London 2012 Day Two: Medal Hopes For Rebecca Adlington And Nicole Cooke

London 2012: All Eyes On Rebecca Adlington And Nicole Cooke
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Two of Britain's golden girls will bid to get the country off the starting blocks in the hunt for Olympic medals.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington's attempt to defend the two titles she won in Beijing four years ago began in the Aquatic Centre on Sunday morning - and she has already qualified for the final of the 400m freestyle, but only just.

Her time of 4:05.75 means she will be in lane eight for the final, which takes place on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, road race cycling champion Nicole Cooke will also look for a repeat of her 2008 heroics in China.

Cooke and fellow British riders Lizzie Armitstead and Emma Pooley will be aiming to make up for the disappointment of yesterday's men's race, when Mark Cavendish missed out on a podium place.

Across today's programme of events, Games organisers will be hoping the hundreds of seats left empty yesterday will be filled.

Locog has launched an investigation while the Government has expressed concern as to why the seats were not taken despite events being apparently sold out.

If British fans are wishing for a brighter outlook for the medal table, with Team GB having so far failed to register, they may face disappointment on the weather front.

Yesterday's sunshine is predicted to give way to darker clouds with rain set for the Olympic Park and around London as the women's road race leaves The Mall at noon.

Forecasters say there will be heavy showers across central and east London, with hailstones a possibility.

Rain will not deter triple Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie as he begins his quest for another crown or rowers Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter as they start the defence of their lightweight double sculls title.

In another potential highlight, Team GB's men's football team will take on the United Arab Emirates at Wembley stadium this evening in a bid to follow the women's team into the quarter finals.

Adlington will start her Olympic campaign by trying to defend her 400m freestyle title - the first of three events she is participating in.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said yesterday's empty seats, some of which were at the Aquatic Centre, were "very disappointing" and suggested they could be offered to members of the public.

"Locog are doing a full investigation into what happened, I think it was accredited seats that belonged to sponsors, but if they're not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere," he said.

"We are looking at this very urgently at the moment."

Away from British medal hopes, the star studded US basketball team will play their first match against France this afternoon.

Elsewhere, First Lady Michelle Obama will meet British-based American military families on the final stop of her visit to the UK.

She will greet families stationed at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk after a trip which has seen her lead the presidential delegation at the London 2012 Games.