Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay: Phelps leads record relay

Updated: 2008-08-13 13:05:19

(L-R) Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps of the United States shout encouragement to Peter Vanderkaay. (Photo credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 13) -- The US Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle team, led out by the indomitable Michael Phelps, smashed the world record on the way to winning the gold medal on Wednesday.

The triumph keeps alive Phelps' dream of gathering a record eight golds at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The win also brings Phelps his 11th career Olympic gold to date.

The US team of Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay led for the entire race and stretched the world record margin throughout the race.

Lochte followed Phelps' lead-off leg and established command under the world record time by 3.63 seconds. Berens slightly increased this lead, handing over to Vanderkaay to anchor the relay home and extend their lead on the world record. They smashed the world record, shaving off 4.68 seconds to break the seven-minute barrier at 6:58.56.

(L-R) Ricky Berens, Peter Vanderkaay, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps celebrate their victory (Photo credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

US and Russia fought out the first 200m, with Australia's Grant Hackett edging the Russians out for second place at the 400m mark. Canada enjoyed a great third leg through Brent Hayden, to give them second place behind the US at the 600m mark.

Russia's Alexander Sukhorukov swam a fast final 200m to move past Canada and grab the silver medal in 7:03.70 which was also under the old Olympic record.

Australia, through Nick Ffrost, also overhauled the Canadians to take the Bronze medal in 7:04.98.

In Synch: China sweeps first four Diving events

Updated: 2008-08-13 16:51:23

(L-R) Kai Qin and Wang Feng of China pose with the gold medal. (Photo credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 13) -- China is halfway toward its dream of eight Diving gold medals after Qin Kai and Wang Feng won the Men's Synchronized 3m Springboard with a score of 469.08. The host nation has won all four Synchronized Diving events of the Beijing Olympics. Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov of Russia earned silver, while Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov of Ukraine took bronze.

Qin and Wang are the reigning world champions and were the heavy favorites coming into the event. Their supremacy was evident from start to finish -- they ranked first in each of their six dives, including an emphatic 94.50-point final dive that put them ahead of Russia by 50 points.

Legendary Russian diver Dmitry Sautin, five-time Olympian from 1992 through 2008, won his eighth Olympic medal at the age of 34. The Russian pair overcame an eighth-ranked fifth dive with a solid score on their final dive to secure silver.

The pair from Ukraine pulled ahead in a tight race for third with an 84-point fifth dive that put them temporarily in second place. Needing near-perfect final dives to reach the podium, the US and Canadian pairs fell short and Kvasha and Prygorov won bronze by 4.32 points.

Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie, silver medalist in the Individual 3m Springboard at Athens, and his 37-year-old partner Arturo Mirnada were in third place through the first three dives but a poor fourth dive dropped them into fifth place.

The Individual Diving events begin on August 14 with the Women's 3m Springboard. Qin Kai will take part in the Individual Men's Springboard event with compatriot He Chong. The event is scheduled to begin on August 18 and end on August 19.

Synchronized Men's 3m Springboard, final standings:

1. China -- Qin kai and Wang Feng, 469.08

2. Russia -- Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov, 421.98

3. Ukraine -- Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov, 415.05

4. USA -- Chris Colwill and Jevon Tarantino, 410.73

5. Canada -- Alexandre Despatie and Arturo Miranda, 409.29

6. Germany -- Pavlo Rozenberg and Sascha Klein, 402.84

7. Great Britain -- Nicholas Robinson-Baker and Benijamin Swain, 402.36

8. Australia -- Scott Robertson and Robert Newberry, 393.60

Qin Kai (L) and Wang Feng pose with gold medals. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Wang Feng and Qin Kai compete. (Photo credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

A Wrestling gold for France after 84 years

Updated: 2008-08-13 18:16:48

Steeve Guénot wins the gold (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 13) -- Steeve Guénot became the new Olympic champion of the Men's Greco-Roman 66 kilogram Wrestling weight class after defeating Kanatbek Begaliev of Kyrgyzstan on August 13. He is also the first French Olympic Wrestling champion in 84 years.

The 22-year-old started the bout well, taking the first period 3-0. His opponent gained one point in the first par terre of the second period, but Guénot came back in the second par terre to take the period 3-1.

This is Guénot's best senior achievement by far. His older brother Christophe Guénot will compete in the 74kg weight class bronze bout.

The silver medalist, twenty-four-year-old Begaliev, placed 11th in Athens four years ago. He was also the silver medalist at the 2006 World Championships.

China makes history by winning its first Team gold in Women's Gymnastics

Updated: 2008-08-13 12:53:33

China team gains the highest place on the podium. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 13) -- China made history today by winning its first Olympic gold medal in the Team event of Women's Gymnastics. China won the gold medal with a total of 188.900 points.

The United States won the silver medal with a total of 186.525 points and Romania won the bronze with a total of 181.525 points.

China entered the Team final as favorites, but it was pushed all the way by a determined United States. The two sides' first rotation was the Vault, with the United States taking a slender lead.

The second rotation for China and the United States was the Uneven Bars, which is regarded as China's specialty. China did not disappoint, gaining the lead with a dominant display on the apparatus.

He Kexin and Yang Yilin were outstanding in the Uneven Bars, scoring 16.850 and 16.800 respectively. Despite the best efforts of the United States' Nastia Liukin, who scored 16.900, the United States could not overcome China's dominance of the apparatus.

The United States gained slightly more points than China in the Balance Beam, a rotation that was marked by the mistakes of the United States' Alicia Sacramone and China's Cheng Fei. Sacramone was clearly affected by her mistake and also performed poorly in the next rotation, the Floor Exercise.

US team on the podium. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

The United States could not afford to make any mistakes against a disciplined Chinese side. China's Li Shanshan improved her country's chances of winning the gold medal by scoring 16.050 in the Balance Beam. This was an individual score that even the elegant Liukin could not match.

China's most experienced campaigner Cheng Fei sealed the victory with a solid performance in the Floor exercise.

Romania surprised Russia by winning the bronze medal. Romania performed well in the Floor Exercise, with only China receiving a higher score. Russia scored poorly in the Balance Beam and finished with a total score of 180.625.

The fifth to eighth places in the Team final were taken by Japan, Australia, France and Brazil.

Men's 200m Freestyle: Record-setting Phelps takes third gold

Updated: 2008-08-12 11:36:58

Michael Phelps waves to the spectators. (Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 12) -- Michael Phelps (USA) eased his way to gold and a world record in the Men's 200m Freestyle final on Tuesday at the National Aquatic Center, and remains on course to win eight gold medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

World record holder and world champion Phelps had been fourth-fastest into the final in 1:46.28, but stepped up a gear when it was required.

He won in 1:42.96 to beat his previous world mark of 1:43.86 set in Melbourne in 2007.

Park Tae-hwan from the Republic of Korea, who won the Gold medal in the 400m Freestyle on Sunday, was second to Phelps throughout the race and held off a challenge from Peter Vanderkaay (USA) to touch for the silver medal in 1:44.85, 1.89 seconds behind Phelps.

Vanderkay, who had qualified fastest for the final, won the bronze medal in 1:45.14.

Phelps won the bronze medal in the 200m Freestyle at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, but left no doubts as to who now dominates the event after easily dismissing Park's challenge.

So far, the only scare in his gold medal clean sweep bid has been in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay, where the US came from behind to just edge out France in a memorable final on Monday.

Phelps will now turn his attention to the Men's 200m Butterfly, an event in which he is the defending Olympic champion, world champion and world record holder. The final for the 200m Butterfly will be held on the morning of Wednesday, 13 August.

(L-R) Park Taehwan, Michael Phelps and Peter Vanderkaay (Photo credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Michael Phelps celebrates. (Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

12 years later, Martikán's comeback C1 gold

Updated: 2008-08-12 19:28:45

Michal Martikán wins it again! (Photo credit: Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 12) -- After winning the gold in 1996 but coming in second at the next two Olympics, Michal Martikán of Slovakia recaptured first place in the Men's Slalom Canoe Single competition on August 12, finishing first in both the semifinal and final races with a combined total time of 176.65 seconds.

Martikán got a two-second penalty in both of his races, but his finishing times of 86.92 seconds in the semifinal run and 85.73 in the final run were enough to clinch the gold, even after a total of four penalty seconds were added.

The medalists: David Florence (left), Michal Martikán (middle), Robin Bell (right) (Photo credit: Getty Images)

David Florence of Great Britain took the silver with a combined time of 178.61 seconds, 1.96 seconds behind Martikán's total time. He only had one two-second penalty, in his semifinal run where he finished fourth overall.

Robin Bell of Australia came in at 180.59 seconds for the bronze, also coming back from a lower ranking of fifth in the semifinal where he got a two-second penalty.

French paddler Tony Estanguet, who was on a quest for his third consecutive gold medal, finished ninth in the semifinal with a time of 93.92 seconds, 5.00 full seconds behind first place Martikán. After taking the gold over Martikán in two consecutive Olympics, Estanguet did not even advance to the final in Beijing.

Michal Martikán in the final (Photo credit: Getty Images)

In the semifinal run, the Czech Republic's Stanislav Ježek passed the finish line 0.93 seconds behind Martikán for a time of 89.85 seconds and second place, while the semifinal's third place slot went to Krzysztof Bieryt of Poland with 90.08 seconds. Both of these paddlers had no penalties added to their semifinal times, but Ježek got four penalty seconds in the final, and Bieryt had two penalty seconds. Czech paddler Ježek ended up with 92.44 seconds in his final run, moving him to sixth place, and Poland's Bieryt with 110.13 seconds came in eighth in the final and last in the total ranking.

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Florence finished the final run in 88.15 seconds and Australian Bell behind him with 89.43 seconds, moving them up to the medal spots. Both incurred no penalty seconds in the final.

While all the other paddlers' rankings switched between the semifinal and final races, only Martikán retained his first place spot in both runs, definitively taking the gold.

China proves itself as Fencing power

Updated: 2008-08-12 20:59:48

Zhong Man drapes himself in the Chinese flag. (Photo credit:　Nick Laham/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 12) -- China's Zhong Man claimed the gold medal in a 15-9 two-round bout in the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Men's Individual Sabre on August 12 at the Fencing Hall. Nicholas Lopez of France took home the silver.

In so doing, Zhong became the first Chinese fencer in Olympic history to win this event.

"I feel as though I'm dreaming and now I'm more confident about the Team event. I want to dedicate this gold medal to my coach, Christian Bauer ," lauded Zhong.

Mihai Covaliu won the bronze medal final with a score of 15-11 against fourth place finisher Julien Pillet of France in a bout that only lasted two rounds.

Zhong (R) and Lopez competing in the Men's Individual Sabre gold medal match (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

"I did everything I could but Covaliu is a little bit stronger than I am and I was just really tired," Pillet said after losing his bout.

Some big names in the event were knocked out early in the day, with Athens 2004 silver medalist Zsolt Nemcsik of Hungary and Russian Stanislav Pozdnyakov failing to reach the quarterfinals.

Makela-Nummela wins gold in the Women's Trap

Updated: 2008-08-11 16:28:43

(L-R) Zuzana Stefecekova, Satu Makela-Nummela and Corey Cogdell. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

(BEIJING, August 11) -- Despite missing four targets in the final, Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland did enough to win a gold medal in the Women's Trap in Beijing on August 11. Makela-Nummela finished with a final score of 91.

Makela-Nummela started strongly in the final to hit her first 11 targets. Her major opponent was Slovakia's Zuzana Stefecekova, who was tied in first place with Makela-Nummela after the qualification round on 70 points and missed three targets in her first 11 shots and fell behind Makela-Nummela in the opening stages of the final.

Though Makela-Nummela missed four of her last 14 targets, Stefecekova missed three targets herself and lost the opportunity to win the gold medal. Stefecekova finally finished with a silver medal after hitting a total of 89 targets.

The other four shooters in the final were tied on 86 hits, so a four-way shoot-off was held. The United States' Corey Cogdell won the bronze medal after being the only shooter to hit the target on her first shot in the shoot-off.

Today's Medallists As of Aug 11 2008

Discipline	Event	Medal	Name	NOC
Archery	Men's Team		IM Dong-Hyun, LEE Chang-Hwan, PARK Kyung-Mo	Korea
			DI BUO' Ilario, GALIAZZO Marco, NESPOLI Mauro	Italy
			XUE Hai Feng, LI Wenquan, JIANG Lin	China
Diving	Men's Synchronised 10m Platform		LIN Yue, HUO Liang	China
			HAUSDING Patrick, KLEIN Sascha	Germany
			GALPERIN Gleb, DOBROSKOK Dmitriy	Russian Fed.
Fencing	Women's Individual Foil		VEZZALI Maria Valentina	Italy
			HYUNHEE Nam	Korea
			GRANBASSI Margherita	Italy
Judo	Men -73 kg		MAMMADLI Elnur	Azerbaijan
			WANG Kichun	Korea
			BOQIEV Rasul	Tajikistan
			GUILHEIRO Leandro	Brazil
	Women -57 kg		QUINTAVALLE Giulia	Italy
			GRAVENSTIJN Deborah	Netherlands
			XU Yan	China
			QUADROS Ketleyn	Brazil
Shooting	Men's 10m Air Rifle		BINDRA Abhinav	India
			ZHU Qinan	China
			HAKKINEN Henri	Finland
	Women's Trap		MAKELA-NUMMELA Satu	Finland
			STEFECEKOVA Zuzana	Slovakia
			COGDELL Corey	United States
Swimming	Women's 400m Freestyle		ADLINGTON Rebecca	Great Britain
			HOFF Katie	United States
			JACKSON Joanne	Great Britain
	Women's 100m Butterfly		TRICKETT Lisbeth	Australia
			MAGNUSON Christine	United States
			SCHIPPER Jessicah	Australia
	Men's 100m Breaststroke		KITAJIMA Kosuke	Japan
			OEN Alexander Dale	Norway
			DUBOSCQ Hugues	France
	Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay		PHELPS Michael, WEBER-GALE Garrett, JONES Cullen, LEZAK Jason, ADRIAN Nathan, WILDMAN-TOBRINER Ben, GREVERS Matt	United States
			LEVEAUX Amaury, GILOT Fabien, BOUSQUET Frederick, BERNARD Alain, MALLET Gregory, STEIMETZ Boris	France
			SULLIVAN Eamon, LAUTERSTEIN Andrew, CALLUS Ashley, TARGETT Matt, BRODIE Leith, MURPHY Patrick	Australia
Weightlifting	Men's 62kg		ZHANG Xiangxiang	China
			SALAZAR Diego	Colombia
			TRIYATNO	Indonesia
	Women's 58kg		CHEN Yanqing	China
			SHAINOVA Marina	Russian Fed.
			O Jong Ae	DPR Korea

2008-08-11 21:07:26

GL0000000_92B 37.0