PHELPS’ GOLD AMONG SEVEN U.S. MEDAL WINS
Olympic Daily News
Tuesday, August 12
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Michael Phelps easily won the
200-meter freestyle on Tuesday for his ninth career Olympic gold medal,
tying the all- time record.
He was one of seven American swimmers to make the medal stand on a
great morning for the U.S. team, a take that included backstroke gold
medals for Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol.
Phelps finished more than a body length ahead of Korea’s Park Taehwan
for his third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, smashing his own
world record by .90 seconds to finish in 1 minute, 42.96 seconds.
It was a runaway victory, nothing like the thrilling, nail-biting
end to the U.S. win in the 400-meter freestyle relay on Monday that
barely gave Phelps his second gold here.
Leading from the start in the freestyle final, Phelps finished 1.89
seconds in front of Park, the 400-meter freestyle gold medalist who
touched in 1:44.85 seconds for the silver.
American Peter Vanderkaay took bronze at 1:45.14 for his first
individual Olympic medal.
Phelps was outside the middle of the pool in lane six — in good
position to get a jump on the other swimmers, disappear and hold on
for the win.
"I knew if I got a jump in the first 100 (meters), the guys in the
middle of the pool wouldn’t be able to see me and I could hold some
ground," said Phelps. "I knew [Park] was going to finish well, so I
had to finish a whole body length ahead."
Phelps’ ninth career Olympic gold medal moved him into a five-way
tie with U.S. swimming great Mark Spitz, American track and field
star Carl Lewis, former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina and Finnish
runner Paavo Nurmi for the all-time record.
"It is a pretty amazing accomplishment," said Phelps. "It’s definitely
an honor. I have met and spent time with Carl Lewis and exchanged
words with Spitz, (so) it is pretty amazing."
It was Phelps’ 11th Olympic medal overall, moving him into a tie with
Spitz and Matt Biondi for the most among male swimmers.
Coughlin and Peirsol both won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, joining
Phelps on a dominating morning for Americans at Beijing’s Water Cube.
Also the 2004 gold medalist at the distance, Coughlin finished with a
personal-best time in the 100 backstroke at 58.96 seconds, .23 seconds
ahead of world record holder Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. U.S. teammate
Margaret Hoelzer took bronze.
"It hasn’t really sunk in yet," said Coughlin, who fought back tears
on the medal stand. "When I first saw the time, I thought they had
made a mistake. It was a very fast time.
"When I saw the [number 1] by my name, I thought they had made a
mistake. Then I saw my name there and I realized that I’d got it."
Peirsol, also the 2004 gold medalist in the men’s 100 backstroke,
broke his own world record in the distance. He came on strong in the
last 50 meters to touch at 52.54 seconds to lower the mark he set
last month at the U.S. trials by .35 seconds.
Fellow American Matt Grevers won the silver at 53.11 seconds, with
Russia’s Arkady Vyatchanin and Hayden Stoeckel of Australia tying
for the bronze at 53.18 seconds.
"I looked up and saw Matt next to me and I was elated," said
Peirsol. "Stuff like that is a dream come true."
On his medal, Peirsol said: "It’s just as wonderful as the first time."
Rebecca Soni, a replacement for Jessica Hardy on the U.S. team, won a
silver medal in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke behind gold medal
winner Leisel Jones of Australia.
Jones atoned for her disappointing bronze medal in Athens four years
ago finishing with an Olympic record time of 1:05.17 seconds. Soni won
silver at 1:06.73, while Mirna Jukic of Austria took bronze at 1:07.34.
Hardy withdrew from U.S. team after failing a doping test prior to
the Olympics, opening the way for Soni.
"I don’t even know how I feel yet," said Soni, "it’s still
registering. Who could have asked for more?"
Phelps, well on his way to challenging Spitz’s 36-year-old record of
seven gold medals in one Olympics, may have his three toughest tasks
out of the way.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he also chased Spitz on the way to
winning six gold medals as a 19-year-old, Phelps settled for bronze
twice to come up short.
He finished third in the 400-meter freestyle relay and was beaten
by two of the greatest 200-meter freestyle swimmers of all time:
Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband.
Now Phelps has gold in both events — saved by Jason Lezak’s thrilling
anchor leg in the 400 freestyle relay on Monday for his second gold,
and an easy winner Tuesday in the 200 freestyle.
Phelps also made it through the tough 400-meter individual medley on
Sunday to win his first gold in Beijing in world-record time.
If he goes on to break Spitz’s Holy Grail record for gold medals in
one Olympics — or even if he wins eight medals of any kind here —
Phelps would be the all-time winningest medal winner among male
Olympians with 16.
"Every time he races he gets better and better," said Soni.
In keeping with his grueling schedule, Phelps also qualified for the
final of the 200-meter butterfly by equaling his own Olympic record
of 1:53.70 Tuesday morning.
"I barely had any time to relax," he said.
Next up for Phelps is a night off from preliminaries after swimming
in the first six swimming sessions here. He starts back up again with
200 butterfly final on Wednesday morning.
In other semifinals Tuesday morning, Katie Hoff qualified for the
finals of the women’s 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual
medley. Hoff already has a silver and bronze medal in Beijing.
U.S. SMASHES OLYMPIC RECORD IN 800 FREESTYLE RELAY
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – The United States smashed the
Olympic record in the 800-meter freestyle relay on Tuesday night,
setting Michael Phelps up to win a pair of gold medals on Wednesday.
The foursome of David Walters, Ricky Berens, Erik Vendt and Klete
Keller lowered Australia’s mark from the 2000 Sydney Olympics by 2.39
seconds to 7 minutes, 4.66 seconds.
Phelps, who won his third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics in
Tuesday’s 200- meter freestyle, will be a part of the "A" team that
goes for the gold medal in the 800 relay final on Wednesday.
The Americans are the reigning Olympic champions and world record
holders in the event.
Phelps is also favored to win the 200-meter butterfly final, meaning
he could have five Beijing gold medals by noon — three away from
breaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympics.
Italy qualified second-fastest in the 800 relay, 3.18 seconds behind
the Americans. Russia was third.
SULLIVAN BETTERS BERNARD IN 100 AGAIN
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Australia’s Eamon Sullivan posted
the fastest time in the men’s 100-meter freestyle preliminaries
Tuesday night, a day after he broke the world record in the distance.
Sullivan completed two laps in 47.80 seconds, well off the record
time of 47.24 he posted Monday in the first leg of Australia’s bronze
medal-winning effort in the 400-meter freestyle relay team.
Sullivan broke Frenchman Alain Bernard’s record in that race. He
finished .05 seconds ahead of Bernard in the preliminaries on Tuesday.
As close as that was, two swimmers were even closer.
Stefan Nystrand of Sweden qualified second-fastest at 47.83 — just
.03 off Sullivan’s pace — and Canada’s Brent Hayden was a fingernail
further behind at 48.84 seconds.
Jason Lezak, who’s thrilling comeback as the anchor of the U.S. 400
freestyle relay ensured Michael Phelps a gold medal, qualified 11th
fastest to make the semifinals.
American teammate Garrett Weber-Gale swam the eighth-fastest time,
while 30- year-old Netherlands star Pieter van den Hoogenband was
fifth.
CANCER-STRICKEN SHANTEAU TAKES FIRST BEIJING SWIM
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Diagnosed with testicular cancer
two months ago, Eric Shanteau took to the water for the first time
competitively at the Beijing Olympics and qualified for the men’s
200-meter breaststroke semifinals.
Shanteau, who is expected to fully recover from his early-stage cancer,
posted the seventh-fastest time in preliminaries Tuesday night.
He had competed at the U.S. trials — and qualified, surprisingly,
ahead of breaststroke specialist Brendan Hansen — after he was
diagnosed with the disease in June, then decided he would swim in
the Olympics despite the disease.
Shanteau isn’t expected to challenge for a medal — certainly not
for gold with world record holder Kosuke Kitajima of Japan looking
better than ever.
All he ever wanted to do was just swim in the Olympics.
"That was the dream right there," Shanteau said afterward. "I just
had it come true and I think there’s a lot more to come."
Daniel Gyurta of Hungary qualified fastest with an Olympic record
time of 2 minutes, 8.68 seconds, while Kitajima, already a gold medal
winner in the 100 breaststroke, took it easy with a sixth-place swim.
American Scott Spann also qualified.
HERSEY, BREEDEN QUALIFY FOR 200 BUTTERFLY SEMIS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – U.S. teammates Kathleen Hersey and
Elain Breeden qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 200-meter
butterfly with top-16 swims in the preliminaries on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Hersey qualified seventh-fastest and Breeden, 19,
was ninth- fastest.
Liu Zige won the qualifier with a time of 2 minutes, 06.46 seconds
while world record holder Jessicah Schipper had the 11th fastest time.
CHINA WINS MEN’S TEAM GYMNASTICS GOLD, USA GETS BRONZE
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – China claimed the gold medal in
men’s team gymnastics Tuesday at the Beijing Games, but the big
shocker came with the U.S. winning a bronze medal despite a roster
of all first-time Olympians.
China, the current team world champions, finished with a total of
286.125 points. Japan won the silver with 278.875, while the Americans
had 275.850
China placed first in five of the six apparatus and the U.S. barely
reached the podium thanks to edging Germany by 1.25 points.
The U.S. team, comprised of Sasha Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joey Hagerty,
Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring and Kevin Tan, has overcome plenty of
adversity in recent weeks.
Paul Hamm, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, withdrew from
the Summer Games due to a broken right hand, and his twin, Morgan,
pulled out last week because of a left ankle injury. That left Artemev
and Bhavsar as replacement athletes, but they helped the U.S. to the
podium finish.
"We really were the underdogs," said Horton. "We read a lot of stuff
people say about us and it gets us fired up. So many articles said
the U.S. team was not going to make it to team finals or if they do
there would be no chance of a medal."
The Americans were in second place going into the final rotation,
which was pommel horse, the toughest to overcome for the U.S. That’s
when Japan, the 2004 gold medal winners, leaped over the U.S. to
claim the silver.
However, Artemev, who was named a replacement for Morgan Hamm Thursday
night, had a solid routine on horse with a 15.35, significantly
better than a struggling Tan and Bhavsar on the apparatus, securing
the U.S. the unlikely medal.
"Why did anyone count us out?," said Spring. "Anything that got
thrown at this team, we rolled with it. We never counted us out, we
never doubted ourselves. I guess that we’re all first-time Olympians,
we never counted ourselves out."
Meanwhile, the Chinese dominated with a spectacular performance from
Yang Wei, the favorite to win the individual all-around gold. Chen
Yibing, Huang Xu, Li Xiaopeng, Xiao Qin and Zou Kai were all solid
for the Chinese to thrill their home country.
While the Americans were all newcomers to the Summer Games, the Chinese
featured three-time returning Olympians and specialists at each event.
Zou thrilled the crowd with his tumbling performance on floor that
had a top score of 15.925.
"It’s really cool. I just let myself go off and performed as
myself. That’s good enough," Zou said.
USA MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM ROUTS ANGOLA
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Two games and a pair of blowout
wins for the Redeem Team.
Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, as the powerful United States men’s
basketball team overpowered Angola, 97-76, at the Olympics.
Dwight Howard added 14 points, while LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony
both tallied 12 as the Americans shot 55.9 percent from the field
and forced 25 turnovers.
The 2004 Summer Games bronze medal effort marked the first time the
U.S. men’s team had failed to win gold since the original Dream Team
breezed through Barcelona in 1992.
The talent-laden squad of this Olympic team though, which prides itself
on defense and quickness, overcame another slow start in their Group
B game Tuesday night. They also dominated again down low, outscoring
Angola 64-26 in the paint.
Carlos Morais had 24 points to pace Angola.
Tayshaun Prince had five consecutive points in the first quarter,
and the U.S. increased its lead to 29-18 after the opening period.
Angola used eight unanswered points to close the gap to 39-32 with
four minutes left in the second quarter, but just like their 31-point
win over China on Sunday the Americans turned it on before halftime.
Wade’s three-pointer started a 12-0 run that featured a few fast-break
buckets, including a thunderous jam from James to end the rally for
a 51-32 lead with 1:36 left in the half.
Angola trailed 55-37 at the half, but cut the margin to 14 early in
the third on Luis Costa’s basket. The U.S. then scored eight in a
row to move the difference to 63-41. A 10-0 run later in the stanza
moved the lead to 27 and Mike Krzyzewski’s team was on cruise control
in the last quarter with the advantage never getting under the final
score. The U.S. was ahead by as many as 33 in the fourth quarter.
Next up for the U.S. is a game against Greece, a team that beat the
Americans in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championships.
"It’s going to be very emotional game," said U.S. guard Chris Paul. "We
also understand that this is pool play. But at the same time, this
team right here, we’ve lost one game in three years and Greece is
that only team to do that so far. We definitely feel like we owe them."
Greece beat Germany, 87-64, on Tuesday. Vasileios Spanoulis scored 23
points for the Greeks, while Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki was
limited to 13 points for the Germans. American-born NBA center Chris
Kaman was held to two points for Germany, which went just 19-of-53
from the field.
China nearly shocked Spain in a Group B matchup, but lost 85-75 in
overtime. The Chinese were up by 14 going into the fourth quarter
before faltering. Marc Gasol’s lane shot with 19.7 second left in
regulation tied the game for Spain and then they took over in the
extra session.
Pau Gasol had 29 points and Rudy Fernandez added 21 for Spain, while
Liu Wei had 19 points for China. Yao Ming was limited to 11 points
for China.
"Maybe our defense is not good enough or maybe our cooperation is
not good enough," said Yao. "There are many reasons."
In Group A action, Lithuania got 22 points from Linas Kleiza in a 99-67
win over Iran. Also, Marko Popovic had 22 points and Zoran Planinic
tallied 20 in Croatia’s 85-78 victory over Russia. Andrei Kirilenko
had 18 points for Russia. In the final game of the night, Manu Ginobili
had 21 points to pace Argentina to an 85-68 win over Australia.
ELLER GIVES USA SHOOTING GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Walton Eller of the United States won
shooting gold in the men’s double trap Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics.
Eller finished with 190 points to set an Olympic record. He notched
145 points in qualifying and secured the gold with a score of 45 in
the finals.
"I knew I needed most of the shots to break the record, so they came
one-by- one," said Eller, who finished 17th in this event at the
Athens Games.
Francesco D’Aniello of Italy won the silver with 187 points and China’s
Hu Binyuan took the bronze with 184. Jeffrey Holguin of the U.S. came
in fourth with 182 points.
Ahmed Almaktoum of the United Arab Emirates was the gold medalist
in the double trap four years ago, but finished seventh in Tuesday’s
competition,
Earlier, Jin Jong Oh of Korea won gold in the men’s 50-meter pistol
event. It marked the second medal of these Games for Jin, who took
silver in the 10m air pistol competition over the weekend. Jin was
also the silver medalist in the 50m pistol in Athens.
Jin finished first with 660.4 points, narrowly defeating North Korea’s
Kim Jong Su, who ended with 660.2 points. China’s Tan Zongliang earned
the bronze with a score of 659.5.
Jin’s victory gives Korea five golds and 10 overall medals in this
year’s Games.
Daryl Szarenski of the United States finished in 14th and fellow
American Jason Turner was 21st.
WARREN UPSET IN OPENING FLYWEIGHT MATCH
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – American flyweight Rau’Shee Warren
was bounced out in the first round of the Beijing Olympics boxing
tournament on Tuesday after a shocking loss to Korea’s Oksung Lee.
Warren, the defending world champion, was handed a 9-8 setback by
Lee at Workers’ Gymnasium.
This was the second Olympic Games for the 21-year-old Warren, who
finished 17th in light flyweight competition in Athens. The Cincinnati,
Ohio, native was the first U.S. boxer to make consecutive trips to
the Olympics since Davey Lee Armstrong.
Lee and Warren tied each of the first three rounds and the score
was knotted at 7-7 heading into the final two minutes. Lee scored
the first point of the fourth round, but Warren quickly tied the
score. The Korean went ahead once again, but Warren was unaware Lee
had taken the lead as he was confused by the noisy arena.
"There was so much going on in the crowd. I just stood there at the
end, I thought I was up," Warren said.
Warren took issue with the scoring and felt that he should’ve won
the match.
"I feel like I should have been up every round and every round was
tied," Warren said. "I felt like the scoring wasn’t right because I
worked so hard for this and to come this far and lose in the first
round, it isn’t right. It doesn’t seem real to me."
Opening round action in boxing will conclude Wednesday. The U.S. will
have two matches tomorrow with heavyweight Deontay Wilder and light
flyweight Luis Yanez competing. Wilder will face Abdelaziz Toulibini
of Algeria and Yanez will take on Spain’s Jose Kelvin de la Nieve.
CHINA CONTINUES DIVING DOMINANCE
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Young duo Chen Ruolin and Wang
Xin added to China’s diving gold medal haul at the Beijing Games by
capturing the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform event.
China has topped every podium in this event since it was introduced
in the 2000 Sydney Games. Chen and Wang combined for a point total
of 363.54, while the Australian team of Briony Cole and Melissu
Wu captured the silver, but were a distant 28.38 points behind the
Chinese.
The Mexican tandem of Paola Espinoza and Tatiana Ortiz earned bronze,
33.48 behind the winners.
The American duo of Marybeth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu came in
fifth place with 309.12 points. They were in eighth going into the
final dive.
"We knew we could have dived better, but we’re really happy with how
we finished," said Dunnichay. "For our 3 1/2 somersault I ducked my
head a little bit on entry."
Chen is just 15 and Wang turned 16 Monday. She got a late birthday
present on Tuesday in the form of China’s third diving gold at
these Games.
The duo of Lin Yue and Huo Liang won the gold medal in the men’s
10-meter synchronized platform on Monday, and on Sunday Guo Jingjing
and Wu Minxia won gold in the women’s three-meter synchronized
springboard.
Although Chen and Wang have boyish short haircuts and look like new
teenagers, they are fierce competitors, so much that Wang actually
changed her name from the previous Wang Ruoxue.
"Before I went to Tsinghua University, my coach said my given name
Ruoxue (means ‘like snow’ in Chinese) appeared to be a little weak
(according to it’s Chinese meaning)," said Wang. "I’ve read a book
saying that a name is just a symbol and we have to make our own
efforts to achieve whatever we want."
The Chinese were on their game right from the start, receiving
a perfect 10 for their synchronization of an inward dive in pike
position. They got another 10 on the next dive, a reverse in pike
position. Their highest score of the day, a 90.78, came on their
final dive, a 2 1/2 somersault with a 1 1/2 twist in pike position.
CHINA’S ZHONG TAKES SABRE GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Zhong Man of China won fencing gold
Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics, defeating France’s Nicolas Lopez in
the final of the men’s individual sabre competition.
Lopez held a 9-7 lead in the gold medal match, but Zhong finished the
bout with eight straight touches to win the event. The gold medal is
the first for China in fencing since Luan Jujie won the women’s foil
event at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
"I didn’t feel any pressure. I was lagging behind in the first round,"
Zhong said. "My coach told me to be more aggressive and more active
in attacking so I did and the rest of the bout went smoothly."
Romania won the bronze as Mihai Covaliu defeated France’s Julian
Pillet, 15-11. Covaliu earned his second Olympic medal having won
gold in individual sabre at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Pillet was the gold medalist in this event four years ago in Athens.
Keeth Smart of the United States finished sixth after losing his
quarterfinal match to Pillet. Fellow Americans Tim Morehouse and
Jason Rogers finished 22nd and 28th, respectively.
O’REILLY SPARKS U.S. TO WIN, TOP SPOT IN GROUP
Shenyang, China (Sports Network) – Heather O’Reilly scored the fastest
goal in Olympic women’s soccer history, just 41 seconds into Tuesday’s
game against New Zealand at Shenyang Stadium, sparking the United
States to a convincing 4-0 win and an improbable climb to the top of
Group G.
The United States needed a win, a Norway loss and to make up a huge
deficit in goal differential to win the group, and everything fell
into place for the U.S. to avoid a quarterfinal showdown with 2007
World Cup runner-up Brazil.
Amy Rodriguez, Lindsay Tarpley and Angela Hucles also scored for the
Americans, who turned a minus-4 goal differential to Norway into a
plus-4 because Japan stunned the previously unbeaten Norwegians 5-1.
The United States plays Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday. Norway
fell into second in the group and plays Brazil. Japan also advanced
to the quarterfinals and plays China.
In Tuesday’s other late matches, China defeated Argentina 2-0 to win
Group E, while Sweden defeated Canada 2-1 to finish second in that
group and set up a quarterfinal with Germany. Canada still advanced
as the third-place team.
In Tuesday’s early matches, Brazil beat Nigeria 3-1 to win Group F
and Germany edged North Korea 1-0 to finish second in that group.
Carli Lloyd, who scored the only goal in the United States’ 1-0 win
over Japan, helped set up the record-setting goal by winning a goal
kick in midfield in the opening minute.
O’Reilly gained control of the ball after Lloyd’s header, and she took
just a few steps toward goal before unleashing a shot from about 40
yards. New Zealand goalkeeper Jenny Bindon wasn’t back in position
yet and O’Reilly’s shot swerved into the upper-left corner.
Rodriguez added a key goal just before half and Tarpley and Hucles
scored early in the second half to wrap up the scoring.
Rodriguez did well to race behind New Zealand’s defense in the 43rd
minute, and she was able to drill a shot into the lower-left corner.
Tarpley finished off a rebound in the 56th minute and Hucles lofted
a shot off of Bindon’s fingertips and into the net in the 60th minute.
In Shanghai, Norway jumped out to a quick lead but Japan’s Yukari
Kinga leveled the match before halftime and an own goal started a
four-goal second- half Japan outburst. Shinobu Ohno, Homare Sawa and
Ayumi Hara scored Japan’s other goals.
In Beijing, Lotta Schelin scored in the 19th and 51st minutes to give
Sweden a two-goal edge and it held off Canada. Melissa Tancredi had
Canada’s lone goal in the 63rd minute.
In Qinhuangdao, China got second-half goals from Duan Han and Yasha
Gu to beat Argentina and join Brazil and Germany as the only unbeaten
teams in the group stage.
Earlier in Beijing, Cristiane scored a hat trick in less than 15
minutes to lead Brazil to an easy win over Nigeria at Workers’ Stadium.
Cristiane, who finished third in the FIFA Women’s World Player of
the Year poll last year, scored in the 34th, 35th and 45th minutes
as the Brazilians overcame an early deficit.
Earlier in Tianjin, Anja Mittag scored Germany’s lone goal against
North Korea in the 86th minute at Olympic Center Stadium, but a draw
would have also been enough for the back-to-back World Cup winner to
secure second in the group.
Germany and Brazil finished with seven points, but the Brazilians
claimed the top spot in the group on goal differential. Brazil and
Germany tied, 0-0, last week.
Brazil and Germany could potentially play in the semifinals, and
both countries are on the opposite side of the knockout stage of the
United States. That means the U.S. can’t face Brazil or Germany until
the final.
Argentina, New Zealand, Nigeria and North Korea were eliminated.
U.S. PLAYS JAPAN TO 1-1 TIE IN FIELD HOCKEY
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Kate Barber scored in the 58th
minute, and the U.S. women’s field hockey team played to its second
tie of the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, 1-1 against Japan.
Kaori Chiba scored in the 12th minute to hand Japan a 1-0 lead,
which is where the game remained until Barber’s late goal.
Barber, the team captain, also hit a goalpost during the game.
"We like to think we have a balance in our forward line, that we
don’t focus too hard on one player, but by definition we have better
players in our group, and our captain is one of those," said head
coach Lee Bodimeade.
The U.S. women are now 0-0-2 in their first two games back following
a 12-year absence at the Olympics. They will next face Germany on
Thursday.
In other women’s field hockey action on Tuesday: China shut out South
Africa 3-0; Australia rolled to a 6-1 victory over Spain; Great Britain
and Argentina played to a 2-2 tie; the Netherlands defeated Korea 3-2;
and Germany edged New Zealand 2-1.
USA ADVANCES TO FINAL IN MEN’S EIGHTS
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – The United States qualified for
finals in men’s eights and women’s quadruple sculls at the Olympic
rowing competition Tuesday in Beijing.
The U.S. men’s eights squad won their repechage, or second chance heat,
with a time of five minutes 38.95 seconds. The Americans will now
get a chance for gold in Sunday’s A-final. Australia, the Netherlands
and Poland also qualified for the final round.
The American women moved on to the final round of competition in
quadruple sculls by placing second in their repechage with a time
of 6:39.53. Germany, who won the heat, will also head to Saturday’s
final along with Australia and the Ukraine.
The U.S. also gained semifinals in lightweight women’s double sculls
and lightweight men’s fours. Renee Hykel and Jen Goldsack won the
first repechage heat to advance in double sculls and the American
men’s four squad finished third in their heat to barely qualify for
the next round. Both semifinals will take place on Thursday.
"We had a really solid piece," Hykel said. "We got the job done and
are looking forward to the semifinal."
The Americans failed to advance to the finals in the women’s pairs
as the duo of Portia McGee and Anne Cummins finished third in the
second repechage. Only the top two teams in each heat moved on to
the final round.
In other rowing action Tuesday, Germany, Austria, Portugal and Cuba
qualified teams for the semifinals in lightweight men’s double sculls
and Estonia, Cuba and the Czech Republic placed teams in the men’s
quadruple sculls semis.
TUNNICLIFFE LEADS LASER RADIAL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – World No. 1 Anna Tunnicliffe of
the United States holds the lead after the opening races of the Laser
Radial sailing event at the Olympics.
Tunnicliffe has fourth and fifth-place finishes for a total of nine
net points.
It was a topsy-turvy day near the top of the standings. Evi Van
Acker of Belgium won the first race, but then finished 10th in the
second. Sarah Steyaert of France was 11th in the opener, but won the
second and is in third overall.
Shahar Zubari of Israel holds the lead through four races of the men’s
boardsailing race. He is eight points clear of Hong Kong native Chan
King Yin.
In the women’s boardsailing, China’s Yin Jian has a nine-point lead
on Marina Alabau of Spain through four races. Albau is the world No.1
sailboarder. Three-time Olympic medalist Alessandra Sensini of Italy
is fourth overall, just behind Australian Jessica Crisp.
Nathan Wilmont and Malcolm Page have pulled into the top position in
the men’s 470, while fellow country members Elise Rechichi and Tessa
Parkinson lead the women’s portion after four races.
New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch holds the edge in the laser after
two races.
MARTIKAN, GRIMM WIN CANOE/KAYAK GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Michal Martikan of Slovakia and
Alexander Grimm of Germany won gold medals Tuesday in slalom canoeing
and kayaking events at the Beijing Olympics.
Martikan won the canoe single event and Grimm picked up the gold in
the kayak singles.
Martikan, a four-time Olympic medalist, finished the semifinal and
final rounds with a combined time of 176.65 seconds. He survived a
two-second penalty on his final run to defeat Great Britain’s David
Florence, who ended Tuesday’s competition in 178.61 seconds.
The Slovakian won gold in this event at the 1996 Atlanta Games and
picked up consecutive silver medals in Sydney and Athens.
"It was not easy," said Martikan. "It is fantastic for me to be the
Olympic champion again after 12 years. My dream has come true."
Robin Bell of Australia earned the bronze medal with a time of 180.59
seconds. Benn Fraker of the United States finished sixth.
Meanwhile, Grimm won the kayak event with a total time of 171.70
seconds, finishing ahead of France’s Fabien Lefevre, who came in at
173.30 seconds.
Benjamin Boukpeti finished third with a time of 173.45 seconds to
give Togo its first-ever Olympic medal. Boukpeti was born and raised
in France, but qualified to compete for the African nation because
his father was from Togo.
MAY-TREANOR/WALSH WIN AGAIN IN BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – The defending women’s gold medal team
of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the United States improved
to 2-0 in pool play of beach volleyball with Tuesday’s win over Cuba
at the Beijing Olympics.
May-Treanor and Walsh posted a 21-15, 21-16 decision over Dalixia
Fernandez and Tamara Larrea in a match that lasted just 37 minutes. The
loss dropped the Cubans to 1-1 in pool play.
The American duo has still never lost in Olympic competition and are
in excellent shape to make the round of 16. May-Treanor and Walsh
will have their final test of pool play Thursday against Norway’s
Nila Haakedal and Ingrid Toerlen.
"I most definitely think that we have improved since Athens, we just
keep getting better and better," said May-Treanor.
The American men’s team of Sean Rosenthal and Jacob Gibb picked up
a victory in the night session as they defeated Germans Julius Brink
and Christoph Dieckmann, 21-15, 21-13.
Wednesday’s action will have Americans Phil Dalhausser and Todd
Rogers battling Martin Alejo Conde and Mariano Joaquin Baracetti of
Argentina. Dalhausser/Rogers are 1-1 after rebounding from an upset
to Latvia in their opening match with Monday’s victory over the Swiss
duo of Sascha Heyer and Patrick Heuscher.
FEDERER, NADAL ADVANCE; WILLIAMS SISTERS WIN AGAIN IN BEIJING
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,
the top two seeds at the Olympics, breezed into the third round at
the Olympics.
The top-seeded Swiss Federer beat Rafael Arevale of El Salvador,
6-2, 6-4, while the Spaniard Nadal topped Australian Lleyton Hewitt,
6-1, 6-2.
Next up for Federer will be Czech Tomas Berdych, who downed Italian
Andreas Seppi on Tuesday. Federer lost to Berdych in the second round
at the Olympics four years ago.
"That’s going to be a good match," Federer said.
Third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic beat German Rainer Schuettler,
6-4, 6-2.
Nicolas Massu of Chile, who won the gold medal in both singles and
doubles in Athens, was a 7-6 (7-0), 6-1 loser in singles to seventh
seed David Nalbandian of Argentina.
Eighth-seeded American James Blake was a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) winner over
Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty. Blake will next play 10th-seeded Frenchman
Gilles Simon.
Venus and Serena Williams chalked up victories Tuesday in second-round
singles play.
The seventh-seeded Venus, bidding for a third Olympic gold medal,
beat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-4. Serena’s older
sister, the double gold medalist from the Sydney Games in 2000, is
playing in her first tournament since winning her fifth Wimbledon
title in July. She had been out with a right knee injury.
"I haven’t dropped a serve yet, which is great," Venus said. "I didn’t
even do that at Wimbledon. I lost serve at least once a match. So
that I didn’t lose serve yet is a good sign."
Serena, the fourth seed, blitzed Australian Samantha Stosur, 6-2,
6-0. After a 2-2 tie in the first set, Williams won the next 10 games.
Women’s second seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia beat Alona Bondarenko
of the Ukraine, 7-5, 6-1 in a second-round affair.
A pair of Russian high seeds – No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 6 Dinara
Safina were also winners Tuesday. Dementieva beat Sofia Arvidsson
of Sweden, 6-3, 6-4, while Safina downed Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez
Sanchez, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
LORIG ADVANCES IN ARCHERY
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Khatuna Lorig advanced to the
quarterfinals of competition in women’s archery at the Olympics,
but American teammate Jennifer Nichols wasn’t as fortunate.
Lorig scored a 107-105 victory over Virginie Arnold of France and a
112-109 victory over No.7 seed Alison Williamson of Great Britain.
Lorig, who is competing in her fourth Olympic Games but first for the
United States, scored the upset by topping Williamson, a five-time
Olympian and bronze medalist in Athens in 2004. Lorig just missed
the Olympic record of 114 points. At one point she scored four 10s on
five shots. She finished the round with six 10s out of the 12 arrows.
"I’ve been waiting for eight years to be here, to be here where I
am right now. So, you have to enjoy every moment and try to stay
positive," said Lorig, who just missed qualifying for the 2004 Games
in Athens for her native country of Georgia.
Lorig, the 26th seed, next will have a match against No.10 seed Ana
Maria Rendon of Colombia.
The 24th seeded Nichols had advanced through the first round after
tying an Olympic record with a score of 114 (out of 120) in a 114-101
victory over Ika Yuliana Rochmawati of Indonesia. Nichols then suffered
a 105-103 defeat at the hands of Nami Hayakawa of Japan.
Yun Ok-Hee of Korea also tied the 12-arrow record on Tuesday, while
top-seeded archers Park Sung-Hyun of Korea, Joo Hyun-Jung of Korea
and Khatuna Narimanidze of Georgia also advanced to the quarterfinals.
U.S. MEN DOWN ITALY IN VOLLEYBALL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – The United States men’s volleyball
team improved to 2-0 in pool play at the Beijing Olympics with
Tuesday’s four-set victory over Italy.
The Americans lost the opening set 26-24, but took the next three,
25-22, 25-15 and 25-21, to earn the victory over the Italians.
The U.S. team is still reeling from Saturday’s fatal knifing attack
on a family member of head coach Hugh McCutcheon, whose father-in-law,
Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death by a knife-wielding Chinese attacker
in downtown Beijing. Ron Larsen has been filling for McCutcheon as
the American head coach.
"He is the guy that gives pre- and post-game speeches," said U.S. team
member Richard Lambourne of McCutcheon. "You don’t realize what an
important role he plays until he’s not there."
McCutcheon’s mother-in-law, Barbara Bachman, is still in the hospital
with serious injuries, but her condition has been upgraded from
critical to stable. Her daughter, 2004 U.S. Olympic women’s indoor
volleyball player Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, was with her parents
at the time of the attack but was not hurt.
The U.S. men continue Pool A play on Thursday when they face Bulgaria.
In other Pool A action on Tuesday, China beat Venezuela in five sets
and Bulgaria topped Japan in four sets.
In Pool B, defending gold medalists Brazil defeated Serbia three sets
to one, Russia downed Germany in five sets and Poland straight-setted
Egypt.
USA MEN EDGE ITALY IN WATER POLO
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Jeffrey Powers scored three goals
and the United States men’s water polo team held on for a 12-11
victory over Italy Tuesday at the Olympics.
A goal from Powers extended the U.S. lead to 12-9 with 3:08 remaining,
but Leonardo Sottani and Maurizio Felugo each found the net to draw
the Italians within one. Then, Layne Beaubien was called for an
exclusion penalty for the U.S., giving Italy a man-advantage in the
final 15 seconds.
The Americans escaped the deficit at the end though when Alberto
Angelini misjudged his pass to Fabio Bencivenga, and the ball slid
to the back of the rope as time expired.
"In the world league final (2008) we were up two or three goals, then
there was a penalty shoot out and we lost," USA driver Adam Wright
said. "We gained experience from that, so we were able to hold on."
The victory gave the U.S. a 2-0 mark in Group B with an encounter
coming Thursday against Serbia.
Montenegro beat Canada, 12-0, Spain edged Australia, 9-8. and Hungary
battered Greece, 17-6, in matches from Group A Tuesday.
In a pair of Group B matches, Croatia beat Serbia, 11-8, and Germany
edged China, 6-5.
USA NO-HITS VENEZUELA IN SOFTBALL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Jennie Finch threw four no-hit
innings and Andrea Duran drove in three runs as the United States
softball team beat Venezuela, 11-0, in their opener at the Olympics.
Natasha Watley drilled a two-run homer, while Caitlin Lowe and Crystl
Bustos added solo shots as the Americans won at the Olympics for a
15th straight time, going back to the 2000 Sydney Games.
Finch had five strikeouts and a pair of walks, and Lowe had three
hits to pace the 11-hit attack in the five-inning game. Her homer
was an inside-the-parker in the second inning.
Abbott worked the final inning, striking out two, to complete USA’s
no-hitter. The 11 runs are the most by an individual team at the
Olympics.
"We are an explosive team, we can score easily," U.S. coach Mike
Candrea said. "It is great to be back on the field."
Johana Gomez was the losing pitcher, allowing six hits and five runs
in two- plus innings.
Next up for the U.S. will be a game against Canada on Thursday.
The Canadians beat Taiwan, 6-1, on Tuesday behind three RBI from
Megan Timpf.
China topped the Netherlands, 10-2, and Japan edged Australia, 4-3.
AMERICAN MILES GETS SILVER IN EQUESTRIAN
Hong Kong, China (Sports Network) – Gina Miles of the United States won
the silver medal in the eventing final of equestrian at the Olympics,
finishing just behind Hinrich Romeike of Germany.
Kristina Cook of Great Britain the bronze.
Miles, riding McKinlaigh, had a clear round that brought her up from
fourth to second place on 56.10 penalties. Romeike had 54.20 penalties.
"I am so happy he has his day today," said Miles of her huge chestnut
gelding. "There were bumps along the road to get this result. It has
been a great journey."
Germany edged Australia for the gold medal in team eventing Tuesday
night. Great Britain earned the bronze medal.
In the team portion, Germany had 166.10 total penalty points and won
the gold thanks mostly to Romeike with his ride aboard Marius.
Australia had a total of 171.20 penalty points, while Germany had
185.70.
The American team of Amy Tryon, Karen O’Connor, Rebecca Holder,
Phillip Dutton and Miles was seventh.
Dutton was disqualified in the individual eventing because his horse’s
protective leg gear weighed more than 500 grams.
NORTH KOREA’S PAK, CHINA’S LIAO WIN WEIGHTLIFTING GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Pak Hyon Suk of North Korea won
the gold medal in the women’s 63kg weightlifting class on Tuesday.
Pak claimed North Korea’s first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics
with a total weight of 241kg, including the best lifts in the snatch
(106kg) and clean & jerk (135).
She edged Kazakhstan’s Irina Nekrassova by just one kilogram, with
the silver medalist finishing with a 240kg total. Lu Ying-Chi of
Taiwan took bronze at 231kg.
U.S. weightlifters Natalie Woolfolk and Carissa Gump finished outside
the top 10.
Liao Hui of China won the men’s 69kg division Tuesday night with a
lift of 348kgs, including a mark of 190 in the clean & jerk. France’s
Vencelas Dabaya- Tientcheu and Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan of Armenia
tied at 338, but the Frenchman was awarded the silver medal based on
a lower body weight.
China has won all five of the weightlifting categories it has
participated in thus far in these Games.
TANIMOTO, BISCHOF TAKE GOLD IN JUDO
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Ayumi Tanimoto of Japan and Germany’s
Ole Bischof won gold medals in half-middleweight judo competition
Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics.
Tanimoto won her second straight Olympic gold in the women’s 57-63kg
division, defeating France’s Lucie Decosse, the 2005 world champion,
in the gold medal match.
"I’m very happy, especially with winning the -63kg category," said
Tanimoto. "It is very complicated and difficult so I am even more
happy with the my result."
Elisabeth Willeboordse of the Netherlands and North Korea’s Won Ok
Im each won their respective bronze medal matches and will share
the award.
Bischof, who finished 23rd at the world championships last year,
defeated Korea’s Kim Jaebum to earn the surprise gold medal for the
Germans in the 73-81kg category.
Brazil’s Tiago Camilo and Roman Gontiuk of the Ukraine will share
the bronze medal.
RUSSIANS WIN GRECO-ROMAN GOLD
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Russia’s Nazyr Mankiev and Islam-Beka
Albiev both won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling on Tuesday.
Mankiev, 23, defeated Rovshan Bayramov on points to win the 55kg
weight class after also beating the 21-year-old from Azerbaijan in
the repechage of last year’s world championships.
Roman Amoyan of Armenia and Korea’s Park Eun-Chul shared the bronze
medal at 55kg.
The 19-year-old Albiev beat Azerbaijan’s Vitaliy Rahimov, 23, to win
the 60kg class, while Nurbakyt Tengizbayev of Kazakhstan and Ruslan
Tiumenbaev of Kyrgyzstan shared bronze.
OLYMPIC WOMEN’S MARATHON CHAMP WON’T DEFEND
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Japan’s Mizuki Noguchi will not
defend her Olympic marathon title from 2004, deciding not to run in
this year’s event because of injuries.
Noguchi informed the Japanese Track and Field Federation that she
would be unable to participate in Sunday’s race because of groin and
left thigh problems.
Four years ago in Athens, Noguchi captured the gold medal with a time
of two hours, 26 minutes and 20 seconds, beating Kenya’s Catherine
Ndereba by just 12 seconds.
CROATIA POUNDS BRAZIL IN MEN’S HANDBALL
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – The Croatian men’s handball team
cruised to any easy victory over Brazil in group play Tuesday at the
Beijing Olympics.
Croatia, the defending gold medalists, handed the Brazilians a 33-14
setback to improve to 2-0 in Group A. Mirza Dzomba scored seven goals
on seven shots in the victory.
Next up for the reigning champions will be Thursday’s matchup with
France, which is also 2-0 after posting a 33-19 win over China on
Tuesday. Spain beat Poland, 30-29, in the remaining contest in Group A.
In Group B, Russia edged Egypt, 28-27, Korea downed Denmark, 31-30,
and Israel defeated Germany, 33-29.
BACH/MALAYTHONG ADVANCE IN BADMINTON
Beijing, China (Sports Network) – Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong
became the first American team to advance to an Olympic quarterfinals
in badminton, defeating the South African team of Chris and Roelof
Dednam 21-10, 21-6 Tuesday morning at the Beijing University of
Technology Gymnasium.
The next opponent for the American duo will be the No. 2-seeded
Chinese team of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng on Wednesday.
In singles play, Bao Chunlai of China earned a quarterfinal berth
with a 21-11, 19-21, 21-13 triumph over Poland’s Przemyslaw Wacha.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
