THERE'S plenty of gold on the line for Australia on day four of the London Olympics.
10.44pm AEST - Ward taught boxing lesson
AUSTRALIAN boxer Billy Ward was knocked out of the London Olympics in his opening bout.
Ward ran into Cuban boxer Yosbeny Veitia Soto in round one of the 49kg division and the Australian was taught a boxing lesson, losing 26-4.
Ward trailed 7-1 at the end of the first round and 13-2 at the end of the second round.
He then lost the final round 13-2 and also had a standing eight count placed on him in the dying seconds of the bout.
10.15pm AEST - Shooter off target
AUSTRALIAN shooter Keith Ferguson went backwards on the second day to miss the final of the Olympics men's skeet competition.
The 32-year-old from Sale in country Victoria started tonight well placed after the first three qualifying rounds at just one point outside the top six that progress to the final.
But he finished the remaining two rounds four points adrift of the final in 20th position with a score of 116 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
10.06pm AEST - Boomers lose to Spain
LOS Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol led the way as Spain handed the Australian Boomers an 82-70 Group B defeat in the men's basketball competition.
Gasol was the game's leading scorer with 20 points.
A dominant third quarter by the world number two ranked team put the Boomers on the backfoot.
Australia trailed by five points at halftime, but Spain outscored the Boomers 26-10 in the third quarter to take control.
Joe Ingles and Brad Newley top-scored for the Boomers with 12 points each.
10.03pm AEST - Germany wins equestrian team eventing
GERMANY has won gold in the team eventing at the London Olympics, beating out a British line-up including Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter.
Phillips and teammates Tina Cook, William Fox-Pitt, Mary King and Nicola Wilson secured the silver medal while New Zealand took bronze.
Australia finished sixth.
9.56pm AEST - Lightweight fours into final
AUSTRALIA'S men's lightweight fours have booked their place in the final at the rowing.
Needing to finish in the top three of their semi-final to progress, the Australian team of Anthony Edwards, Sam Beltz, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth, finished third behind Denmark and South Africa.
9.38pm AEST - Spain blow out Boomers
SPAIN has stretched its Group B men's basketball game lead against the Australian Boomers to 21 points at three-quarter time.
The Boomers only trailed by five points at halftime, but the world number two ranked Spanish side stepped up int he third quarter to outscore Australia 26-10 and take a 63-42 lead to the final break.
9.26pm AEST - Olympic champs out of Games
AUSTRALIA'S reigning Olympic quad sculls champions Scott Brennan and David Crawshay have been eliminated at the rowing.
Needing to finish in the top three of their semi-final tonight, the pair were third for much of the race before being swamped over the closing stages to finish fifth.
9pm AEST - Boomers trail at halftime
THE Australian Boomers trail Spain by five points in their Group B men's basketball game at the London Olympics.
Australia led 19-14 at quarter-time but the world number two ranked Spanish side gained the upper hand in the second quarter, leading 37-32 at halftime.
8.47pm AEST - Crow breezes into semis
AUSTRALIAN rower Kim Crow is through to the semi-finals of the women's single sculls after winning her quarter-final tonight.
Crow finished almost five seconds clear of second-placed New Zealander Emma Twigg to book her place in the next round.
Crow told ABC she is managing racing both the single and double scull events.
"I felt quite good. I got out to about a boat length after 700m and was able to just sit there. It's a nice way to race," Crow told ABC.
"So far so good. I love racing so I reckon I'm the luckiest person alive."
8.35pm AEST - Boomers take early lead
THE Australian Boomers have taken a 19-14 lead at quarter-time of their men's Group B basketball match against Spain.
Spain is the world's number two ranked team.
8.23pm AEST - Relay team fourth fastest
AUSTRALIA's men's 4 x 200m freestyl relay team has qualified fourth fastest for tomorrow's morning's final.
The team finished second in their heat behind the United States, posting a time of 7min10.5secs.
Kenrick Monk and Thomas Fraser-Holmes are set to come into the team for the final.
8.08pm AEST - Women's eights into final
THE Australian women's eights have qualified for the final at the rowing.
The Australian team, the last to qualify for the Games, finished third in their repechage to lock down their spot in the final.
8pm AEST - Rickard scrapes into semis
BRENTON Rickard has qualified 15th fastest for the semi-finals of the men's 200m breastroke.
Rickard was 6th in his heat, posting a time of 2min11.41secs.
7.41pm AEST - Aussies out of lightweight double sculls
AUSTRALIAN rowers Roderick Chisolm and Thomas Gibson have been knocked out of the men's lightweight double sculls.
Needing to finish in the top two, the pair finished third in their repechage, eliminating them from the competition.
7.35pm AEST - Schipper qualifies for semis
JESSICAH Schipper has qualified 12th fastest for the women's 200m butterfly.
Schipper posted a time of 2min08.74secs to qualify for the morning's semi-finals.
Fellow Australian Samantha Hamill swam 2min11.07secs and missed the semi-finals.
7.20pm AEST - Magnussen fourth fastest
JAMES Magnussen has qualified fourth fastest for tomorrow morning's semi-finals of the 100m freestyle.
Magnussen returned to the pool for the first time since playing his part in Australia's failed 4x 100m freestyle relay.
He clocked 48.38seconds to be the fourth fastest qualifier, while fellow Australian James Roberts was the 12th fastest qualifier 48.93 seconds.
Magnussen said nerves, pressure and a lack of sleep had contributed to his relay swim two days ago but he was prepared to fight for the 100m gold medal for which he is favourite.
"I think it was a pretty god heat swim," Magnussen told Channel Nine.
"The last couple of days have been some of the toughest of my life. I'm going to have to have to fight for this one but I'm willing to do it.
"I've learnt more about myself over the past two days than I have the past 20 years and if I can come back from this one it will be a big achievement."
Robert said his time had been a little slower than he had expected.
Big night ahead
Stephanie Rice defends her 200m individual medley crown in the pool alongside compatriot Alicia Coutts, while our equestrian eventing team, featuring seven-time Olympian Andrew Hoy, faces an uphill battle to claim gold in the event won by Australia in 1992, 1996 and 2000.
But it is the start of James Magnussen's road to redemption in the heats of the men’s 100m freestyle that will grab most of the headlines on day four.
Read on to find out which events to keep an eye on tonight, and don't forget to join us at 6pm AEST to follow our live coverage of day four of the London Olympics.
100m freestyle heats, 7pm Tuesday AEST (semi-finals 4.30am Wednesday AEST)
The man known as 'The Missile' came into the London Games universally acknowledged as the fastest person in world swimming after winning the world championships in 2011 and setting the quickest time since the controversial ‘super suits’ were banned.
But that is all under doubt now after he and his teammates bombed in the final of the 4 x 100m relay, finishing a disappointing fourth despite heading into the race as hot favourites.
Magnussen did little to hide his shock - he was pretty much speechless in the post-race interview - but will need to get his focus back before he takes to the pool for his pet event.
The Missile faces stiff competition from the likes of countryman James Roberts, France's Yannick Agnel and Brazilian Cesar Cielo, but Magnussen himself is the one that holds all the cards.
Women’s 200m individual medley final, 5.43am Tuesday AEST
There are low expectations for Stephanie Rice in the 200m IM, despite her being the defending Olympic champion.
Rice came into the meet plagued by a shoulder injury and could only qualify sixth-fastest for the final of the 200m IM, but the 24-year-old has shown her fighting qualities before and can never be ruled out as a medal chance.
Fellow Aussie Alicia Coutts has managed to fly under the radar, but will be very much in the spotlight in the final as she qualififed second-fastest behind China's Ye Shiwen.
Equestrian team eventing, 7.30pm Tuesday AEST
Australia's equestrian team, featuring legendary rider Andrew Hoy, faces an uphill battle to add to the gold medals won in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.
The team eventing reaches its climax on Tuesday with the cross-country phase, and Australia is down to the minimum three riders after Sam Griffiths and Clayton Fredericks suffered falls during the showjumping round.
The Aussies sit in sixth place but have plenty of experience to draw on as they go in search of a medal.
Gymnastics women’s team final, 1.30am Wednesday AEST
Australia's team, featuring world champion Lauren Mitchell, just missed out on the final but there are still plenty of reasons to tune into this intriguing battle.
The three powerhouses of gymnastics - China, Russia and the US - will battle it out for world supremacy, while the home crowd will have high hopes for the Great Britain team after their male counterparts nabbed a surprise bronze medal.
Australian men’s basketball team v Spain, 8.15pm Tuesday AEST
The Boomers lost their opening match against Brazil and it doesn’t get any easier second time around, as they take on Beijing silver medallist Spain.
The Spaniards have plenty of star power in the form of Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol and Oklahoma City Thunder centre Serge Ibaka, but Australia has it’s own NBA star in the form of Patty Mills, who’ll look to lead from the front as the Aussies go in search of a crucial win.
Source
