US’s Merritt wins men’s 400m gold medal
LaShawn Merritt ran the race of his life when it mattered most to defeat defending Olympic and two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner in a 400 metres final showdown that ended with a US sweep.
Merritt, the 2007 world runner-up to Wariner, won in 43.75 seconds, a career best that only four runners in history have ever bettered.
Wariner was a stunned second in 44.74 with David Neville completing the US haul in 44.80.
The best prior time for Merritt was 43.96 from his loss to Wariner in last year’s worlds.
Merritt was third coming off the turn behind Neville in the outside lane and Wariner, who moved into the lead as he reached the straightaway for home.
But Merritt then surged past Wariner into the lead and stretched the gap with every stride.
Six strides from the line, Merritt glanced to his right and saw nothing but air in Wariner’s lane.
He powered to the line and Wariner could only hang his head in frustration after he finished as a man he dominated in the past year had taken his measure.
Merritt beat Wariner in June at Berlin to snap his rival’s nine-race win streak and again at the US trials. Wariner answered in Europe, running a pre-Olympic 2008 world best of 43.86 at Paris to win a month ago.
Wariner, 24, split with long-time coach Clyde Hart early this year over financial terms and Merritt, 22, is Hart’s new pupil.
US men have dominated the Olympic 400, now winning a seventh gold medal in the event and 12 of the past 14.
Wariner could not equal his career best of 43.45 from last year’s world final, which makes him the third-best all-time performer.
Christopher Brown of Bahamas, the third-fastest man this year, was fourth in 44.84 with France’s Leslie Djhone, seventh at the 2004 Olympics, next in 45.11 followed by Britain’s Martyn Rooney in 45.12, Trinidad and Tobago’s Renny Quow i^n 45.22 and world indoor runner-up Johan Wissman of Sweden last in 45.39
The United States’ miserable Olympic track and field campaign has continued as both the men’s and women’s 4×100 metres relay teams failed to qualify for the finals after dropping the baton.
The American men, who have won 17 of the 21 gold medals in the event, blundered first as Darvis Patton went to pass the baton to Tyson Gay.
The American women followed soon after with an identical final exchange mistake as it moved from Torri Edwards to Lauryn Williams on the final leg.
Gold medal favourites Jamaica moved seamlessly through to the final in both men’s and women’s races.
First, men’s anchor Tyson Gay, part of the American team that won the relay at last year’s world championships, did not get the red metal stick from third-leg runner Darvis Patton.
Then, about 25 minutes later, women’s anchor Lauryn Williams flubbed her exchange with Torri Edwards, their baton dropping to the ground, too. At the 2004 Olympics, Williams started running too early and missed a handoff from Marion Jones in the final.
“If people want to assess the blame to me, that’s OK. I mean, I can take whatever it is that people are going to dish out,” Williams said. “We had good chemistry. The hand was back there. She was there. I don’t know what happened.”
Unlike the men, who stopped racing, Williams scrambled back on the wet track to pick up the baton and finish the lap. The United States, of course, was the last of eight teams in the heat to finish, in a time of 48.95 seconds. Belgium finished first in 42.92.
Jamaica, continuing its strong showing at the Bird’s Nest, won the other preliminary women’s heat in 42.24.
Earlier, when Gay reached back for his exchange, he never got a grasp of the baton, which tumbled.
Afterward, Gay and Patton both took the blame.
Gay, who also failed to reach the final in the individual 100, said he felt the baton and “then I went to grab it and there was nothing. It’s kind of the way it’s been happening to me this Olympics.”
He said he never before dropped a baton in a relay and that he and Patton practiced all week without missing a handoff.
“That’s Tyson Gay. He’s a humble guy,” Patton said. “But I know it’s my job to get the guy the baton, and I didn’t do that.”
Trinidad and Tobago won the heat. Only four of the eight teams managed to make it all the way around the one-lap race without a problem in a light rain.
Jamaica won the second heat, with former 100 world record-holder Asafa Powell running the anchor leg. Usain Bolt, who broke the world records in the 100 and 200 while winning those gold medals, was given the night off but is expected to run in Friday’s relay final.
Russia’s Olga Kaniskina led from the start and battled through relentless rain to win Olympic gold in the women’s 20-kilometre walk on Thursday.
World champion Kaniskina jumped to the lead on her first step and slowly pulled away from the pack as she built a decisive one-minute lead going into the final kilometres to finish in an Olympic record of one hour, 26 minutes and 31 seconds.
“I haven’t broken the world record because of the weather (but) it was better than a sunny and hot day,” Kaniskina said.
Athens bronze medallist Jane Saville was the leading Australian, finishing 20th in 1:31:17.
Fellow Australian Claire Woods was 28th and Kellie Wapshott finished 40th, both on their Olympic debuts.
Kaniskina’s victory gave Russia their fifth athletics gold, placing the Russians atop the track and field medal table ahead of Jamaica, with four gold medals.
Norway’s Kjersti Platzer, silver medallist in 2000, finished second with a 36-second deficit, while Italy’s Elisa Rigaudo took bronze after a late surge brought her back into medal contention.
“Today I thought I’ll take the chance and if I blow it at the end, I don’t care,” Platzer said. “I started my Olympic career with silver and I’m ending my Olympic career with a silver.”
China’s Liu Hong, who finished a distant 19th at last year’s world championship, came home in fourth place in a personal best time but her kick was not enough for a medal.
“I’ve been working so hard for the Olympic Games and that was the best I could do but I’m a little disappointed,” Liu said.
European champion Ryta Turava of Belarus led the chasing pack until the final kilometres but, struggling with exhaustion, she dropped back after being forced to stop several times and finished in a distant 11th place.
Kaniskina’s golden hopes got a boost halfway through the race when Tatyana Kalmykova, Russia’s national champion and one of the main challengers, was disqualified for not making contact with the ground.
China’s Yang Mingxia, who was also seen as a potential medal contender, was also disqualified
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Usain Bolt’s home parish was quickly into party mode after the big Jamaican clinched his second Olympic sprint gold medal in world record time in Beijing.
Parties sprung up like bush fires and sections of the north western parish of Trelawny were not planning on doing anything else but celebrate long into the Caribbean night following Bolt’s 200 meters triumph on Wednesday.
“There is a big motorcade in the town square of Falmouth that has been going on for more than two hours,†Bolt family friend and member of the local municipal council, Phillip Service, told Reuters by telephone.
“The town square was blocked for more than an hour before it cleared a bit but the celebrations are continuing.
“Some persons have placed desks in the road and placed a vast amount of liquor on them for everyone to drink and be merry. It is just like carnival down here,†Service said.
Bolt sped to victory in the 200 meters in a world record 19.30 seconds, to win his second Olympic gold medal in four days.
His father Wellesley left Jamaica for China late on Tuesday
to mark his son’s 22nd birthday on Thursday but friends and relatives of the sprint sensation are making plans for the celebration to continue.
“There will be a massive street dance in his home community of Sherwood Content later tonight,†Service said.
“We are also getting a committee together to plan a big home-coming celebration for whenever Usain decides to come home,†Service said.
President of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce Dennis Seivright hailed Bolt’s performance as one that would lift the profile of the parish known for its production of yams and tourism.
“This will do us proud,†Seivright said.
“I was so excited. It was as if I had won the gold myself. This is truly amazing,†Seivright said.
Move over, Michael. Make way for Usain.
The Beijing Olympics will no longer be remembered only for what Michael Phelps did in the pool. Usain Bolt made sure of it on the track Wednesday night.
Already the champion at 100 meters, Bolt whizzed through the 200, too, making him the first winner of both Olympic sprints since Carl Lewis in 1984.
Yet Bolt one-upped Lewis, Jesse Owens and the other guys who’ve pulled off the 100-200 double. The long, lanky, joyous Jamaican also set a world record in both races, and that’s never been done at an Olympics.
“I blew my mind,†said Bolt, “and I blew the world’s mind.â€
So now it’s time for a new debate, sports fans. Which is more impressive: Phelps’ eight gold medals and seven world records or Bolt leaving no doubt that he’s the fastest man in the world, the fastest man ever?
Bolt’s victory made memorable a day that was supposed to be a bit of a lull before the big finish this weekend. Only 11 medals were decided, fewest since the first day of competition.
There was other notable news, though, like the U.S. softball and men’s basketball teams getting tested before moving closer to playing for gold. There also was the first-ever medal of any color at any Olympics for Afghanistan (a bronze in men’s taekwondo), the debut of BMX cycling and another doping case, this one involving a medal winner.
The first-ever BMX medal, however, will be postponed a day as heavy rain Thursday morning forced a number of changes to the schedule. Olga Kaniskina of Russia flashed a huge smile as she won the women’s 20K race walk, a marked contrast to the competitors in the men’s javelin who struggled in slippery conditions.
The International Olympic Committee said it is investigating Ukraine’s Lyudmila Blonska. If found guilty of a doping offense, the 30-year-old Blonska would lose her silver medal in heptathlon and be expelled from the games.
Another piece of news is that these Summer Games are on pace to be the most-watched in history, a figure skewed by how many of China’s 1.3 billion residents were tuned in.
Then again, Phelps—and now Bolt—are making for must-see TV.
The United States still leads the medal count, up only 82-79 over China. The hosts bumped their gold count to 45, with a first-ever sailing victory joining the list.
China already has won more golds than the United States won when it hosted the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and has tied the number won by the Soviet Union in 1992. The Soviets won 55 in 1988, which is now within range for the Chinese, especially with 86 more golds to be decided through Sunday. Track and field
Bolt needed only 19.30 seconds to go from start to finish and he made sure not to waste any time showboating.
Pushing with all he had in his favorite event, Bolt broke Michael Johnson’s mark that had stood since Atlanta by a mere 0.02, but his margin of victory— 0.66—was the biggest ever in the Olympic 200.
Bolt is the ninth man to sweep the 100-200. But Bolt is likely more excited about being the first man to own the 100 and 200 world records since fellow Jamaican Donald Currie did it in the 1970s.
One more number of note: 22, Bolt’s age as of Thursday. During his victory lap, a version of “Happy Birthday†played over the loudspeakers inside the Bird’s Nest as Bolt took off his gold shoes and wrapped the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a scarf.
While most eyes were on Bolt, judges saw that the second- and third-place finishers—including American Wallace Spearmon—went outside their lanes. They were disqualified, bumping Americans Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix up to silver and bronze.
Also at the Bird’s Nest on Wednesday:
— The Jamaican flag also waved proudly for Melaine Walker, who won the women’s 400-meter hurdles. American Sheena Tosta got silver.
— Aksana Miankova of Belarus set an Olympic record in winning the women’s hammer throw.
— Bernard Lagat advanced to the 5,000-meter final, moving on the Saturday night’s medal race.
— Three Jamaicans and three Americans were among those advancing to the women’s 200 finals, which will be Thursday night. Men’s basketball
This is what goes down as a “tough test†for the U.S. squad of NBA All-Stars: A five-point lead in the second quarter that turned to 12 by halftime … and was never close again.
“Sooner or later we’ll impose our will,†U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. “I don’t know if you can keep up with us for 40 minutes.â€
Australia sure couldn’t. After a tight game into the fourth quarter on Aug. 5, the Aussies hung with the American until the middle of the second quarter but that was it. Kobe Bryant scored nine points during a 14-0 surge to open the second half and the only question after that was how much they would win by. It wound up being 31 points, 116-85.
Next up will be Manu Ginobili and defending champion Argentina on Friday night, with a spot in the gold-medal game going to the winner. The Argentines beat Greece 80-78, with the Greeks missing a potential winning 3-pointer in the final few seconds.
The Americans sure seem locked in toward their first gold medal in a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Games.
China’s run before its adoring home fans ended with a 72-59 loss to Lithuania.
“I’m really happy, but also a little sad about our result,†said Yao, who battled back from an NBA season-ending foot injury in the spring to be ready for the Beijing Games. “We were determined to fight, but were limited by our capabilities.â€
Lithuania advances to play Spain in the semifinals Friday night. The Spaniards advanced with a 72-59 victory over Croatia, led by 20 points from Pau Gasol. Softball
The U.S. came as close to defeat as they have in a long time. Not that it mattered in the end.
The Americans were in a scoreless tie with Japan after seven innings, then scored four runs in the ninth—three on a looooong homer by Crystl Bustos—for a 4-1 victory and a spot in the gold-medal game.
Again, their opponent will be Japan in what will be the last Olympic softball game until at least 2016.
The Japanese beat Australia 4-3 in 12 innings later to advance, leaving the Aussies with the bronze. Baseball
The guys went to extra innings against Japan, too, and also pulled out a win.
Brian Barden singled in the go-ahead run to break a scoreless tie in the 11th inning on the way to a 4-2 victory. The Americans earned the third seed in Friday’s medal round, with the Japanese getting fourth.
The U.S. will play defending champion Cuba, while Japan will take on South Korea. the only undefeated team. Diving
Now comes the tough part for China: The 10-meter platform, the one event the Chinese didn’t win at the two previous Olympics.
They’re off to a good start this time, with teenagers Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin leading the women’s standings in preliminaries.
China already has six gold medals in diving and is looking for two more to make it a clean sweep.
Attempting to avoid a second straight shutout in the diving medals for the United States, Laura Wilkinson was fifth after completing the second-best dive of the opening round. She won this event in Sydney and the Americans have not won a medal in diving since. Cycling
Remember the spark snowboard cross put into the Winter Games in Turin? Maybe bicycle motorcross—BMX, to those in the know—will do the same.
American racers Mike Day and Kyle Bennett gave the crowd a great introduction to the sport, with Day winning the time trial and each of his three quarterfinal heats and Bennett advancing but also dislocating his left shoulder in a wreck on his final heat.
Top-ranked racer Donny Robinson also moved on, as did Jill Kintner, the lone American in the 16-racer women’s field, who is competing despite a shredded knee ligament.
“You can’t get much more rad than this,†Robinson said. Wrestling
Ben Askren has to be thinking, “I cut my hair for this?â€
The bushy-haired former NCAA champion who promised a gold medal lost in freestyle’s 74-kilogram round of 16, ending his Olympics after two matches. The gold ended up around the same neck it has been placed at the last two Olympics— Buvaysa Saytiev of Russia. The three straight golds in the sport ties a record.
“I lost—I don’t know what to say, my dreams are crushed,†said Askren, who cut the hair he’d been growing for two years because he feared having it pulled.
Doug Schwab, a former NCAA champion, lost in the 66-kg qualifications but made the bronze-medal bracket when the guy who beat him advanced. Schwab ended up losing again. Turkey’s Ramazan Sahin won the bracket.
Also, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will investigate the Greco-Roman bout that so incensed Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian that he dropped his bronze medal in disgust and eventually had it stripped by the International Olympic Committee. Taekwondo
Mexico’s Guillermo Perez has a gold medal. And Afghanistan now has a medal, period.
Perez won the men’s under 58-kg division, beating Yulis Gabriel Mercedes of the Dominican Republic. A bronze went to Rohullah Nikpai, marking the first ever medal—in any sport—for Afghanistan.
In the women’s under 49-kg class, reigning world champion Wu Jingyu of China took the gold. Men’s volleyball
The U.S. men beat Serbia, remaining undefeated and earning a spot in the semifinals against Russia.
Brazil plays Italy in the other semifinal match on Friday. Men’s water polo
The U.S. squad knows who it will be playing in the semifinals: Serbia. The other semi will pit reigning European champs Montenegro against two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Hungary.
Serbia beat Spain to advance. Montenegro moved on by upsetting Croatia, which came in as the world’s No. 1 team. Kayak
American Rami Zur failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 1,000-meter single kayak (K-1).
China added three boats to the finals, with the 1,000-meter canoe double team, the 1,000 K-2 and the 1,000 K-4 all qualifying. Men’s beach volleyball
The stunning loss in the tournament opener seems like ancient history for Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, especially now that the Americans are playing for the gold medal.
The guys needed only 41 minutes to eliminate Georgia in straight sets in the semifinals, then watched Brazil’s No. 2 team beat its best, the Athens gold medalists. Boxing
British middleweight James Degale beat former Olympic champion Bakhtiyar Artayev of Kazakhstan to clinch Britain’s third boxing medal in Beijing, while Vijender Kumar clinched the first boxing medal in India’s history.
Cuba’s last two fighters also reached the semifinals with one-sided victories, guaranteeing a whopping eight medals for the sport’s now-unquestioned power. Flyweight Andris Laffita earned a marquee meeting with Russia’s Georgy Balakshin, while middleweight Emilio Correa emulated his medal-winning father with a win over Uzbekistan’s Elshod Rasulov.
Italy’s Vincenzo Picardi left the arena on his coach’s shoulders after beating Tunisia’s Walid Cherif to clinch a medal. Italy already clinched medals for its two heaviest fighters, world champions Roberto Cammarelle and Clemente Russo, but rarely does well in the lighter classes. Women’s field hockey
The U.S. had a chance to finish seventh. It didn’t happen.
At least it took two extra periods before Spain beat the Americans. The tournament was a total loss, though, as the ladies beat New Zealand and had draws with world No. 2 Argentina, Japan and Britain. The team’s other loss was to defending Olympic champion Germany.
“I think with more experience on these top levels, as we continue to play against the best teams in the world on a consistent basis, that’s what’s really going to continue to develop this team and this program,†U.S. captain Kate Barber said. Sailing
China found another sport to pad its gold-medal count, getting its first ever victory in sailing when windsurfer Yin Jian claimed the women’s RS:X class. Yin won silver four years ago.
“Is it real? Is it real? Did I really win gold?†Yin asked after the finish.
New Zealand’s Tom Ashley won the men’s RS:X. Bronze went to Israel’s Shahar Zubari, who has been under intense scrutiny in his homeland because during his national trials he defeated windsurfer Gal Fridman, who won Israel’s first-ever Olympic gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Open-water swimming
Larisa Ilchenko of Russia drafted behind the leading British duo most of the 6.2-mile race, then sprinted to a gold medal in the final 50 meters (yards).
The 25-woman race looked a lot like roller derby in water, turning lane-swimming into a contact sport.
The pace-setting Brits, Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten, got silver and bronze.
Natalie du Toit of South Africa, who lost her left leg below the knee in a motorcycle accident in 2001, finished 16th.
“My message isn’t just to disabled people,†du Toit said. “It’s to everyone out there that you have to work hard. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs … but I’ve seen a lot of good things along the way. I was able to use the negativism in a good light and say after my accident, ‘I can still do it if I work hard.’†Synchronized swimming
Call them A-2. Or, Anastasia Squared.
Or just say that the Russian synchronized swimming duo of Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova have repeated as Olympic champions. The pair received all perfect 10s for technical merit on their free routine.
“We waited four years for this gold and a whole row of 10s was our crowning achievement,†Ermakova said.
The Americans were fifth. Table tennis
All three members of the Chinese squad advanced easily in women’s singles competition, especially Zhang Yining, the defending gold medalist and top-ranked player in the world.
Two U.S. players—Gao Jun and Wang Chen—also stayed alive. Men’s handball
Croatia’s gold-medal defense reached the semifinals with a victory over Denmark. The Croats will next play the French, who beat Russia.
Iceland will play Spain in the other semifinal. Iceland defeated Poland and Spain beat South Korea.
Olga Kaniskina of Russia has won the women’s 20-kilometer race walk gold medal in a dominating start-to-finish performance in wet conditions at the Beijing Olympics.
The 23-year-old Kaniskina opened up a 35-meter (-yard) lead before leaving the Bird’s Nest stadium at the start of the race Thursday and continued to build on it across the 12.5-mile course until finishing in an Olympic record 1 hour, 26 minutes and 31 seconds.
Kjersti Tysse Platzer of Norway, who was second at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, finished 36 seconds behind to claim another silver medal.
Elisa Rigaudo of Italy won the bronze in 1:27.12.
Kaniskina won the world championships with a similarly commanding performance in Osaka, Japan, last August and went within a second of the world record at the World Race Walking Cup in May.
ABHINAV BINDRA -INDIA GOLD WINNING SHOT VIDEO
Abhinav, we are very proud of your Olympic achievement by winning gold, regardless of any sports situation in India. May your country follow your example and win more golds!
First the fastest man in the water. Now the fastest man on Earth.
The Chinese are having themselves quite the Olympics.
Michael Phelps gave us something we’ll probably never see again. Usain Bolt followed with something we had to see to believe.
He ran like Secretariat on two legs, blew away the field like Tiger Woods playing in a club championship.
It looked easy because it was. His fellow sprinters looked befuddled because they were.
No one was ever supposed to be this fast. No one was ever supposed to be this good.
A few days earlier Bolt clowned around on his way to a world record in the 100, toying with the other runners as if asking them why they had even bothered.
For his encore, he kept running all the way to the finish line to smash a world record in the 200 that had stood the test of time.
He did it while Phelps was jetting off to London, his eight gold medals safely stored and his place in this Olympics assured. These were always Phelps’ games, at least as far as NBC and its American audience were concerned, but Bolt reminded us that television doesn’t always dictate who is the star of the games.
The numbers can be debated, and they certainly will in the rural Jamaican parish that grows yams and sprinters. Two gold medals (with a possible third still to come in the 400 relay) against eight hardly seems a fair fight, but this was dominance as utter on land as it was in the pool.
Bolt did what no one thought possible, not only winning the races that define human speed but setting world records in both. He was so far ahead in both races that he could have turned around and run backward the last 30 meters and still won.
Then he did something Phelps always looked uncomfortable doing.
He celebrated.
Not just a little wave to the crowd, quick hug to a teammate kind of celebration.
A real celebration.
Bolt kissed the track and draped himself in the Jamaican flag. He danced and preened, showed everyone his golden spikes, and watched himself on the giant video screen at the end of the stadium.
He might still be dancing had they not needed to clear the track for Melaine Walker to add to Jamaica’s track treasures with a gold medal of her own in the 400 hurdles.
We watched last week as Phelps gave his mother flowers after all of his wins, a nice touch that NBC wasn’t shy about showing. Bolt gave his country— and a sport that was badly in need of a boost—an even bigger present with his startling run into history.
“He’s a bad mamma-jamma,†said silver medalist Shawn Crawford. “The guy came out and made this the best Olympics of my lifetime.â€
Actually, what Bolt did was wrap a bow around these games as almost certainly the best Olympics of anyone’s lifetime. What else could they be when a man in the water did such astonishing things the first week and a man on the track did equally astonishing things the second.
Phelps started it all by thrilling everyone in his relentless—and ultimately successful—bid to break a 36-year-old record held by Mark Spitz.
And Bolt? All he did was bring down Superman.
“He’s Superman 2,†said Michael Johnson, who got his nickname after shocking the world with the 19.32 he ran in the 1996 Olympics.
No he’s not. He’s so good he deserves a nickname of his own.
“My name is Lightning Bolt, not Flash Gordon,†Bolt said.
On this sultry night in the Bird’s Nest, the Lightning Bolt struck quickly, with Bolt coming out of the turn with a big lead on his way to a 19.30 that will stand until the next time he wants to beat it. While other runners pump their fists and grind down the track, the 6-foot-5 Bolt seems to glide above it as if he’s wearing a cape of his own.
He runs for fun and he runs for glory. Then he runs for a microphone to tell the world all about it.
“I blew my mind,†Bolt said. “I blew the world’s mind.â€
Yes he did, because the world didn’t see this coming. While Phelps was a known commodity after winning six golds in Athens, Bolt was untested on the biggest stage and had to talk his coach into letting him enter the 100 as well as run his favorite 200.
He ran both so fast that the whispers were beginning before Bolt even draped himself in the flag. That’s the way things are in track, where three of the last five Olympic 100 winners eventually tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and where startling times are greeted with suspicion.
But Bolt has been tested four times in the past few weeks, three of them blood tests, and come up clean. His coaches insist it’s raw talent and hard work that makes him so fast, and we might just have to accept that he’s a freak of nature.
It’s not fair to question Bolt, and it wouldn’t be fair to question what makes Phelps go so fast.
Just sit back and appreciate the magical moments two great athletes gave us when it mattered the most
