Another memory of one of the darkest eras of athletics history - the East German sports "program" - was erased on Friday night.

23:44 On the NYSE maybe. Not elsewhere. RT @Deej_Winning: Today, Manchester United becomes the first Sports team to be publicly traded. $MANU #
23:41 Manchester United shares $MANU have just commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange. IPO price was $14 #
22:54 I still think Istanbul should get the 2020 Olympics #
22:52 current medal count of the 2020 Olympic bid nations: Japan (Tokyo) 5-14-14, Spain (Madrid) 2-7-2, Turkey (Istanbul) 1-0-1. #london2012 #
22:30 ROFL RT @darrenrovell: 9.4% of the world's population is said to be fans of Manchester United. Sounds high, but that's what they say. #
22:03 The @hockeyroos finish 5th, and thank you to everyone who corrected me :) #london2012 #hockey #
21:59 @profsarahj oops yes. It's the @kookaburras who will be playing for bronze. I'd still prefer hockey to half the other Olympic sports any day #
21:54 as the @hockeyroos close in on a bronze medal, #ch9fail takes us back to the ribbon-twirling. #london2012 #
21:44 The IOC has missed a great opportunity by not putting open-water swimming in the Winter Olympics. #london2012 #
21:37 Thank God It's Friday RT @bernietb: Any boss who sacks someone for not turning up to work tomorrow is a bum. #Antwerp1920 #
21:35 ah isn't it great to see ch9 taking the BBC feed as they go straight to interviewing the GB silver medallists. #london2012 #sailing #
21:33 Sailing 3, swimming 1. #london2012 #
21:32 Huh? What? #london2012 #470class #
16:25 So this is what the outside world feels like today. #
13:53 RT @greens_bel: Botany Council spruiking the self-managment and absence of EFA democratic processes as "saving its citizen's money". #
13:51 80K tweets per minute for Usain Bolt's 200m. http://t.co/aE9mLOUo (I noticed far fewer Aussie tweeps online than for the 100m.) #london2012 #
13:31 and then there are councils such as Botany Bay and Fairfield which have decided to manage local democracy for themselves #
13:26 funnily enough, the NSWEC website http://t.co/CvwRs5gu is more informative about its council elections than the Australian Election Company #
13:21 The Australian Election Company, running local govt elections for 9 councils mostly in the Hunter Valley / North Coast http://t.co/rLPAzg12 #
13:18 When did local govt elections get privatised? Some are run by the NSW Electoral Commission, others by the "Australian Election Company" #
13:02 And as an Andre Rieu concert begins on #SBS1 I can happily switch the television off till this evening. #
12:56 The USA has a National Texting Championships? And why is this news in Turkey? #sbs1 #
12:53 Easy: Olympics. MT @newmatilda: Why did the Aurora killings get so much more coverage in the Aus media than the #Wisconsin Sikh massacre? #
12:20 For goodness sake, a device which forces Facebook users to express one type of opinion without giving alternatives is NOT free speech. #
10:06 another #london2012 blog post, another Bolt Report - http://t.co/VbcIuAla #
09:18 if I hear that replay of Rachmaninov drowned out by cheers and applause one more time I think I'll scream. #ch9 #london2012 #hulahoop #
08:37 @arwon I hope Barwick doesn't know about Hong Kong. #
08:34 That @WSJ item I just retweeted (http://t.co/svOSsHdY) is bylined Jared Diamond. It couldn't be... could it? #
07:00 Montenegro have qualified for the womens #handball final! Just beaten Spain 27-26. #london2012 #

Should the Not Trying Hard Enough Police take a look at Usain St.Leo Bolt's performance in the 200 metres final on Thursday night?

23:59 Thank goodness ch9 has gone to a real sport now. #london2012 #bmx #
22:53 Nairobi to bid for the 2024 Olympics. Yeah... right... http://t.co/b1R5aEj4 #
22:37 OMG everything I am reading about Walter Winans is amazing. He is fast becoming my favourite sportsman-sculptor of all time! #
22:33 I am in awe of Walter Winans, who won two Olympic gold medals: one for running deer shooting, the other for sculpture - http://t.co/0LGUCd7c #
22:19 Watching the rhythmic gymnastics reminds me that art was a medal competition at the Olympics from 1912 to 1948 http://t.co/N3tt9uFE #
21:52 What we need is a Logie for best performance in a sports betting ad. Nominees: Samuel L Jackson, Jaimee Rogers, Tom Waterhouse... #
21:49 My day 12 #london2012 blog post features video of women's #beachvolleyball. Sort of. http://t.co/3FypTKee #
21:47 And in news apparently unrelated to the 10k swim: RT @guardianeco: Fewer jellyfish spotted in UK waters http://t.co/GmIZmXF1 #
21:10 and speaking of non-sports, we're at that time of the Olympiad again. #london2012 #hulahoop #
21:01 "John Steffensen, he'll probably end up in commentary one day." Yes Karl, send him to the diving pool right now urgently. #london2012 #
20:50 Thanks for coming, Steffo. #london2012 #mens4x400 #
20:47 @camo09 if Slats the face of all things moving forward then I'm surprised he didn't call the backstroke #
20:43 and of course for Ofentse Mogawane. That was a nasty fall. #london2012 #mens4x400 #
20:39 unbelievable. So sad for @Team_SA_2012 and @OscarPistorius. #london2012 #mens4x400 #
20:38 oh terrible luck for South Africa. Out of the relay before Oscar Pistorius gets to run. #london2012 #mens4x400 #
20:35 Pistorius running 3rd for South Africa in this 4x400 heat. And two Borlees for Belgium. #london2012 #mens4x400 #
20:27 Oh yes. The official #London2012 website allows you to compare the medal count of one country and against any other http://t.co/6prZ6SSD #
20:16 Yorkshire still leads Scotland 8 medals to 7 - http://t.co/qVMGwVBO #london2012 #devolution #
20:05 my Exhibit A being that footy club president calling the opening ceremony, marathon and triathlon. #london2012 #ch9fail #
20:04 seriously, if you're a media org covering the greatest sporting event in the world you assemble the best possible team. Not run a junket #
20:02 Michael Slater calling the diving is proof that channel 9 lacks depth in Olympic-standard commentators. #london2012 #ch9fail #
20:00 Australia's 12-0 lead in silver medals over Kazakhstan remains unchanged. #london2012 #
18:59 You mean to say they cut #ACA five minutes short for *this*? #london2012 #kayak #
18:57 Oh yes. #london2012 #kayak #
18:55 Oh my goodness #kayak #
18:40 Memo ABC: if Bob Hoskins is "Roger Rabbit star" then surely Robert Hughes is "Abba The Movie actor" #
18:08 It's not a good week if your name is Robert Hughes #
17:05 Oh dear. RT @mrtiedt: I can't seriously be expected to run the #City2Surf with this errant apostrophe on my wrist. http://t.co/NjUGj9eQ #

Three events are in progress today that simply should not be Olympic sports. One is dressage. One is synchronised swimming. And the other is rhythmic gymnastics.

As expected, Wangi's Nath and Goobs took out Australia's fifth gold medal on the water at Weymouth on Wednesday in the men's 49er class. That gives the Australian sailing team their second gold, making it the first time since Barcelona 1992 that swimming has not been our most successful gold medal sport.

22:53 Japan 2 gold 13 silver 14 bronze. You have to feel sorry for them when they can only win one gold in judo. #london2012 #
22:41 Yes @SuperQuat looks like Barcelona, but 2 equestrian and 2 rowing gold. Watt 1 gold 1 silver. Perkins only swimmer #
22:32 and when was the last time that #swimming was not the most successful gold medal sport for Australia at the Olympics? #london2012 #
22:31 Ok. We're there. Australia's 5th gold medal. Congratulations Nate and Goobs! #london2012 #49ers #wangiwangi #
22:21 NorthumberlandNews Article: Bring back tug of war to the Olympics http://t.co/QWbk3c5U #london2012 #
21:50 note: the correct pronunciation of #Wangi is won-jee, not wang-e. Keep it clean! #london2012 #sailing #49ers #wangiwangi #
21:35 let's face it, that was no sillier than the cycling "sprint". #london2012 #polerevault #
21:30 what's the official hashtag for this? #polevault #polerevolt #polerevault? #london2012 #
19:36 We interrupt this 16 hour gold medal analysis to bring you a pole vaulter breaking his pole. Back to the studio after these ads. #ch9 #
19:30 That silver appears to be Portugal's first medal at #london2012. #kayak #
19:16 Isn't it good that there's nothing happening at the Olympics today? #ch9 #
18:57 I'm glad that ch9 is replaying Sally Pearson's race, cause in 13 hours they haven't replayed it once #
18:45 Yes! @dannolan_ebooks is back. Twitter is saved! #
18:41 Have I picked a bad night to watch, or is #ACA this brain-dead every night? #
18:10 "490" class, #9newsat6? Really? #london2012 #sailing #
16:07 My latest #london2012 blog post starring Sally Pearson with cameos by Lolo Jones and the Not Trying Hard Enough Police http://t.co/EqV0CbaQ #
12:04 Today's #innerwest Olympians wrap from the @InnerWestNews and another event I've never heard of: http://t.co/QRbRSRdw #london2012 #sailing #
11:45 He won't be missed by too many. RT @newcastleherald: Newcastle lord mayor John Tate to retire http://t.co/1GNfhhbc #Newcastle #council #
11:44 Wangi is getting ready for a big night of gold medal celebrations tonight - http://t.co/ZBj8FJcO #london2012 #sailing #
10:21 Thanks! (Ken Stephen Medal poll) #nrl RT @rlonecommunity: @rickeyre Here is the link: https://t.co/L0cIGuWT #
09:05 I think I need to track down these people who conned me into reading a Buzz Rothfield "column" this morning. #nrl #
08:24 and, seeing as I didn't actually take my website offline, the maintenance is complete :) #
08:18 my website is offline for a few minutes for maintenance #
08:02 Amid all the Sally Pearson/Anna Meares euphoria this morning, did ch9 actually #fail to show the men's 1500m final live? #london2012 #
07:48 Bandicoot sighting in Dulwich Hill! #innerwest RT @InnerWestNews: http://t.co/Skh4tY5i #

Where Liu Xiang failed, Sally Pearson succeeded. Along with the Missile probably Australia's most pre-hyped competitor at London 2012, Pearson delivered in the final of the women's 100 metre hurdles on a wet Tuesday night.

23:52 Olympic athletes on public transport #Olympics http://t.co/bsfoSQFj via @storify #london2012 #
22:55 wondering if a goalkeeper has ever saved a penalty in #handball #
22:52 and I love it how my tweets about channel 9 are being retweeted by people outside their viewing area, eg Mexico #
22:48 I love watching handball almost as much as I love sepak takraw and hurling. #london2012 #
22:46 #Handball on ch9. Wohoo!! #london2012 #
22:26 another #london2012 blog post, where I attempt to come to terms with the keirin http://t.co/6bVZNnW6 #
21:15 and another stroll by Blake. #london2012 #mens200mheat #
20:51 casual. #london2012 #bolt #
20:49 Bolt time again. #london2012 #mens200mheat #
20:42 Eddie Maguire is the Anti-Gordon Bray. That is all. #
20:30 "starters ready for the... start" Another long night with Eddie begins. #london2012 #triathlon #
20:22 Fascinated by the history of the Keirin. Didn't know its Japanese roots. Would have made a good Kurosawa movie. #london2012 #
19:54 "history repeats in a different way" Even Peter Donegan is capable of talking bollocks in the heat of battle. #london2012 #mens110hurdles #
16:16 "The Crocodile Dundee of art criticism"? Robert Hughes deserves a better obit than that delivered by the Guardian, which I shall not link to #
16:05 So where do I vote for the Ken Stephen Medal? Some fine nominees but I can't see a voting form on either the @NRL or @rlonecommunity sites #
14:38 RBA rate unchanged equates to a NAB increase of ~0.2%, yes? #
11:36 @JonnoDixon you're probably right, although there's always the risk of getting kicked out for "not trying"... #
11:15 My latest #london2012 blog post starring Ben Ainslie, Michael Diamond and (again) Usain Bolt - http://t.co/CAOJrGYl #
09:27 "Potentially suspicious"? Come on @newcastleherald it's either suspicious or it isn't - http://t.co/vU5yPFbm #
09:25 They need to finish their last race. RT @newcastleherald: Great news! Lake sailors wrap up Olympic gold... http://t.co/bgZ9tE6i #london2012 #
09:03 Go Boomers... RT @ABCOlympics: Team USA defeats Argentina 126-97 and will play Australia in the men's basketball quarter-finals #
08:53 Star Trek 2? There's going to be another Star Trek 2 film next year? How many times can film-makers recycle the same numbers? #
08:04 Kazakhstan picked up a bronze. #london2012 #
00:35 an Aussie gold medal edition of my #london2012 blog, with bonus Lego - http://t.co/yP3KmNjI #

As a track cycling illiterate I've avoided paying close attention to the Velodrome until watching today's heats in the men's keirin. And I immediately had one question: who is the dude in black on the pace vehicle?