China's five-day lead on the Olympic gold tally will be kept at
least overnight as the United States is closing in on the 2000
third overall finisher with a four-gold haul on Wednesday.
On the fifth day that had 21 gold medals at stake, 14 countries
struck gold with the United States picking four plus a new world
record.
The Americans turned out the biggest winner after Paul Hamm
lifted its fourth gold in the men's all-around gymnastics
competition with 57.823 points, beating South Koreans Kim Dae Eun
and Yang Tae Young.
Japan, Germany, Ukraine and the Netherlands claimed two golds
apiece while Georgia, Bulgaria and Poland opened their gold
accounts in Athens.
After a gold-less Tuesday, China managed one title from lifter
Zhang Guozheng, the country's third gold in this power sport, to
make it 11 in total, only one ahead of the United States which
hadtopped the 1996 and 2000 Games.
Japan came in third with eight golds including the two won by
breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima, followed by Australia on seven.
The thrill of the day came from the swimming pool as the United
States broke the oldest world swimming record and won the women's
4x200m freestyle relay.
The U.S. women retained the title they won in 2000 with a time
of 7:53.42, breaking the old mark of 7:55.47 set by East Germany in
Strasbourg exactly the same day 17 years ago.
It was the second swim world record of the day and the fourth
from the Olympic Aquatic Center.
Earlier in the night, Australian Jodie Henry broke the women's
100m freestyle world record in a semifinal. She timed 53.52
seconds, bettering the previous standard of 53.66 set by compatriot
Lisbeth Lenton in March 2004.
The world marks of the men's 400m individual medley and men's
4x100m freestyle relay had already been erased by American Michael
Phelps and the South Africans respectively.
China snatched the women's 4x200 freestyle relay silver and
Germany landed the bronze.
Flying Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband took the men's 100m
freestyle final to keep the title he won in Sydney.
??? He splashed home first in 48.17 seconds and
South African Roland Schoeman finished in 48.23 to add a silver to
the gold he won in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
??? Australian Ian Thorpe had to settle for the
bronze in 48.56 to go with the two golds and one silver.
??? Japan's Kosuke Kitajima completed a 100-200m
breaststroke double as he triumphed over 200m in 2:09.04, beating
15-year-old Hungarian Daniel Gyurta and world record holder Brendan
Hansen of the United States into second and third places.
??? Poland's Otylia Jedrzejczak added her women's
200m butterfly gold to two silvers as she clocked a winning time of
2:06.05.
Australia's Petria Thomas and Japanese Yuko Nakanishi came
second and third respectively.
On the opening day of athletics competition, European champion
Irina Korzhanenko, stripped of a world indoor title for a doping
offense in 1999, claimed the women's shot put crown with a
third-attempt toss of 21.06m.
Cuban Yumiledi Cumba came second and German Nadine Kleinert
wasthird in the first athletics competition held in the site of the
ancient Games since 393 AD.
Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine seized the men's shot put event with
amassive final toss of 21.16m.
Adam Nelson of the United States also tossed 21.16m but finished
with a silver because Bilonog owned a better second best.Joachim
Olsen of Denmark took the bronze with a 21.07 push.
China's sole gold for the day came from men's lifter Zhang
Guozheng in the 69kg division, who collected a weight of 347.5kg,
five kilos over Lee Bae Young of South Korea.
The other weightlifting gold went to Ukraine's Natliya Skakum in
the women's 63kg class.
China's dominance in its traditionally strong events of table
tennis and badminton was shaken to the root, as men's singles
second seed Ma Lin, women's singles third seed Niu Jianfeng and
doubles duo Kong Linghui/Wang Hao were shut out of the table tennis
competition.
The top-ranked Chinese Gong Ruina was eliminated from the
women's singles in the badminton tournament while all three men's
singles players had been sent packing up.
In the Markopoulo Olympic Center, the United States nabbed its
first shooting gold as Kimberly Rhode won the women's double trap
by hitting 146 targets, one ahead of South Korean Lee Bo Na who
picked the silver.
China's Gao E took the bronze just as she did in Sydney.
Bulgarian markswoman Maria Grozdeva successfully defended her
Olympic title, rallying to shoot down the women's 25m pistol
gold.
Grozdeva, who trailed joint leaders Irada Ashumova of Azerbaijan
and Czech Lenka Hykova by four points in the qualification round,
erased the deficit with 103.2 points in the final to score 688.2 in
total, a new Olympic record.
In cycling, Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel's Olympic swansong
ended with a fourth Olympic gold to add her golden hat-trick in
Sydney.
Three days after a scary road race crash that injured her
head,hip and shoulders, the legendary Dutchwoman, who will retire
afterthis Games, soundly beat a strong field to win the 25km
individualtime trial in 31 minutes 11.53 seconds.
American Deirdre Demet-Barry came second, 24.09 seconds
behind.Karin Thuerig of Switzerland took bronze, 43.36 apart from
the winner.
U.S. cyclist Tyler Hamilton won the men's road individual time
trial in 57:31.74, ahead of Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov and American
Bobby Julich.
South Korea was invincible in the Olympic women's archery,
sweeping the top two with the bronze going to Briton Alison
Williamson.
Park Sung Hyun beat teammate Lee Sung Jin in the last arrow,
10points against eight, to win the final 110-108.
The same-country clash also took place in the women's individual
foil fencing, where defending champion Valentina Vezzali won an
all-Italian duel against best friend Giovanna Trillini 15-9.
The first equestrian top honors were swept by Germany. Bettina
Hoy Germany, riding Ringwood Cockatoo, won the individual three-day
event after leading compatriots to the team title.
Elena Kaliska won Slovakia's first gold in Athens in the
canoeing slalom women's kayak single, while French Tony Estanguet
retained the men's canoe single title but only after a time penalty
belatedly denied a Slovakia's sweep.
Slovakia's Michal Martikan, who won a 1996 Olympic gold as
17-year-old, had finished the course the fastest but was deducted
twopoints for touching a gate 20 minutes after he thought he was
the winner.
Georgia ended its gold drought through Zurab Zviadauri who
subdued Japan's Hiroshi Izumi in the men's 90kg judo.
Japan, however, had one more judo title, won by Masae Ueno in
the women's 70kg final over Edith Bosch of the Netherlands.
Disgraced Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou
pulled out of the Athens Games on Wednesday, nearly a week after
they missed a drug test.
The International Olympic Committee didn't punish the
sprintersand instead referred the case to the International
Association of Athletics Federations.
The IAAF will not made a decision until after the Games.
?
(Xinhua News? Agency? August 19, 2004)?