Islanders play their part in riveting Saturday finals

The London Olympic men’s 5,000-metre track and 10-metre diving finals Saturday were events for the ages, with riveting performances that will be talked about for years.Although they didn’t reach the podium, runner Cam Levins of Black Creek and diver Riley McCormick of Victoria can at least say they were a part of those respective memorable Olympic finals.A frenzied crowd of 80,000 almost shook the Olympic Stadium to its foundation as British running star Mo Farah delivered gold for the host nation in the 5,000 metres. Levins, the emerging Island runner who has suddenly landed on the world stage, was 14th and admitted after the race to being ill and having nothing left to give down the stretch. But the 23-year-old graduate of Courtenay’s G.P. Vanier Secondary will be heard from on the road to Rio 2016.The Olympic 10-metre diving final was also a thunderous thriller with American David Boudia scoring a last-dive victory by a mere 1.8 points over Qiu Bo of China, while British prodigy Thomas Daley claimed a popular bronze medal. Claremont-grad McCormick finished 11th but had to make a remarkable final dive in the semifinals just to reach the talent-loaded 12-diver final.“It was one hell of a ride, the 21-year-old McCormick tweeted.“It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.”The whiplash second-to-last day of the 2012 Summer Games also included near shades of Atlanta 1996 in the men’s track 4x100 relay. But an apparent bronze medal was taken away when Canada was disqualified for stepping on the lane line while the Usain Bolt-led Jamaicans streaked to the gold medal in a blistering world-record 36.84 seconds. Silver went to the U.S., while Trinidad and Tobago ended with the bronze.Mark de Jonge’s bronze medal Saturday in the 200-metre kayak single brought Canada’s medal count to 18 in London. Four of those have come through Island athletes with silvers by Victoria swimmer Ryan Cochrane in the 1,500-metre freestyle and the Elk Lake-based Canadian men’s rowing eight and bronzes by Victoria cyclist Gillian Carleton in track team pursuit and Victoria swimmer Richard Weinberger in 10K open-water.The London Games closing ceremonies begin Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT.