oscar pistorius of south africa.n today's men's 400-meter final. >> he fought for the right to run in the first place. some said his artificial legs gave him an advantage. he could be back on the track in a relay event. one of the more inspiring moments of the games watching him do his thing. >>> and so olympians are already hearing the cash register ringing. one who may not be cashing in is missy franklin. word is she'll forego endorsement deals to be able to swim in college and remain an amateur. >> gabby douglas has already inged a deal to be on corn flakes. she could make up to $10 million in endorsements in the next few years. the olympics catapults them. hope she gets good people around her. >>> for some of you, your local news is next. >>> for everyone else, back with a twist. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. ...with great prices on thousands of

one of the great stories of the game, oscar pistorius of south africa running yesterday in the 400 metersas eliminated in the semifinal. he said he was just happy to get to the semifinal. remember, he finished in the top two in his heat and made it to this race, which was an achievement unto itself. he, of course, the double amputee. he calls himself, or was called by the press, i guess, the bladerunner. incredible story, and the man who won the race handed his pin, found him immediately, saying he was honored just to be in the race. >>> in gymnastics, makayla maroney favored to win gold, stumbled on her second vault, actually fell down, more like it, so she settled for silver. she said that's about as good as i deserve, given the fall. >>> at wimbledon, andy murray finally gets the better of roger federer, winning gold in front of his home fans, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. you'll remember less than a month ago, federer beat murray on that same court for the wimbledon title. a huge day for andy murray and great britain. >>> for the american women on saturday, serena williams won gold in women's single

and in a couple of hours, oscar pistorius of south africa will compete in the 400 meters semifinals.ouble amputee is making a historic run for gold. but remarkably, some say, even though he lost his legs he actually has an advantage over other runners. abc's cecilia vega is in london. good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: good morning to you guys, dan and bianna back in new york. they say that he's the fastest man with no legs. he said, all he ever wanted to do was race and later today, he'll get that chance on the world stage. >> look at this, pistorius is in second place! >> he tran 400 meters in 45.4 flat. it was enough for south africa's oscar pistorius to move on to the semifinals. putting him one step closer to gold. >> he's here to really make his mark. >> reporter: he's the first double amputee, ever, to compete in the olympics, and that, as they say, is history. >> everybody was smiling and cheering for him. it was like watching forrest gump run out of his braces. it was just a wonderful, wonderful moment. >> i owe it to myself to run well when i'm called out to do so. to get

also a big day for an amazing athlete, oscar pistorius of south africa defining the odds to prove what it means to be a true olympian. >> in a land-breaking moment for the olympic games. >> oscar pistorius continues to make history today. the first double amputee to ever compete in the olympics. in saturday's heats, he finished only a half second behind the winner. >> now he cruises to the front. >> it's a shorter sprint for jamaican legend usain bolt, teammate blake and tyson gay and justin gaffe lynn. they're all set for the 100-meter. we'll see lots of americans on the track today. three women in the 100-meter and three more in the marathon. two more in the steeplechase and the hammer throw. >> it feels great to have an opportunity to win. >> tennis singles winner serena williams tries to double gold when she teams up with venus today and takes on the czech republic. women's boxing, a sport that used to be banned in britain makes an olympic debut with queen underwood in the ring. all eyes are on gymnastics. jacob dalton's floor routine, can mckayla maroney repeat her stellar vault f

of british generations. a foot stomping acrobatic visual extravaganza. 10,800 athletes marched in to olympic stadium, double amputee oscar pistorius carrying south africa's flag and a jubilant team usa, medal winners of the medal's race. a fitting end to the day which kicked off with the men's marathon which began and ended at the quaen's door. crowds here outside buckingham palace are five, six, seven deep. nobody seems to care. they're straining to get a view of the marathoners. and in between, three loops past big ben along the thames, racing to the sounds of st. paul's cathedral. >> london. >> go, london. >> city's electric right now. >> and a new world record. >> it's been a game for the history books. 44 world records, 117 olympic records. this was also a cleagames. 4,000 drug tests and just 1 positive. >> i think that's the sign that the system worked. >> reporter: and safe games. not a single security headline. >> we wanted the focus on the sport. we wanted the focus to be on the best athletes from across the world and that's what it's been. >> reporter: but mostly the fans say the games have been fun. >> i think they've been superb. >> reporter:

. >> two other olympic notes, a nearly disastrous day for south africa's oscar pistorius when one of he first saudi women to compete in track and field. >> although she finished dead last by the way, she still got a standing ovation from the crowd. >>> all right, from the inspirational to the somewhat awkward, here's some pop culture intelligence >>> ann's awkward return. >> ann curry is here. >> ann. >> nice to see you have. >>> good morning, everybody. >> there was so much tension that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. lauer even said, good to see her, she acknowledges with a slight nod but doesn't resip row kate. >> ann briefly back on "today" for the first time with matt. >> so you're pretty good with the camera, did you pick up anything? >> i didn't take any pictures, but i learned some lessons from here. the idea of layering in the background. >> as soon as ann's piece was over, matt attempted to do banter with ann, but ann seemed guarded. >> whitney's tribute tattoos. in honor of what would have been whitney's 49th birthday, bobbi kristina tweeted r.i.p. mommy. and she also

of the men's 400 meter race. the whole world has been watching, wondering whether he'd even be here. our friend from nbc sports mary carillo spent some time with oscar pistorius at his home in south africa where he talked about the long journey to get here. >> reporter: oscar pistorius was born with no fibulas in his legs. they didn't work, so doctors removed them. >> i was 18 months old and fit with my first pair of prosthetic legs. in the morning my mom said to my brother he must put on his shoes and i must put on my legs. >> reporter: now 25 years old pistorius grew up in a family that made his different body a normal part of their lives. >> we'd go off to the sea side twice a year and i remember running through the sand and you'd always see these foot prints and i'd leave these like holes around the beach and it would be quite deep. and i remember saying something to my parents along the lines

of bahama had the stunned usa settling for silver. but they were also transfixed by south africa's team, where double-amputee oscar pistorius saw his dreams of an olympic medal dashed. his team came in last. stunning also describes what it was like for usa women's water polo team. almost upon a medal. but here in london, they finally, decisively won gold, beating spain, 8-5. in beijing four years ago, one of the true stars of these games is jamaican sprinter, usain bolt, who again won gold in the 100 meter and 200 meter. basking in his double-gold glory. the never-shy athlete declared himself the greatest athlete in history. and then, launched into a tirade against carl lewis, who claims jamaica is lax on drug testing. saying he is really annoyed. an angry bolt added, i've lost all respect for carl lewis. for the last two weeks, there's been a battle for first place in the medal count, with the u.s. and china. the u.s. clearly out front. look at the medal tallies and you can see. the real surprise, the third count goes to team g.b., great britain, with 26 golds. today's has the largest pull of the olympics. 32 gold medals up for grabs. >>

. >> reporter: and a roller coaster ride of emotions for oscar pistorius, south africa's double amputeeue to a collision on the court. placed third in the relay never got -- south africa protested and won. pistorius said the team will be in the race tonight. pistorius has tweeted, really can't wait! the u.s. has now opened up the biggest gap yet with china in the medal count. 90 to 80. the u.s. now leads in gold medals as well. so many reasons to celebrate. back to you guys. >> all right, michelle. thank you very much. >> let's check in with natalie morales with the top stories. >>> federal officials say there have been a sharp jump with the swine flu that passed directly from pigs to people. 150 cases reported since mid july. most who became ill were children who had been to agriculture fairs in ohio and indiana. officials say the flu does not seem to be as dangerous as the strain that caused the deadly 2009 pandemic. investigators have positively identified a body found tuesday as that of missing louisiana college student mickey shunick. she disappeared in may. a registered sex offend

athlete to watch, the pride of south africa oscar pistorius ran in the 400 meter making history as the morning. good to see you again. >> thank you so much for having me. >> what was it like to be there inside the olympic stadium which seemed to have 80,000 of your closest friends to cheer you on. >> it was crazy. this whole week is an amazing experience. anticipate a phenomenal experience but far surpassed my expectations. just to be out there, when i got on the starting block, 400 was a tough event but i had cramps in my cheeks from smiling, mix of butterflies. >> smiling cramps are the only kind of cramps a runner wants to get during a race. >> the first 200 meters, yeah, after that i got cramped everywhere else. really such a special feeling. the day i walked off my first race i saw my family in the stands. knowing how much they have sacrificed as well and how much support i've had from everyone over the last couple years getting to that point and being able to line up on the starting blocks on a race like that means so much to me. >> you mentioned your family. they have been incre

in a different heat of the same event, this collision between runners from kenya and south africa appeared to derail medal hopes for amputee oscar pistorius. >> it's disappointing. i believe we could have run a phenomenal time today. it's a pity. >> reporter: on appeal, south africa was reinstated to the final. the kenyan team was disqualified. after nearly two hours, the open water marathon came down to a sprint. hungary's eva wristoff taking the gold over american haley anderson by .4 seconds. an event so grueling, the swimmers actually eat and drink while spaeth competing. this is the predator soccer shoe. it's the one that's worn by u.s. team captain christy rampone. it could record seven hours of data, according to the manufacturer. that means if christy was availing herself of this technology today, she can go back to the athletes village, plug this into her iphone and replay every moment of today's gold medal match. that's the latest from the olympic games. i'm phil rogers, nbc bay area news. reporting live from london. janelle and jessica, back to you. >>> sleek and very high-tech. thanks so much, phil. >>> still ahead at 5:00, a

south africa. she says it's going to be emotional. both of oscar pistoriusarents, 89-year-old gerty and 95-year-old hendrick normally watch oscar's races on television, and his favorite sport rugby. oscar will be running for his mother. she died when he was 15. >> translator: as he so often says, it would have been so wonderful if his mother could have seen him or he could have experienced her seeing him. it would have been wonderful. it would have been wonderful. in the olympic stadium, oscar pistorius, it seem, will not only be propelled by his blades, but also by the memory of his mother and the pride of his family. >> that's a massive picture of oscar. >> when you put these up, do you get excited? >> translator: it's part of your heart, she says. it's not just putting paper up. you put a piece of your heart, your being and your love for this child on that wall. robin curnow, cnn, south africa. >>> we have another story from the olympics, one from fredericka whitfield who is usually in this seat and right now she's enjoying the london games and not just a

oscar pistorius, the first double amputee to compete in the olympics, carried south africa's flag. nearly 4,300 athletes are taking part. >>> today, university of maryland students are working to achieve a milestone in human-powered flight. engineering students will be flying their human-powered helicopter in hopes of winning the $250,000 prize. earlier this week, the team unofficially met two of the competition's goals, including an unofficial record 65-second flight. the helicopter also reached a height of eight feet. "gamra 2" has been modified for longer flights and now measures 114 feet across. >> it's got to be hard to get up there. >> i bet. that's a workout. >>> on rare occasions, a newscast might be interrupted by a technical issue or a fire alarm. >> but in canada, they had a different kind of distraction. a bat somehow managed to find its way into ctv ottawa yesterday afternoon. it flew into the studio in the middle of a live broadcast. eventually, a couple people in the newsroom let it out through a side door, but ctv ottawa says either a different one or the same bat made an encore appearance. >> that would creep me out. >> there w

hundred metres and oscar pistorius has created history he's become the first amputee to compete in the olympic games in south africa and reached the semifinals after clocking a time of forty five point four four seconds to finish second in his hate the four times paralympic champion no doubt boyd by merits with drool. well let's see what saturday morning's action has done to the medals table the usa still lead the way out there adding to that tally china are in second but the host great britain has moved into third place of the republic of korea russia's solitary ground so far today leaves them in ten places. now fans of the winter edition of the olympic games can get a glimpse of things to come in twenty fourteen sochi park in the heart of london bringing together athletics. to showcase what awaits spectators in russia in one thousand month's time constantly to top off as more. well the summer games are at full throttle in great britain's capital russia and forgetting the next winter games at the black sea resort of sochi in two years' time and has built this such a pork in a luxury neighborhood of london next to the famed royal albert hall in the pavilion visitors

in terms of olympic achievement oscar pistorius has already won long before leaving the starting block. his place on south africa'sicult 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? >> mos

oscar pistorius, one of the great stories, his relay team moves on to the final in the four by 400. that happened by virtue of appeal. his teammate fell and they ruled he was blocked and decided south africa could race in the final. we will see him today. incredible story from the american team. mateo mitchell in the 4 by 400. he broke his leg inside of 200 meters. he said he heart it and saw the small bone pop in his left leg and he wanted to lie down, but he knew if he did, his team would not make it to the final. he ran through. mateo mitchell, what an effort. he is into the 4 by 400 final. in boxing, a 17-year-old woman of flint michigan won gold for the middle weight class out of flint michigan. marks the first time women's boxing has been included here at the olympic games and a 17-year-old american is the gold medalist. a women's basketball team trailed at half and did win in the semi final. they play for the fifth straight gold when they play france. let's look at the medal table. the u.s. vaulted over china for gold medals and total medals. this afternoon, the dream team takes on manu ginobili and argentina in the semi final. they beat them a couple times in the last two weeks. i

south africa's oscar pistorius won the day. the double amputee made history running on carbon fiber blades. and qualifying for the 400 meter semifinals. this entire city has a serious case of olympic fever. even the usually demure london bobbies can see seen cracking a smile. despite pre-olympic chatter about crowd, chaos and transportation nightmare, it has been, so far, a flawless summer games. even reporters get coopted into the spirit. >> if you were giving the organizers of the games a medal. what would you give them? >> gold, gold, gold. >> those who live here can't help noting after three months of constant rain even the london weather is cooperating. this is day eight of the 16-day games. call it hushed jubilation at the halfway point. it is all so far going very well. david. >> jeffery kofman every step of the way. thanks to you. let's go to the medal count. u.s. holding the lead with 54 medal, 26 gold and china, second, just one medal behind and the host country, great britain now this third place. >>> we're going to turn to a different race, the race to space. this evening a powerful explorer heading to mars and preparing for a landing nasa scientists describing

in a different heat of that same event, this collision between runners from kenya and south africa appear to derail medal hopes for amputee oscar pistorius. >> disappointing. i believe we could have run a phenomenal time today. it's a pity. >> reporter: on appeal, south africa was reinstated to the final. the kenyan team was disqualified. after nearly two hours, the open water marathon came down to a sprint. hungary's eva wristoff taking the gold over u.s.'s haley anderson by .4 seconds. the swimmers actually eat and drink while competing. and one other u.s. team is celebrating tonight the women's water polo team, a first-ever gold medal after beating spain 8-5. big day for danville's maggie stephens, the 19-year-old scored five of those eight goals for the u.s. as they get the gold medal. don't you know the folks at stanford are going to be anxious to have her on campus this fall. that's where she's going to school this fall, joining the water polo team. >> i think she's going to be a star on campus, that's for sure. >> our online coverage of the games in london continues in full force on our website, nbcbayarea.com. it features bay are

in a different heat of that same event, this collision between runners from kenya and south africa appeared to derail medal hopes for amputee oscar pistorius. >> it's just disappointing. it's a pity. >> reporter: on appeal, south africa was reinstated to the final. the kenyan team was disqualified. >>> and after nearly two hours, the open water marathon came down to a sprint. hungary's eva ristov taking the gold over american hailey anderson by just 0.4. it's an event so gruelling the swimmers actually eat and drink while competing. and one other event that just wrapped up in the past hour nepu.s. women's water polo team won the first ever gold medal for this country. 8-5 winners over spain. maggie stephens scored five goals in that game. coming up tonight in nbc's primetime coverage, usain bolt back on the track trying to add the 200-meter gold medal to the 100-meter gold he won a few nights ago. >> thanks, mark. >>> lots of good stuff at the olympics. but a lot of folks in washington have been waiting for this day. tonight, we finally get to see rg3 in action. he's making his preseason debut as the skins take on the buffalo bills. carol

and in a different heat of the same event, thisollision between runners from kenya and south africa appeared to derail medal hopes for amputee oscar pistorius. on appeal, south africa was reinstated to the final. the kenyan team was disqualified. after nearly two hours, the open water marathon came down to a sprint. hungary's eva ristob taking the gold over haley anderson by 0.4 seconds. it's an event so gruelling the swimmers actually eat and drink while competing. this is the predator soccer shoe which is worn by u.s. team captain kristi rampone. a microchip built into the sole so it stores seven hours of data. that means she can go back to the athletes village this evening, download this to her smartphone and replay every moment of today's gold medal match. that's the latest from the olympic games. i'm phil rogers, news 4, reporting live from london. wendy and jim, one other note today, the u.s. women's water polo team won their first ever gold medal. but, of course, they don't wear shoes. >> that's true. >> they don't wear much else either, actually. thank you. >> those shoes are pretty cool. kind of get smart. make a phone call with th

of the tennis court beating roger federer. but there was still room for first moments. 17-year-old claressa shields became the first u.s. female boxer to take home gold. south africa's oscar pistoriusto run in the olympic event and even though he didn't win the medal he made history. wins and lots that add up to what the games are all about, taking part and witnessing the struggles and triumphs of the human spirit. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. >> mary carillo is the host of the late night olympic coverage. >> great to see you. >> a lot to talk about. >> michael phelps rolls off of everyone's tongues, but we think of his retirement as a loss to the olympic team, but what about overall? >> i think he's inspired so many people, and that's what the signs around great britain are saying, inspired the generation. not only has great britain has had great results of his own, but frankly and ledecky taking his place. this guy made swimming into the art form. >> plamissy franklin, she's 17 years old and she has a long, great future ahead of her. >> and she's a nice kid. i like all the swimmers. i thought they was a great collection of humanity. they didn't stay on message like so