Is Usain Bolt still the world’s fastest man?

Combination of images shows , from left, the United States' Justin Gatlin, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the US' Tyson Gay and the US' Ryan Bailey competing in the men's 100m heats at the athletics event of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 4.

It’s been four years since Usain Bolt announced himself as the world’s fastest man, and plenty has happened since.

He’s become the richest track-and-field athlete in history, with Forbes estimating his annual income around $20 million. He’s become the most famous track-and-field athlete by far, his picture plastered on billboards around the world and on the ubiquitous double-decker buses that serve the British capital. Oh, and he’s picked up a nasty habit of losing races.

Tyson Gay, a U.S. rival, beat him in 2010 in Stockholm. Bolt beat himself in 2011, false-starting out of the 100 metres at the world championship. And as for Yohan Blake — not only did he win the world title in Bolt’s absence, he underlined that it was no fluke at June’s Jamaican Olympic trials. Blake is Bolt’s countryman and training partner and friend. At the trials, he was also his clear superior, beating him in both the 100m and 200m in the span of three days.

So, while Bolt was almost alien in his dominance in Beijing when he won the 100m and the 200m in world-record times and then anchored Jamaica’s 4x100m relay squad to another world best, he has looked far more human in the ensuing four years.

All that makes for an irresistible storyline when the eight fastest men in the world line up at Olympic Stadium on Sunday. This quadrennial’s edition of track and field’s blockbuster event, which is always worth a little less than 10 seconds of your time, promises to offer the resolution to one of history’s great cliffhangers. Exactly what we’ll see is anyone’s guess.

Certainly there wasn’t much to be gleaned from Saturday’s preliminary heats. While Bolt brought his usual pre-race dramatics — crossing himself, pointing at the sky, waggling an index finger while mouthing the words, “Number 1, baby” — he didn’t bring anything close to full-speed exertion. He won his heat in 10.09 seconds. But he stumbled a little out of the blocks, sprinted for something that looked like 50 or 60 metres, then promptly cut the engines and eased the rocket back to earth.

“He was jogging. Just jogging,” was the assessment of Markham’s Justyn Warner, Canada’s fastest man.

Certainly Warner is humble enough to know his place in sprinting’s hierarchy. Though the Olympic rookie ran a personal best of 10.09 — his previous mark was 10.15 — he acknowledged that his accomplishment had required considerable effort. His goal now is to make Sunday’s final, which he acknowledged would require the first sub-10-seconds performance of his life. Still, whether he achieves that goal or not, he’ll come away from London with something he’ll be able to tell the grandkids with no word of a lie: I ran the exact same time as Usain Bolt at an Olympics.

“Bolt ran 10.09. I ran 10.09. And I had to put in the work to do it,” Warner said, shaking his head a little. “He’s phenomenal.”

He’s phenomenal, but recent performances suggest he’s hardly a no-brainer favourite. Bolt has battled injuries to his back and his hamstrings. He has battled the perception that a hard-partying, money-chasing lifestyle has taken a toll on his speed. (He does own a bar in his homeland, but he has insisted in numerous interviews that he rarely indulges in adult refreshments from its stock).

Still, the proof will be on the track. And there are more than a few track insiders who have publicly stated their opinion that Blake is the choice to win Sunday, among them Maurice Greene, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 100m, and Bruny Surin, the Montrealer whose career best time of 9.84 seconds makes him one of the 10 fastest men of all time.

“I talked to Blake (in July) and I can see that he’s ready psychologically,” said Surin in an interview. “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to London to win the 100m, the 200m, and obviously the 4x100m relay. Period.’ From that time, I’m like, ‘Hmmm.’ He convinced me. That’s why I tend to say I think Blake’s going to get both.”

Bolt and Blake aren’t the only contenders. There’s Asafa Powell, their Jamaica relay teammate. And then there are U.S.-bred threats in Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and Ryan Bailey, the latter of whom ran a personal best 9.88 in Saturday’s heat, the fastest time of the day and one of the many indications that the track here, made by the Italian company Mondo, is built for world records.

“Crazy fast,” is what Bailey called it.

“Blazing,” was Warner’s word.

Sunday’s competitors will be careful not to be too fast out of the blocks. This will be the first Olympics in which the one-and-out false-start rule will be employed. If that should make for some jittery men in the blocks, Bolt said Saturday that he has given up obsessing about improving on his notoriously slow starts.

“We have come to the conclusion that we shouldn’t work on the start,” Bolt said, recounting discussions he has had with his coach. “We should just focus on the rest of the race like we always do. I’m working on the last 50 metres. That’s really my strongpoint. So that’s what I’m focusing on.”

What’s certain is that Bolt, if he is not the insiders’ favourite to win, is the world’s favourite to watch. Even Gatlin, one of Bolt’s U.S. competitors, conceded as much.

“He’s the equivalent of a guy walking on the moon for the first time. He’s done something that no one’s ever done before. When you’ve got to line up in the blocks shoulder to shoulder with this guy — you’re in awe sometimes,” Gatlin said. “I think that a lot of people, a lot of runners, almost have an audience mentality to see what he’s going to do, even when you’re running (against him).”

Gatlin can speak for himself. Four years after he stormed to triple gold, Bolt’s aura of invincibility has long vanished. But there’s no better place to restore it than at the finish line on Sunday, when a cliffhanger reaches its climax.

Shooting at Sikh temple in Wisconsin leaves at least 7 dead, including gunman and 3 are injured.

Seven people, including a gunman, were killed in a shooting at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee Sunday in what police say is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism.

A gunman opened fire Sunday morning at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, killing six people and wounding at least three others, including a police officer, before being shot to death, authorities said

Authorities including the FBI, the ATF, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and Cudahy police are now searching a house in Cudahy, Wis., believed to be linked to the suspect, WITI's Brandon Cruz reports.

Prior to starting the search at the 3700 block of Holmes Ave., police asked two blocks of residents to leave the area or remain indoors. FBI agents are there with an armored truck, a trailer and other vehicles. Other law enforcement officers are there too, along with a police dog.

Police were called Sunday morning to respond to the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the suburb of Oak Creek, when witnesses said several dozen people were gathering for a service. 

Sunny Singh, 21, of Milwaukee, said a friend pulled into the temple's parking lot, heard shots and saw two people fall down. The friend then saw the shooter reload his weapons and head to the temple's entrance, Singh said.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said the shooting suspect ambushed and opened fire on an 20-year veteran officer who was attending to a victim at the scene. Another officer then shot and killed the suspect.

Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt said the officer who was ambushed was shot multiple times and is being treated in surgery, but is expected to recover.

Four people were found dead inside the temple, Wentlandt said, while three, including the suspected shooter, were found dead outside. Tactical units went through the temple and authorities do not believe a second shooter was involved, Wentlandt said. All people have been cleared out of the temple.

At a news conference late Sunday afternoon, Edwards released no information about the suspect, including his identity or a possible motive. 

Edwards said the FBI will lead the investigation because the shootings are being treated as an act of domestic terrorism.

Three other shooting victims, all men, were taken in critical condition to Froederdt Hospital in Milwaukee, the main trauma center for the area, Chief Medical Officer Lee Biblo said. He added that they were all being treated for bullet wounds: one to the chest, one to the extremities and the face and one to the neck.

Police released few details about other victims, but family members talked about discussions with some of those inside.

Sukhwindar Nagra, of Racine, said he called his brother-in-law's phone and a priest at the temple answered and told him that his brother-in-law had been shot, along with three priests.

Gurpreet Kaur, 24, of Oak Creek, said her mother and a group of about 14 other women were preparing a meal in the temple kitchen when the gunman entered and started firing. Kaur said her mother felt two bullets fly by her as the group fled to the pantry. Her mother suffered what Kaur thought was shrapnel wound in her foot.

A White House official said President Obama was notified of the shooting and is continuing to receive updates. 

"At this difficult time, the people of Oak Creek must know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded," Obama said in a statement.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also canceled a Monday event in Green Bay after hearing about the shooting.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as we all struggle to comprehend the evil that begets this terrible violence," he said in a statement. "At the same time, we are filled with gratitude for our first responders, who show bravery and selflessness as they put aside their own safety to protect our neighbors and friends."

County Alderman Dan Jakupczyk told Fox News that the people at the temple have been "good citizens."

“Since I’ve been alderman, for about three years, there has never been any trouble, or any problems,” he said.

One of the temple's committee members, Ven Boba Ri, told the Journal Sentinel that the shooting was very sad, and he has been fielding calls all morning from around the world, including India.

"Sikhism is such a peaceful religion. We have suffered for generations, in India and even here."

The NYPD also announced, out of caution, a heightened police presence at Sikh temples in New York City.

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that was founded in South Asia more than 500 years ago. It has roughly 27 million followers worldwide. Observant Sikhs do not cut their hair; male followers often cover their heads with turbans -- which are considered sacred -- and refrain from shaving their beards. There are roughly 500,000 Sikhs in the U.S., according to estimates. The majority worldwide live in India.

Oak Creek is south of Milwaukee along Lake Michigan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

iPhone 5 front glass panel leaked.

Image source: ETradeSupply.

The screen area, measured diagonally, comes out at 4.065-inch, which seems to suggest that new new iPhone will indeed sport a 4-inch screen.

The new screen is 0.91 millimeters, about 0.1 millimeters thinner than the glass panel on the iPhone 4S. There are some other changes relating to the position of the receiver hole, camera hole and proximity sensor hole.

In a scratch test carried out by ETradeSupply, the new screen appears to be much more scratch resistant than the lens on the iPhone 4S. There is also evidence to suggest that the light transmittance of the new screen is much better than that of the existing screen.

Last month the same parts supplier posted a video which allegedly shows the metal chassis that Apple will use for the iPhone 5. This showed a number of interesting new features, including:

• Unibody metal chassis, which to me looks and sounds like it might be made from Liquidmetal alloy;
• Width appears unchanged;
• Longer body, suggesting a 4-inch screen;
• Substantially thinner design;
• Smaller SIM tray;
• Headphone jack moved to the bottom;
• Smaller dock connector;
• Larger speaker grill;
• The on/off switch, volume control and mute switch seem to be similar to those found on the iPhone 4 and 4S.

If these are genuine parts -- bear in mind that I'm not making any assertions that it is although the evidence is compelling -- then Apple has just made it much harder to get at the battery on the forthcoming iPhone. Replacing that would require removing the screen just as it did with the earlier models, but the thinner screens used today -- along with copious amounts of adhesive -- mean that it's a lot easier to break the screen.

Parts supplier ETradeSupply has posted a video purporting to show the front glass panel of the much anticipated as of yet unannounced iPhone 5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb3003GIPk0&feature=player_embedded

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Milkha Singh congratulates Vijay Kumar for Silver at Olympics

Vijay Kumar, Leuris Pupo and Feng Ding of China pose on the podium during the medal ceremony.

Chandigarh: Legendary athlete Milkha Singh on Saturday congratulated Indian shooter Vijay Kumar for winning a Silver medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol event of the Olympic Games in London.

"We are all proud that after Gagan Narang (shooting bronze), Vijay has got second medal for the country," the 'Flying Sikh' told PTI here. Singh said that coming from Army background had helped the shooter.

"Full credit goes to the Army. My Army background had also helped me in my sports career. I believe they can play a big role in producing more medal winners at the Olympic level. They are a disciplined force and have the facilities, especially in shooting, that are required to produce a champion. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also from the Army," he said.

Kumar, the 26-year-old Army Subedar from Himachal Pradesh, beat the challenge of world champion Alexei Klimov of Russia, Chinese duo of Ding Feng and Zhang Jian and German Christian Reitz in the 40-shot final to finish runner-up in a thrilling finale behind Cuba's Leuris Pupo who shot his way to the gold with a world record equalling score of 34.

This was the country's fourth medal in shooting in Olympic history. The other medal winners are Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (silver in 2004 Athens), Abhinav Bindra (gold in 2008 Beijing) besides Gagan Narang, who opened India's account in London with a bronze in 10m air rifle.

On badminton player Saina Nehwal losing the single's semi-final race, he said, "She fought hard and that is what matters most".

Singh, however, expressed his displeasure over the show put up by India's hockey team.

"I feel we could have done better. We taught this game to the rest of the world and produced champions like Dhyan Chand, but we feel ashamed that our hockey has gone down," he lamented.

Milkha Singh also said that he has hopes from India's Krishna Poonia, who yesterday qualified for the women's discus throw final round, can win a medal .

"Besides, I am hopeful that we should win a medal in boxing," he said.

Commenting on Vikas Krishan's ouster from the Olympic Games following a reversal of decision by the International Boxing Association, Milkha said that the country's contingent should strongly take up the matter.

"They should strongly take up the matter and find out why our player lost out," he added.                                           

.About Vijay Kumar

Roger Federer Clinched the FIRST Singles Medal of his career

Roger Federer clinches 1st Olympic singles medal by winning 19-17 final set against Del Potro

                     The semifinal match lasted 4 hours, 26 minutes, and Federer rallied to win 3-6, 7-6 (5), 19-17. He converted only two of 13 break-point chances, the second coming in the next-to-last game.

With the comeback victory, four-time Olympian Federer is assured of at least a silver. On Sunday he'll play in the final against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia and No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain.

Del Potro will play for the bronze.

In 2008, Federer and Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold in doubles. But Federer had been 0 for 3 in Olympic singles, the biggest hole in a resume that includes a record 17 Grand Slam titles.

First-time Olympian Maria Sharapova advanced to the women's final by beating Russian teammate Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-3. Sharapova's opponent Saturday will be Serena Williams or No. 1-seeded Victoria Azarenka.

For length, Federer's victory didn't rival John Isner's 70-68 final-set win at Wimbledon in 2010, or even Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's 25-23 win in the third set at the Olympics this week.

But the match offered epic drama magnified by the setting and the stakes for Federer. He improved to 12-0 this summer at the All England Club, including a record-tying seventh Wimbledon title a month ago.

There were no match points until the final game, and after a couple of nervous moments for Federer, he sealed the victory when Del Potro dumped a backhand in the net. Federer lifted his arms in jubilation, then leaned wearily on the net awaiting the Argentine's handshake. They then shared a warm embrace.

Del Potro had the edge for most of the first two sets, reaching the net more often and winning the majority of the baseline rallies, starting with a 23-shot exchange in the opening game. The 6-foot-6 Del Potro showed little apparent effort as he snapped explosive forehands that had Federer scrambling and lunging.

"Not enough, Rah-jah!" a British spectator shouted when Federer fell behind.

The near-capacity crowd on sunny Centre Court was clearly in Federer's corner. Fans clapped and chanted "Ro-ger!" during a changeover, and later "Let's go, Roger!" More than once a Swiss cowbell clanged.

Small clusters of Argentine fans broke into song, and the match _ like the entire tournament _ took on an atmosphere more festive than during Wimbledon.

Federer's comeback came slowly. He was on the verge of digging a deeper hole midway through the second set, when he faced a break point and needed 16 points to hold for a 3-2 lead. He played another patchy game at 4-all, when he misplayed an overhead, blew an easy volley, squandered a 40-love lead and faced another break point.

He managed to hold, and never trailed in the tiebreaker. Then the match proceeded on even terms for the next couple of hours.

In the 15th game of the final set, Del Potro twice won rallies after clipping the net cord with shots, the second time to erase a break point. Federer's bad luck had him screaming in frustration.

But for the most part, he managed to keep any annoyance in check. In the 31st game of the final set, when he mishit back-to-back forehands _ the second sailed long _ he gave his wife a wry grin.

Federer broke for the first time in the 19th game of the final set when Del Potro double-faulted twice. That gave him a chance to serve for the victory at 10-9, but he was broken at love.

He waited 16 games for another chance, while repeatedly holding easily to stay in the match. Del Potro made three unforced errors in the 35th game to lose serve for only the second time, and eight points later the marathon reached the finish line.

Saina Nehwal loses in semis,First Indian shuttler in semis

"I WAS THINKING TOO HARD".

                                                                -SAINA NEHWAL

                                               she was beaten in straight games by world number one Wang Yihan in the women's singles semifinals at the London Olympics on Friday.However,Saina remains in the medal hunt as she will be competing in the bronze medal play-off on Saturday.

Up against the top seeded Chinese, Saina committed too many unforced errors to see her dreams of winning a gold medal crashing after slumping to a 13-21 13-21 defeat in the semifinal tie which lasted for 42 minutes at the Wembley Arena.There was very little margin for error for Saina as Yihan(Top seeded)  was sharper, more accurate and also used her powerful smashes to outwit the Indian here.

              "I didn't move well at all in the match, I was thinking too hard," said the fourth seed(Saina).

Saina will next take on the loser of the other semifinal match between Xin Wang and Li Xuerui in the bronze medal play off on Saturday.