Olympic Daily News - Sunday, August 17

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Flash photography is banned in Beijing's National Aquatics Center,but you couldn't blame the hundreds who snapped photos of MichaelPhelps.
After all, this has never happened before.
Phelps claimed his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Olympicswith a swim in the winning U.S. 400-meter medley relay on Sundaymorning, breaking the tie he shared with Mark Spitz to become thewinningest athlete in a single Olympics.
It wasn't the widest of margins -- the U.S. broke its own worldrecord to win by .70 seconds over Australia -- but it wasn'tanything like .01 seconds that separated Phelps from Serbia'sMilorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday.
Or the .08 seconds that separated Phelps and the U.S. from Francein the 400- meter freestyle relay last Monday, when Jason Lezak'simprobable comeback gave Phelps his second medal.
Yes, Phelps dodged those bullets on the way to history, but he alsoset records. Lots of 'em.
"The whole thing, every race, one after the other from winning byone- hundredth of a second to finishing it off with a world record.It's an amazing experience and something I'll have forever," saidPhelps.
Swimming third for the U.S. in the butterfly leg, Phelps pulled histeam back into the lead after breaststroker Brendan Hansen had lostthe cushion Aaron Peirsol built in the backstroke on the first twolaps.
Lezak then clinched the gold medal with a good 100-meter freestyleswim -- the second time in six days he did that for Phelps -- togive the Americans a time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds.
It lowered the old record by 1.34 seconds.
It was the seventh world record Phelps was a part of in Beijing --seven world records in eight winning races, the greatest Olympicfeat of all time. No doubt about it.
Already the all-time winningest Olympian, Phelps also claimed his14th gold medal overall to extend his own record. It was his 16thmedal of any kind overall, putting him second all-time in totalmedal count, two behind former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina.
"I'm lost for words," Phelps said.
Australia's Eamon Sullivan gave Lezak a run in the last 50 meters,but came up short. The Aussies touched in 3:30.04 for the silver --a time that also would have broken the previous world record.
Japan won bronze in 3:31.98.
Phelps has looked beaten twice in Beijing -- before Lezak sprintedto beat France's Alain Bernard on the anchor leg, and before afinal half-stroke lunge against Cavic in the 100 fly on Saturday.
Both produced different emotions in the so-called Water Cube:raucous cheering, jumping and screaming as Lezak churned his waypast Bernard at the last moment in the 400 free relay; andbreathless anxiousness when it looked like the American-born Cavichad taken the 100 fly.
Phelps celebrated like a madman both times, but Sunday wasdifferent. He celebrated, for sure, but this was more a relief. Thefinal exhale. The finish line.
Whew.
"I literally wanted to do something that no one's ever done beforein this sport," said Phelps. "It's been nothing but an upwardsroller coaster. It's been nothing but fun."
TORRES TAKES SILVER BEHIND STEFFEN IN 50 FREE
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Dara Torres, swimming in herfifth Olympics, this time as a 41-year-old mother, won a silvermedal in the women's 50-meter freestyle on Sunday morning,finishing just .01 seconds behind Britta Steffen of Germany.
Steffen closed on Torres at the last moment, touching the wallfirst at 24.06 for a new Olympic record. It lowered Inge deBruijn's mark from the 2000 Sydney Games by .07 seconds.
Torres, already a silver medal winner in Beijing as part of theUnited States' 400-meter freestyle relay, finished at 24.07 --losing by one-hundredths of a second, the same margin of victory inMichael Phelps' win in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday.
"It was tough to lose the 50m freestyle by one-hundredth of asecond," said Torres. "I realized I shouldn't have filed my nailslast night."
Torres also swam in the women's 400-meter medley relay Sundaymorning, getting a silver medal there too.
"I did this in Sydney (2000), but I was 33 then," said Torres."When I was in the warm-up area and saw Phelps, he said to me'you've got it easy, you only have to swim two races'."
Cate Campbell of Australia won the bronze in 24.17 seconds, whileteammate and world record holder Lisbeth Trickett finished fourth.The 25-year difference between Campbell and Torres is by far thebiggest age gap of any two medals in an individual swimming event.
Steffen's win marked the sixth time in Olympic history a woman hascompleted the sprint double of winning the 50 and 100 in the sameOlympics. Until Sunday, only Kristin Otto and de Bruin were theonly female swimmers to achieve the feat. It's also remarkableconsidering she nearly retired after the 2004 Summer Games.
"I really worked a lot with my psychologist," said Steffen. "When Iwas on the blocks this time I didn't feel like everyone else wasbetter than me. I know now that is rubbish, I can do this."
It's also been an incredible run for Torres, now a winner of 12Olympic medals beginning with a relay gold in 1984 in her currenthome city of Los Angeles. The 12 ties Jenny Thompson for the mostby an American woman swimmer at the Olympics.
This is her second return from retirement. Torres also came backfor the 2000 Sydney Olympics after missing Atlanta in 1996,capturing five medals after coming out of a seven-year retirement.
Then, there are the medical issues.
Last November, Torres had surgery to remove a bone spur responsiblefor a partial rotator cuff tear in her right shoulder. She also hadsurgery on her knee for the fifth time in January.
The mother of a two-year-old daughter, Torres was the oldestAmerican swimmer to qualify for the Olympics when she made itthrough U.S. trials. She was the oldest member of the U.S. teameight years ago in Sydney.
"What I've done is show them (middle-aged adults) that you can doit," said Torres. "I'm absolutely thrilled. If I can help, that's arewarding experience. I have had a fabulous time being part of theU.S. Olympic team. It's been awesome."
TUNISIA'S MELLOULI WINS MEN'S 1500 FREE
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli wongold in the men's 1500-meter freestyle on Sunday at the BeijingOlympics, his country's first-ever medal in swimming and only itssecond Summer Olympics gold.
Mellouli touched in 14 minutes, 40.84 seconds -- .69 seconds aheadof world record holder Grant Hackett of Australia, who won thesilver at 14:41.53.
Canada's Ryan Cochrane finished with the bronze at 14:42.69.
Before Beijing, Tunisia had six total medals -- four from track &field and two from boxing. The country's lone gold was held byMohammed Gammoudi, who won the men's 5000m in 1968.
Mellouli had been suspended after testing positive for amphetaminesat a meet in November 2006. He admitted that he took the ADDmedication Adderall, a stimulant, without a prescription.
Instead, Mellouli reportedly received the drug from a student athis college -- Southern California -- prior to the U.S. Open. OnSeptember 11, 2007, Mellouli lost his case before the Court ofArbitration for sport and was suspended for 18 months.
"This year was difficult because of the penalty I got, but thankGod for my talent I've been given," said Mellouli. "I got theAfrican record. In the finals you never know what can happen, youcould get last or first. In the Olympic Games anything can happen.It was a miracle and for once the miracle was for me."
The 24-year-old Mellouli came into this race 0-for-2 in trying towin a medal in Beijing. He was fifth in the 400m freestyle anddidn't make it out of the heats in the 200.
"I was expecting to win something," he said. "The 400 was my bestranking, that I have prepared for all year. I got fifth place,expecting the best."
Hackett was denied his third consecutive gold in this event.
US, TORRES TAKE SILVER BEHIND AUSTRALIA IN 400 MEDLEY
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Dara Torres anchored the U.S. toa silver medal finish behind Australia in the women's 400-metermedley relay on Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.
Swimming the freestyle portion -- just minutes after also winningsilver in the 50-meter free -- Torres started behind Australia'sLisbeth Trickett and didn't have enough to catch her.
The Australian foursome of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, JessicahSchipper and Trickett lowered the world record by 3.05 seconds to 3minutes, 52.69 seconds. It was the second straight gold in the racefor the Aussies, who are the current world champions and worldrecord holders.
After the race was over, Trickett reflected on the week that was inswimming.
"I just feel very privileged that I have been here to witnessMichael Phelps win eight gold medals," said Trickett. "For me thatwas the highlight, I couldn't care less about my swims. I feel veryprivileged that I was in the same era as such a great swimmer."
Torres, Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni and Christine Magnusonposted 3:53.30 with China winning the bronze in 3:56.11.
It's also been an incredible run for Torres, now a winner of 12Olympic medals beginning with a relay gold in 1984 in her currenthome city of Los Angeles. The 12 by the 41-year-old mother tiesJenny Thompson for the most by an American woman swimmer at theOlympics.
"It was an awesome feat because she is the most decorated swimmer,"said Torres.
Coughlin left with a spectacular take of six medals in Beijing --three bronze, two silver and a gold. That brings her total to 11over two Games.
"When I went into this meet, I was so nervous going into thisOlympics with six events," said Coughlin. "I have never done it atsuch a high caliber, but it got better as I went on."
FRASER TAKES GOLD AS JAMAICANS SWEEP 100
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Shelly-Ann Fraser won gold in thewomen's 100 meters Sunday at the Beijing Olympics in a clean medalsweep for the Jamaicans.
Fraser ran the sprint in 10.78 seconds, smashing her previouspersonal best by .07 seconds at Beijing National Stadium, alsoknown as the Bird's Nest.
The battle for silver was extremely close as both Sherone Simpsonand Kerron Stewart crossed the line in 10.98 seconds. Afterconsulting the video replay for a few minutes it was finallydecided that Simpson and Stewart would share the silver medal.
Fraser, Simpson and Stewart's historic sprint marked the firstsweep by any nation in the 100 since the United States won allthree men's medals at the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was also justthe sixth clean sweep in women's Olympic track and field annals.
"When I crossed the line and saw Sherone and Kerron there -- thatwas the moment," said Fraser. "I wouldn't trade it for anythingelse."
It's been an excellent couple of days for Jamaican sprinters asUsain Bolt also won the men's 100 in world record time on Saturdaynight.
American Lauryn Williams, the silver medalist in Athens, was fourthat 11.03 seconds and fellow U.S. runner Muna Lee was fifth at11.07. Torri Edwards finished in the eighth and final spot at 11.20seconds.
The U.S. filed a protest, claiming that there was a possible falsestart by Edwards, but it was promptly rejected by the IAAF.
The semifinals of the 100 were dominated by the U.S. and Jamaica asthe countries accounted for the six fastest qualifying timesearlier on Sunday. Fraser and Stewart ran the semis in 11.00 and11.05 seconds, respectively. Lee and Williams were the next fastestat 11.06 and 11.10 seconds.
All told, six medals were awarded in track and field competitionSunday, beginning with the women's marathon, which was won byRomania's Constantina Tomescu in the lone event of the morning.
The final race of the night was the men's 10,000 meters, whichbegan shortly after the Jamaicans ran away with the 100m medals.The event was won by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who took his secondstraight gold in the event.
Bekele ran the race in an Olympic record time of 27 minutes, 1.17seconds, sprinting to the finish ahead of countryman SileshiSihine. Micah Kogo of Kenya took the bronze with a time of27:04.11, crossing the finish line with the same time as countrymanMoses Ndiema Masai. Kogo was deemed to have finished a fractionahead of Masai and was awarded the bronze.
Bekele is just the fifth runner to win the 10,000 in back-to-backOlympics. Countryman Haile Gebrselassie did it at the 1996 and 2000Games, but was sixth in Sunday's race.
Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone won her second straight goldmedal in the women's triple jump, successfully defending her Athenswin with an Olympic record leap of 15.39 meters.
Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia won the silver medal with a best jump of15.32 meters and Greece's Hrysopiyi Devetzi was third at 15.23meters.
Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won gold in the men's hammer throw,taking the competition with his best toss of the season.
Kozmus' winning throw of 82.02 meters came on his second attempt ofthe competition. He finished sixth in the hammer throw at theAthens Games.
The silver and bronze medals went to throwers from Belarus. VadimDevyatovskiy was second with a toss of 81.61 meters and IvanTsikhan, the silver medalist in Athens, was a close third at 81.51meters.
Russian Gulnara Galkina-Samitova won the women's 3000m steeplechaseSunday as she finished the race in 8 minutes, 58.81 seconds,bettering her own world mark by nearly three seconds.
Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya surged past Russian Ekaterina Volkova justbefore the finish line to get silver in 9:07.41. That was .23seconds ahead of Volkova, the 2007 world champion.
Americans Jennifer Barringer and Anna Willard finished ninth and10th, respectively.
It was a disappointing night for the U.S. in the semifinals of themen's 1,500 meters, as Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and LeonelManzano all failed to qualify for the final round on Tuesday.
Lagat came closest to making the final, as he ran the race in3:37.79 to finish sixth in his heat -- just one place away from anautomatic berth. He missed qualifying on time by just .02 seconds.
Lagat had won two Olympic medals at the distance while competingfor Kenya and was hoping to get another for the U.S. after becomingeligible to run for the American team in 2007. Lagat still has ashot at a medal in the 5,000 meters, but the 1,500 is considered tobe his stronger race.
"I tried to follow the pace and follow the strategies I made. Ifeel bad that it didn't go well," said Lagat.
Lomong, the former Sudanese refugee, was the U.S. flag-bearer atthe opening ceremonies, but barely qualified for the Olympics afterfinishing third in the 1,500 at the national track and field trialsin July.
Lomong was 22nd overall on Sunday with a time of 3:41.00, whileManzano rounded out the field in 24th place.
Sanya Richards of the U.S. ran the fastest time of the night in thesemifinals of the women's 400 meters, taking her heat in 49.90seconds. Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu was next with a time of50.14 seconds.
Mary Wineberg and Dee Dee Trotter of the U.S. failed to advance toTuesday's final round.
All three U.S. competitors advanced to the semifinals of thewomen's 100m hurdles, as Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper and Damu Cherryqualified in their first round heats. Jones had the fifth-fastesttime of the day, winning her heat in 12.71 seconds.
Spain's Josephine Nnkiruka Onyia and Susanna Kallur of Sweden wereboth in the same heat and finished in 12.68 seconds, the fastesttime of the opening round. The semifinals of the event will takeplace on Monday followed by the final round the next night.
The opening round of qualifying in the women's 400m hurdles wasalso on Sunday and Jamaican Melanie Walker posted the fastest timeof the evening, running the track in 54.46 seconds.
Tiffany Ross-Williams of the U.S. won her heat in 55.71 seconds andSheena Tosta also qualified for Monday's semifinal by posting the15th-fastest time of the day (56.12).
The Americans failed to field a finalist in the men's high jump.Andra Manson had a best jump of 2.25 meters, which was the sameheight cleared by the final four qualifiers. However, Mansonfinished 13th, failing to move on because he had more misses thanthe other competitors. Jesse Williams was 19th and Dusty Jonas26th.
Jaroslav Baba of the Czech Republic led a field of eight jumperswho cleared 2.29 meters.
ROMANIA'S IZBASA WINS FLOOR GOLD; JOHNSON, LIUKIN FINISH 2-3
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Romania's Sandra Izbasa had astrong showing in the women's floor exercise Sunday night at theOlympics, winning the gold medal over Americans Shawn Johnson andall-around champion Nastia Liukin, who were pushed to silver andbronze finishes, respectively.
Izbasa had a mark of 15.65, while Johnson, the silver winner in theall-around was next at 15.5. Liukin, the all-around gold medalist,ended at 15.425. Izbasa became the sixth Romanian to win women'sfloor at the Summer Games.
"Our president has already called to congratulate me," said Izbasa."In Romania they have always expected a lot from gymnasts,especially for gymnastics from this Olympics. The Romanian coachesand athletes have a lot of pressure."
North Korea's Hong Un Jong won gold in the women's vault Sunday,while Zou Kai of China captured the men's floor exercise. Xiao Qinof China won the pommel horse, giving the host country four medalsthus far in men's gymnastics, along with the team and all-aroundfinish with Yang Wei.
Alicia Sacramone, who had some mistakes in ultimately costing theUnited States a chance for the team gold medal earlier at theGames, finished out of a medal for the vault. She has three worldchampionships medals in the event.
Sacramone had a score of 15.537, which was .25 behind bronze medalwinner Cheng Fei of China. Germany's Oksana Chusovitina (15.575)finished just behind Hong (15.65). Cheng actually had a score of16.075 on her first try, but landed on her knees, causing the scoreto go down.
"It was really hard to go back into the gym after what happened,but I kept training," said Sacramone.
Hong won the gold despite suffering a deduction of .30 points forlanding her first vault off-balance and over the line. She becamethe first-ever female gymnast from North Korea to win an Olympicmedal.
Cheng, a three-time world vault champion, fell, but still held ontothird place.
Zou finished with a score of 16.050. Gervasio Deferr of Spain wonsilver with 15.775, while Anton Golotsutskov of Russia earned thebronze. It was the first time in Olympic history a host won gold inthe men's floor.
Brazil's Diego Hypolito, the reigning world champion, failed tomedal after falling backwards on his last tumbling pass.
Xiao had a score of 15.875 on horse, to edge Croatia's Filip Ude(15.725). Louis Smith of Great Britain earned bronze, whileAmerican Sasha Artemev was seventh as he fell toward the end of hisroutine.
"I wish I walked away with a medal (on pommel horse), but I'm happythat the team got a medal and that's the most important thing tome," said Artemev, member of the U.S. team that won bronze. "Withmy set, I laid out a hard routine and I wasn't ready."
Johnson was the first to take the floor and used a tuck doubledouble on her first pass. Liukin finished her routine with a 2 1/2twisting back.
"I wasn't sure how things were going to hold up today, but I didn'treally care about scores," said Johnson. "I didn't care aboutplacements. I just wanted to go out and have a good time. Sittingthere and watching seven other girls compete was the mostnerve-wracking experience."
NADAL, DEMENTIEVA, WILLIAMS SISTERS GOLDEN AT OLYMPICS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal, Elena Dementieva,and the sisters of Serena and Venus Williams all won gold onSunday, the final day of the tennis competition at the Olympics.
The second-seeded Nadal picked up a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 win overChilean Fernando Gonzalez.
Dementieva rallied from a set down to beat fellow Russian DinaraSafina, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, taking advantage of 17 double faults by heropponent, as Safina had her 15-match winning streak broken.
The Williams sisters captured the gold in women's doubles, toppingthe Spanish team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel MedinaGarrigues, 6-2, 6-0. The American duo won 11 of the last 12 gamesin the match.
As for Nadal, it was stirring end to a long week of tennis for theSpaniard, who will overtake Swiss Roger Federer as the world No.1on Monday. He has been ranked second in the world for the lastthree-plus years.
This year, Nadal won his fourth straight French Open crown and hisfirst Wimbledon trophy, and on Sunday earned Spain's first goldmedal in tennis.
"Not in my best dreams could I have imagined this," said Nadal."It's very special just to compete here. I've had an incredibleexperience with all my countrymen. I have to thank everyone thathas been here with me the last two weeks."
Nadal, who has eight titles this year and has lost just once in hislast 39 matches, used several good passing shots to keep Gonzalezon his heels.
Gonzalez won his third Olympic medal to go with his bronze insingles four years ago and a gold in doubles in 2004.
It's the second singles medal for Dementieva at the Olympics. Shewon a silver in 2000.
Having reached the final six times over his last seven tournaments,Safina was aiming for a third successive title on the professionaltour
Russia made it a clean sweep of the women's singles medals as VeraZvonareva downed China's Li Na, 6-0, 7-5 in 70 minutes. The countrybecame the first NOC to win all three medals in any discipline ofan Olympic tennis event since Great Britain did so by sweeping the1908 indoor events in London.
Winners of the doubles title at Wimbledon, the Williams sistersalso won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. American teams have won thewomen's doubles gold medal in five of the six Olympics since tennisrejoined the program. Both sisters were sent packing in singlesplay in the quarterfinals.
"To be honest it does mean more for me to win it with Serena, toshare this kind of moment with your sister," said Venus. "I mean weare practically joined at the hip, it's really unexplainable. Ihave chill bumps."
It was the second silver medal in women's doubles for RuanoPascual.
The Chinese pair of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie beat Ukrainian sistersAlona and Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2, 6-2 for the bronze.
The Olympics not only was viewed as a chance to win medals, butalso an opportunity for a tune-up leading to the final major of theyear, the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 25.
"I don't even want to think about it," said Dementieva of theupcoming tournament. "I want to enjoy my gold medal that I've beenworking so hard to get. This just means so much to me."
CHINA'S GUO CLAIMS GOLD, OLYMPIC DIVING RECORD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - China's Guo Jingjing became themost successful Olympic diver in history with a gold medalperformance in the women's 3-meter springboard Sunday night.
Guo's second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics was her sixthcareer Olympic diving medal, breaking a tie between herself, formerpartner Fu Minxia and U.S. diving legend Greg Louganis for mostall-time.
The 26-year-old Guo won with an overall score of 415.35, buildingon the gold medal she won earlier this week with teammate Wu Minxiain the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard.
Guo reflected on her career accomplishments, saying that winning agold in her home country has a different meaning.
"Today must be the most memorable moment in my life," she said.
Julia Pakhalina of Russia won the silver with 398.60 points, whileWu took bronze with 389.85 -- the medallists shaking out exactlyhow most believed they would.
Wu is expected to take over the reins as China's top diver if Guoretires, as she has previously hinted she would. Guo backtracked onthat sentiment Sunday night.
"I love this sport and I'd like to go on diving if I can," Guosaid.
Canada's Blythe Hartley, a 2004 bronze medalist in the 10-meterplatform synchro, placed fourth with 374.60 points -- just 15.25points from claiming another bronze.
Americans Nancilea Foster and Christina Loukas finished eighth andninth, respectively, out of the 12 divers who qualified for thefinal.
Guo's Olympic medal run began at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, whereshe won an individual silver in the 3-meter springboard and teamedwith Fu for a silver in the springboard synchro.
She went on to sweep both events in Athens four years ago, a featshe accomplished once again.
China has won all five diving gold medals awarded in Beijing thusfar. Only the United States has ever swept the diving competitionin the Olympics, with the Americans doing it five times between1928-52 when there were fewer events.
US WIN GOLD IN WOMEN'S EIGHT, MEN TAKE BRONZE
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States rowing team wona gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, beating the field inthe women's eight competition.
The U.S. women's eight team finished the 2,000-meter race in 6minutes, 5.34 seconds to earn the gold. The Americans had won asilver medal in the eight at the 2004 Athens Games. Only MaryWhipple, Anne Cummins and Caryn Davies were members of both teams.The remaining members of the team were Erin Cafaro, Lindsay Shoop,Anna Goodale, Elle Logan, Caroline Lind and Susan Francia.
"We rode a boat called The Hunter, we hunted everyone all the waydown," said Cummins.
The Netherlands and Romania had it out for the silver medal and theDutch crossed the finish line first, just .03 seconds ahead. TheRomanians were denied a fourth straight gold medal in this event.
The Americans failed to defend their gold medal from Athens in themen's eight, but did claim bronze, finishing just .23 secondsbehind Great Britain for second place. The U.S., which posted atime of 5:25.34, returned Beau Hoopman, Wyatt Allen and BryanVolpenhein from the gold-medal squad of four years ago.
The favored Canadians won the event in 5:23.89, becoming the firstdefending world champion in 35 years to collect men's eight gold atthe Olympics.
All told, seven gold medals were awarded on the final day of rowingcompetition.
China won its first-ever rowing gold medal as the team of Tang Bin,Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang won the women's quadruplesculls event. The Chinese crossed the finish line in 6:16.06,beating the defending world champion team from Great Britain by1.31 seconds. China has five Olympic rowing medals, all of them wonon the women's side.
Germany won the bronze in a time of 6:19.56, besting the Ukraine byjust .46 seconds. The U.S. was a distant fifth.
Poland won gold in the men's quadruple sculls, finishing in5:41.33, easily defeating the Italians, who crossed the line 2.24seconds later. France picked up silver by finishing just .34seconds ahead of Australia, while the U.S. finished fifth.
The Netherlands won gold in lightweight women's double sculls, asKirsten van der Kolk and Marit van Eupen won the race in 6:54.74.The Dutch pair won a bronze medal four years ago in Athens. Finlandfinished in 6:56.03, coming in just .65 seconds ahead of theCanadians for the silver medal.
In the men's lightweight double sculls, Great Britain's ZacPurchase and Mark Hunter took the gold medal with a time of6:10.99. The Greeks were just .73 seconds behind for silver and theDanes earned bronze by finishing in 6:12.45.
Purchase and Hunter were less than a second away from the worldrecord time of 6:10.02, a mark held by the bronze-medal winningteam of Mads Reinholdt Rasmussen and Rasmus Nicholai Quist Hansen.
Denmark posted the fastest time in both the heats and semifinals ofthe lightweight men's four and continued its dominance in thefinal, winning the gold with a time of 5:47.76 to repeat as Olympicchampions. The Danes have earned a medal in this event at everyOlympics since it was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Poland took the silver, finishing 1.63 seconds behind the Danes,and Canada earned the bronze.
ANOTHER MISTAKE COSTS GOLD FOR EMMONS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Another mistake, another lostchance at a gold medal.
Four years ago, American Matt Emmons had the lead going into hisfinal shot in the 50-meter 3-position rifle, but he shot at thewrong target and finished without a medal. It was basically arepeat performance on Sunday in the same event, with Emmons scoringa 4.4 out of a possible 10.9 on his final shot because his gunaccidentally went off.
Emmons was ahead the entire way in the final round, but because ofthe mistake, he dropped to fourth, again out of a medal placing.
Qiu Jian won the gold with a total score of 1272.5, while Ukraine'sJury Sukhorukov captured the silver with 1272.4. Rajmond Debevec ofSlovenia earned the bronze with 1271.7, right in front of Emmons(1270.3).
"You just can't let it get to you, there are other things way moreimportant," said Emmons. "I'm waiting for some really good thing tohappen from this, because everything happens for a reason."
The 27-year-old Emmons needed only a 7.0 on the last shot to win, ascore considered simple in Olympic standards.
"I didn't feel my finger shaking, but I guess it was," said Emmons."I realized it went off and I hope it made it to the black. I callit a freak of nature."
Emmons was given emotional support by his wife, Czech shooterKaterina, who won a gold and silver at these Games.
"What happened today I think will keep him going, keep himdetermined, and he will be more experienced," she said. "This willkeep him pointed in the right direction."
Matt Emmons did get a medal at these Olympics, finishing with asilver in the 50m rifle prone on Friday.
US MEN TAKE FENCING SILVER
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States men's fencingteam won silver in the team foil competition after losing to Francein the gold medal match Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. had earned surprising victories over Russia and Hungary togain a berth in the final round. However, the French posted a 45-37win over the Americans to secure their second straight gold medalin the event.
France had actually built a 40-28 lead heading into the finalround, but Keeth Smart of the U.S. would make the final score a bitmore respectable as he defeated France's Julien Pillet, 9-5.
The American team of Smart, Tim Morehouse and Jason Rogers notcheda win over Hungary, the defending world champions, in thequarterfinals and then defeated Russia in the semis. The victorieswere by the slimmest of margins, as the U.S. won both battles,45-44.
James Williams also earned the silver medal as a member of the U.S.team.
Italy earned the bronze medal with a 45-44 decision over theRussians.
The men's team sabre marked the end of fencing competition inBeijing. The American fencers had a very successful Olympics,taking six medals at these Games. The other five were on thewomen's side as the U.S. pulled off a clean sweep in the individualsabre, won silver in the team foil and bronze in the team sabre.
The silver medal is only the second medal won by the Amercicans inteam sabre competition. The other was a bronze won at the 1948London Olympic Games.
AMERICAN MILLER WINS BRONZE IN WOMEN'S WRESTLING
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - U.S. wrestler Randi Miller won abronze medal in the women's 63 kg freestyle class on Sunday, hercountry's second wrestling medal of the Beijing Olympics.
Miller shared the bronze with Yelena Shalygina of Kazakhstan, whileKaori Ichoa of Japan defeated Russia's Alena Kartashova tosuccessfully defend the title she also won at the 2004 AthensGames.
Competing in her first Olympics, the 24-year-old Miller said aboost of energy in the third period of the bronze medal matchagainst Shalygina was just her simply wanting to win.
"I'm not entirely happy," said Miller, "but I did not want anotherloss. I let a couple of points go by being lazy. But it worked outfor me."
Adam Wheeler won the Americans' first wrestling medal in the men's96 kg Greco-Roman class, also a bronze.
In another women's wrestling final on Sunday, 2007 junior worldchampion Wang Jiao of China defeated Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria towin gold in the women's 72 kg weight class.
Five-time world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan shared the bronzemedal with Poland's Agnieszka Wieszczek.
BRITISH CYCLIST ROMERO WINS HISTORIC GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Cyclist Rebecca Romero beat GreatBritain teammate Wendy Houvenaghel in the women's individualpursuit final on Sunday for a historic gold medal.
Romero became the first female British athlete to win medals in twodifferent Summer Olympics events, having also claimed a rowingsilver in the quadruple sculls at the 2004 Athens Games.
She led Houvenaghel after each of the three 1,000-meter splits inthe final, finishing with a total time of 3 minutes, 28.321 secondsto her teammate's 3:30.395.
The medals marked the seventh and eighth won by Great Britain inthe track disciplines at the Beijing Olympics, six more than theclosest country.
"I think there is a nation in every sport that dominates," saidRomero, "and now it's our time.
Lesya Kalitovska of the Ukraine edged New Zealand's Alison Shanksfor the bronze medal.
American Sarah Hammer finished fifth among the eight riders whomade it through qualifying on Friday, but she was eliminated in thefirst round on Saturday.
Also on Sunday, the four teams were determined for the men's teamindividual pursuit final when Denmark, Australia, New Zealand andGreat Britain made it through qualifying and the first round.
Eight riders qualified for both the men's and women's sprintquarterfinals, including U.S. cyclist Jennie Reed on the women'sside and British teammates Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny on the men'sside.
Hoy and Kenny have been part of the large medal haul for GreatBritain, with both riders being a part of the gold medal-winningsprint team. Hoy also won individual gold in the men's keirin.
US PITCHER ABBOTT PERFECT IN ANOTHER SOFTBALL ROUT
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Pitcher Monica Abbott was perfectthrough five innings, and the United States softball team cruisedto an 8-0 victory over the Netherlands at the Beijing Olympics.
Abbott struck out nine while setting down all 15 Dutch batters shefaced, leading the U.S. to its 20th consecutive Olympic victorydating back to 2000.
The game was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule, thefourth time in six contests the U.S. has closed out an opponent infewer than the scheduled seven frames.
Abbott's performance could not be called a perfect game.
"I'm sure she doesn't mind giving that up," said U.S. catcherStacey Nuveman. "In games like this, if we can get the win inearly, we will."
The Americans got more power output from Crystl Bustos, who went3-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI to lead the offense, whichhas outscored opponents 44-1 in six wins.
Tairai Flowers and Jessica Mendoza also blasted homers to give theAmericans 12 during these Games, a new Olympic record. Bustos andMendoza have four homers apiece.
"They seem to hit everything," said Dutch pitcher Rebecca Soumeru,who surrendered six runs -- five earned -- in two innings. "The waythey hit over the fence -- it's amazing."
The U.S. -- its spot already secure in the semifinals -- will faceChina on Monday in the final day of preliminary games. TheAmericans are guaranteed a medal.
The Netherlands, the worst team at the Olympics, fell to 0-6.
With all eight teams in competition Sunday, there were three othergames on the schedule.
China was all but eliminated from competition by a 2-1 loss toChinese Taipei, a result that gave both teams a 2-4 record. Withfour teams already holding at least three wins, things looked direfor the host Chinese.
Japan (5-1) used a four-run fifth inning to get past Venezuela,5-2, and remain in second place behind the U.S. heading into thelast week. The loss dropped Venezuela to 2-4.
Australia posted a big win over Canada, clinching a 4-0 victorywith a three- run rally in the seventh inning to move to 4-2 andsecure its third place standing.
USA WOMEN ROUT KIWIS, QUARTERFINALS NEXT
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Tina Thompson scored 15 points topace another balanced attack as the U.S. women's basketball teamcrushed New Zealand, 96-60, in its final preliminary round at theOlympics.
Katie Smith added 13 points, while Seimone Augustus tallied 11 forthe Americans, who finished 5-0 and atop Group B. They will take onSouth Korea in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Kara Lawson ended with nine points, while Lisa Leslie and SylviaFowles each had eight in the 29th straight Olympic win for thesquad. The U.S. women, gunning for a fourth straight gold medal,haven't failed to reach the podium for a medal since the sport wasfirst contested at the Olympics in Montreal in 1976.
"It was a good warm-up," said Leslie. "It's getting us ready forthe challenge up ahead. It will help us prepare for Korea, wholikes to play at a fast pace and likes to shoot threes."
Angela Marino had 17 points and Lisa Wallbutton added 14 for NewZealand (1-4), which missed out on advancing to the medal roundquarterfinals. The Kiwis had 27 turnovers.
Thompson had 10 of her 15 points during a 21-0 surge in the secondquarter. New Zealand was behind by only a 29-22 count beforeThompson helped the U.S. make it a blowout. Smith's three-pointerpushed the lead to 38-22 and when Delisha Milton-Jones scoredinside the paint the cushion stood at 28 points with 18 secondsleft in the half.
The lead reached as high as 39 in the second half.
"I couldn't ask for anything more from this team," USA coach AnneDonovan said. "They practice more than they're used to. They'refocused on themselves and getting better."
In other play Sunday, Spain routed Mali, 79-47, Australia downedRussia, 75-55, South Korea edged Latvia, 72-68, Brazil got byBelarus, 68-53, and China topped the Czech Republic, 79-63.
China will play Belarus in the quarterfinals, while the other gameat the top of the bracket will be between Australia and the Czechs.Russia takes on Spain in the U.S. half of the bracket.
WILDER WINS, ANDRADE OUSTED IN OLYMPIC BOXING
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Deontay Wilder won hisheavyweight bout, while Demetrius Andrade lost his quarterfinalfight in the welterweight division, leaving the United States withjust one boxer remaining at the Olympics.
Deontay Wilder advanced to the semifinals after scoring a 10-10victory over Mohammed Arjaoui of Morocco at the Workers' GymnasiumSunday night. Wilder won the tiebreaker on a 23-22 accepted scoreand has assured himself no worse than a bronze medal from the 2008Olympic Games.
"People don't know how hard we've been training," Wilder said. "Forme to be the last one, a guy who's been boxing only threeyears...I'm speechless."
Andrade lost an 11-9 decision to Kim Jungjoo of Korea. He was soupset at the decision, that Andrade walked out of the ring beforethe decision was announced.
"It was no disrespect for the other fighter, but it was pointlessfor me to be in there," said Andrade. "There's no way he hit me 11times. I blocked him, he probably scored three or four points, butnot more than that."
The U.S. had eight fighters entered in various weight classes atthe Beijing Olympics.
'SUPER DAN' WINS BADMINTON GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Known to many in China as "SuperDan," Lin Dan ended Malaysia's dream of winning its first Olympicgold medal by scoring a 21-12, 21-8 win over Lee Chong Wei Sundaynight.
Lin raced to a 7-1 lead in the opening set and the world No.1 heldon. In the second set, Lin opened an 8-0 lead on the way to thebruising victory.
"It was all down to intensive training," said Lin. "I had a lot ofsleepless nights because I was nervous, but this allowed me toconcentrate more and train harder."
The mixed doubles medals were also decided Sunday night. KoreansLee Youngdae and Lee Hyojung were 21-11, 21-17 winners over thetop-seeded tandem of Nova Widianto and Liliyana of Indonesia forthe gold medal. In the bronze medal match, China's Yu Hang and HeHanbin beat Indonesia's Vita Marissa and Flandy Limpele, 19-21,21-17, 23-21.
MAY-TREANOR/WALSH ADVANCE TO SEMIS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The American team of MistyMay-Treanor and Kerri Walsh rolled into the semifinals of thewomen's beach volleyball tournament Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.
May-Treanor and Walsh notched a 21-18, 21-15 victory over theBrazilian team of Ana Paula Conelly and Larissa Franca to remainundefeated all-time at the Olympics. The quarterfinal match lastedjust 41 minutes.
The American duo hasn't even dropped a set at this year's Olympictournament and look poised to earn a second straight gold medal.
"Each team we face is just one step that we have to climb, but weare very focused on what we came here to do," said May-Treanor.
Next up for May-Treanor and Walsh is Tuesday's semifinal encounteragainst the Brazilian team of Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha, whobeat Australia's Natalie Cook and Tasmin Barnett, 24-22, 21-14.
The second U.S. women's team of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngsfailed to make it into the semis, as they lost to China's Xue Chenand Zhang Xi, 21-17, 21-13. Branagh and Youngs had been undefeatedat the Olympic tournament before Sunday's setback in the quarters.
Xue and Zhang's victory sets up an all-Chinese semifinal againstTian Jia and Wang Jie, who straight-setted Austrian sisters Dorisand Stefanie Schwaiger.
ILIN WINS GOLD IN WEIGHTLIFTING
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilin won goldin the men's 94kg weightlifting class Sunday night at the Olympics.
Ilin lifted 180kg in the snatch and his best mark in the clean &jerk was 226kg. The total of 406kg edged Poland's Szymon Kolecki(403), while Russian Khadzhimurat Akkaev (402) earned the bronze.
"In my second snatch I hurt my elbow and the doctor tried to fixit," said the spiky-haired Ilin. "I was worried that I could notcompete, but my coached helped me and gave me confidence. He helpedme stand up psychologically."
US WRESTLER ZADICK GETS SPOT IN OLYMPICS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - U.S. wrestler Mike Zadick willcompete in the Olympics after all.
Zadick didn't qualify for the Summer Games in the 60kg freestylecategory, but USA Wrestling made a formal request to the sport'sinternational governing body to add him to the team when it waslearned that the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation withdrew its entryfrom the Olympics at that weight division due to injury.
It was subsequently granted to include Zadick, a 2006 world silvermedalist.
"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to wrestle in the OlympicGames. I never stopped believing it would happen. I want to thankUSA Wrestling and (USA Wrestling Executive Director) Rich Benderfor making this happen. I'm looking forward to having anopportunity to wrestle in the Olympics and bringing home a goldmedal."
Zadick will wrestle on Tuesday.
AINSLIE, BRITISH TRIO WIN SAILING GOLD
Qingdao, China (Sports Network) - Great Britain's Ben Ainslie wongold in the Finn sailing class for a third straight time, whileAmerican Zach Railey captured the silver Sunday at the Olympics.
Ainslie took the gold by winning the medal race, while Raileystruggled to a sixth-place finish Sunday. Guillaume Florent ofFrance earned the bronze medal. Ainslie also won silver in thisevent in 1996.
Also Sunday, the British trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and PippaWilson won the gold medal in the Yngling. The three won thefirst-ever sailing medal race at the Summer Games as crews battledrain and wind.
Medal races count double to the total, and going into Sunday theBrits were a point ahead of a team from the Netherlands. MandyMulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen. The Dutch team finishedwith the silver.
The Greek team of Sofia Bekatorou, Sofia Papadopoulou and VirginiaKravarioti won the bronze medal.
The U.S. squad of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Capozziwere alone in seventh place.
Ayton and Webb repeated as gold medal from 2004.
"The conditions today were quite Great Britain: big wind and bigrain. We were quite prepared."
The Danish team of Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketterp Ibsenprovisionally won the gold medal in the 49er category. However,protests have been lodged by competitors and race officials and themedals have been put on hold.
Warrer and Ibsen were holding an 11-point lead on Italian brothersPietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello going into the medal raceSunday. The mast for the Danes broke, but Croatia lent them theirskiff. Then several boats turned over before the finish line amidstrough seas and Spain won the medal race.
Warrer and Ibsen finished seventh, but the results were protestedby the race committee.
If the Danes are disqualified Spain's Iker Martinez and XabierFernandez, winners of the medal race, will have enough points tokeep their title they won in Athens fours years ago.
It was an incredible ending to the medal race. The Austrian boatcrashed and the Australians then took the lead when he Italian boatcapsized, but the Aussies capsized too close to the finish line.
BASEBALL: KOREA TOPS CHINA IN 11 INNINGS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Lee Seungyuop singled in thewinning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, boosting South Koreato a 1-0 win over China in Olympic baseball action Sunday.
The game was actually completed after being suspended Thursday dueto rain. The contest was through six innings at the time of thesuspension.
As per international rules, each team was given a runner at firstand second base in the 11th inning. Feng Fei flew out into a doubleplay to end the top of the frame, and in the bottom half Leesingled with one out to drive in the game-winning run.
"I felt very good after that and we'll play tomorrow's game(against Taiwan) in a good mood because of it," said Lee. "I've gotmy confidence back and am in a high spirit after that final hit."
China takes on the United States in preliminary round play Monday.
CHINESE WOMEN WIN TABLE TENNIS GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - It came down to the top two seedsand No. 1 China swept No. 2 Singapore in three matches Sunday towin the women's team table tennis gold medal at the BeijingOlympics.
Zhang Yining claimed two wins in China's 3-0 victory, defeating LiJia Wei in four sets in singles and also teaming with Guo Yue for athree-set win in doubles.
Three-time world champion Wang Nan took care of her singles matchagainst Feng Tianwei, also in four sets.
No. 4 seed Korea won the bronze medal with a 3-0 sweep of No. 5Japan.
USA WOMEN END POOL PLAY WITH WIN OVER POLAND
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States women'svolleyball team wrapped up pool play Sunday at the BeijingOlympics, defeating Poland in five sets.
The Americans posted an 18-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 win overPoland to finish second in Pool A with a 4-1 record. Thesecond-place finish sends the Americans into the quarterfinalround, where they'll face Italy on Tuesday.
"We were very inconsistent," said U.S. team member Heather Brown."We're still fighting to figure that out."
Earlier Sunday, Cuba beat Venezuela in straight sets to completepool play with a 5-0 record. The Cubans, who dealt the U.S. itsonly loss, will face Serbia in the quarterfinals.
China will face Russia and Japan will take on Brazil in theremaining quarterfinals.
US TO FACE AUSSIES IN WATER POLO SEMIS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The Australian women's water poloteam defeated China in the quarterfinals Sunday at the BeijingOlympics, setting up a semifinal encounter with the United States.
Australia edged the Chinese, 12-11, and will battle the Americanson Tuesday for the right to play in the gold medal match. The U.S.earned a bye to the semis as a result of winning its group.
The Aussies led 10-8 heading into the final quarter Sunday, but theChinese were able to tie the score. However, Kate Gynther scoredtwice in under a minute to put Australia back on top.
Gynther's first goal of the fourth quarter came on a penalty shotwith 3:03 remaining and she scored again with 2:25 left. Shefinished the game with a game-high five goals on nine shots.
Qiao Leiying scored for China with 28 ticks left, but that's as faras the comeback would get.
The Netherlands defeated Italy, 13-11, in the other quarterfinal,ending the Italians' chances of repeating as gold medalists. TheDutch will face Hungary in the semis.
NORWAY, RUSSIA WIN GROUPS IN WOMEN'S HANDBALL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Norway and Russia won theirrespective groups in women's handball at the Beijing Olympics onSunday.
Norway posted a 24-23 victory over Romania to finish with 10points, two ahead of the Romanians in Group A.
Meanwhile, the Russians notched a 30-29 decision over Germany totake Group B. Korea pounded Hungary 33-22 and finished two pointsbehind Russia in the standings.
Norway will face Sweden in Tuesday's quarterfinals, while Russiawill take on France. Hungary will battle Romania and China willchallenge Korea in the remaining matchups of the knockout phase.
Brazil, Kazakhstan, Germany and Angola failed to make it thequarters.
AMERICANS TIED FOR LEAD IN EQUESTRIAN TEAM JUMPING
Hong Kong, China (Sports Network) - Switzerland and the UnitedStates are tied for the lead after the first round of equestrianteam show jumping at the Olympics.
The Swiss team of Christina Liebherr, Pius Schwizer, NiklausSchurtenberger and Steve Guerdat complied 12 penalty points, as didthe defending gold medalist U.S. squad of McLain Ward, Laura Kraut,Will Simpson and Bezzie Madden.
"I hope we can stay in the lead," Madden said. "The team has verygood results, but I am a bit disappointed with mine. I hope we dobetter tomorrow."
Sweden is in third place with 13 penalty points, followed by GreatBritain and Canada tied for fourth with 16.
The competition serves as the third qualifier for places in theindividual final. Eric LaMaze of Canada and Ward are tied for firstplace with clean slates. Defending gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa ofBrazil is third.
The team jumping final is Monday night.
AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS NEAR MEN'S FIELD HOCKEY SEMIS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Australia and the Netherlandsplayed to a 2-2 tie in men's field hockey on Sunday, with bothmedal hopefuls moving to 3-0-1 in Pool B competition.
With the tie, both countries were all but guaranteed to make thesemifinals at the Beijing Olympics.
Elsewhere in men's field hockey, Canada and Germany battled to a1-1 tie, Korea handed South Africa a 3-1 loss, New Zealand andChina deadlocked at 2-2 and Germany beat Spain by a 1-0 score for avaluable point.