Olympics Roundup: Phelps Wins 10th a...

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BEIJING -- It took 112 years worth of Olympics for one athlete tocollect 10 gold medals. About an hour later, Michael Phelps made it11.

Phelps won the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning to stamphimself as the mightiest Olympian in history, then got back in thepool and continued his quest toward having the greatest singleOlympics by helping the U.S. win the 800 freestyle relay.

He's 5-for-5 in victories and world records in Beijing, putting himmore than halfway toward his goal of eight titles. Mark Spitz'sonce-unfathomable haul of seven wins has stood since 1972, but mayhave only a few days left.

After doubling up on finals Wednesday, Phelps will catch his breathThursday, then dive back into his pursuit of history with finalsFriday, Saturday and Sunday.

Phelps thrilled Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Water Cube bywinning the butterfly, but he "only" lowered his recordby 0.06. A concerned look on his face showed something was wrong.Turns out, it was just a pair of leaky goggles.

Nothing went wrong in the relay. Swimming first, he put theAmericans ahead after 25 meters and well toward the record. Histeammates stretched the lead to comic proportions, making sure theydidn't need anything like the dramatic finish to win the 400freestyle relay.

As much as Phelps is making victories and records look routine, itnever gets boring, considering the tens of thousands of athleteswho've competed in all the Olympic sports -- summer and winter --since 1896 and realize none was as successful as Phelps. Finland'sPaavo Nurmi won nine medals, then Russia's Larysa Latynina matchedhim. Decades passed and Spitz and Carl Lewis were the only ones tojoin the club.

Now this 23-year-old phenom from Baltimore has already topped themall, and who knows what's in store for 2012 in London.

"He's not just winning, he's absolutely destroyingeverything," teammate Aaron Peirsol said Tuesday. "It'sawesome to watch."

Get this: If Phelps was his own nation (The Republic of Phelps?Phelpsistan? The Kingdom of Phelps?), he would be tied with SouthKorea for the third-most golds at these games.

As it is, he has a 5-4 advantage over the rest of the U.S.delegation. He's also helped the Americans to a 25-21 lead overChina in the overall medals race. The Chinese lead 13-9 in golds.Other than the U.S., no country has as many total medals as Chinahas of the very best color.

Also Wednesday morning, the U.S. women gymnastics team made severalmistakes and settled for silver, a disappointing second to Chinafor Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and crew.

Back at the pool, Phelps' pseudo sister, fellow Baltimore swimmerKatie Hoff, finished fourth in the 200 freestyle, marking her firstnonmedal finish in three events here and keeping her without gold.

Italy's Federica Pellegrini won it in a world-record time.Australia's Stephanie Rice won her second gold, taking the 200individual medley in a world-record time. Her ex-beau, countrymanEamon Sullivan, set the 100 freestyle world record in a semifinalheat.

The exciting start to Day 5 continues the excitement of Day 4 inBeijing.

There were a bunch more medals and records at the pool, plus cancerpatient Eric Shanteau getting into the semifinals of the 200-meterbreaststroke. There was the practically flawless performance byChina's men's gymnasts and the plucky bronze for the Hamm-less U.S.men. There was superb pitching and powerful hitting in a recordrout by the U.S. women's softball team.

Even the weather was good. Sun and blue skies were seen for thefirst time since the flame was lit, proving there really issomething behind the haze and clouds.

A different kind of haze is forming over the 2008 Summer Games.

If all the tickets were sold, why are there so many empty seats?Where's all the buzz in this bustling city of more than 17 millionresidents? And, uh, about that picture perfect opening ceremony ...

In their eagerness to make the show sound and look perfect, thechief music director told Beijing Radio that the 7-year-old girlwho sang "Ode to the Motherland" was replaced at the lastminute by a better-looking 9-year-old lip-syncher, and that imagesof fireworks shown in the Bird's Nest were not live butcomputer-generated. The faux footage was distributed tobroadcasters; NBC said its announcers let everyone in on thesecret.

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Men's Gymnastics

The Chinese were supposed to win. The Americans weren't evennecessarily supposed to be in the finals, not after losing Paul andMorgan Hamm to injuries in the 10 days before the Olympics.

When the final standings popped up -- and the U.S. was behind Chinaand Japan but ahead of Germany -- Jonathan Horton screamed:"Nobody believed in us! Nobody believed in us."

China was a heavy favorite because it won seven of the last eightworld titles, including the last three.

With no Olympic veterans, nobody expected much from the Americans.They were second after four events, then slipped behind Japan goingto their final apparatus, the pommel horse, which is their weakestroutine.

It all came down to Sasha Artemev, the second replacement. He candazzle, but he can also flop. He dazzled all right.

"It was amazing," said Paul Hamm, who watched with Morganfrom back home in Columbus, Ohio. "That's like the moment he'sbeen waiting for."

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Softball

Four no-hit innings from the starter. An inside-the-park home runand two of the over-the-fence variety. A record number of runsending things after five innings.

Yep, the Americans are back to their old tricks on the softballdiamond, beating Venezuela 11-0 for their 15th straight Olympicvictory.

Jennie Finch was the pitching star, with the homers coming fromNatasha Watley, Crystl Bustos and Caitlin Lowe, whose shot didn'tleave the yard.

"It was a great show and I hope we have many more," U.S.coach Mike Candrea said.

In other openers, Japan beat Australia 4-3; Canada's Laura BayRegula -- the sister of Boston Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay --allowed one hit in five innings and Megan Timpf drove in three runsin a 6-1 win over Taiwan; and China beat The Netherlands 10-2.

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Men's Basketball

Coming off a 31-point win over host China and knowing that next upis Greece -- the team that stunned them two years ago in thesemifinals of the world championship -- the "Redeem Team"merely had to take care of business against Angola. The Americansdid just that, winning 97-76 behind 19 points from Dwyane Wade, 14from Dwight Howard and 12 from LeBron James.

"We were not looking ahead," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewskisaid. "Overall I was very pleased with tonight."

Other games told more about the Americans' Group B foes; DirkNowitzki and Germany might not be that tough and Spain might bevulnerable.

Spain trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter against China,then won 85-75 in overtime after Yao Ming fouled out early in theextra session.

Greece smothered Nowitzki, limiting him to 13 points in an 87-64victory. The former NBA MVP spent most of the final quarter on thebench resting for the next game. Chris Kaman scored only fourpoints for the Germans.

In other games, Manu Ginobili scored 21 points as Argentina bouncedback from a loss to beat Australia 85-68, Linas Kleiza scored 22points to lead unbeaten Lithuania past Asian champion Iran 99-67and Croatia beat Andrei Kirilenko and Russia 85-78.

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Tennis

Serena won. Venus won. Then, they won together -- three victoriesin one day for the Williams sisters.

Each swept her way into the third round in singles, then togetherknocked off a Czech duo in doubles.

In men's singles, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal advanced withease, with Nadal dropping only three games total against AustralianLleyton Hewitt. Federer next faces Tomas Berdych of the CzechRepublic, who beat him at the last Olympics.

"He has got a great game," Federer said. "ObviouslyI'm aware of the danger."

Americans Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber won their first-rounddoubles match, as did the No. 1-seeded men's duo, Mike and BobBryan of the United States.

In women's singles, Jelena Jankovic moved atop the rankings andcelebrated with a victory. James Blake, the lone remaining U.S.player in men's singles, also won, as did No. 3 seed Novak Djokovicof Serbia.

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Boxing

Rau'Shee Warren worked four years to become the first two-timeAmerican boxing Olympian in 30 years. Then, in his first match, hemade the huge mistake of spending the last 35 seconds trying toprotect a lead when he actually was behind and needed to go on theattack. He lost 9-8 and left the ring in tears.

"I don't even know what happened," he said.

France's Jerome Thomas, a two-time flyweight medalist, lost.Meanwhile, bantamweight Gu Yu extended China's great start with a17-7 victory that left Britain's Joe Murray crying about judgesbeing too partial toward the home country. China's relativelyinexperienced team won four other first-round bouts.

"I knew they were going to give him everything hewanted," said Murray, who beat Gu in the quarterfinals of lastfall's world championships.

The International Amateur Boxing Association already reviewed anddenied a protest by the Ukrainian team over a loss Monday night.

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Volleyball

Wearing the initials TB on one shoe and BB on another, the U.S. menpaid tribute to their coach's in-laws in their four-set victoryover Italy.

The letters were for Todd and Barbara Bachman, the in-laws of coachHugh McCutcheon. Todd was killed and Barbara seriously wounded in aknife attack at a tourist site Saturday. McCutcheon has left theteam to be with his wife, 2004 U.S. Olympian Elisabeth BachmanMcCutcheon; it's not known when he'll return.

"She has shown incredible strength," McCutcheon told TheAssociated Press. "The last couple of days we've been able totalk through it. Obviously it's a lot of tears and a lot ofhugs."

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Shooting

Glenn Eller is a member of the U.S. Army. He's also the newdouble-trap champion, having set an Olympic record with his score.So it's no surprise that his spot in the military is being part ofthe Army Marksmanship Unit. Fourth went to Jeff Holguin, anotherArmy marksman.

"I don't know how to better represent them than to sit herewith a gold medal in my hand," Eller said.

South Korea's Jin Jong-oh edged North Korea's Kim Jong Su to winthe men's 50-meter pistol despite a poor final shot.

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Canoe-Kayak

Slovakia's Michal Martikan won the single canoe slalom, just likehe did 12 years ago in Atlanta. He's taken silver at the last twoOlympics. American Benn Fraker finished sixth.

Germany's Alexander Grimm won the single kayak slalom. Togo won itsfirst-ever medal in any Summer Olympics when Benjamin Boukpeti tookbronze. He also became the first black man to ever medal in aslalom event, according to the International Canoe Federation.

Way to go, Togo.

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Diving

Teenagers Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin won the women's 10-metersynchronized platform title, making the hosts 3-for-3 in divingthus far with five events left.

Individual platform is theirs to lose. The 15-year-old Chen andWang, who turned 16 on Monday, are ranked 1-2.

Americans Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu, a pair of15-year-olds, were fifth among eight teams.

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Marathon

There will be a new women's marathon champ. Japan's Mizuki Noguchipulled out because of injuries to her left thigh and groin.

Paula Radcliffe, the world record-holder from Britain, told the BBCshe'll be racing despite a nagging thigh problem.

"Of course, I could do with a bit more time, but I'll just goin and give it a go," Radcliffe said.

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Beach Volleyball

Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor keep looking good in their bidfor a second straight gold, improving to 2-0 with a straight setsvictory over Cuba that virtually assures them of a spot in themedal round. It was their 103rd consecutive victory.

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Wrestling

There were surprise winners of the first two Greco-Roman golds andboth were Russians: 19-year-old Islam-Beka Albiev in the60-kilogram division and 21-year-old Nazyr Mankiev in the 55-kgfield.

Albiev is believed to be the second-youngest wrestling goldmedalist. Mankiev beat the three-time defending world champion fromIran in the quarterfinals.

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Women's Soccer

Heather O'Reilly scored 40 seconds into the match, leading the U.S.past New Zealand 4-0 and into the quarterfinals. Better yet, theywon their group, avoiding a match with title contender Brazil.

The quarterfinals slate: U.S. vs. Canada; Brazil vs. Norway; Swedenvs. Germany; and China vs. Japan. The winners of the first twogames, and the last two games, will meet in the semis.

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Weightlifting

China's Liao Hui won the men's 69-kg category, making the hosts5-for-5 in events it has participated in.

North Korea's Pak Hyon Suk won the women's 63-kg division. AmericanNatalie Woolfolk finished fourth in the B-competition and CarissaGump was sixth.

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Judo

Athens champion Ayumi Tanimoto of Japan won the women's 63-kg classand Germany's Ole Bischof won the men's 81-kg division.

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Badminton

Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong have gone where no Americanbadminton tandem has ever gone -- the quarterfinals. Next up,though, is a second-seeded Chinese pair with a loud, loyalfollowing.

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Equestrian

American Gina Miles, riding McKinlaigh, won the individual silvermedal in eventing. Gold went to German Hinrich Romeike, ridingMarius.

Germany won the gold in team eventing in an exciting showdown withAustralia that went down to the final two riders.

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Water Polo

Jeffrey Powers had three goals, Tony Azevedo added two and theAmericans barely escaped with a 12-11 victory against Italy inpreliminary play. At 2-0 in the Group B pool, they're in solidposition to advance to the quarterfinals even with Serbia andgold-medal favorite Croatia in the next two games.

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Field Hockey

The U.S. women again tied a highly ranked team, matching Japan at1-1, but could use a victory to get into the next round.

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Fencing

China's Zhong Man won men's saber fencing, making him the secondfencing winner ever from his country. American Keeth Smart lost inthe round of eight.

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Rowing

The U.S. men's eight crew advanced to the final with a win in thesecond-chance race, keeping alive hopes of defending the Olympictitle. Three members from the 2004 team are back.

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Sailing

American favorite Anna Tunnicliffe topped the rankings in LaserRadial sailing after two opening races, while Australia maintainedits lead in both the men's and women's 470 dinghy classes.

China's 2004 windsurfing silver medalist Yin Jian remained on topin her quest for the host country's first-ever sailing gold, as didIsraeli Shahar Zubari in his bid for his nation's second Olympicgold ever.

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Archery

American Jennifer Nichols tied an Olympic record in the firstround, then was ousted in the second round. Teammate Khatuna Lorigmoved on, as did South Korea's top-seeded trio.

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Team Handball

Three men's games were decided in the final 2 minutes: Russia overEgypt, South Korea over Denmark and Spain over Poland. Otherwinners were Croatia, France and Iceland.