The Armchair Olympics: day five

Curse of Cameron held at bay as he stays away from London – but is it really John Major acting as Team GB's good luck charm?
Prince William
Prince William watches Helen Glover and Heather Stanning row to victory in the women's pairs. John and Norma Major were also in the crowd. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Move over, China, South Korea and Indonesia: let Britain show you the proper way to come second in a badminton match. All of Britain's badminton players were out and heading home by day four, without a disqualification among them. It's called losing, losers, and there's an art to it. Watch and learn.

There is also a British way to win: go for gold, then miss out on a silver to take bronze, and be glad of it. The men's gymnasts did it, and so did the rowing eights. Yes, there has been some gold as well, but that's not the point.

The point is, in the bronze medal table, Britain is doing rather well: joint 4th place, thanks to Chris Froome's magnificent third place finish in the cycling time trials.

It's unlikely that we'll catch Japan (11 bronzes already! Are they cheating?) or the US (nine), but we could go ahead of China (only four so far; they must be disappointed) to take the bronze in bronze medal-getting.

Boris Johnson stuck on a zipwire in Victoria Park
Boris Johnson stuck on a zipwire in Victoria Park, east London. Photograph: Rebecca Denton

With so many sports commentators gathered together for one enormous sporting extravaganza, it's not surprising that cliche sweeps through their ranks like a virus. The BBC presenting team are currently afflicted with a propensity to refer to the epic struggles of top-form athletes as "a day at the office".

In Wednesday's tennis Tracy Austin characterised Vera Zvonareva's third-round loss to Serena Williams as "a tough day at the office". Minutes earlier a commentator had reported that the women's coxless fours were having "a difficult day at the office". Elsewhere one hears a swimmer's easy win in an early heat described "just another day at the office".

It's not just lazy, it's an insult to anyone who's struggling to complete a monthly sales figures report in time for this afternoon's marketing strategy meeting.

LingoWatch: repechage

After a week of hearing it, I was finally moved to look it up. From the French for "fishing out" or "rescuing", it refers to a second-chance round for competitors who failed to qualify by a narrow margin in a previous round.

I'm not sure how I got to the age I am without knowing this, but consider me enlightened.

The Curse of Cameron, whereby the PM jinxes Britain's medal hopes though his attendance, is held at bay for another day while David Cameron visits Northern Ireland. Two gold medals won in his absence, and I swear the weather's improved as well.

But the good luck charm of an appearance from William and Harry has been called into question. Yes, they were there for Glover and Stanning's rowing victory, and for the eventing when the team took silver. But their cheerleading at the gymnastics – when the men were relegated from 2nd to 3rd (BRRRONNNZZZE!) – was hardly the stuff of miracles.

Could the real lucky charm be John Major, who sat near them at rowing and eventing? Could it be Norma?

Question of the day

Why is every point in the beach volleyball punctuated with naff pop music? The Macarena, More Than a Feeling, We Will Rock You. Is it in the rules?