Good morning and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of day seven of the Olympic swimming.
London's stunning Aquatics Centre plays host to four events this morning - women's 50m freestyle, men's 1500m freestyle, and 4x100 medley relay contests for both the men and women.
Today's most anticipated event has to be this evening's women's 800m freestyle final, in which Team GB's Rebecca Adlington will attempt to defend her crown from her Danish rival Lotte Friis.
Meanwhile, the great Michael Phelps is hoping to expand on his record of 16 gold medals in the men's 100m butterfly final.
8.45pmThat's all from me here today. There have been surprises aplenty! Join us from 7.00 tomorrow evening for all the action from day eight!
8.43pmSo congratulations to Fran Halsall are in order. Let's hope she can dig deep in tomorrow night's final. You can read all about how she got there here.
8.35pmSmith just misses out.
8.34pmKromowidjojo wins it, with Halsall third on 24.63s. That puts her in the final!
8.31pmCan Halsall do any better? We're about to find out? Tough competition from the blisteringly-fast Ranomi Kromowidjojo for her.
8.30pmShe gave her semi-final a good go there. She led after 25m, but slipped to sixth at the death. Marleen Veldhuis of Holland clinched it.
8.29pmSmith made this by the skin of her teeth, winning a swim-off after coming in an overall joint-16th in the heats.
8.27pmJust the one event to go tonight, women's 50m freestyle semi-finals. We have two Britons in this - Fran Halsall and Amy Smith.
8.24pmThere have been some real shocks here tonight. You can read about the latest one in the men's 50m freestyle here.
8.13pmThe men's 50m freestyle is over in a heartbeat as the swimmers fly across the pool. Another surprise in this one as Florent Manaudou wins the gold for France!
8.10pmWe're still reeling from that Adlington result! Ledecky was something of an outsider going in to that, but she left the world champion stunned. Read our report here.
8.00pmEarlier this evening, US sensation Michael Phelps secured gold in the men's 100m butterfly. You can read our report here.
7.56pmGold goes to Ledecky, Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain takes silver, and Adlington takes her second bronze of London 2012.
7.55pmTwo lengths left and Adlington might have to kiss the gold goodbye and fight for silver!
7.45pmFour lengths to go and Ledecky remains in the lead ahead of the world record pace. Adlington clings to second, but she could be in trouble here.
7.53pmIt's as you were at the 500m turn!
7.52pmLedecky maintains her lead at the halfwat stage. Adlington is on her world record, while the American is ahead of it.
7.51pmAdlington has pulled into second now, Friis in third!
7.50pmKatie Ledecky of the US has stormed into a lead. She's well over world record pace! Can the 15-year-old pull off a shock here?
7.48pmAdlington has taken to the pool now in the main event. She's looking comfortable in third after 100m. Friis leads at present, but there's a way to go yet.
7.36pmAnastasia Zueva bags the silver for Russia, and Franklin's compatriot Elizabeth Beisel takes bronze. A bold swim by Simmonds, who comes in fourth.
7.35pmFranklin smashes the world record by a clear second to take gold.
7.34pmFranklin is right on world record pace in first, but Simmonds is clinging on and is in third now.
7.33pmSimmonds got off to a great start and turns in second after 50m, behind Franklin.
7.33pmThe backstrokers are off.
7.29pmThere's a guy in the crowd wearing a Rebecca Adlington mask, which is both Hilarious and a tad creepy.
7.27pmTo reiterate, Franklin is the firm favourite in this one, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion. Coventry is veteran of the sport.
7.26pmThe women's backstroke finalists are lining up poolside now and we should be under way in a moment.
7.19pmFranklin is the favourite in that event having clocked up the swiftest time during the semi-final. You can read about how that one played out here.
7.14pmFirst up tonight is the women's 200m backstroke final and we have home interest in that in the shape of Elizabeth Simmonds. She did well to make it this far, but faces a tough test tonight with the likes of Missy Franklin and Kirsty Coventry scrapping for a place on the podium.
7.14pmAdlington is due to take to the pool at 7.45pm, so make sure you don't miss it!
7.12pmIn any case, we can safely say that Adlington is likely to come away with a medal tonight, and we'd be surprised if it wasn't silver or gold.
7.10pmThanks to The Telegraph for those quotes.
7.08pmFriis said: "I am looking forward to the final even if I am excited and nervous. Becky is the home favourite and I cannot do anything about that. I do not know for sure if it will be a duel between us but, looking at the times, it seems that way."
7.07pm"Lotte and me are friends. We've been racing each other since the European juniors in 2004 and it's always been us two. It's been one of us one year and then the other the next year ? hopefully that doesn't mean it's her turn this time after I won the world's in 2011. Obviously it's going to be a battle tomorrow."
7.07pmHere's what Adlington had to say ahead of the crunch clash...
7.03pmShe has been singled out as the favourite in this event, but she faces stiff competition from Danish rival Lotte Friis. There isn't much separating the pair in terms of ability, and there was a mere microsecond between them during the heats. You can read about how they unfolded here.
7.00pmWelcome back to SM's live text commentary from day seven of the Olympic swimming. Tonight is Team GB's big chance to secure a gold medal in the pool with Rebecca Adlington defending her 800m freestyle crown.
12.25amThat's all from us this morning. We'll be back from 7.00pm to round up all the action from tonight's semi-finals and finals, including Rebecca Adlington's bid for gold in the 800m freestyle. Do join us then.
12.22amOne final piece of good news for Team GB this morning - Amy Smith won her 50m freestyle swim-off to make tonight's semi-final!
12.07amThey were ballistic in the first heat, winning it ahead of the Australians and coming in an overall second behind an impressive US team.
12.05amTo cap off what has been an excellent morning in the pool for Team GB, the men's relay team put in a stunning performance to qualify for the final of the 4x100 medley.
11.49amThe Australians are through as the fastest qualifiers, but Team GB make the final in sixth place overall.
11.47amThey lie in fifth with Jemma Lowe in freestyle action. Australia lead.
11.45amThe Netherlands won the first heat of the women's 4x100 medley relay, and Team GB are in action in the second.
11.34amAnd that result puts Team GB's Fogg through to the final as the fifth-fastest qualifier.
11.32amHe wins it with a time of 14:43.25, ahead of Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia.
11.32am100m to go and Sun maintains his lead. He is all but guaranteed first place.
11.25amAnd Sun is really shining in this race. He's opened up a significant lead.
11.21amSun of China is leading the final heat, followed my Pal Joensen of Denmark. Fogg's time is still looking good for qualification.
11.16amCochrane wins the heat will almost as big a lead as Paltrinieri had in the previous heat. Davies came in in seventh and will bow out, but Fogg is in an overall third and has a very strong chance of making the final.
11.11amCochrane turns first at 1000m. He's looking good to wins this. Davies remains in seventh.
11.06amDai has lost his lead to Ryan Cochrane of Canada, who showed great determination to catch him. Davies is lagging behind in seventh.
11.02amDai has moved into an early lead here. Davies is slightly off the pace back in fifth.
11.00amLet's see if Davies, who holds the British record in this event, can improve on that time.
10.58amPaltrinieri wins it by a country mile, but Fogg is looking good for the final with his second place finish time of 14:56.12.
10.54amHe's comfortable in that second spot now, but Paltrinieri has a staggering lead. He's a good 25m in front!
10.53amFogg comes into the 1000m turn in second. Can he hang in there? He's an open-water specialist, so he should have the stamina.
10.50amFogg isn't about to give up his top three spot without at fight. He's challenging Sawrymowicz of Poland for second.
10.47amPaltrinieri of Italy hold the head at the 300m turn. Fogg is still clinging on in third.
10.45amFogg is looking good in third here, but there is a long, long way to go yet.
10.43amFogg of Team GB is up in the second heat.
10.41amMexico's Arturo Perez Vertti Ferrer has just won the unseeded heat of the men's 1500m freestyle with a time of 15:25.91 to edge out Micka of the Czech Republic.
10.38amJust going back to the women's 50m freestyle for a moment. Amy Smith faces a swim-off for the semi-finals after coming in an overall joint-16th. Read all about it here.
10.34amTwo Team GB hopefuls will swim in this in the forthcoming heats - Daniel Fogg in heat two, and Dave Davies in heat three.
10.30amThe endurance-testing men's 1500m freestyle is under way now. We only have one unseeded heat in this.
10.22amAnd the good news for Team GB is that Fran Halsall makes this evening's semi-finals as the third-fastest qualifier.
10.20amKromowidjojo powers in at 24.51s to win the final heat.
10.19amA good swim from Halsall! She wins it on 24.61s, ahead of world champion Steffen. Smith will likely bow out in seventh.
10.17amThe penultimate heat is up now, and this is the one with the Brits.
10.16amThey are in second and third behind Therese Alshammar of Sweden. Bronte was the quicker sister.
10.16amWe have Australian sisters in this one, Bronte and Cate Campbell.
10.14amSarah Blake Bateman of Iceland wins the seventh on 25.28s. Farm Foods and Tesco will have to raise their game to compete with that!
10.12amZhu of China wins the sixth heat with a quicker time of 25.54s, and they are only going to get swifter.
10.09amShe wins it with a time of 25.55s. That may not make the semi-finals, though.
10.08amBreaststroke gold medalist Ruta Meilutyte is up in heat five.
10.07amJoyce Tafatatha, a 14-year-old from Malawi, wins the fourth heat with a decent time of 27.74s.
10.05amKarin O'reilly Clashing wins the third heat. She should win the gold medal for best name.
10.03amDebra Daniel of Federated States of Micronesia wins the second. I'll have to get my atlas out to find out exactly where in the world that is.
10.02amExpect these heats to be over in a flash. Nafissatou Moussa Adamou of Niger wins the first unseeded heat.
9.57amThe swimmers of the first heat are poolside now. The Brits are in heat nine with world champion Britta Steffen of Germany.
9.53amThere are a whopping ten heats in this event, and there are some big names in there. Not least 100m gold medalist Ranomi Kromowidjojo and the great Dane Jeanette Ottesen.
9.47amFirst up this morning is the women's 50m freestyle. Team GB's Fran Halsall and Amy Smith are in action in that. The former is looking to bounce back after missing out on a podium finish in the 100m version of the event yesterday. Read about how that unfolded here.
9.45amIt's her specialist event, and Britain's best shot at a gold medal in the pool, but Lotte Friis of Denmark poses a big threat.
9.42amGood morning and welcome to SM's live text commentary from day seven of the Olympic swimming. All eyes are on this evening's women's 800m freestyle final, where Rebecca Adlington is defending her crown.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
