Olympics roundup
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Associated Press
The Olympic roundup …
Roger Federer, who wept after losing to Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic four years ago in Athens, avenged the loss with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory to reach the quarterfinals.
It was Federer’s biggest victory since he lost to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last month, and the two could meet in the Olympics final Sunday after Nadal beat Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-4, 6-2.
Federer will next face No. 8 James Blake, who advanced by beating No. 10 Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-2. Blake, the lone American to survive the first round of men’s singles, is 0-8 against Federer and has won only one of their 22 sets.
Venus Williams, playing her first tournament since winning Wimbledon for the fifth time, also reached the final eight by defeating No. 12 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-2.
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICSAlicia Sacramone made two mistakes ó falling off the beam and to the mat on the floor exercise ó to trigger an American collapse that handed China the gold medal.
Sacramone made her mistakes on the final two events, and Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson both stepped out of bounds on their ensuing floor routines. China finished with a score of 188.9 points for a blowout win over the U.S. of more than two points.
MEN’S SOCCERPromise Isaac and Victor Obinna scored to lead Nigeria over a short-handed United States team 2-1, earning a place in the quarterfinals and eliminating the Americans.
BOXINGAmerican Deontay Wilder won his first-round match in heavyweight boxing competition with a 10-4 decision over Abdeoaziz Touiobini of Algeria.
BASEBALLThe U.S. baseball team lost to Korea, 8-7, in the opening game for both teams.
The Americans scored three times in the ninth to go up 7-6, but Korea scored twice in the bottom half.
CYCLINGKristin Armstrong became the second American female cyclist to win an Olympic gold, beating Britain’s Emma Pooley in the road time trial. Armstrong joined only Connie Carpenter-Phinney, who won the road race at Los Angeles 24 years ago, as U.S. women’s cycling gold medalists.
SOFTBALLCat Osterman pitched a no-hitter as the U.S. team extended its Olympic winning streak to 16 straight with a 3-0 win over Australia.
The Americans, seeking their fourth straight gold, posted their 14th shutout during the winning streak.
ROWINGRowing finalists were decided in five categories Wednesday.
In women’s single sculls, American Michelle Guerette advanced to Saturday’s final, while American twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss placed second in their semifinal to move on to the men’s pairs final.
WRESTLINGEighteen-year-old Jake Deitchler, the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestler in 32 years, dropped his opening-round match, then lost again in the repechage round of the Greco-Roman 66-kilogram competition to exit the Olympics with an 0-2 record.
The United States, last year’s world Greco champion, hasn’t gotten a medal yet in two days in Beijing with three wrestlers to go Thursday.
Manuchar Kvirkelia gave Georgia its first Olympic wrestling gold medal by winning the Greco-Roman 74-kilogram weight class, and Steeve Guenot won France’s first gold medal in 84 years by taking the Greco-Roman 66-kilogram weight.
JUDORonda Rousey won the bronze in women’s 70-kilogram judo, the first medal for the U.S. since the event made the official Olympic roster in 1992.
WATER POLOThe U.S. played to a 9-9 tie with Italy.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALLLisa Leslie set a U.S. Olympic record going 7-for-7 from the field as the women’s team continued its unblemished run through the Beijing Games with a 97-41 victory against Mali. The Americans won their 28th straight Olympic contest.
BADMINTONCai Yun and Fu Haifeng beat the American duo of Bob Malaythong and Howard Bach in the quarterfinals.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALLThe U.S. women’s volleyball team scored a 3-1 victory over Venezuela to improve to 2-1 in preliminary pool play.
BEACH VOLLEYBALLAmericans Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers advanced to the beach volleyball medal round with a straight-sets victory over Argentina.
The reigning world champions and heavily favored U.S. team never trailed in the match.
HANDBALLRamona Maier scored 11 goals to lead Romania to a 34-26 victory over France in a matchup of unbeaten squads in women’s handball.
FIELD HOCKEYEli Matheson scored three goals to lead Australia over South Africa 10-0 in field hockey. In other games, Pakistan beat Canada 3-1, Germany and Belgium tied at 1, South Korea beat China 5-2, Spain beat New Zealand 1-0, and the Netherlands edged Britain 1-0.
EQUESTRIANHeike Kemmer scored 72.250 percent on Bonaparte to give Germany a commanding lead in grand prix dressage, while the Dutch and American teams appeared locked in a battle for the silver. The last time Germany failed to win team gold in dressage was in 1980, when the country joined the Moscow Olympics boycott.