Hungary win ninth Men's Water Polo crown

Tamas Varga of Hungary shoots. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 24) -- Hungary beat the United States 14-10 to win gold and create its own slice of history at the Yingdong Natatorium on August 24.

It was the first time a country had won three consecutive Olympic titles in Water Polo and Hungary's ninth crown in all.

It is the third time six players have visited the top of the podium -- Tamas Kasas, Zoltan Szecsi, Tamas Molnar, Peter Biros, Gergely Kiss and captain Tibor Benedek. Their coach Denes Kemeny has also been with the team for the past three gold.

The game started at a crazy pace with the US team jumping to a 2-1 lead before Hungary scored two late goals for a 6-4 lead at the first break.

The second period slowed a little, with Team USA captain Tony Azevedo twice leveling the scores with his third and fourth goals of the game.

Biros received a pass on a short drive to score his third and give Hungary a 9-8 lead on the half-time horn, but he limped from the pool to receive treatment on his left leg and had to sit out the second half.

Layne Beaubien leveled the scores for the United States early in the third quarter but Hungary had an 11-9 lead going into the final period.

The final quarter was all Hungary until US player Jesse Smith drilled a shot with one minute 23 seconds remaining, but by then Hungary had already clinched the gold.

Athletics Review: Lightning Bolt the star of Olympic Athletics show

Usain Bolt (L) of Jamaica celebrates victory with Asafa Powell of Jamaica after the Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final.

(BEIJING, August 24) -- Usain Bolt of Jamaica was the shining star of 10 days of Athletics competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that produced five world records and 16 Olympic records.

Bolt arrived at the Games having lowered the 100m world record to 9.72 in May. He did not disappoint, winning both the 100m and 200m in astonishing world record runs of 9.69 and 19.30.

Shelly-Ann Fraser led home a Jamaican clean sweep in the Women's 100m with her compatriots Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson sharing silver. Then Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica retained the 200m gold she had won at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Jamaica's near-total domination of the sprints was underlined in the Men's 4 x 100m Relay. The team, featuring Bolt on the third leg and former world-record holder Asafa Powell on the anchor, raced home with a new world record of 37.10.

The Jamaican Women's 4 x 100m Relay team, however, failed to complete the final after a mix-up between Simpson and Clement on the second handover led to Clement running beyond the changeover zone.

Clean sweeps of the medals in the Men's 400m and Men's 400m Hurdles meant there was some joy for the United States at the shorter distances. They took only four medals from 12 in the Men's and Women's 100m and 200m and watched in horror as both their Men's and Women's 4 x 100m Relay teams dropped the baton in their semifinal and failed to reach the final.

LaShawn Merritt of the United States was a surprise but unstoppable winner of the Men's 400m, ahead of his teammate Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner, who took silver. In the Men's 400m Hurdles, Angelo Taylor of the United States reclaimed the title he won at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

There was more woe for the United States in the Women's 400m when 2008's leading runner Sanya Richards of the United States was overtaken in the home straight by Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain. Richards finished with bronze.

Jamaica's Melaine Walker added another gold to her country's collection in the Women's 400m Hurdles, pushing Sheena Tosta of the United States into second place in the final stretch.

But the United States responded with victories in both the Men's and Women's 4 x 400m Relays. Richards overtook Russia's Anastasia Kapachinskaya in the last 100m to win the Women's race while Merritt and Taylor took their second golds of Beijing 2008 in the Men's.

World record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba confirmed himself as the premier 110m hurdler in the world by claiming Olympic gold. It was done in the absence of Athens 2004 champion and home town hero Liu Xiang of China, who limped out of his first-round heat with a foot injury.

In the Women's 100m Hurdles, Dawn Harper of the United States took advantage of favorite Lolo Jones of the United States hitting the eighth barrier. Jones was not the only hurdler to come a cropper. European champion Susanna Kallur of Sweden failed to finish her semifinal while one of the Men's favorites, Terrence Tramell of the United States, hit the first hurdle to exit at the first heat.

In the middle and long distance races, Ethiopia and Kenya each won four of the 10 gold medals on offer.

Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia showed their class in winning the Men's and Women's 5000m and 10000m respectively, while 19-year-old Pamela Jelimo of Kenya continued her fantastic debut season by racing away for the Women's 800m gold medal.

In the exceptions to the two African countries' domination, Rashid Ramzi became Bahrain's first Olympic medalist when he sprinted home to claim gold in the Men's 1500m and Gulnara Galkina-Samitova of Russia won the Women's 3000m Steeplechase in world-record time to mark the event's Olympic Games debut.

The throwing events were largely dominated by eastern European countries. Poland's Tomasz Majewski took the first Athletics gold medal of the program, the Shot Put. Gerd Kanter of Estonia won the Discus Throw and Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia the Hammer Throw, for Slovenia's first Olympics Athletics gold medal.

It was the same in the Women's throwing events where Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic claimed the Javelin Throw gold and Aksana Miankova of Belarus became Hammer Throw champion.

In exceptions to eastern-European control, Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway needed an Olympic record of 90.57m to retain his Men's Javelin Throw Olympic crown, Valerie Vili of New Zealand set an area record to win the Women's Shot Put and Stephanie Brown Trafton of the United States won the Women's Discus Throw.

Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda of Panama was another athlete to make history when he won the Men's Long Jump, his country's first Athletics gold medal. Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil ended Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva's dominance of the Women's Long Jump, pushing the Russian into silver medal position by a centimeter with a leap of 7.04m.

In the Triple Jump, Francoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon, who had won her nation's first-ever Athletics gold medal at Athens 2004, added their second gold with a jump of 15.39m. Nelson Evora of Portugal triumphed in the Men's competition.

There was a surprise in the Women's High Jump when Tia Hellebaut of Belgium beat 2007 world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia to the gold medal, while Andrey Silnov of Russia cleared 2.36m to win the Men's gold.

The Women's Pole Vault produced no surprises. Defending champion Elena Isinbaeva of Russia retained her title with 5.05m, her third world record of the year. Australia's Steve Hooker set an Olympic record of 5.96m to win the Men's.

Valeriy Borchin of Russia won the first Race Walk gold, the 20km, compatriot Olga Kaniskina finished first in the Women's 20km and Italy's Alex Schwazer broke from the chasing pack to take 50km gold.

Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru brought an end to the Athletics program by leading home the Men's Marathon field on the final morning of competition. The Kenyan broke from the pack at the 38km mark to claim victory, one week after Constantina Tomescu of Romania had won the women's race, and break the Olympic record Portugal's Carlos Lopes set at Los Angeles in 1984 by three minutes.

In total, 42 different countries won Athletics medals. The United States took the most golds with seven - only half the tally they achieved at the Osaka 2007 World Championships - and the most medals overall with 23. Jamaica was the most-improved nation since Osaka with their haul of golds up from one to six.

Men's Basketball Day 8 Review: US 'Redeem Team' dream realized

The United States team with medals, happy

(BEIJING, August 24) -- The 2006 world champion Spanish squad brought its best effort to make sure the "Redeem Team" didn't coast through the gold medal match, but the United States still prevailed 118-107 to win back the gold medal on Sunday, August 24.

"Spain gave us our first test," said United States guard Deron Williams. Both sides racked up fouls early on, which seemed to stunt the defensive patterns of the United States more than Spain, who effectively contained the US side and even outscored in the paint 56-50.

Guard Kobe Bryant admits he got into foul trouble and had to play more cautiously. "But in the fourth quarter, Coach K (US coach Mike Krzyzewski) told me to let that momma loose," he said, "and that's what I tried to do."

High-scorer Dwayne Wade said even if star players like Bryant and Lebron James were held back by personal fouls, Team USA was not dependant on any one man. "We're very deep, one through 12," he said. "It's about the whole team."

"This feels great. We haven't won in eight years. A lot of people doubted that NBA stars could play together."

Bryant was playing against his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Pau Gasol in this game, and when the buzzer sounded he made sure to give Gasol a hug. "I love him like a brother. I truthfully wish we were playing someone else in the finals."

Spain's Alex Mumbru says his team played 100 percent and had nothing else to give. "This has been the greatest match of the last years. Everyone is saying that. It will be a historical match and we want people to remember this Spanish team for a long while," said Mumbru.

With this win, both teams have players reaching an historic mark. US captain Jason Kidd becomes the 13th Men's Basketball player to win two gold medals, and Spain's 17-year-old guard Ricky Rubio becomes the youngest player to ever win an Olympic Men's Basketball medal. Rubio had six points and six rebounds in Sunday's gold medal game.

In the bronze medal match earlier in the day, a 20-point haul from Carlos Delfino steered an Argentina to an 87-75 victory over Lithuania. Delfino pulled a game-high 10 rebounds and picked up the offensive load for the defending Olympic champions, who were minus their inspirational lead Manu Ginobili due to an ankle injury.

Argentina went into the first break ahead 24-21, but it was a succession of three-point shots midway through the second by Leonardo Martin Gutierrez, Alfredo Paolo Quinteros and Andres Nocioni that proved decisive and gave the team a 44-31 lead.

Lithuania would never recover from that moment, the deficit growing to 24 at one stage in the third. Captain Ramunas Siskauskas paced his team with 15 points while guard Rimantas Kaukenas added 14. Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuania's leading scorer heading into the match, was not his usual efficient self, hitting just four of 12 shots for just nine points.

For Argentina, Luis Scola tallied 16 points while Nocioni, battling tendonitis, added 14.

France takes first-ever Handball gold

The France team celebrates after winning the Men's Handball gold

(BEIJING, August 24) -- France crushed Iceland 28-23 to win their first Olympic gold medal in Men's Handball at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday, August 24.

The French closed down Iceland's trademark shooting, and whenever Iceland found a gap they were denied by goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, who saved an incredible 49 percent of all shots and made the Olympic Games All Star Team.

By comparison, Iceland goalkeeper Bjorgvin Pall Gustavsson saved just 36 percent, and his job was made harder by Iceland's suffering defense.

Left-back Nikola Karabatic fired one sharp shot after another, either straight over or straight through Iceland's defense, netting eight goals for France from nine attempts.

Center-back Bertrand Gille (FRA) effortlessly burst through Iceland's defense, scoring four out of five shots from the 6m line.

The match remained close for only 13 minutes, when France netted five goals in a row to take a 9-4 lead, and from then on France were too strong for the Icelandic men.

France steadily increased their lead throughout the second half as Iceland started missing passes, letting France get away with easy steals.

Iceland did have the most fast breaks in the game, but only managed to score from five of 11.

Iceland's attack suffered most from the lack of goals from leading scorer Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson (ISL), as the French blocking restricted him to two goals. The French also succeeded in neutralizing pivot Robert Gunnarsson (ISL), who only got in two shot attempts in the entire game.

A rare success for the Icelandic team was right-back Olafur Stefansson (ISL), who put five shots past goalkeeper Omeyer.

France started celebrating when they went nine goals ahead with six minutes left, and with less than a minute remaining Iceland settled for an Olympic silver medal.

Water Polo Day 8 Review: Hungary extends golden tally to nine

(BEIJING, August 24) -- Hungary won a third consecutive Olympic gold medal to take their tally to nine Games titles by beating the US 14-10 in the Men's Water Polo final at the Yingdong Natatorium on Sunday, August 24.

Classification 9th-10th

Italy 10 vs Germany 8

Italy and Germany played an uninspired ninth-place match. Italian Alessandro Calcaterra scored five goals for the day, finishing as the tournament's top shooter with 27 goals. Calcaterra contributed more than a quarter of the Italian goals.

Classification 7th-8th

Greece 9 vs Australia 8

Greece, needing a top-three finish to gain entry to the 2009 Rome FINA World Championships, had to settle for seventh place with an upset victory over the Australians who lost three games - all by one goal. Georgios Ntoskas, Greece's highest scorer with 20 goals, was kept scoreless with his two penalty attempts blocked by Australian goalkeeper James Stanton.

Classification 5th-6th

Spain 11 vs Croatia 9

Spain blew away world champions Croatia to lead 11-6 in the final quarter before allowing Croatia to finish with a flourish. Croatia had led 2-0 at the quarter but it was level 5-5 by half-time with Spain holding an 8-6 lead at the final break.

Bronze medal match

Serbia 6 vs Montenegro 4

Serbia, playing without the injured scoring machine Aleksandar Sapic and goalkeeper Denis Sefik, controlled the match from the start and romped to 6-1 midway through the third period. The Serbian scoring stopped as Montenegro clawed their way back into the game but could not produce enough to win and Serbia won the bronze medal.

Gold medal match

Hungary 14 vs US 10

Hungary beat off a stern challenge from the US team to win their ninth title with six players experiencing Olympic victory for the third time. The opening quarter threw up 10 goals and by half-time Hungary led 9-8. The margin moved to two at the final break and then 14-9 in the final period before US fired in their 10th goal too late to realize their Olympic dreams.

Handball Day 16 Review: France wins first Olympic Handball gold

(BEIJING, August 24) -- France dominated the final to win their first Olympic gold medal in Men's Handball, with Iceland taking silver and Spain, bronze, on the last day of the Men's competition at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday, August 24.

Gold medal match:

France vs. Iceland: 28-23

The game was even for the first 13 minutes, but France scored five goals in a row to take control of the game from then on. France successfully blocked Iceland's center-back Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson and pivot Robert Gunnarsson in attack. In front of the goal Thierry Omeyer (FRA) made sure every second shot got stopped. France also ruled in attack, led by star player Nikola Karabatic, who scored on eight of nine attempts in the match. France won their first Olympic gold medal in Men's Handball, while Iceland won their first Olympic silver medal in Men's Handball.

Bronze medal match:

Spain vs. Croatia: 35-29

The first half was close as Spain tightened their defense, with left-wing Juan Garcia and left-back Iker Romero giving an impressive performance in front of the Croatian goal. Garcia netted seven goals and Romero scored five. The second half saw Spain gradually advancing, and when pivot Carlos Prieto tricked three balls into the Croatian net to make the score 32-27, the Croatians gave up. Spain won the bronze medal, while Croatia finished fourth in the competition.

Placement 5-6 match:

Poland vs. Russia: 29-28

Russia had the upper hand from the start and advanced by scoring six goals in a row early on. The second half saw Poland trailing Russia for more than 20 minutes, always one goal behind. Solid right-wing Mariusz Jurasik, Poland's top scorer with his six goals on Sunday, leveled the match 10 minutes before full time before his teammates Marcin Lijewski, Bartlomiej Jaszka and Grzegorz Tkaczyk gave great performances, turning the game around and winning. Poland took fifth place in the competition, while Russia finished sixth.

Placement 7-8 match:

Denmark vs. the Republic of Korea: 37-26

The match started slowly but both teams accelerated into the game towards half time. Denmark's Lars Roslyng Christiansen succeeded in all three of his fast breaks, and the ROK's Ko Kyung-soo made four fast breaks and scored in all of them. Ko was the top scorer for his team, netting 10 goals. The top scorer for Denmark was 20-year-old Mikkel Hansen, with eight goals, seven of them sharp long shots from 9m. Denmark took seventh place in the competition, while the Republic of Korea finished eighth.

The final ranking of teams in the Men's Handball tournament in Beijing 2008 Olympics follows:

1. France

2. Iceland

3. Spain

4. Croatia

5. Poland

6. Russia

7. Denmark

8. The Republic of Korea

9. Germany

10. Egypt

11. Brazil

12. China

Handball Day 16 Review: France wins first Olympic Handball gold

(BEIJING, August 24) -- France dominated the final to win their first Olympic gold medal in Men's Handball, with Iceland taking silver and Spain, bronze, on the last day of the Men's competition at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday, August 24.

Gold medal match:

France vs. Iceland: 28-23

The game was even for the first 13 minutes, but France scored five goals in a row to take control of the game from then on. France successfully blocked Iceland's center-back Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson and pivot Robert Gunnarsson in attack. In front of the goal Thierry Omeyer (FRA) made sure every second shot got stopped. France also ruled in attack, led by star player Nikola Karabatic, who scored on eight of nine attempts in the match. France won their first Olympic gold medal in Men's Handball, while Iceland won their first Olympic silver medal in Men's Handball.

Bronze medal match:

Spain vs. Croatia: 35-29

The first half was close as Spain tightened their defense, with left-wing Juan Garcia and left-back Iker Romero giving an impressive performance in front of the Croatian goal. Garcia netted seven goals and Romero scored five. The second half saw Spain gradually advancing, and when pivot Carlos Prieto tricked three balls into the Croatian net to make the score 32-27, the Croatians gave up. Spain won the bronze medal, while Croatia finished fourth in the competition.

Placement 5-6 match:

Poland vs. Russia: 29-28

Russia had the upper hand from the start and advanced by scoring six goals in a row early on. The second half saw Poland trailing Russia for more than 20 minutes, always one goal behind. Solid right-wing Mariusz Jurasik, Poland's top scorer with his six goals on Sunday, leveled the match 10 minutes before full time before his teammates Marcin Lijewski, Bartlomiej Jaszka and Grzegorz Tkaczyk gave great performances, turning the game around and winning. Poland took fifth place in the competition, while Russia finished sixth.

Placement 7-8 match:

Denmark vs. the Republic of Korea: 37-26

The match started slowly but both teams accelerated into the game towards half time. Denmark's Lars Roslyng Christiansen succeeded in all three of his fast breaks, and the ROK's Ko Kyung-soo made four fast breaks and scored in all of them. Ko was the top scorer for his team, netting 10 goals. The top scorer for Denmark was 20-year-old Mikkel Hansen, with eight goals, seven of them sharp long shots from 9m. Denmark took seventh place in the competition, while the Republic of Korea finished eighth.

The final ranking of teams in the Men's Handball tournament in Beijing 2008 Olympics follows:

1. France

2. Iceland

3. Spain

4. Croatia

5. Poland

6. Russia

7. Denmark

8. The Republic of Korea

9. Germany

10. Egypt

11. Brazil

12. China

Men's Football Day 6 Review: Brazil claims its fourth Olympic Men's Foot

(BEIJING, August 22) – Belgium would have been ecstatic if it lifted the bronze medal trophy in its first Olympic appearance in 80 years, but for Brazil, the five-time World Champion, a bronze medal is a bittersweet pill.

Brazil went to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with the hope to clinch the last major international honor that has eluded the football giant, an Olympic gold medal. However, its pursuit again went in vain this summer in Beijing.

Yesterday the Brazilian women lost to the United States in the final match because of Carli Lloyd's extra time goal, although Brazil was in clear advantage in the 90-minute regular time. The Men's team saw its title dream clashed after losing to its old rival, Argentina, in the semifinal.

Brazil has accumulated four Olympic Men's Football medals. It won a bronze at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and won silver twice in Seoul 1988 and Los Angeles 1984. For its women's team, it is the nation's second silver after Athens 2004.

Belgium came to the tournament as an underdog, a European minnow, but now it can return home with pride. Its loss in the bronze medal match to Brazil was anything but disgraceful, and its 3-2 victory over Italy in the quarterfinal was just impressive.

Now there is only one mystery remaining unsettled in the Beijing 2008 Football tournament, that is, who is going to clinch the title between another two arch enemies, Argentina and Nigeria. The answer will be revealed tomorrow.

Flash: US cruises past Argentina for dream final

(BEIJING, August 23) -- Team USA cruised past defending Olympic champion Argentina to a 101-81 victory in the last semifinal clash of the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

World champion to take on Chinese boxer in final of super-heavyweigh

(BEIJING, August 24) – China's Zhang Zhilei and Italy's Roberto Cammarelle will meet in the final of the Olympic Boxing tournament's super-heavyweight class after both boxers won their semifinals yesterday.

To be fair, Zhang did not actually 'win' his semifinal as he won via a walkover. Zhang's semifinal opponent, Vyacheslav Glazkov pulled out of the bout with an elbow injury.

World champion Cammarelle won after the referee stopped the contest in the second round following a head blow to Great Britain's David Price.

"Price is tall but it was easy to demolish him. I looked for a sparring partner today - and he was it," said Cammarelle after the fight.

US beats Argentina to reach dream final

Kobe Bryant (No.10) of the United States drives for a shot.

Team USA beat defending Olympic champion Argentina 101-81 in the last semifinal clash of the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Beijing.

Kobe Bryant (No.10) of the United States loses the ball.

LeBron James (No.6) of the United States shoots.

Chris Paul (No.13) of the United States goes up for a shot.

Luis Scola (No.4) of Argentina goes for a shot.

Athletics Day 8 Review: Jamaica experiences relay despair and delight

(BEIJING, August 23) -- Jamaica experienced contrasting emotions during the Women's and Men's 4 x 100m relays at the National Stadium on Friday, August 22, while Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba confirmed herself as the world's leading female long-distance runner with another gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

There was drama in the Women's 4 x 100m Relay when Jamaica, the hot favorites, overran the changeover zone on the second handover between Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, one night after both the US Men's and Women's teams had dropped the baton and missed the final.

Russia took advantage, having stayed in contention throughout the race. Yuliya Chermoshanskaya was able to cross the line for the gold medal ahead of Belgium and Nigeria.

Jamaica's Men's 4 x 100m team helped to ease the disappointment of their women's team when they won the gold medal in a world record 37.10sec, 0.30 seconds faster than the previous record.

Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Usain Bolt moved the baton seamlessly to anchor runner Asafa Powell, and the former 100m world record holder brought the team home with a spectacular final leg.

In the home straight, Trinidad and Tobago's 100m silver medallist Richard Thompson and Japan's Nobuharu Asahara ran down Brazil's Jose Carlos Moreira to claim the silver and bronze respectively.

In the Women's 5000m, the 23-year-old Dibaba won a second Beijing 2008 gold after her win in the 10000m on Friday, August 15.

In a slow-moving race that only came to life at the final bell, Dibaba broke from the pack to win. Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse took her second silver medal of the Games. Meseret Defar of Ethiopia took bronze.

Brazil won their first medal of the Athletics program when long jumper Maurren Higa Maggi leaped a season's-best 7.04m. By winning gold, Maggi ended Russian Tatyana Lebedeva's recent dominance. Lebedeva, who took silver with a 7.03m jump, had won gold at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and three of the past four world championships.

Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare took full advantage of her addition to the final following Ukrainian Athlete Lyudmila Blonska's expulsion from Beijing 2008 for testing positive for a banned substance. The 19-year-old jumped a personal-best of 6.91m to put herself in third place with her first effort, and managed to hold on to the position for the rest of the competition.

Steve Hooker won Australia's fourth medal of the Beijing 2008 Athletics program when he cleared 5.90m in the Men's Pole Vault, eventually setting an Olympic record of 5.96m.

The silver medal went to Russia's Evgeny Lukyanenko with 5.85m, while Denys Yurchenko of Ukraine claimed bronze with 5.70m.

Bryan Clay of the United States won Decathlon gold after leading the competition from start to finish. The 28-year-old ended on 8791 points.

Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus took silver with 8551 points while Cuba's Leonel Suarez grabbed the bronze in the last discipline with 8527 points.

At the start of the day, Italy won its second medal of the Athletics program when Alex Schwazer broke from the pack with 6km remaining to win the Men's 50km Walk.

Following him across the line was Jared Tallent of Australia, who added the silver to his bronze in the 20km Walk, while Denis Nizhegorodov of Russia took bronze.

The United States qualified with relative ease from heat one of the Men's 4 x 400m semifinals, along with Russia and Belgium. In the second heat, Great Britain finished first, with Jamaica and the Bahamas behind them. Australia and Poland qualified as the next two fastest teams.

In the Women's 4 x 400m Relay semifinals, Russia led home Cuba and Great Britain in qualifying from Heat 1, while the United States, Jamaica and Belarus all qualified for Saturday's final from the second heat. Nigeria and Germany qualified as the next two fastest teams.

Handball Day 14 Review: Favorite France and outsider Iceland ready for gold

(BEIJING, August 22) -- A solid French team beat Croatia, and underdog Iceland overpowered Spain in the semifinals of the Men's competition at the National Indoor Stadium on Friday, August 22.

Semifinals

France vs. Croatia: 25-23

Les Bleus got the upper hand over former Olympic champion Croatia and advanced to the gold medal match, where they will face outsider Iceland.

Both teams started the first half nervously, before Croatia took a slight lead through a series of goals by star player Ivano Balic. France struggled to get through a tight Croatian defense, although Cedric Burdet scored by long shots and again became the team's top scorer with six goals.

The second half saw France targeting Balic, using a 5-1 defense to block him. Also, Croatian goalie Alilovic seemed not at his best, saving only 19 percent of shots. "Score machine" Nikola Karabatic (FRA) stood out and gave an improved display, but the most exceptional performance in this match was given by Daniel Narcisse, who nailed two shots at the end of the second half to seal a narrow victory for France over Croatia.

Now Croatia will fight over the bronze medal with Spain, who just lost to a dogged Iceland.

Iceland vs. Spain: 36-30

A bullheaded Iceland team outplayed 2005 world champion Spain and went from a disadvantage position to taking the upper hand. This victory marked their entrance into the gold medal match with Les Bleus. It will be Iceland's first time playing in the finals in the Olympics.

Five goals in a row from the Icelandic team gave Spain a blow in the first five minutes, forcing Spain to take an early time-out in the first half to readjust the tactics. Duo Juan Garcia and Iker Romero helped Spain make a come back by contributing five goals each.

For the first 40 minutes a focused Spain managed to keep Iceland's lead at a narrow margin. Later on, Iceland steadily advanced, with left back Logi Geirsson scoring seven goals. The intense game saw a rush of two-minute suspensions and Spain's Carlos Prieto was sent off court with a red card.

Albert Rocas scored a team-high seven goals out of eleven tries for Spain, while Geirsson and Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson both contributed seven goals for Iceland.

Placement Matches 5-8

Russia vs. Denmark: 28-27

Overturning the result of the preliminary round, Russia defeated Denmark with a narrow margin.

The Russian team will now play in the classification match with Poland for fifth and sixth place, while Denmark will face the Republic of Korea in the seventh and eighth classification match.

The Danes showed little interest in winning in the first half, with goalie Peter Henriksen playing the entire 30 minutes yet saving only 15 percent of the shots. This gave Russia the chance to attack and ensured they had no difficulty advancing. Alexey Kamanin (RUS) was relentless from the 9m line, and Konstantin Igropulo (RUS) often broke through Denmark's defense.

Denmark put up a good fight in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Lars Troels Joergensen (DEN) was punished with a red card in the last minute of the game, after three two-minute suspensions. Although Mikkel Hansen nailed two goals and made Denmark take a 27-25 lead, Russia pushed forward and leveled the game, and Alexey Kamanin fired a last-minute goal from 9m to secure the win.

Poland vs. the Republic of Korea: 29-26

Poland will compete for fifth place after overpowering the ROK, and the Asian side will face off against Croatia for seventh to eighth place.

The game started slowly, but midway through the first half Poland increased the speed of play and the goal gap, taking a one-goal lead before the break, 15-14. Right-wing Mariusz Jurasik scored a team-high seven goals for Poland and orchestrated the team's play for the last 45 minutes. Though Poland did not play their best defense, goalkeeper Slawomir Szmal was in form, saving 19 of 45 shots.

The Republic of Korea struggled throughout, but right-back Yoon Kyung-shin gave Poland a wake-up call seven minutes into the second half, when he scored three goals from 9m. He was also the top scorer for the ROK team, with six goals out of ten attempts.

'Redeem team' beats old foes en route to final

Kobe Bryant (No.10) of the United States drives for a shot.

Men's Basketball Day 7 Review: United States, Spain go all the way

Pau Gasol (No.4) of Spain shoots over the defense of Kresimir Loncar of Croatia

(BEIJING, August 22) -- The Men's Basketball semifinals ended on Friday, August 22, with Spain and the United States set for a group B rematch in the final.

Spain got 15 points on free throws in the last quarter for a 91-86 triumph over Lithuania. Spain went inside on most of its opportunities, scoring 42 points in the paint. Pau Gasol's game-high 19 points and an 11-point, seven-rebound performance by Carlos Jimenez were prominent in the win.

Spain's clinical finishing in the paint led to Lithuania's top forwards to get in foul trouble early on, a telling factor that came back to hurt Lithuania when Marijonas Petravicius, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Ramunas Siskauskas all fouled out of the game in the last quarter.

Simas Jasaitis had 11 points off the bench in the first half, and he and inspirational guard Sarunas Jasikevicius both added 19 points for the losers, while forward Linas Kleiza, who came into the game averaging a team-high 14 points per game, was held off the scoresheet. He was ejected with 4:33 remaining in the game after picking up a second unsportsmanlike foul.

"We were near the victory, but we had problems under the basket and problems with fouls. Spain made 35 points just off free throws," said Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas after the game.

This is Lithuania's fourth consecutive Olympic semifinal loss.

Carmelo Anthony's team-high 21 points headlined the United States effort, as the "Redeem Team" exacted some measure of revenge on the team that had relegated it to the bronze medal game in the semifinals four years ago in Athens.

With versatile forward Andres Nocioni already hampered by tendonitis, Argentina's slim chance of victory further evaporated late in the first quarter when star guard Manu Ginobili aggravated an ankle injury that he had carried into the Olympic campaign. The leading scorer in the tournament hobbled off the court, and later into the locker room, and took no further part in the game.

The United States quickly seized the initiative, expanding an eight-point lead to 19 as the game headed into the second period.

The defending Olympic champions managed to trim the deficit back to nine at the main break, but that would be as close as they would get, with the margin soon getting back out to double figures and staying there for the remainder of the match.

"We gave away the first quarter and we paid a very expensive price for that," said Argentina's forward Carlos Delfino. "After that it was an uphill battle, especially after Ginobili's injury. We didn't do what we planned and you cannot afford that against a team like the United States."

Kobe Bryant (No.10) of the United States drives for a shot.

Athletics Day 9 Preview: Bekele aims for distance double

(BEIJING, August 23) -- Seven medals will be awarded on the penultimate day of the Athletics competition at the National Stadium on Saturday, August 23.

Men's 5000m - Final

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia is poised to win the 5000m and 10,000m double. If he can do so, the Athens 2004 silver medallist will become the second Ethiopian, behind Miruts Yifter (Moscow 1980), to achieve the feat.

Bernard Lagat of the United States redeemed himself in the heats after a sub-standard performance in the 1500m, and will be determined to repeat his 5000m victory from the world championships last year.

Matthew Tegenkamp of the United States was the fastest qualifier in 13:37.36.

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia will also provide strong competition.

Women's High Jump - Final

Reigning world champion and undisputed favorite Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will target her first Olympic gold and the world record of 2.09m.

Defending Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of Russia could cause an upset.

Ariane Friedrich of Germany set a personal-best 2.03m this year and has been a consistent challenger to Vlasic throughout 2008.

Women's 4 x 400m Relay - Final

The United States were the fastest qualifiers through to the final. They still have the option of calling experienced relay runner Deedee Trotter into the team to assist them in defending their Olympic title.

Jamaica finished second to the United States in their heat, and will be a strong force in the final.

Belarus, who qualified third fastest, will also be a threat.

Yulia Gushchina and Anastasia Kapachinskaya, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in the individual 400m final, will lead Russia's charge.

Men's 4 x 400m Relay - Final

The United States have won 15 out of a possible 21 Olympic titles in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay and this reign is expected to continue on Saturday night.

The US team is individually strong, with their team including the three medallists from the Men's 400m final - LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville.

Great Britain and the Bahamas were the fastest qualifiers into the final.

Men's Javelin Throw - Final

Three men automatically advanced to the final after surpassing 82.50m in the qualification round - Vadims Vasilevskis of Latvia, Ilya Korotkov of Russia and reigning world champion Tero Pitkamaki of Finland.

Defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway will need to improve on his 79.85m performance from the qualifying round if he wishes to feature in the medals.

Men's 800m - Final

With several early favorites knocked out in the semifinals, the door is open for reigning world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya and Sudanese runner Ismail Ahmed Ismail to take control of the Men's 800m final.

Yeimer Lopez of Cuba finished strongly in his semifinal and could pose a threat.

Women's 1500m - Final

Nancy Jebet Langat of Kenya was the fastest qualifier through in 4:03.02.

World champion Maryam Jamal of the Bahamas easily won her heat and is still the standout favorite to win her first Olympic Gold.

Potential medallist and 2008 African champion Gelete Burka of Ethiopia was knocked out in the first round after finishing in sixth place.

Taekwondo Day 3 Review: Saei and Hwang reap golds

(BEIJING, August 23) -- Iranian veteran Hadi Saei claimed his second Olympic gold medal on Friday by defeating Italian fighter Mauro Sarmiento in the final of the Men's -80kg division.

Unexpectedly, defending champion Steven Lopez of the United States lost to Sarmiento in a quarterfinal match, which finished with a disputed point deduction. But Lopez's defeat of Azerbaijani Rashad Ahmadov brought him a bronze.

The other bronze medal went to Chinese fighter Zhu Guo, who defeated Aaron Cook of Great Britain in a bronze medal match.

In the Women's -67kg class competition, bronze medallist at Athens 2004 Hwang Kyung-seon of the Republic of Korea won the gold medal

Canadian Karine Sergerie claimed the silver after losing to Hwang.

French taekwondo fighter Gwladys Patience Epangue took home a bronze by defeating Australian fighter Tina Morgan 4-1.

The other bronze medal went to Sandra Saric of Croatia, who overpowered Asuncion Ocasio Rodriguez of Puerto Rico 5-1 in the other bronze medal match.

Rhythmic Gymnastics Day 2 Review: Qualifications wrapped up, final showdown coming

(BEIJING, 22 August) -- Day two of the Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics competition saw 10 individual finalists and eight group finalist surface as the qualification round wrapped up on Friday, August 22, at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.

Individual All-Around

European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia enters the All-Around finals with the highest score from the qualification round (74.075).

She impressed judges with the two most difficult routines on day two of the competition, which saw gymnasts perform with Ribbon and Clubs.

Kanaeva's teammate Olga Kapranova, a decorated world champion, followed with a final All-Around qualification score of 72.900 points.

If either Russian gymnast wins the All-Around finals, it will be the third consecutive All-Around Olympic gold medal for the country.

Ukraine's Anna Bessonova rounds off the top three She is the only Athens 2004 medalist competing at Beijing 2008 and performed two powerful routines, earning her a score of 72.825 points.

The other seven finalists are Inna Zhukova of Belarus, Aliya Yussupova of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunko of Ukraine, Aliya Garayeva of Azerbaijan, Irina Risenzon of Israel, Simona Peycheva of Bulgaria and Almudena Cid of Spain.

Group All-Around

Belarus held on to the highest score in day two of competition, which saw groups perform with two Clubs and three Hoops. Their performance to Bolero earned the current Group world silver medalist 34.950 points.

Russia improved their standings and head into finals behind Belarus with 34.700 points. The world champions and Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 gold medalists struggled during day one of qualifications, but managed to impress the judges with a near-flawless routine on Friday, August 22.

The Chinese group gymnasts were not as precise as they were in the first day of qualifications but managed to finish in third place with 34.525 points. Athens 2004 silver and bronze medalists Italy and Bulgaria rounded off the top five.

The last three finalists are Ukraine, Israel and Azerbaijan.

Day 15 Preview: Every moment a medal

Marianne Steinbrecher of Brazil hits the ball over Ma Yunwen.

(BEIJING, August 22) -- Tomorrow is the second to last day of the Beijing Games, when the second-highest number of medals in one day will be awarded. For the first time in these Olympics, every event is a medal event.

Also exciting about tomorrow is that team sports are finally peaking. Preliminary round robins, quarterfinals and semifinals -- these teams have fought through days of competition to put it all on the line in one final match.

Before giving these hard-working teams their due attention, let's look at the last big day of multiple-medal action at the National Stadium, where seven medals will be awarded on the penultimate day of the Athletics competition.

Bernard Lagat of the United States is looking to repeat his Men's 5000 meter victory from the World Championships last year, but if Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia wins the event after already having won the 10,000m, he will become the second Ethiopian to achieve the feat.

In the Women's High Jump, reigning world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will target her first Olympic gold and the world record of 2.09m, but defending Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of Russia could stand in her way.

The Women's 4 x 400m Relay qualifiers saw the United States team through the fastest, and they still might call upon experienced relay runner Deedee Trotter to assist them in defending their Olympic title in tomorrow's final. Jamaica and Belarus will be hot on US heels in this event.

The US team in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay is strong apart, with a team including three medalists from the Men's 400m final (LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville), but it remains to be seen if they can also dominate as a team. Great Britain and the Bahamas were the fastest qualifiers into the final.

Finals in the Men's Javelin Throw, Men's 800m and Women's 1500m will also be contested in the last day of big medal competition in Athletics.

Tomorrow is the final day of Diving, and the whole world is waiting to see if China can sweep all the Diving golds in Beijing. In the Men's 10m Platform, German diver Sascha Klein may be all that stands in China's way. Klein is the World No. 1 in this event. He won a surprise gold at the 16th FINA World Cup at the Water Cube earlier this year by fending off strong Chinese divers.

Zhou Luxin and Huo Liang, meanwhile, are out to stage a one-two finish for China. World No. 2 Zhou settled for second at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, as well as the World Cup in Beijing this year. Huo recently won gold in the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform event with teammate Lin Yue.

In another Chinese-dominated sport, the only man standing in the way of China taking all three Men's Singles Table Tennis medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. World No. 1 Wang Hao will face Persson in the semifinals. Persson lost in the Sydney bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China, who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.

The other semifinal match is between two Chinese players, World No. 2 Ma Lin and World No. 3 Wang Liqin, and the Table Tennis Men's Singles gold medal match between the winners will take place at 8:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), right after the 7:30 bronze match.

Many finals in team sports events include a rematch between two countries that fought for gold in previous Olympics, and Women's Basketball is no exception. For the third Games in a row, Australia will try and top the United States for the gold. While the Australians have the indomitable center Lauren Jackson, the tournament's second-highest scorer, the United States captain Lisa Leslie is looking for her fourth consecutive gold medal. Both teams enter this final having won all seven of their games. They will tip-off in the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium at 10:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), after China and Russia compete in the bronze medal match at 7:30 p.m.

Men's Baseball ends tomorrow with Japan and the United States playing for bronze, and Cuba and the Republic of Korea vying for gold. Japan defeated the United States 4-2 in extra innings when they met in the preliminaries, and has only finished outside the medal standings once in Olympic history when it finished fourth at Sydney.

Cuba is the defending gold medalist, with three golds and one silver in its history. If the ROK wins gold, it will be the third team to remain undefeated throughout an Olympic Baseball tournament. Cuba has done this twice, once in 1992 and again in 1996. The Baseball bronze match is at 10:00 a.m. local time, while the gold medal game happens at night at 6:00 p.m. at the Wukesong Baseball Field.

Brazil will play the United States in the Women's Volleyball final, while China faces Cuba in the bronze medal match at the Capital Gymnasium. This is the first time Brazil and the United States are playing each in the tournament, and it's Brazil's first Olympic final. The Brazilian players are led by Sheilla Castro and Marianne Steinbrecher as their main force of attack. The US team's Logan Tom is the top scorer in the tournament, with 81 spikes, 19 blocks and eight service aces. The gold medal game starts at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8).

In Men's Hockey, the Netherlands will play Australia in a bronze medal game that is also a rematch of the Athens final (which Australia won), before Germany and Spain compete for the gold at 8:30 p.m. These two teams played each other in a pool A game, which Germany won 1-0, but with a gold medal on the line this game will be hard-fought on both sides. Spain has the ability to upstage world champions Germany, which they showed by beating defending champion Australia 3-2 in the semifinal after being down 0-2.

With Men's Football, Olympic gold medals keep seesawing between South America and Africa in the last three Olympic finals, so it is no surprise Nigeria and Argentina will be facing off tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at the National Stadium. In the semifinals, Argentina beat Brazil 3-0, while Nigeria defeated Belgium 4-1. This is a rematch of the Atlanta gold medal match, which Nigeria won 3-2.

Women's Handball teams will compete in the event's first medal matches tomorrow. Norway and Russia have dominated the Women's competition, and they will play for gold at 3:45 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium, while the Republic of Korea will compete against Hungary for the bronze medal at 1:30 p.m.

Although it might not be the first event that comes to mind when one thinks of team sports, Synchronized Swimming ends tomorrow with eight teams performing their Free Routines for the Team Event medals. Russia is looking to go two-for-two with their second Synchronized Swimming gold medal in Beijing, and they enter this competition in the lead after receiving the highest Technical Routine score on August 22. Russian duo Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova, two of the eight team members, already won gold in the Duet competition.

Russia has won gold at the past two Olympic Games and the past five world championships. The team's strength is, well, its strength, which allows them to perform throws and lifts beyond the capabilities of other teams. Characterized by the team's creativity, Spain currently trails Russia 0.583 points..

Along with Synchronized Swimming, Canoe/Kayak ends tomorrow, and the Beijing Olympics say goodbye to all medal events that take place in or on the water.

In total, six gold medals will be contested in Canoe/Kayak tomorrow, and many of the same paddlers from Friday's finals in the 1000 meter events will compete in the 500 meter races. K1 1000m gold medalist Tim Brabants of Great Britain, silver medalist Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway, bronze medalist Ken Wallace of Australia will all meet again in the K1 500m final. In the C1 500m, Spain's David Cal will hope to improve upon his C1 1000m silver medal finish the previous day

Julien Absalon of France

In the Men's K2 500m, defending champions Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskötter of Germany are favored to win, as are China's Yang Wenjun and Meng Guanliang, the Athens gold winners in the Men's K2 500m.

The defending champion pair in the Women's K2 500m, Katalin Kovacs and Natasa Janic, is favored to repeat a gold performance, but the duo must watch out for Germany's Fanny Fischer and Nicole Reinhardt, who surpassed them in the K4 500m final.

Finals for the Women's K1 500m and Men's C2 500m will also take place tomorrow, and all races begin at 3:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

In the one and only day of the Cycling-Mountain Bike event, 50 men and 30 women will have to face added curves, drops and rocks on the difficult Laoshan course. One major change from the last Olympic Games is that cyclists may change bicycle parts with the help of mechanics in designated zones along the course, and carry tools and equipment.

The leading favorite in the Men's event is defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France, but the course changes could favor bikers who are better handlers like Swiss Christoph Sauser.

On the Women's side, defending Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway has struggled with health problems, perhaps clearing the way for bikers like current world champion Margarita Fullana of Spain or Athens silver medalist Canadian Marie-Helene Premont.

In Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia is looking for its third consecutive Olympic gold. Tomorrow is the Individual All-Around finals, and two Russian gymnasts, European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Olga Kapranova, enter with the highest scores from qualifications.

Finally, two combat sports wind down tomorrow, with Boxing awarding its first set of gold medals and Taekwondo giving out its last two.

Five gold medal bouts will take place in Boxing tomorrow at the Workers' Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8). Men's fly (51kg), Men's Feather (57kg), Men's Light Welter (64kg), Men's Middle (75kg) and Men's Heavy (91kg) weight classes will compete.

In Taekwondo, the heavyweight classes enter the stage for the event's last day. In the Women's +67kg weight class, China's Chen Zhong, nicknamed "Taekwondo Queen," is a favorite and looking for her third consecutive gold medal.

In the Men's +80kg weight class, reigning world heavyweight champion Daba Modibo Keita of Mali could be set to win his country's first-ever Olympic medal, and it could be a gold.

That's day 15, when nine events will give their last medal, six events will award their first gold, and 32 medals total will be handed out in Beijing's final medal push.

Men's Beach Volleyball Day 10 Review: No. 2 Seeds crowned

(BEIJING, August 23) -- In a thrilling final match, No. 2 seeds Philip Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States claimed the gold medal by defeating Fabio Magalhaes and Marcio Araujo of Brazil 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4) in the Men's Olympic Beach Volleyball competition, one day after another US team, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, claimed the title in the Women's competition.

Throughout the match, Dalhausser impressed fans with his extraordinary blocking ability, especially in the deciding set, when he stunned the opponents with three consecutive blocks.

Araujo acknowledged the role Dalhausser played in deciding the outcome of the match:

"Phil (Dalhausser) was more successful today but Fabio (Magalhaes) also blocked brilliantly in their matches. We had two or three matches in this tournament that were won by Fabio's blocks. We have the three best blockers in the world seated at this table, but today was Phil's (Dalhausser) day."

The bronze medal went to Athens 2004 gold medalists Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, who overpowered Georgian pair Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes in the bronze medal match, with an unusually large margin in both sets.

Despite losing the last semifinal match and the opportunity of defending the title, Santos and Rego performed impressively in this match, while Terceiro and Gomes failed to deliver convincing performances to prove they deserve their place among the last four in the tournament, and the match ended in Santos and Rego's overwhelming 2-0 victory (21-15, 21-10).