at the cover of britain's "daily telegraph" if it's no too wet. the duke and duchess of cambridge were in a spontaneous moment of jubilation after team gb won gold in track cycling yesterday. >> that's right. their joy is understandable. it was only britain's fifth gold medal of the games, three on thursday including the team sprint title. another came in the canoe slolam leading the gold medal winners to jump in the water and celebrate. >> very excited for the home team here. just ahead the controversial new rule that kept gymnast aly raisman off the podium. that's next. i got him the pair of nikes. look - he can barely control himself.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. baltimore city announces 1 four recreation centers will close their doors for good. they will close permanently one week from today. we have also learned another 10 recreation centers could close if the city cannot find qualified operators.

that's get a check of the morning commute. sarah caldwell, traffic pulse 11. >> closures in effect at mount carmel road. taking a little bit longer to clear. we have an accident to watch for on southbound i-97, aviation blvd.. as far as dry times, pretty good shape. 11 minutes on the outer loop north and west side. five minutes on southbound 95 from the 895 split to the fort mchenry. we will update you on baltimore national pike. very heavy at this point. out of traffic in great shape this morning. 895 looking good towards the construction zone. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. ava has a check on your forecast. >> 74 in parksville, 74 in

cockeysville. it feels hot, humid t in the afternoon. 89 for ocean city. 88 in the mountains. isolated chance for thunderstorms later today. most areas will stay dry. seven-day forecast -- 92 tomorrow, another chance for an isolated strong. 50% chance

history will be made here in london tomorrow when south african sprinter oscar pistorius runs in the race. he will be the first double amputee to compete in the olympic games. he is a true inspiration. matt, i got to talk with him a moment and i can see why he is a favorite not just of his teammates but of all of the athletes. good morning again. i'm alongside matt lauer and al roker and if you don't like the weather in london -- >> that was a huge storm that came through and it came through in about four minutes. >> big cloud burst.

>> gone now. >> we'll see this more and more as we get into the weekend. >> earlier we talked to gabby douglas about her huge win last night in the gymnastics all-around. her teammate aly raisman finished third but she will not -- was not on the podium because of a new rule that has her going home without a bronze medal. we'll talk to aly about that, coming up in a couple minutes. >> she has a lot to be proud of. another person who has a lot to be proud of the american swimmer tyler clary. boy did he have a big night in the pool last night knocking ryan lochte off his signature event the 200-meter back stroke and tyler is here. >> we'll talk to him in a couple minutes but first nbc's jenna bush hagar was at the swimming last night and has more. jenna? >> reporter: yes, i was tyler clary was a dark horse coming into london but he came through winning gold and breaking the olympic record. it was also a very special night for another american swimmer rebecca soni. >> soni with the lead chasing that world record and chasing an unprecedented --

>> for the second night in a row rebecca soni seat world record in the women's 200-meter breast stroke. you broke the world record and it was your own. >> yes. it was great. it was two nights of unimagined i don't know what. to break the world record, i've been dreaming about that for a long time. >> reporter: and you did it. >> i did it finally. >> reporter: soni becomes the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in this event. >> after beijing it took a few years to sink in what happened. >> reporter: you have two more years until this actually hits. >> clary is giving lochte a run. >> reporter: in the men's 200-meter back stroke a dramatic upset. >> clary in lane four wins the gold! >> reporter: tyler clary winning gold in his first ever trip to the olympic games. you just won a gold medal. you broke the olympic record. what does it feel like?

>> i can't -- it's surreal. it's inspiring. >> shocks ryan lochte and the world. >> reporter: you bare ly moved out in beijing and now you're here with a gold medal. is it hard to believe? >> it is very hard to believe. i'm waiting to wake up. >> reporter: this is the first time clary has seen his parents in weeks. what was it like to hug your son who just won a gold medal? >> unbelievable. >> reporter: they're proud of you. what do you think? >> i'm proud of them. >> reporter: how much have they supported you on this journey? >> you know, it goes without saying, it's not just for me, i mean, for any athlete here, they wouldn't be here without their parents. they got me through high school and college and i'm here now. >> reporter: congratulations, guys. >> thank you. >> reporter: so awesome. tyler clary's golden night. celebrated with the family that has always believed in him.

and as for soni, she is expected to swim in the women's medley relay tomorrow. matt? >> all right, jenna. thank you very much. tyler clary is with us now along with that gold medal around his neck that he won in the 200-meter back stroke. tyler, good morning. you've had a chance to sleep on it a little bit. how do you feel? >> it's still an amazing feeling that i can't even begin to process and probably won't even process for quite sometime. i mean, aaron pierceal was talking to my mom last night after i won and said this is something that will absolutely change his life and probably won't even process six months down the road. >> how do you think this changes your life? >> in so many different ways, you're an olympic champion now. i mean, nobody can ever take that away from you. and all of this hard work that i've been putting in for years and years and all the support

from my family and friends comes to fruition with the huge boost in confidence and motivation for me. >> the obvious point is ryan was the favorite in this race, had to be, and he was right there next to you. how aware were you of his place and his position during the race? >> well, i knew he was ahead of me at the hundred and i was pretty sure he was ahead of me at the 150 and even coming into the last 25 meters really. i didn't even -- all i could see off to my right was splashing coming back on that last 25 and i had seen a glimpse of his head so i thought i might be ahead of him going into the last wall. just threw my head back and touched and it so happened i was able to get my hand on the wall first. >> you see the number one next to your name, the moment you pointed up to the sky. what were you thinking? >> the first coherent thought through my head after seeing all of that was my late coach kevin perry, my coach through high school, and he lost his battle with cancer when i was a freshman in college and, you

know, without him getting ahold of me and steering me in the right direction and basically telling me, you know, you're a lot better than you're allowing yourself to be i would not be here today. i know that. and i'm so thankful for that, the influence he's had on me. >> we going to see you in rio? >> i certainly hope so. >> we do, too. tyler, congratulations. great race. nice to come to the olympics and walk home with a gold medal. >> always. >> congratulations. thank you. now here's al. all right. matt, thank you so much. of course we've been doing right around this time al's english class where we, even though we speak the same language as our friends here in the uk, our word meaning a little something different here than it does there. yesterday it was food for thought. we decided now it's a lot on your plate since we love to eat here. the first one very simple. all right. crisps. what are crisps? anybody know? >> french fries. >> french fries. >> no.

>> no. crisps. potato chips. >> that's right. >> very good. >> chips or french fries. >> okay. >> i think. >> okay. now a little healthier. rocket. what is rocket? >> a rugula. >> gold for the usa. >> finally, this is one of our favorites, brasher. anybody know? >> it's what happens after a race walk. >> bacon. a strip of bacon. >> there you have it. al's english class. for the day. all right. let's see what we've got weather wise for you today. we are expecting again to look at the risk of severe storms in the upper plains from north platte to grand fork. could be some isolated tornadoes in the area. and you can see on the radar

already looking at some strong storms. and the heat continues in the places they've already been seeing the heat. 111 in hobart, ft. worth, 105. look at the pacific northwest. it's going to be temperatures -- we're looking at temperatures in the 80s. portland on saturday. 88 degrees. >> another hot and humid day. expecting high temperatures between 92 and 96. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks. there is much more to come from now sunny london including aly

raisman. she finished third last night in gymnastics but does not get the bronze medal. we'll talk to her about that live coming up after this. ♪ so twiddly-tee twiddly-dum

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third place, a tie with the russian aliya mustafina. however, because of a new tiebreaker rule the russian was awarded the bronze medal. aly is here this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you're still smiling. maybe that's from your team gold the other night. how are you feeling waking up this morning and knowing you did get third place but you don't get to have the bronze medal? >> i definitely feel okay. i'm still really happy with my performance. it's bitter sweet because i know i finished third in the world so that's exciting and so amazing but at the same time i didn't get the medal. i don't need a medal to prove that i did well and that is something to smile about. >> we're all smiling about that. in that moment last night you finished your floor routine. you absolutely knocked it out of the park. then you look up at the scoreboard. did you even know about this rule before-hand? >> no. i was hoping they'd give us both the bronze medal but it is what it is and i just have to learn from it. i still have a routine coming

up. >> was it confusing? how did you even learn of it? >> it was very confusing. i had to wait for them and they didn't even tell me. i found out in the back room by one of the media people. i had no idea what the rules are. >> it's interesting. you are known above all things for your consistency, turning in good performances. aliya mustafina, who has some incredible highs also had some far worse lows but somehow the rules benefited her for that. i mean, you've been so gracious about it but it's been a little bit frustrating? >> of course it's a little bit frustrating but i'm happy for her. i'm so happy for gabby, too. she is from usa so that's amazing. she deserves it. so it's really exciting for our country and i wish i could have been up on the podium with her but, like i said, i'm just trying to be positive about it and happy for the other girls that were up there. >> you know, the beam is actually one of your stronger suits. we'll see you compete for gold in the beam next week. do you think it was a case of nerves? >> i don't know what happened. the beginning was pretty solid and i think i just, right when i

made that mistake i'm not used to doing that so i kind of freaked out a little bit but i'm just happy i was able to come back on the floor and finish off on a good note. >> one thing i think everyone noticed about you last night is how incredibly classy and gracious a young woman you are and is that important to you to kind of show that sportsmanship in that key moment? >> definitely. i mean, i'm still so honored and excited to be competing in the all-around finals at the olympic games. it's such a dream come true. i just wanted to make the most of it and enjoy it as much as possible. >> i have to ask you what you think of the performance of your parents who were waiting in the stands. they have become a viral video during this olympics because they were just living and dying with every moment. what did you think when you saw that video? >> i thought it was so funny. i showed it to my coach and he was laughing too. i never knew they got that into it. just seeing how excited they were means so much to me to have their support. >> they are proud of you and they have raised a great daughter. thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next the so-called blade runner. we'll catch up with the athlete who is about to make history

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[ female announcer ] and try aleve for relief from tough headaches. today's athlete watch is brought to you by p & g, proud sponsor. >> this morning on today's athlete to watch, oscar pistorius, the south african track star set to make his olympic debut tomorrow in the 400-meter race, a sprint that win or lose will etch his place in history. in terms of olympic achievement oscar pistorius has already won long before leaving the starting block. his place on south africa's track team is the culmination of a difficult and at times controversial quest to become the first amputee track athlete to ever compete at an olympics. do you think of yourself as a pioneer? >> not really. i mean, you know, i grew up with

the kids around the neighborhood and we all just did sports. >> reporter: oscar was born with a rare condition and was missing the major bone in both lower legs. his parents made the excruciating decision to have their infant son's legs amputated below the knees but were determined oscar would not see himself as different. i know your mom had a huge influence on you. she sounds like a tough cookie. >> yes. she was very hard headed and truly supportive. she didn't see my disability as anything that should keep me from achieving the goals that i've set for myself. she'd say to my brother put on your shoes and oscar put on your legs and that was the last she wanted to hear about it. >> to have her pass as a young teenager was an incredibly difficult experience. do you think of her now? >> most definitely. she is looking down on us.

we celebrate the time that we had. that's our philosophy in our family. >> what do you think she would think if she knew her oscar was set to compete with some of the fastest runners in the world? >> she probably wouldn't be impressed. she'd just be like, yeah, that's my boy. go train and don't forget that you're blessed. >> a natural athlete from an active family oscar has always competed against able bodied athletes even playing for his high school rugby team. after a knee injury oscar's coach led him to the track as a way to rehabilitate. >> he kind of tricked me into running and one of his small able body competitions. i did not know those were qualifying events. >> months later oscar found himself on the biggest platform for disabled athletes smashing world records and taking home gold. >> everything was overwhelming. >> when his times began to reach those of able bodied athletes it seemed a natural progression for oscar to set his sights on the olympics.

>> my progress increased gradual gradually. >> he was first denied the right to compete when critics said his carbon fiber prosthetics were an advantage because of their spring and lightweight. what is it like to have some people say oscar pistorius has an advantage on the track? >> it was quite difficult for me. it was something that i think i took a little bit too personally at times. >> with so many other amputee athletes using the same prosthetics oscar says the proof is in the performance. >> if there was a big advantage i'm sure there would be more athletes running the same times. >> he offered to do extensive testing to prove his critics wrong once and for all. detailed analysis determined the prosthetics provided no advantage. >> it was not enjoyable going through the tests at the time but i think it was something nah was very important because now we have something concrete to stand on. >> oscar won his appeal.

but he later failed to qualify for the beijing olympics. you fought so hard to compete, to get into the olympics, and then it didn't work out in beijing. does that kind of hang over your head a little bit? >> if anything it motivates me a bit more. >> because of that determination oscar has remained an inspiration to sports fans of all ages. >> get set and go! >> and abilities. >> he runs so fast. >> in july oscar's dream of competing in the olympics became a reality when the south african olympic committee added the name pistorius to their roster. >> indulge just for a moment in thinking about what it would be like to be on that olympic tr k track. >> it'll be amazing. just the thought of being there and being able to perform for my country is unbelievable. >> and it will happen for oscar tomorrow at olympic stadium right there in the men's

400-meter race. >> coming up more with gabby douglas and the other all-around champions. ho w do es it feel to try smooth, wdelicious hershey's chocolate with 30% less fat? new hershey's simple pleasures chocolate. 30% less fat, 100% delicious.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> still kind of busy for motorists getting out of the parkton region. check out at mt. carmel road due to a downed pole. take falls road as your alternate. 83 the king good at the moment. if you are traveling on providence road to the beltway, vehicle overturned there. north side delays are falling into place from harvard road towards providence. clinton street, we have an

accident. another one wrapping up a aviation blvd.. let's look and see how things are fairing on our live cameras. outside the beltway, a building in volume. smith right towards providence. once you get to its liberty on the out of it, things start to get heavy. 83 and york road, coming down from parkton. so far so good in that area. watch for the closure at mount carmel and had no road. ava fills us in on the forecast. >> we climbed up from 78 downtown. 74 in catonsville. 72 in randallstown. it feels water towards the afternoon. humidity makes it feel worse. operatives to near 90s for the eastern shore and ocean city. a lot of sunshine earlier on. by the afternoon, a couple more clouds. we could see an isolated

thunderstorm. there may be if you blip -- a few lips on the radar to watch out for. better chance for a storm on sunday night into monday.

it's 8:00 on a friday morning the 3rd day of august, 2012 and this is a beautiful look down at olympic stadium and the calderon burning there from our friends at goodyear. hopefully you'll be able to get a nice view of the big crowd we've assembled here at our studio. people from all over the place. we're thankful for that. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and mr. al roker. >> you can hear the crowd. they're very boisterous this morning. just ahead a group of women.

for 20 years mary lou retton was the only woman to have won the all-around gold gymnastics. then carly patterson joined and now you can add gabby douglas to that historic list and all of these ladies are here this morning to talk with us. >> gabby will stand on top of mary lou retton to give you a hug. and we also find out this weekend who will be the world's fastest man. >> that is always a cool race. let's get the rest of the olympic news now from michelle kusinski from outside the aquatic center. >> reporter: good morning. the u.s. has been shining in these games today overtaking china in the medal count. today again it will be all about aquatics but yesterday gymnastics as gabby douglas brilliantly captured gold. >> and it's a gabby gold! >> reporter: gabby douglas, dubbed the flying squirrel, flipped her way into the history books becoming the first

african-american woman to win the all-around title and the fourth american to do so. >> it means so much. all the hard work and dedication and effort put in in the gym and hard days and hard days are the best because that's what champions are made of. if you push through the hard days you can get through anything. >> reporter: aly raisman tied for third with russia's aliya mustafina but will not take home the bronze. under olympic tie-breaking rules the medal went to the russian. >> career olympic number 20. >> reporter: in swimming michael phelps bested ryan lochte for gold in the men's 200-meter individual medley, his 20th olympic medal. >> i'm happy i got my first individual gold and we have another final tomorrow. rebecca soni broke her own world record in the 200-meter breast stroke. in a surprise, tyler clary beat lochte for gold in the 200-meter back stroke. >> she's only 15 years old.

>> newcomer katie ledeki the youngest member of the u.s. team got off to a good start winning her first semifinal in the women's 800 meter free style. >> i'm glod i got the first one out of the way. hopefully that puts me in a good position for finals tomorrow. >> reporter: the royals cheered on their home country at two events. william and kate joining commoners for a wave at wimbledon. and later the couple and prince harry watched great britain win gold for men's track cycling at the velodrome. >> the gold medal winner! >> there was a celebration to remember as kala harrison won the first ever u.s. olympic gold in judo running into the stands to hug her fiance. >> it weighs as much as my dreams. you know, i have a picture of it in my house up on my wall. i pictured it every night for the last four years. and it feels real.

>> reporter: today we will see the last individual event of the olympics career of the most decorated olympian ever michael phelps. back to you guys. >> all right. michelle, thank you very much. >> let's check the day's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> hey, savannah. good morning everyone. exactly two weeks after the colorado movie theater massacre, there are new questions about the suspect and how much university of colorado knew about his mental state before the shooting. nbc's mark potter joins us from centennial, colorado. good morning to you, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you, natalie. after it was learned that james holmes mailed a package to his psychiatrist, which arrived after the shooting, there are now questions about what he might have told her in the weeks before the shooting. by june 10th when james holmes withdrew from the neuro science ph.d program at the university of colorado he had already been a patient of dr. lynn fenton, a campus psychiatrist. now there are unconfirmed reports that sometime before the july 20th shooting that claimed

the lives of 12 people at an aurora movie theater dr. fenton spoke about holmes to the university's behavioral evaluation and threat assessment team. according to the university's website, the beta team handles concerns about individuals who may be threatening, disruptive, or otherwise problematic. >> at the level at which an individual is a serious threat of harm, a behavioral team has a lot of flexibility in terms of the actions it can take. >> reporter: under colorado law a beta team has the option to request a 72-hour mental health evaluation, but with holmes no apparent steps were taken. >> the psychiatrist has to make a decision, a critical decision. does this person pose such a danger to others that they need be involuntarily committed? because that's a huge step. >> reporter: colorado's chancellor continues to stand by the actions of his staff, saying i believe until it's been demonstrated otherwise that our people did what they should have done. so far dr. fenton has not spoken

publicly about her professional relationship with holmes and her attorney says she will not be commenting on any of the latest news reports. natalie? >> mark potter in centennial, colorado. thanks so much. now for a look at what is trending today or what has you talking online. entertainment blogs are buzzing about pop star katie perry and singer john mayer who were spotted out together in l.a. this week. speculation has been rampant online about who katie might be dating since her recent divorce from russell brand. nbc has hit the bulls eye. the network says archery was the most popular sport on its cable network during the first few days of olympic coverage. one reason? the success of the hunger games which got more young people interested in bows and arrows. and the golden girls, a team usa fab five inspired this video parody of "that's what makes you beautiful." ♪

you light up the gym like nobody else ♪ >> i do think they know they're flexible. at least the judges certainly do. wonder if they liked that parody. it's now 8:07. back over to al with a check of the weather. >> okay. thanks. let's see what we've got for today. our pick city of the day first of all, tropical storm ernesto. 40 miles west-southwest of st. lucia. 45-mile-per-hour winds. it is moving to the west. it looks like it will be out into the gulf of mexico if it keeps on this current path sometime early wednesday morning. that's

>> a bit of a sticky dough. higher humidity making it feel even hotter than the mid 90's. >> that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, when we come back gabby douglas and her mom meet up with the other ladies to win the all-around gymnastics titles right after these messages. [ male announcer ] fight pepperoni heartburn and pepperoni breath fast

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and deliver them directly to you. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. today's olympic moment is brought to you by walmart. we've been training your whole lives to save you money. walmart. save money. live better. this morning on today's olympic moment, the flying squirrel soars all the way to gold. american gymnast gabby douglas may stand only 4'11" but she has the heart of a giant. two years ago at the age of 14, she left home and moved with a host family half way across the country in iowa just to train with the coach she believes would make her olympic dreams

come true. and, boy, were they realized here in london. first a team championship. >> the gold medal! >> reporter: then the hunt for gold in the individual all-around. >> that was spectacular under the absolute glare of olympic pressure. >> reporter: finally, one event stood between her and a gold medal -- the floor routine. >> looking pretty golden for this girl right here. >> reporter: all she could do was watch and wait after her closest competitor finished her floor routine and then the moment she'll remember forever. >> and it's a gabby gold! >> reporter: no one would beat her on this night. her mother, weeping with joy. the girl with the golden smile truly golden joining the ranks of american olympic champions

mary lou, carly, and nastia forever. and gabby is with us once again along with nastia liukin, carly patterson, and mary lou retton. you now belong to this club, gabby. how does it feel? >> it feels amazing to belong to this club. i mean, all of these olympians have accomplished so much and i'm so happy and honored to follow in their foot steps. >> is there a secret handshake or something we need to know about? >> we need to do that. >> we need to make one up. >> the fantastic four. >> that you are. mary lou, when you think back to 1984 and you look at how strong these women are now, i mean, for 20 years you were the only one. >> yes. >> now we're going back to back. >> it gives me goose bumps. i am so proud to be the pioneer. i mean, i am of the older generation and very proud to have started this american domination. seriously. made in the usa. >> and the sport just keeps getting better and better. the gymnasts keep getting better

and getter. when you look at what gabby did last night are you amazed? >> definitely. i remember doing the double pole and now they whip out two and a half just like it's nothing. it's like everything in me to get my double around. so i'm amazed by the gymnastics they're doing. just eight years and four years later. >> just four years for you, nastia. how did you feel watching gabby bring it home last night? >> it was so exciting to be there and in that arena and feel the energy, you know, starting out and seeing how confident she was on that and as soon as she hit that floor routine, the way she flies on the bars, like the flying squirrel. it's just amazing. then you get a little nervous and i remember gabby was saying, she's like, i get so nervous for beam. as soon as you hit that landing, it's -- >> we couldn't tell you were nervous at all, gabby. have you thought about especially being in the company of these women how your life is

going to clang? >> yeah. definitely hasn't sunk in yet. they're telling me it is going to sink in when i go home. >> i wanted to give you guys an opportunity to give a little advice to gabby. nast nastia, what would you say? >> i think this moment is such a special moment and you'll remember it for the rest of your life, so just try to, i don't know, maybe keep a journal or something of all the exciting things that you get to do. take tons of pictures and just let it all sink in because you deserve every second. >> you're going to have olympic champion on the title of your name forever now and that's something that no one can take away from you. and i'm so happy to have you join our little group. >> thank you. >> like nastia said enjoy every single minute. it goes by so fast and is such a whirl wind. definitely try to soak it in and look around you and realize what you've accomplished. >> mary lou, as we bring in gabby's mom what advice would you give? >> i agree. the first thing i say is welcome to the sorority. my motherly instincts come out and i say have a great team of

support people around you. that woman right there. >> gabby's mom. natalie, your heart must be overflowing. >> it is. >> how proud are you of this girl? >> incredibly proud of her. >> when she was standing on the podium are you thinking about all you have given up, all she has given up to get here? >> absolutely. yeah. it was just a big push and having, you know, allowing her to move away from home at 14 was really difficult. i didn't know if it would pay off. we didn't know if it would pay off, but she was committed. she told me that from day one. she said, mom, i know i can do this but i have to have the opportunity to have that coach, coach chao. >> you have so much to be proud of, natalie hopkins, gabby douglas, and of course the other ladies. you're all legends. thank you. coming up next we'll catch

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eggo nutri-grain waffles. the track and field men's events get under way at olympic stadium today and all eyes will be on the jamaican sprinter in these coming days as he tries repeat in the 100 and 200-meter races. nbc's lester holt caught up with the world's fastest man. >> there is the start. >> when your last name is bolt -- >> he is flying around the curve. >> and you grow up to be the fastest man in the world it's hard not to believe in destiny. >> who says lightning doesn't strike twice? >> reporter: for 25-year-old jamaican sprinter yussain bolt

that destiny was an incredible trio of gold medals at the beijing olympics. with all that gold some have suggested bolt has the midas touch and he hopes to do it all again in london. >> i'm training really hard. >> reporter: here in jamaica where running rules supreme, bolt is a bona fide hero. people took to the streets to celebrate his wins in beijing. >> jamaica is like going crazy. it's amazing. >> reporter: to see your countrymen in the streets celebrating you and what you've done for the country, man, that must be bigger than anything. >> you have no idea. it was amazing. >> reporter: perhaps no one was more proud than his father, who encouraged his early days on the track. >> the race was all over. i cried. >> reporter: raised in a poor rural corner of the island, bolt is now a multimillion dollar

pitch man. >> hi. >> reporter: an unofficial ambassador showing prince harry his signature pose on a recent visit to jamaica not to mention owner of the aptly named restaurant tracks and records. >> get to come and eat free. >> reporter: bolt was a gifted athlete from a young age. like many young jamaicans he loved playing cricket and soccer. when a coach noticed his speed on the pitch he suggested bolt try focusing on track. it wasn't long before his career took off. these days playing a game of his beloved soccer or football as it's known here isn't so easy. >> i can't play football in front of a crowd of people. we always go to a place where nobody knows. i don't tell anybody because people will come and try to stop me. >> reporter: jamaicans are fiercely protective of their national treasures, and bolt is just one of a string of local heroes from the tiny island

nation who have dominated the track in recent years. here, aspiring stars show case their skills at the annual boys and girls championships known simply as champs. it's not a stretch to call it jamaica's mini olympics, and bolt credits the intensity of this competition with turning out so many young stars. >> they come out. they work hard because they want to be the best. >> reporter: and so it shouldn't come as a surprise that even on the international scene bolt's greatest competition comes from right here in his own back yard. do you make him better? >> definitely. >> reporter: 22-year-old yohan blake is jamaica's latest rising star and could be the one to take bolt down in london. he won the 100 meeter at last year's world championship. though it was after bolt was

eliminated for a rare false start. more recently blake beat bolt in both the 100 and 200 at the jamaican olympic trials. determined to make his own history in london. >> the greatest show on earth. >> both men train together, share a coach and a mutual admiration for one another. >> it's a great motivation just to know the country looks forward to us doing so good. >> reporter: but for now the 100 and 200 are still bolt's races to lose. despite reports of recent injuries, bolt remains confident about his chances in london and optimistic about his place in history. >> has the man who will beat your record been born yet? >> i would say no. got to wait. >> he may be right. bolt will be on the track tomorrow for the qualifying in the 100-meter race. the final set for sunday.

we're back after your local news. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> we have a couple of things still clearing. mt. carmel road, accident with a downed pole. clinton street, accident clearing in the city. if you delays out there it really not all that bad. north side showing a little red on the outer loop from harford towards dulaney valley. tapping the brakes on the west side outer loop.

continued closures in the city. here's an update on the north side in the area of providence. if you delays from harford road towards dulaney valley. tapping the brakes at 9-70. live view of traffic -- stop at traffic in which it is our. in parkton, mount carmel closed. ava has a check of your forecast. >> warming things up. now up to 81. 77 in pasadena. 73 in randallstown. towards the afternoon, we are expecting temperatures in the mid-90's. we will factor in the humidity, and mostly sunny skies throughout the day. isolated thunderstorm popping up later in the afternoon. we could see another isolated storm tomorrow.

91 on sunday. thunderstorms into the afternoon. thunderstorms possible on monday. cold front brings us into the upper 80s. >> another update at 8:56.

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♪ 8:30 on this friday morning, august 3rd, 2012. you are watching the international group of jump rope dancers known as get tricky. they normally perform during halftime of the men's and women's basketball games but today they're giving our crowd a great show. >> the great news is they showed us a few tricks in just a few minutes. >> i hope this is the remedial course. >> did you note the sarcasm in

the great news? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that's the move they'll teach us. >> i haven't jumped rope since i was about 10 years old. >> we never jumped rope like that, though. >> no, i know. we'll try that out. something like that. >> we'll do some.

>> okay. okay. [ cheering ] >> that's tricky. >> nice. >> good job, guys. >> very nicely done. >> well done. >> the best part. >> the whole outfit. >> matt almost wore that today. >> exact same outfit. what else is coming up? now that i can say it we're going to be doing some cooking with somebody you might not recognize, the person you see there, but he is an award winning british food writer tom parker bowles. his mother is the duchess of cornwall, camilla. >> that's right. the u.s. women's rowing team defended its gold medal. not a bad showing for a group of lawyers, accountants, and all sorts of young women. but they are delighting our crowd and they are going to be -- we'll be talking with them in just a little bit. >> first let's get a check of

the weather. >> let's see what we've got for your weekend. for tomorrow we expect to see strong storms in the upper mississippi river valley. it's going to be hot in the pacific northwest. temperatures in the 80s and 90s. sizzling through texas. hot in the northeast. humid down through the southeast. sunday sunday look for more strong storms from new england all the way back down into the mid mississippi river valley. sunny and hot from the southwest all the way to the pacific northwest. mild in the upper great lakes. more humidity continues around the great lakes, the gulf coast on into the mid-atlantic states. >> another hot and humid day. expecting high temperatures between 92 and 96.

>> and that's your latest weather. >> apparently my microphone was actually on when i said they're going to teach us some tricks. kind of stuck. this is joe right? >> i'm joe. >> what do you want to show us? >> we call it traveler. that's when you have a jumper come behind everyone. >> yeah. >> down the line. >> i need all to stand right here. >> facing which direction? >> the camera. >> okay. >> spread out a little bit more. >> yeah. >> okay. >> i want everyone to try to jump at the same time. so jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. there we go. [ cheering ] >> jump. jump. jump. >> okay! too easy.

>> you two in the front. you two. right here. >> okay. >> uh-oh. >> so now, this takes rhythm and timing. we're all going to try to jump together. here we go. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. >> i'm clear! not my fault! >> one more time. here we go. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. jump. >> oh! my fault. i got that one. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> tricky. >> a whole slew of gold medal winners. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back to olympic park and of course the u.s. powered its way to victory in the women's eight rowing final on tuesday the team's second straight olympic gold in a sport. they have absolutely dom mountainadoed over the last six years or so. >> just to be safe i want them to introduce themselves quickly. >> mary wip l. >> erica barl. >> susan francio. >> el logan. >> how did they let a brunette on this team? congratulations. >> i pull hard. >> ho hum. another gold medal. is that how you all feel? no? >> this is the best feeling we've ever had in our lives. phenomenal. >> and, mary, this is your third olympics and you're now retiring. i understand they only sent you off in style yesterday. >> they did. i think it was the highest

moment. i was scared for my life. >> you're getting married in september. >> yes. >> congratulations. >> i have some stuff to do and i'm ready to move on. >> can you give us a little sampling here? >> come on. >> come on. >> no. what i say in the boat stays in the boat. >> are you tough on these girls? sounds like it. >> raise your hand if you were part of the olympic gold medal team last time around. all right? five of you. so the new members are -- how much pressure? >> there wasn't a lot of pressure we put on ourselves to repeat. we just wanted to have a great race as a new boat and new women rowing together and just wanted to perform the best that we could as a new group because every year is different. >> what was it like to be out there? >> so happy. >> weather played a part in the race too didn't it? >> there was a cross wind. it was predicted to be a tail

wind and then a head wind and in the final it was everything. >> going so fast it doesn't matter. >> yeah. >> we kind of go back with you guys a little bit because we happened to be at the boat house at princeton when you all i guess had just finished practicing. unfortunately we didn't learn your moves well enough. the guys ended up beating. >> before we say good-bye just raise your hand. we have lawyers here. who is a lawyer? >> not yet. >> almost. an accountant? criminologist? economist? and a whole lot of college degrees. >> gold medalists. >> congratulations to you all. >> coming up, we'll have how to travel here without breaking the bank. first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today" in london, seeing the city for a little less. the editor-in-chief of "jet setter.com" is here with us to tell us what to do and how to stay on a budget. kate, good morning. good to see you. an expensive city. >> it is. there are lots of activities and ways to see it for a lot less. >> let's start with how to get around this city during the olympics and not during the olympics. >> right. >> what is the best way, the most economic way? >> my preferred form of transportation is the cheap and it's been uncrowded this week. you need a traffic smart card. it's good for all forms of transportation in london and will save you a lot. >> i see people riding around on these bikes all the time with the little blue flashing lights on the front. tell me about that. >> yep. a boris bike, named for the man.

they are a really great way to travel. you pay a one-pound access fee, $1.50, and then the first half hour is free and after that you pay about $1.50 an hour. >> if you're walking through the streets and you want to go a distance do you recommend jumping in a cab? >> i actually don't. they're really expensive and cost about $11 a mile which is a lot more than new york. however, you won't get lost in a london cab. they take a very intense course in which they learn 25,000 streets. >> they know where they're going. no question about it. >> yes. >> let's talk about lodging. if you don't want to pay for a real swanky hotel what are the alternatives? >> you could camp. there are camping grounds. >> pitching a tent in the middle of london? >> or you can use a ready pitched tent. yes. that'll cost you about ten pounds, $15 a night. you get hot showers. some cases you get wi-fi. there are grocery stores.

alternatively, there is a great website which has real londoners' apartments. they even throw in an iphone for you. or a bed and breakfast. they cost about a hundred dollars a night. >> we're talking about getting around and where to stay. talk about activities now. >> right. >> we're in london. let's say the olympic games are not going on. tell me your favorite activities. >> i love london's royal parks. one of my favorite is richmond park which is three times bigger than central park. it's a bit outside the center. >> don't brag. >> they have deer roaming around and birds. kensington gardens which is where kensington palace, kate and william's home is. >> it was newly renovated by the way. >> exactly. >> they did a massive renovation there. >> yes. >> talk to me about museums. >> museums are free in london which is amazing. you can pay $20 in new york. i love the british museum, fantastic historical objects from all over the world including egyptian mummies and the rosetta stone.

the natural history museum is great. it has a fantastic dinosaur exhibit. my favorite museum is probably the uk's biggest collection of modern art. >> i will tell you we are having a blast here. london is doing an amazing job hosting these games. >> i'm glad you think so. >> kate maxwell, great to see you. appreciate it. up next, some cooking with the duchess of cornwall's step son tom parker bowles. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] good paying jobs.

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this morning on "today's olympic kitchen" tom parker bowles is the award winning food editor of esquire magazine and also the author of the upcoming cookbook "let's eat" and also happens to be the son of the dutchest of cornwall camilla parker bowles. good morning to you. before we get into the food have you enjoyed the olpics? have you seen any events? >> this has been brilliant. london especially but for the british this has been majestic. it's been really, really inspiring and well done and run. brilliant. >> team gb has been doing great and your relatives all the royals have been coming out. we saw william and kate yesterday looking absolutely jubilant. >> everywhere and my mother of

course is obsessed. she's had a couple days off and is watching television and she knows more about all of this than anything. she has been glued as we all have. >> let's talk about what we're going to make. you don't call yourself a chef but a home cook. we're making cottage pie. tell us about this recipe. >> this is english food. you say english food to anybody in america and they go, ah. this is basically like chilicum. >> you say don't use left over meat. >> use fresh ground chuck or whatever it is. this, this is great cheese. it's fruity. delicious and beautiful. that gives it bite and heat and all the rest of it. it's been cooking with the onions, tomato puree and just simmering down until all the flavors get together. it is so easy. tobasco of course. two of the greatest sauces in the world. >> i agree. >> i'm a chili fanatic. american recipes and english

recipes. >> must have a little spice to it then. >> most of mine do. you think british food is bland. it's not. we're having sort of a resurgence. >> you top it with the potatoes. are there any special techniques that you use to get the good potatoes? >> really, usually the mashed potatoes, you shove it in and it's like potato rice. you just mash it up. lots of butter. not healthy. >> that's fine. >> but it's good food. and all the recipes -- this is about proper eating. it's all about -- >> did you say you boiled them and then peeled them? >> i tend to boil them in their skins. >> okay. >> and then let them cool and they peel off very easy. >> does that give it more flavor or just makes it easier to peel? >> it makes it easier. i'm quite lazy. this is all about nice, easy cooking. it has my kids' recipes in there

as well. >> okay. >> add a little butter. >> cook it and then we have to get to dessert. how long do you cook this for? >> 20, 25 minutes. >> okay. >> my favorite thing about british cooking is the good names. we are making rebash spool. >> it's just whipped cream mixed with, the cream whipped here, very easy. we have the rhubarb i simmered with orange juice, ginger, sugar. >> lovely. >> ginger biscuits for crunch. all you do is as you can see i'm not a very pretty cook. >> rhubarb puree. >> and the ginger. this isn't for the kids. a little ginger booze in there. >> yeah. >> okay. and then in goes that. >> and top it with the whipped

cream. >> a little bit on top. and bang, bang. there. >> great. >> a sprinkle and we're done. >> beautiful. thank you so much. can't wait to try it. >> thank you so much. >> here is matt. today's olympic moment is brought to you by walmart. we've been training your whole lives to save you money. walmart, save money, live better. >> and now it's a special edition of today's olympic moment. the week it was in london. >> that's right. it's been one filled with gold medal performances. a lot of triumph. lots of tears. >> we've had a chance to take in so much of it with so many of the medal winners and the people who just missed stopping by our studio here in olympic park. let's take a look back. >> here it comes. mary poppins. >> are you kidding me? queen elizabeth ii.

>> the most watched opening ceremony ever. >> this is the most moving aspect of the opening ceremony. >> unbelievable. >> the fab five is going gold! >> the americans are golden. >> great britain is going to win a medal. >> and he's got it. missy franklin! >> kimberly rhode has done it. >> a gold medal winner. >> number 19! blowing away the field.

the united states will get the gold! and that paid off for lochte who is going to win olympic gold. >> raisman is in! and jordan weaver is out of the all around. >> really almost unthinkable. phelps thought he had it. >> oh, my goodness. >> just not stopping. >> yes! >> a sterling performance by kristen armstrong. >> throwing his arms out. >> for the united states. three seconds! oh, my! >> just seeing my parents, ooh, it means the world to me. >> in lane four, wins the gold!

>> gabby douglas the newest olympic all-around champion. he does get the three-peat. >> going to win back-to-back gold. today's olympics start is brought to you by kellogg's. from great starts come great things. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the misconduct trial for john leopold has been postponed. the county state's attorney's office says the trial will be held in november.

a grand jury indicted leopold in

>> current satellite pictures shows a couple clouds to our west. for the most part, you will see sunshine. high pressure in control to our north. mostly dry today. isolated thunderstorm in most areas.