(Sports Network) - Flash photography is banned in Beijing's National Aquatics Center, but you couldn't blame the hundreds who snapped photos of Michael Phelps. After all, this has never happened before.

Phelps claimed his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics with a swim in the winning U.S. 400-meter medley relay on Sunday morning, breaking the tie he shared with Mark Spitz to become the winningest athlete in a single Olympics.

It wasn't the widest of margins -- the U.S. broke its own world record to win by .70 seconds over Australia -- but it wasn't anything like .01 seconds that separated Phelps from Serbia's Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday.

Or the .08 seconds that separated Phelps and the U.S. from France in the 400- meter freestyle relay last Monday, when Jason Lezak's improbable comeback gave Phelps his second medal.

Yes, Phelps dodged those bullets on the way to history, but he also set records. Lots of 'em.

"The whole thing, every race, one after the other from winning by one- hundredth of a second to finishing it off with a world record. It's an amazing experience and something I'll have forever," said Phelps.

Swimming third for the U.S. in the butterfly leg, Phelps pulled his team back into the lead after breaststroker Brendan Hansen had lost the cushion Aaron Peirsol built in the backstroke on the first two laps.

Lezak then clinched the gold medal with a good 100-meter freestyle swim -- the second time in six days he did that for Phelps -- to give the Americans a time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds.

It lowered the old record by 1.34 seconds.

It was the seventh world record Phelps was a part of in Beijing -- seven world records in eight winning races, the greatest Olympic feat of all time. No doubt about it.

Already the all-time winningest Olympian, Phelps also claimed his 14th gold medal overall to extend his own record. It was his 16th medal of any kind overall, putting him second all-time in total medal count, two behind former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina.

"I'm lost for words," Phelps said.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan gave Lezak a run in the last 50 meters, but came up short. The Aussies touched in 3:30.04 for the silver -- a time that also would have broken the previous world record.

Japan won bronze in 3:31.98.

Phelps has looked beaten twice in Beijing -- before Lezak sprinted to beat France's Alain Bernard on the anchor leg, and before a final half-stroke lunge against Cavic in the 100 fly on Saturday.

Both produced different emotions in the so-called Water Cube: raucous cheering, jumping and screaming as Lezak churned his way past Bernard at the last moment in the 400 free relay; and breathless anxiousness when it looked like the American-born Cavic had taken the 100 fly.

Phelps celebrated like a madman both times, but Sunday was different. He celebrated, for sure, but this was more a relief. The final exhale. The finish line.

Whew.

"I literally wanted to do something that no one's ever done before in this sport," said Phelps. "It's been nothing but an upwards roller coaster. It's been nothing but fun."

TORRES TAKES SILVER BEHIND STEFFEN IN 50 FREE

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Dara Torres, swimming in her fifth Olympics, this time as a 41-year-old mother, won a silver medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle on Sunday morning, finishing just .01 seconds behind Britta Steffen of Germany.

Steffen closed on Torres at the last moment, touching the wall first at 24.06 for a new Olympic record. It lowered Inge de Bruijn's mark from the 2000 Sydney Games by .07 seconds.

Torres, already a silver medal winner in Beijing as part of the United States' 400-meter freestyle relay, finished at 24.07 -- losing by one-hundredths of a second, the same margin of victory in Michael Phelps' win in the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday.

"It was tough to lose the 50m freestyle by one-hundredth of a second," said Torres. "I realized I shouldn't have filed my nails last night."

Torres also swam in the women's 400-meter medley relay Sunday morning, getting a silver medal there too.

"I did this in Sydney (2000), but I was 33 then," said Torres. "When I was in the warm-up area and saw Phelps, he said to me 'you've got it easy, you only have to swim two races'."

Cate Campbell of Australia won the bronze in 24.17 seconds, while teammate and world record holder Lisbeth Trickett finished fourth. The 25-year difference between Campbell and Torres is by far the biggest age gap of any two medals in an individual swimming event.

Steffen's win marked the sixth time in Olympic history a woman has completed the sprint double of winning the 50 and 100 in the same Olympics. Until Sunday, only Kristin Otto and de Bruin were the only female swimmers to achieve the feat. It's also remarkable considering she nearly retired after the 2004 Summer Games.

"I really worked a lot with my psychologist," said Steffen. "When I was on the blocks this time I didn't feel like everyone else was better than me. I know now that is rubbish, I can do this."

It's also been an incredible run for Torres, now a winner of 12 Olympic medals beginning with a relay gold in 1984 in her current home city of Los Angeles. The 12 ties Jenny Thompson for the most by an American woman swimmer at the Olympics.

This is her second return from retirement. Torres also came back for the 2000 Sydney Olympics after missing Atlanta in 1996, capturing five medals after coming out of a seven-year retirement.

Then, there are the medical issues.

Last November, Torres had surgery to remove a bone spur responsible for a partial rotator cuff tear in her right shoulder. She also had surgery on her knee for the fifth time in January.

The mother of a two-year-old daughter, Torres was the oldest American swimmer to qualify for the Olympics when she made it through U.S. trials. She was the oldest member of the U.S. team eight years ago in Sydney.

"What I've done is show them (middle-aged adults) that you can do it," said Torres. "I'm absolutely thrilled. If I can help, that's a rewarding experience. I have had a fabulous time being part of the U.S. Olympic team. It's been awesome."

TUNISIA'S MELLOULI WINS MEN'S 1500 FREE

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Tunisia's Oussama Mellouli won gold in the men's 1500-meter freestyle on Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, his country's first-ever medal in swimming and only its second Summer Olympics gold.

Mellouli touched in 14 minutes, 40.84 seconds -- .69 seconds ahead of world record holder Grant Hackett of Australia, who won the silver at 14:41.53.

Canada's Ryan Cochrane finished with the bronze at 14:42.69.

Before Beijing, Tunisia had six total medals -- four from track & field and two from boxing. The country's lone gold was held by Mohammed Gammoudi, who won the men's 5000m in 1968.

Mellouli had been suspended after testing positive for amphetamines at a meet in November 2006. He admitted that he took the ADD medication Adderall, a stimulant, without a prescription.

Instead, Mellouli reportedly received the drug from a student at his college -- Southern California -- prior to the U.S. Open. On September 11, 2007, Mellouli lost his case before the Court of Arbitration for sport and was suspended for 18 months.

"This year was difficult because of the penalty I got, but thank God for my talent I've been given," said Mellouli. "I got the African record. In the finals you never know what can happen, you could get last or first. In the Olympic Games anything can happen. It was a miracle and for once the miracle was for me."

The 24-year-old Mellouli came into this race 0-for-2 in trying to win a medal in Beijing. He was fifth in the 400m freestyle and didn't make it out of the heats in the 200.

"I was expecting to win something," he said. "The 400 was my best ranking, that I have prepared for all year. I got fifth place, expecting the best."

Hackett was denied his third consecutive gold in this event.

US, TORRES TAKE SILVER BEHIND AUSTRALIA IN 400 MEDLEY

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Dara Torres anchored the U.S. to a silver medal finish behind Australia in the women's 400-meter medley relay on Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.

Swimming the freestyle portion -- just minutes after also winning silver in the 50-meter free -- Torres started behind Australia's Lisbeth Trickett and didn't have enough to catch her.

The Australian foursome of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper and Trickett lowered the world record by 3.05 seconds to 3 minutes, 52.69 seconds. It was the second straight gold in the race for the Aussies, who are the current world champions and world record holders.

After the race was over, Trickett reflected on the week that was in swimming.

"I just feel very privileged that I have been here to witness Michael Phelps win eight gold medals," said Trickett. "For me that was the highlight, I couldn't care less about my swims. I feel very privileged that I was in the same era as such a great swimmer."

Torres, Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni and Christine Magnuson posted 3:53.30 with China winning the bronze in 3:56.11.

It's also been an incredible run for Torres, now a winner of 12 Olympic medals beginning with a relay gold in 1984 in her current home city of Los Angeles. The 12 by the 41-year-old mother ties Jenny Thompson for the most by an American woman swimmer at the Olympics.

"It was an awesome feat because she is the most decorated swimmer," said Torres.

Coughlin left with a spectacular take of six medals in Beijing -- three bronze, two silver and a gold. That brings her total to 11 over two Games.

"When I went into this meet, I was so nervous going into this Olympics with six events," said Coughlin. "I have never done it at such a high caliber, but it got better as I went on."

FRASER TAKES GOLD AS JAMAICANS SWEEP 100

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Shelly-Ann Fraser won gold in the women's 100 meters Sunday at the Beijing Olympics in a clean medal sweep for the Jamaicans.

Fraser ran the sprint in 10.78 seconds, smashing her previous personal best by .07 seconds at Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.

The battle for silver was extremely close as both Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart crossed the line in 10.98 seconds. After consulting the video replay for a few minutes it was finally decided that Simpson and Stewart would share the silver medal.

Fraser, Simpson and Stewart's historic sprint marked the first sweep by any nation in the 100 since the United States won all three men's medals at the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was also just the sixth clean sweep in women's Olympic track and field annals.

"When I crossed the line and saw Sherone and Kerron there -- that was the moment," said Fraser. "I wouldn't trade it for anything else."

It's been an excellent couple of days for Jamaican sprinters as Usain Bolt also won the men's 100 in world record time on Saturday night.

American Lauryn Williams, the silver medalist in Athens, was fourth at 11.03 seconds and fellow U.S. runner Muna Lee was fifth at 11.07. Torri Edwards finished in the eighth and final spot at 11.20 seconds.

The U.S. filed a protest, claiming that there was a possible false start by Edwards, but it was promptly rejected by the IAAF.

The semifinals of the 100 were dominated by the U.S. and Jamaica as the countries accounted for the six fastest qualifying times earlier on Sunday. Fraser and Stewart ran the semis in 11.00 and 11.05 seconds, respectively. Lee and Williams were the next fastest at 11.06 and 11.10 seconds.

All told, six medals were awarded in track and field competition Sunday, beginning with the women's marathon, which was won by Romania's Constantina Tomescu in the lone event of the morning.

The final race of the night was the men's 10,000 meters, which began shortly after the Jamaicans ran away with the 100m medals. The event was won by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who took his second straight gold in the event.

Bekele ran the race in an Olympic record time of 27 minutes, 1.17 seconds, sprinting to the finish ahead of countryman Sileshi Sihine. Micah Kogo of Kenya took the bronze with a time of 27:04.11, crossing the finish line with the same time as countryman Moses Ndiema Masai. Kogo was deemed to have finished a fraction ahead of Masai and was awarded the bronze.

Bekele is just the fifth runner to win the 10,000 in back-to-back Olympics. Countryman Haile Gebrselassie did it at the 1996 and 2000 Games, but was sixth in Sunday's race.

Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone won her second straight gold medal in the women's triple jump, successfully defending her Athens win with an Olympic record leap of 15.39 meters.

Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia won the silver medal with a best jump of 15.32 meters and Greece's Hrysopiyi Devetzi was third at 15.23 meters.

Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won gold in the men's hammer throw, taking the competition with his best toss of the season.

Kozmus' winning throw of 82.02 meters came on his second attempt of the competition. He finished sixth in the hammer throw at the Athens Games.

The silver and bronze medals went to throwers from Belarus. Vadim Devyatovskiy was second with a toss of 81.61 meters and Ivan Tsikhan, the silver medalist in Athens, was a close third at 81.51 meters.

Russian Gulnara Galkina-Samitova won the women's 3000m steeplechase Sunday as she finished the race in 8 minutes, 58.81 seconds, bettering her own world mark by nearly three seconds.

Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya surged past Russian Ekaterina Volkova just before the finish line to get silver in 9:07.41. That was .23 seconds ahead of Volkova, the 2007 world champion.

Americans Jennifer Barringer and Anna Willard finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

It was a disappointing night for the U.S. in the semifinals of the men's 1,500 meters, as Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Leonel Manzano all failed to qualify for the final round on Tuesday.

Lagat came closest to making the final, as he ran the race in 3:37.79 to finish sixth in his heat -- just one place away from an automatic berth. He missed qualifying on time by just .02 seconds.

Lagat had won two Olympic medals at the distance while competing for Kenya and was hoping to get another for the U.S. after becoming eligible to run for the American team in 2007. Lagat still has a shot at a medal in the 5,000 meters, but the 1,500 is considered to be his stronger race.

"I tried to follow the pace and follow the strategies I made. I feel bad that it didn't go well," said Lagat.

Lomong, the former Sudanese refugee, was the U.S. flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies, but barely qualified for the Olympics after finishing third in the 1,500 at the national track and field trials in July.

Lomong was 22nd overall on Sunday with a time of 3:41.00, while Manzano rounded out the field in 24th place.

Sanya Richards of the U.S. ran the fastest time of the night in the semifinals of the women's 400 meters, taking her heat in 49.90 seconds. Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu was next with a time of 50.14 seconds.

Mary Wineberg and Dee Dee Trotter of the U.S. failed to advance to Tuesday's final round.

All three U.S. competitors advanced to the semifinals of the women's 100m hurdles, as Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper and Damu Cherry qualified in their first round heats. Jones had the fifth-fastest time of the day, winning her heat in 12.71 seconds.

Spain's Josephine Nnkiruka Onyia and Susanna Kallur of Sweden were both in the same heat and finished in 12.68 seconds, the fastest time of the opening round. The semifinals of the event will take place on Monday followed by the final round the next night.

The opening round of qualifying in the women's 400m hurdles was also on Sunday and Jamaican Melanie Walker posted the fastest time of the evening, running the track in 54.46 seconds.

Tiffany Ross-Williams of the U.S. won her heat in 55.71 seconds and Sheena Tosta also qualified for Monday's semifinal by posting the 15th-fastest time of the day (56.12).

The Americans failed to field a finalist in the men's high jump. Andra Manson had a best jump of 2.25 meters, which was the same height cleared by the final four qualifiers. However, Manson finished 13th, failing to move on because he had more misses than the other competitors. Jesse Williams was 19th and Dusty Jonas 26th.

Jaroslav Baba of the Czech Republic led a field of eight jumpers who cleared 2.29 meters.

ROMANIA'S IZBASA WINS FLOOR GOLD; JOHNSON, LIUKIN FINISH 2-3

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Romania's Sandra Izbasa had a strong showing in the women's floor exercise Sunday night at the Olympics, winning the gold medal over Americans Shawn Johnson and all-around champion Nastia Liukin, who were pushed to silver and bronze finishes, respectively.

Izbasa had a mark of 15.65, while Johnson, the silver winner in the all-around was next at 15.5. Liukin, the all-around gold medalist, ended at 15.425. Izbasa became the sixth Romanian to win women's floor at the Summer Games.

"Our president has already called to congratulate me," said Izbasa. "In Romania they have always expected a lot from gymnasts, especially for gymnastics from this Olympics. The Romanian coaches and athletes have a lot of pressure."

North Korea's Hong Un Jong won gold in the women's vault Sunday, while Zou Kai of China captured the men's floor exercise. Xiao Qin of China won the pommel horse, giving the host country four medals thus far in men's gymnastics, along with the team and all-around finish with Yang Wei.

Alicia Sacramone, who had some mistakes in ultimately costing the United States a chance for the team gold medal earlier at the Games, finished out of a medal for the vault. She has three world championships medals in the event.

Sacramone had a score of 15.537, which was .25 behind bronze medal winner Cheng Fei of China. Germany's Oksana Chusovitina (15.575) finished just behind Hong (15.65). Cheng actually had a score of 16.075 on her first try, but landed on her knees, causing the score to go down.

"It was really hard to go back into the gym after what happened, but I kept training," said Sacramone.

Hong won the gold despite suffering a deduction of .30 points for landing her first vault off-balance and over the line. She became the first-ever female gymnast from North Korea to win an Olympic medal.

Cheng, a three-time world vault champion, fell, but still held onto third place.

Zou finished with a score of 16.050. Gervasio Deferr of Spain won silver with 15.775, while Anton Golotsutskov of Russia earned the bronze. It was the first time in Olympic history a host won gold in the men's floor.

Brazil's Diego Hypolito, the reigning world champion, failed to medal after falling backwards on his last tumbling pass.

Xiao had a score of 15.875 on horse, to edge Croatia's Filip Ude (15.725). Louis Smith of Great Britain earned bronze, while American Sasha Artemev was seventh as he fell toward the end of his routine.

"I wish I walked away with a medal (on pommel horse), but I'm happy that the team got a medal and that's the most important thing to me," said Artemev, member of the U.S. team that won bronze. "With my set, I laid out a hard routine and I wasn't ready."

Johnson was the first to take the floor and used a tuck double double on her first pass. Liukin finished her routine with a 2 1/2 twisting back.

"I wasn't sure how things were going to hold up today, but I didn't really care about scores," said Johnson. "I didn't care about placements. I just wanted to go out and have a good time. Sitting there and watching seven other girls compete was the most nerve-wracking experience."

NADAL, DEMENTIEVA, WILLIAMS SISTERS GOLDEN AT OLYMPICS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal, Elena Dementieva, and the sisters of Serena and Venus Williams all won gold on Sunday, the final day of the tennis competition at the Olympics.

The second-seeded Nadal picked up a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 win over Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

Dementieva rallied from a set down to beat fellow Russian Dinara Safina, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, taking advantage of 17 double faults by her opponent, as Safina had her 15-match winning streak broken.

The Williams sisters captured the gold in women's doubles, topping the Spanish team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2, 6-0. The American duo won 11 of the last 12 games in the match.

As for Nadal, it was stirring end to a long week of tennis for the Spaniard, who will overtake Swiss Roger Federer as the world No.1 on Monday. He has been ranked second in the world for the last three-plus years.

This year, Nadal won his fourth straight French Open crown and his first Wimbledon trophy, and on Sunday earned Spain's first gold medal in tennis.

"Not in my best dreams could I have imagined this," said Nadal. "It's very special just to compete here. I've had an incredible experience with all my countrymen. I have to thank everyone that has been here with me the last two weeks."

Nadal, who has eight titles this year and has lost just once in his last 39 matches, used several good passing shots to keep Gonzalez on his heels.

Gonzalez won his third Olympic medal to go with his bronze in singles four years ago and a gold in doubles in 2004.

It's the second singles medal for Dementieva at the Olympics. She won a silver in 2000.

Having reached the final six times over his last seven tournaments, Safina was aiming for a third successive title on the professional tour

Russia made it a clean sweep of the women's singles medals as Vera Zvonareva downed China's Li Na, 6-0, 7-5 in 70 minutes. The country became the first NOC to win all three medals in any discipline of an Olympic tennis event since Great Britain did so by sweeping the 1908 indoor events in London.

Winners of the doubles title at Wimbledon, the Williams sisters also won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. American teams have won the women's doubles gold medal in five of the six Olympics since tennis rejoined the program. Both sisters were sent packing in singles play in the quarterfinals.

"To be honest it does mean more for me to win it with Serena, to share this kind of moment with your sister," said Venus. "I mean we are practically joined at the hip, it's really unexplainable. I have chill bumps."

It was the second silver medal in women's doubles for Ruano Pascual.

The Chinese pair of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie beat Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2, 6-2 for the bronze.

The Olympics not only was viewed as a chance to win medals, but also an opportunity for a tune-up leading to the final major of the year, the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 25.

"I don't even want to think about it," said Dementieva of the upcoming tournament. "I want to enjoy my gold medal that I've been working so hard to get. This just means so much to me."

CHINA'S GUO CLAIMS GOLD, OLYMPIC DIVING RECORD

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - China's Guo Jingjing became the most successful Olympic diver in history with a gold medal performance in the women's 3-meter springboard Sunday night.

Guo's second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics was her sixth career Olympic diving medal, breaking a tie between herself, former partner Fu Minxia and U.S. diving legend Greg Louganis for most all-time.

The 26-year-old Guo won with an overall score of 415.35, building on the gold medal she won earlier this week with teammate Wu Minxia in the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard.

Guo reflected on her career accomplishments, saying that winning a gold in her home country has a different meaning.

"Today must be the most memorable moment in my life," she said.

Julia Pakhalina of Russia won the silver with 398.60 points, while Wu took bronze with 389.85 -- the medallists shaking out exactly how most believed they would.

Wu is expected to take over the reins as China's top diver if Guo retires, as she has previously hinted she would. Guo backtracked on that sentiment Sunday night.

"I love this sport and I'd like to go on diving if I can," Guo said.

Canada's Blythe Hartley, a 2004 bronze medalist in the 10-meter platform synchro, placed fourth with 374.60 points -- just 15.25 points from claiming another bronze.

Americans Nancilea Foster and Christina Loukas finished eighth and ninth, respectively, out of the 12 divers who qualified for the final.

Guo's Olympic medal run began at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she won an individual silver in the 3-meter springboard and teamed with Fu for a silver in the springboard synchro.

She went on to sweep both events in Athens four years ago, a feat she accomplished once again.

China has won all five diving gold medals awarded in Beijing thus far. Only the United States has ever swept the diving competition in the Olympics, with the Americans doing it five times between 1928-52 when there were fewer events.

US WIN GOLD IN WOMEN'S EIGHT, MEN TAKE BRONZE

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States rowing team won a gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, beating the field in the women's eight competition.

The U.S. women's eight team finished the 2,000-meter race in 6 minutes, 5.34 seconds to earn the gold. The Americans had won a silver medal in the eight at the 2004 Athens Games. Only Mary Whipple, Anne Cummins and Caryn Davies were members of both teams. The remaining members of the team were Erin Cafaro, Lindsay Shoop, Anna Goodale, Elle Logan, Caroline Lind and Susan Francia.

"We rode a boat called The Hunter, we hunted everyone all the way down," said Cummins.

The Netherlands and Romania had it out for the silver medal and the Dutch crossed the finish line first, just .03 seconds ahead. The Romanians were denied a fourth straight gold medal in this event.

The Americans failed to defend their gold medal from Athens in the men's eight, but did claim bronze, finishing just .23 seconds behind Great Britain for second place. The U.S., which posted a time of 5:25.34, returned Beau Hoopman, Wyatt Allen and Bryan Volpenhein from the gold-medal squad of four years ago.

The favored Canadians won the event in 5:23.89, becoming the first defending world champion in 35 years to collect men's eight gold at the Olympics.

All told, seven gold medals were awarded on the final day of rowing competition.

China won its first-ever rowing gold medal as the team of Tang Bin, Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang won the women's quadruple sculls event. The Chinese crossed the finish line in 6:16.06, beating the defending world champion team from Great Britain by 1.31 seconds. China has five Olympic rowing medals, all of them won on the women's side.

Germany won the bronze in a time of 6:19.56, besting the Ukraine by just .46 seconds. The U.S. was a distant fifth.

Poland won gold in the men's quadruple sculls, finishing in 5:41.33, easily defeating the Italians, who crossed the line 2.24 seconds later. France picked up silver by finishing just .34 seconds ahead of Australia, while the U.S. finished fifth.

The Netherlands won gold in lightweight women's double sculls, as Kirsten van der Kolk and Marit van Eupen won the race in 6:54.74. The Dutch pair won a bronze medal four years ago in Athens. Finland finished in 6:56.03, coming in just .65 seconds ahead of the Canadians for the silver medal.

In the men's lightweight double sculls, Great Britain's Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter took the gold medal with a time of 6:10.99. The Greeks were just .73 seconds behind for silver and the Danes earned bronze by finishing in 6:12.45.

Purchase and Hunter were less than a second away from the world record time of 6:10.02, a mark held by the bronze-medal winning team of Mads Reinholdt Rasmussen and Rasmus Nicholai Quist Hansen.

Denmark posted the fastest time in both the heats and semifinals of the lightweight men's four and continued its dominance in the final, winning the gold with a time of 5:47.76 to repeat as Olympic champions. The Danes have earned a medal in this event at every Olympics since it was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Poland took the silver, finishing 1.63 seconds behind the Danes, and Canada earned the bronze.

ANOTHER MISTAKE COSTS GOLD FOR EMMONS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Another mistake, another lost chance at a gold medal.

Four years ago, American Matt Emmons had the lead going into his final shot in the 50-meter 3-position rifle, but he shot at the wrong target and finished without a medal. It was basically a repeat performance on Sunday in the same event, with Emmons scoring a 4.4 out of a possible 10.9 on his final shot because his gun accidentally went off.

Emmons was ahead the entire way in the final round, but because of the mistake, he dropped to fourth, again out of a medal placing.

Qiu Jian won the gold with a total score of 1272.5, while Ukraine's Jury Sukhorukov captured the silver with 1272.4. Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia earned the bronze with 1271.7, right in front of Emmons (1270.3).

"You just can't let it get to you, there are other things way more important," said Emmons. "I'm waiting for some really good thing to happen from this, because everything happens for a reason."

The 27-year-old Emmons needed only a 7.0 on the last shot to win, a score considered simple in Olympic standards.

"I didn't feel my finger shaking, but I guess it was," said Emmons. "I realized it went off and I hope it made it to the black. I call it a freak of nature."

Emmons was given emotional support by his wife, Czech shooter Katerina, who won a gold and silver at these Games.

"What happened today I think will keep him going, keep him determined, and he will be more experienced," she said. "This will keep him pointed in the right direction."

Matt Emmons did get a medal at these Olympics, finishing with a silver in the 50m rifle prone on Friday.

US MEN TAKE FENCING SILVER

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States men's fencing team won silver in the team foil competition after losing to France in the gold medal match Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.

The U.S. had earned surprising victories over Russia and Hungary to gain a berth in the final round. However, the French posted a 45-37 win over the Americans to secure their second straight gold medal in the event.

France had actually built a 40-28 lead heading into the final round, but Keeth Smart of the U.S. would make the final score a bit more respectable as he defeated France's Julien Pillet, 9-5.

The American team of Smart, Tim Morehouse and Jason Rogers notched a win over Hungary, the defending world champions, in the quarterfinals and then defeated Russia in the semis. The victories were by the slimmest of margins, as the U.S. won both battles, 45-44.

James Williams also earned the silver medal as a member of the U.S. team.

Italy earned the bronze medal with a 45-44 decision over the Russians.

The men's team sabre marked the end of fencing competition in Beijing. The American fencers had a very successful Olympics, taking six medals at these Games. The other five were on the women's side as the U.S. pulled off a clean sweep in the individual sabre, won silver in the team foil and bronze in the team sabre.

The silver medal is only the second medal won by the Amercicans in team sabre competition. The other was a bronze won at the 1948 London Olympic Games.

AMERICAN MILLER WINS BRONZE IN WOMEN'S WRESTLING

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - U.S. wrestler Randi Miller won a bronze medal in the women's 63 kg freestyle class on Sunday, her country's second wrestling medal of the Beijing Olympics.

Miller shared the bronze with Yelena Shalygina of Kazakhstan, while Kaori Ichoa of Japan defeated Russia's Alena Kartashova to successfully defend the title she also won at the 2004 Athens Games.

Competing in her first Olympics, the 24-year-old Miller said a boost of energy in the third period of the bronze medal match against Shalygina was just her simply wanting to win.

"I'm not entirely happy," said Miller, "but I did not want another loss. I let a couple of points go by being lazy. But it worked out for me."

Adam Wheeler won the Americans' first wrestling medal in the men's 96 kg Greco-Roman class, also a bronze.

In another women's wrestling final on Sunday, 2007 junior world champion Wang Jiao of China defeated Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria to win gold in the women's 72 kg weight class.

Five-time world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan shared the bronze medal with Poland's Agnieszka Wieszczek.

BRITISH CYCLIST ROMERO WINS HISTORIC GOLD

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Cyclist Rebecca Romero beat Great Britain teammate Wendy Houvenaghel in the women's individual pursuit final on Sunday for a historic gold medal.

Romero became the first female British athlete to win medals in two different Summer Olympics events, having also claimed a rowing silver in the quadruple sculls at the 2004 Athens Games.

She led Houvenaghel after each of the three 1,000-meter splits in the final, finishing with a total time of 3 minutes, 28.321 seconds to her teammate's 3:30.395.

The medals marked the seventh and eighth won by Great Britain in the track disciplines at the Beijing Olympics, six more than the closest country.

"I think there is a nation in every sport that dominates," said Romero, "and now it's our time.

Lesya Kalitovska of the Ukraine edged New Zealand's Alison Shanks for the bronze medal.

American Sarah Hammer finished fifth among the eight riders who made it through qualifying on Friday, but she was eliminated in the first round on Saturday.

Also on Sunday, the four teams were determined for the men's team individual pursuit final when Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain made it through qualifying and the first round.

Eight riders qualified for both the men's and women's sprint quarterfinals, including U.S. cyclist Jennie Reed on the women's side and British teammates Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny on the men's side.

Hoy and Kenny have been part of the large medal haul for Great Britain, with both riders being a part of the gold medal-winning sprint team. Hoy also won individual gold in the men's keirin.

US PITCHER ABBOTT PERFECT IN ANOTHER SOFTBALL ROUT

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Pitcher Monica Abbott was perfect through five innings, and the United States softball team cruised to an 8-0 victory over the Netherlands at the Beijing Olympics.

Abbott struck out nine while setting down all 15 Dutch batters she faced, leading the U.S. to its 20th consecutive Olympic victory dating back to 2000.

The game was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule, the fourth time in six contests the U.S. has closed out an opponent in fewer than the scheduled seven frames.

Abbott's performance could not be called a perfect game.

"I'm sure she doesn't mind giving that up," said U.S. catcher Stacey Nuveman. "In games like this, if we can get the win in early, we will."

The Americans got more power output from Crystl Bustos, who went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI to lead the offense, which has outscored opponents 44-1 in six wins.

Tairai Flowers and Jessica Mendoza also blasted homers to give the Americans 12 during these Games, a new Olympic record. Bustos and Mendoza have four homers apiece.

"They seem to hit everything," said Dutch pitcher Rebecca Soumeru, who surrendered six runs -- five earned -- in two innings. "The way they hit over the fence -- it's amazing."

The U.S. -- its spot already secure in the semifinals -- will face China on Monday in the final day of preliminary games. The Americans are guaranteed a medal.

The Netherlands, the worst team at the Olympics, fell to 0-6.

With all eight teams in competition Sunday, there were three other games on the schedule.

China was all but eliminated from competition by a 2-1 loss to Chinese Taipei, a result that gave both teams a 2-4 record. With four teams already holding at least three wins, things looked dire for the host Chinese.

Japan (5-1) used a four-run fifth inning to get past Venezuela, 5-2, and remain in second place behind the U.S. heading into the last week. The loss dropped Venezuela to 2-4.

Australia posted a big win over Canada, clinching a 4-0 victory with a three- run rally in the seventh inning to move to 4-2 and secure its third place standing.

USA WOMEN ROUT KIWIS, QUARTERFINALS NEXT

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Tina Thompson scored 15 points to pace another balanced attack as the U.S. women's basketball team crushed New Zealand, 96-60, in its final preliminary round at the Olympics.

Katie Smith added 13 points, while Seimone Augustus tallied 11 for the Americans, who finished 5-0 and atop Group B. They will take on South Korea in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Kara Lawson ended with nine points, while Lisa Leslie and Sylvia Fowles each had eight in the 29th straight Olympic win for the squad. The U.S. women, gunning for a fourth straight gold medal, haven't failed to reach the podium for a medal since the sport was first contested at the Olympics in Montreal in 1976.

"It was a good warm-up," said Leslie. "It's getting us ready for the challenge up ahead. It will help us prepare for Korea, who likes to play at a fast pace and likes to shoot threes."

Angela Marino had 17 points and Lisa Wallbutton added 14 for New Zealand (1-4), which missed out on advancing to the medal round quarterfinals. The Kiwis had 27 turnovers.

Thompson had 10 of her 15 points during a 21-0 surge in the second quarter. New Zealand was behind by only a 29-22 count before Thompson helped the U.S. make it a blowout. Smith's three-pointer pushed the lead to 38-22 and when Delisha Milton-Jones scored inside the paint the cushion stood at 28 points with 18 seconds left in the half.

The lead reached as high as 39 in the second half.

"I couldn't ask for anything more from this team," USA coach Anne Donovan said. "They practice more than they're used to. They're focused on themselves and getting better."

In other play Sunday, Spain routed Mali, 79-47, Australia downed Russia, 75-55, South Korea edged Latvia, 72-68, Brazil got by Belarus, 68-53, and China topped the Czech Republic, 79-63.

China will play Belarus in the quarterfinals, while the other game at the top of the bracket will be between Australia and the Czechs. Russia takes on Spain in the U.S. half of the bracket.

WILDER WINS, ANDRADE OUSTED IN OLYMPIC BOXING

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Deontay Wilder won his heavyweight bout, while Demetrius Andrade lost his quarterfinal fight in the welterweight division, leaving the United States with just one boxer remaining at the Olympics.

Deontay Wilder advanced to the semifinals after scoring a 10-10 victory over Mohammed Arjaoui of Morocco (web|news) at the Workers' Gymnasium Sunday night. Wilder won the tiebreaker on a 23-22 accepted score and has assured himself no worse than a bronze medal from the 2008 Olympic Games.

"People don't know how hard we've been training," Wilder said. "For me to be the last one, a guy who's been boxing only three years...I'm speechless."

Andrade lost an 11-9 decision to Kim Jungjoo of Korea. He was so upset at the decision, that Andrade walked out of the ring before the decision was announced.

"It was no disrespect for the other fighter, but it was pointless for me to be in there," said Andrade. "There's no way he hit me 11 times. I blocked him, he probably scored three or four points, but not more than that."

The U.S. had eight fighters entered in various weight classes at the Beijing Olympics.

'SUPER DAN' WINS BADMINTON GOLD

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Known to many in China as "Super Dan," Lin Dan ended Malaysia's dream of winning its first Olympic gold medal by scoring a 21-12, 21-8 win over Lee Chong Wei Sunday night.

Lin raced to a 7-1 lead in the opening set and the world No.1 held on. In the second set, Lin opened an 8-0 lead on the way to the bruising victory.

"It was all down to intensive training," said Lin. "I had a lot of sleepless nights because I was nervous, but this allowed me to concentrate more and train harder."

The mixed doubles medals were also decided Sunday night. Koreans Lee Youngdae and Lee Hyojung were 21-11, 21-17 winners over the top-seeded tandem of Nova Widianto and Liliyana of Indonesia for the gold medal. In the bronze medal match, China's Yu Hang and He Hanbin beat Indonesia's Vita Marissa and Flandy Limpele, 19-21, 21-17, 23-21.

MAY-TREANOR/WALSH ADVANCE TO SEMIS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The American team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh rolled into the semifinals of the women's beach volleyball tournament Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.

May-Treanor and Walsh notched a 21-18, 21-15 victory over the Brazilian team of Ana Paula Conelly and Larissa Franca to remain undefeated all-time at the Olympics. The quarterfinal match lasted just 41 minutes.

The American duo hasn't even dropped a set at this year's Olympic tournament and look poised to earn a second straight gold medal.

"Each team we face is just one step that we have to climb, but we are very focused on what we came here to do," said May-Treanor.

Next up for May-Treanor and Walsh is Tuesday's semifinal encounter against the Brazilian team of Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha, who beat Australia's Natalie Cook and Tasmin Barnett, 24-22, 21-14.

The second U.S. women's team of Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs failed to make it into the semis, as they lost to China's Xue Chen and Zhang Xi, 21-17, 21-13. Branagh and Youngs had been undefeated at the Olympic tournament before Sunday's setback in the quarters.

Xue and Zhang's victory sets up an all-Chinese semifinal against Tian Jia and Wang Jie, who straight-setted Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger.

ILIN WINS GOLD IN WEIGHTLIFTING

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilin won gold in the men's 94kg weightlifting class Sunday night at the Olympics.

Ilin lifted 180kg in the snatch and his best mark in the clean & jerk was 226kg. The total of 406kg edged Poland's Szymon Kolecki (403), while Russian Khadzhimurat Akkaev (402) earned the bronze.

"In my second snatch I hurt my elbow and the doctor tried to fix it," said the spiky-haired Ilin. "I was worried that I could not compete, but my coached helped me and gave me confidence. He helped me stand up psychologically."

US WRESTLER ZADICK GETS SPOT IN OLYMPICS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - U.S. wrestler Mike Zadick will compete in the Olympics after all.

Zadick didn't qualify for the Summer Games in the 60kg freestyle category, but USA Wrestling made a formal request to the sport's international governing body to add him to the team when it was learned that the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation withdrew its entry from the Olympics at that weight division due to injury.

It was subsequently granted to include Zadick, a 2006 world silver medalist.

"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to wrestle in the Olympic Games. I never stopped believing it would happen. I want to thank USA Wrestling and (USA Wrestling Executive Director) Rich Bender for making this happen. I'm looking forward to having an opportunity to wrestle in the Olympics and bringing home a gold medal."

Zadick will wrestle on Tuesday.

AINSLIE, BRITISH TRIO WIN SAILING GOLD

Qingdao, China (Sports Network) - Great Britain's Ben Ainslie won gold in the Finn sailing class for a third straight time, while American Zach Railey captured the silver Sunday at the Olympics.

Ainslie took the gold by winning the medal race, while Railey struggled to a sixth-place finish Sunday. Guillaume Florent of France earned the bronze medal. Ainslie also won silver in this event in 1996.

Also Sunday, the British trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson won the gold medal in the Yngling. The three won the first-ever sailing medal race at the Summer Games as crews battled rain and wind.

Medal races count double to the total, and going into Sunday the Brits were a point ahead of a team from the Netherlands. Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen. The Dutch team finished with the silver.

The Greek team of Sofia Bekatorou, Sofia Papadopoulou and Virginia Kravarioti won the bronze medal.

The U.S. squad of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Capozzi were alone in seventh place.

Ayton and Webb repeated as gold medal from 2004.

"The conditions today were quite Great Britain: big wind and big rain. We were quite prepared."

The Danish team of Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketterp Ibsen provisionally won the gold medal in the 49er category. However, protests have been lodged by competitors and race officials and the medals have been put on hold.

Warrer and Ibsen were holding an 11-point lead on Italian brothers Pietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello going into the medal race Sunday. The mast for the Danes broke, but Croatia lent them their skiff. Then several boats turned over before the finish line amidst rough seas and Spain won the medal race.

Warrer and Ibsen finished seventh, but the results were protested by the race committee.

If the Danes are disqualified Spain's Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez, winners of the medal race, will have enough points to keep their title they won in Athens fours years ago.

It was an incredible ending to the medal race. The Austrian boat crashed and the Australians then took the lead when he Italian boat capsized, but the Aussies capsized too close to the finish line.

BASEBALL: KOREA TOPS CHINA IN 11 INNINGS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Lee Seungyuop singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, boosting South Korea to a 1-0 win over China in Olympic baseball action Sunday.

The game was actually completed after being suspended Thursday due to rain. The contest was through six innings at the time of the suspension.

As per international rules, each team was given a runner at first and second base in the 11th inning. Feng Fei flew out into a double play to end the top of the frame, and in the bottom half Lee singled with one out to drive in the game-winning run.

"I felt very good after that and we'll play tomorrow's game (against Taiwan) in a good mood because of it," said Lee. "I've got my confidence back and am in a high spirit after that final hit."

China takes on the United States in preliminary round play Monday.

CHINESE WOMEN WIN TABLE TENNIS GOLD

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - It came down to the top two seeds and No. 1 China swept No. 2 Singapore in three matches Sunday to win the women's team table tennis gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Zhang Yining claimed two wins in China's 3-0 victory, defeating Li Jia Wei in four sets in singles and also teaming with Guo Yue for a three-set win in doubles.

Three-time world champion Wang Nan took care of her singles match against Feng Tianwei, also in four sets.

No. 4 seed Korea won the bronze medal with a 3-0 sweep of No. 5 Japan.

USA WOMEN END POOL PLAY WITH WIN OVER POLAND

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The United States women's volleyball team wrapped up pool play Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, defeating Poland in five sets.

The Americans posted an 18-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 win over Poland to finish second in Pool A with a 4-1 record. The second-place finish sends the Americans into the quarterfinal round, where they'll face Italy on Tuesday.

"We were very inconsistent," said U.S. team member Heather Brown. "We're still fighting to figure that out."

Earlier Sunday, Cuba beat Venezuela in straight sets to complete pool play with a 5-0 record. The Cubans, who dealt the U.S. its only loss, will face Serbia in the quarterfinals.

China will face Russia and Japan will take on Brazil in the remaining quarterfinals.

US TO FACE AUSSIES IN WATER POLO SEMIS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - The Australian women's water polo team defeated China in the quarterfinals Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, setting up a semifinal encounter with the United States.

Australia edged the Chinese, 12-11, and will battle the Americans on Tuesday for the right to play in the gold medal match. The U.S. earned a bye to the semis as a result of winning its group.

The Aussies led 10-8 heading into the final quarter Sunday, but the Chinese were able to tie the score. However, Kate Gynther scored twice in under a minute to put Australia back on top.

Gynther's first goal of the fourth quarter came on a penalty shot with 3:03 remaining and she scored again with 2:25 left. She finished the game with a game-high five goals on nine shots.

Qiao Leiying scored for China with 28 ticks left, but that's as far as the comeback would get.

The Netherlands defeated Italy, 13-11, in the other quarterfinal, ending the Italians' chances of repeating as gold medalists. The Dutch will face Hungary in the semis.

NORWAY, RUSSIA WIN GROUPS IN WOMEN'S HANDBALL

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Norway and Russia won their respective groups in women's handball at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday.

Norway posted a 24-23 victory over Romania to finish with 10 points, two ahead of the Romanians in Group A.

Meanwhile, the Russians notched a 30-29 decision over Germany to take Group B. Korea pounded Hungary 33-22 and finished two points behind Russia in the standings.

Norway will face Sweden in Tuesday's quarterfinals, while Russia will take on France. Hungary will battle Romania and China will challenge Korea in the remaining matchups of the knockout phase.

Brazil, Kazakhstan, Germany and Angola failed to make it the quarters.

AMERICANS TIED FOR LEAD IN EQUESTRIAN TEAM JUMPING

Hong Kong, China (Sports Network) - Switzerland and the United States are tied for the lead after the first round of equestrian team show jumping at the Olympics.

The Swiss team of Christina Liebherr, Pius Schwizer, Niklaus Schurtenberger and Steve Guerdat complied 12 penalty points, as did the defending gold medalist U.S. squad of McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Will Simpson and Bezzie Madden.

"I hope we can stay in the lead," Madden said. "The team has very good results, but I am a bit disappointed with mine. I hope we do better tomorrow."

Sweden is in third place with 13 penalty points, followed by Great Britain and Canada tied for fourth with 16.

The competition serves as the third qualifier for places in the individual final. Eric LaMaze of Canada and Ward are tied for first place with clean slates. Defending gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil is third.

The team jumping final is Monday night.

AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS NEAR MEN'S FIELD HOCKEY SEMIS

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Australia and the Netherlands played to a 2-2 tie in men's field hockey on Sunday, with both medal hopefuls moving to 3-0-1 in Pool B competition.

With the tie, both countries were all but guaranteed to make the semifinals at the Beijing Olympics.

Elsewhere in men's field hockey, Canada and Germany battled to a 1-1 tie, Korea handed South Africa a 3-1 loss, New Zealand and China deadlocked at 2-2 and Germany beat Spain by a 1-0 score for a valuable point.











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