The New Nation - Internet Edition

Host China wins gold medal race, US first overall

AP, Beijing

China proved an acquisitive first-time Olympic host, topping the gold-medal chart with one of the most dominating and diverse performances ever. The United States, Britain and an array of small nations also had reasons to celebrate.

China's haul of 51 gold medals was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988. Fielding athletes groomed since childhood in sports academies, it won medals in 25 different sports, including its first ever in sailing, beach volleyball and field hockey.

Not since 1936, when Nazi Germany prevailed at the Berlin Olympics, had a country other than the U.S. or the Soviet Union/Russia led the gold medal list.

The United States trailed well behind the Chinese in golds with 36, the first time since 1992 it didn't lead the category. But the Americans did break their own mark for total medals in a non-boycotted Olympics; they won 110 in all, two more than their previous high set in 1992 and 10 ahead of China's overall tally this year.

Britain, getting an early jump on its host role for the 2012 Summer Games, had its best Olympics in a century with 19 gold medals - good for fourth place behind the Russians. Its cyclists and sailors were the class of the field, and 19-year-old Rebecca

Adlington stunned the swimming world with two golds in distance events.

It was also a satisfying Olympics for many of the world's weaker sporting nations. A record 87 nations won medals, seven more than the previous high in Sydney in 2000, and a dozen nations won either their first-ever gold medal or first medal of any color.

If there was a prominent loser at the games, it was Russia, whose team was deprived of 10 athletes due to doping accusations. The Russians finished a distant third in both gold medals, with 23, and overall medals with 72 - down from 27 and 92 four years ago in

Athens. Germany and Japan also fared noticeably worse than in Athens.

The United States was disappointed by its boxing team (one bronze medal) and a lack of golds by its sprinters, but was delighted by breakthroughs in lesser sports such as fencing, as well as by the historic eight golds for record-smashing swimmer Michael Phelps.

"Both on the field of play and off, this will go down as one of the greatest performances ever for a United States Olympic Team," spokesman Darryl Seibel said Sunday.

Overshadowing the entire U.S. effort, however, was a recognition of China's arrival as the dominant Summer Olympics power. "China has been systematically targeting every single available medal, and we're going to have to do that in the future," said U.S.

Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth. "The resources that they put toward their Olympic team and the population base and the dedication is fantastic," he said. "It'smuch more difficult for the rest of the world to compete, but that's the way it should be."

China, of course, has the largest population pool - 1.3 billion people - from which to recruit athletes. Several far smaller nations distinguished themselves in medals per capita.

Jamaica's sprinters and hurdlers - led by triple-gold sensation Usain Bolt - won 11 medals, one for every 245,000 of its 2.7 million people. With a population of 21.4 million, Australia won 46 medals, one for each 465,000 people. Cuba won 24 medals, one for each 470,000 of its 11.3 million citizens.

Populous countries with no medals included Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh.

Kenya, despite election-related unrest which killed hundreds and disrupted its preparations, had a great games with five golds and 14 medals overall. Ethiopian runners Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba each won rare double golds in the 5,000 and 10,000.

Overall, Africa won 40 medals - the most ever. Those included the first-ever Olympic medals for Togo in canoeing, Mauritius in boxing, and Sudan in the 800 meters. Also winning first-ever medals were Tajikstan, Bahrain (a gold by Rachid Ramzi in the men's 1,500), and war-torn Afghanistan.

Two other athletes, in addition to Ramzi, won their countries' first gold medals - Panamanian long jumper Irving Saladino and Mongolian judoka Naidangiin Tuvshinbayar.

Tuvshinbayar's medal triggered raucous celebrations in Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, and a presidential decree declared him a "hero of Labor."

There were other breakthroughs - Tunisia and South Korea won golds in swimming for the first time; long jumper Maurren Higa Maggi became the first Brazilian women to win a gold in track.

US savors gold of Olympic men’s volleyball in 20 years

Xinhua, Beijing

Tears dropped over the Capital Gymnasium after the United States toppled defending champion Brazil 3-1 to win the gold medal of the Olympic men's volleyball in 20 years on Sunday.

The U.S. players, who were hugging teammates and coaches one minute before, realized something important undone in the next minutes. So, they began to yell, to look around the court, to jump over the courtside bars and climb into the spectator stands -- to go to their families.

Clayton Stanley, the best scorer and best server of the tournament, gave his first kiss after the match to his girl friend, while four-time Olympian Lloy Ball held his wife and seven-year-old son in arms tightly, as the little boy was trying to wipe off tears from the faces of his parents.

"You know, you spend five years travelling around playing. You're trying to stop by (home) every now and then to make sure your kid remembers what your face looks like. Trying to make relationships and marriages work, it's a strain," said Ball.

But the efforts and strains were definitely worthy. It's the third gold for the American men volleyballers, who also won the championship at the 1984 and 1988 Games.

Together with one silver in the women's field and two gold medals in beach volleyball, the once volleyball empire announced its revival in Beijing in an almost-perfect way.

The newly-crowned World League champion United States proved their quality with a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory in the game of strength and delicacy, skill and bluff, and individual energy and teamwork.

Stanley led all play in the final with 20 points, while Dante Amaral contributed 15 points to Brazil.

"It was a very difficult match, a very difficult environment. Our guys embraced it. Brazil seemed more comfortable in the first set, but things changed in the second set, and after that it was just two teams battling hard," said the U.S. head coach Hugh McCutcheon.

"When we were putting together a plan (for the Games), we knew we had to peak in '08. We've been learning from what they're (Brazil) doing, their systems," he said.

The gold medal posed to be a bitter-sweet gift to the U.S. head coach, whose father-in-law was stabbed to death in Beijing during the tournament. He walked away from the hilarious crowd after Stanley scored the last point and looked up at the ceiling for a while.

"It's been a very emotionally demanding couple of weeks. After we won, I had to step outside and collect myself," he said. "On one hand, my heart aches for my wife and for the loss of my family, but one the other, I felt proud for the team."

The Brazilian fans, though may be disappointed with the silver in this highly-expected event, should somehow get comfort from their superior women compatriots, who won their first-ever gold in another U.S.-Brazil final just one day ago.

Brazil captain Gilberto Godoy Filho, or better known "Giba", expressed congratulations to the rivals' victory as well as condolence to McCutcheon.

"Life is more important than the medal and family always goes the first," Giba told Xinhua after the match.

Four years ago in Athens, the world's No. 1 attacker celebrated the arrival of his first child, his daughter Nicoll, who was born during the Games, with his first individual Olympic gold.

The 31-year-old father, planned to prepare the same gift for his son Patrick, who was expected to be born before September 10, but he failed.

"I'm very sad for the loss, but our silver medal is also a victory. I can't wait to see he was born. I want to tell him I have tried," said Giba.

Earlier in the morning, Russia won the bronze medal after trouncing Italy 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23.

Usain Bolt visits quake victims, urges them to look forward

AFP, Beijing

Triple gold medal winner Usain Bolt put his celebrations on hold to visit victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan, urging survivors to use the Olympics as inspiration to look forward, not back.

The Jamaican, who set an unprecedented three world records in claiming gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, said he hoped people from the quake-battered province would "get through the tragedy".

"We came here, tried to perform well. I hope people enjoy the Games, forget the past and move on," he said as he posed for pictures with victims on Saturday, including Huang Siyu, 13, who lost both her legs in the disaster.

"You have to move forward after the disaster. The Olympics ask people to move forward," added Bolt.

The 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12 in Sichuan left nearly 70,000 dead, and just under 18,000 people are still missing. At least 10 million people lost their homes.

Bolt said he watched the devastation unfold on television.

"I feel sorry for the victims so I asked my management team to do something," he told Xinhua news agency after handing over a cheque for 50,000 US dollars to the Red Cross.

"They are kids. They deserve a better future. I hope they can still enjoy themselves because they are still kids. I just want to help them. I'm looking forward to more people coming out and helping them."

Marathon gold for Kenya’s Wanjiru

BBC Online

Sammy Wanjiru won Kenya's first ever gold in the men's marathon, breaking the Olympic record despite the soaring heat in Beijing.

Wanjiru, who was among the leading pack which set the fast early pace, pulled away in the final kilometres to win in 2 hours six minutes and 32 seconds.

Morocco's Jaouad Gharib won silver, trailing by 84 seconds, while Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede took bronze. Dan Robinson, Britain's only representative, finished in 24th spot.

The Briton was in 74th place after the first five km, which was run in a blistering 14mins 52secs in hot and humid conditions.

"They went off so quickly in the first kilometre I deliberately backed off the pace," said the 33-year-old who finished in a time of 2:16.14.

"But I always thought more athletes would start coming back and they did.

"I'm a little disappointed not to make the top 20, but you can only do what you can. Maybe I didn't get my pacing quite right, but I'm satisfied with the run."

Wanjiru, 21, and compatriot Martin Lel set a punishing pace in the first five km which reduced the leading pack to eight, with Spain's Cheme Martinez the only non-African.

The leading pack was then whittled down to five as Wanjiru upped the pace a notch at the 15km mark, and 20km later only Wanjiru, Gharib and Ethiopia's Deriba Merga could sustain the phenomenal tempo.

Wanjiru, who was running in his third marathon, always looked the stronger of the trio and the Kenyan broke clear to win comfortably, breaking the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes.

His margin of victory was such that Wanjiru had time to raise his left arm aloft and clap to the crowd in the Bird's Nest stadium several times during his final lap.

Two-time world champion Gharib and Merga were left to fight it out for silver and bronze, but the latter fell away in the last two km to finish fourth.

Wanjiru, runner-up in the London Marathon in April, said: "I had to push the pace to tire the other runners. I had to push the pace because my body gets tired when I slow down.

"In Kenya we have many medals, but I'm glad to have this one. It feels good to make history for Kenya and win the gold."

Several of the favourites, including defending champion Stefano Baldini of Italy, failed to cope with the hot conditions.

The 37-year-old was out of contention early on and had settled for a 12th-placed finish.

"It was incredible what the Africans managed to do in those last 10km," said the European champion.

"This was my last marathon and my last international event. I want to carry on running, but without the stress."

Final medal table at Beijing Olympic Games

Xinhua, Beijing

Following is the final medal table after the conclusion of all the competitions at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday, August 24 (tabulated under delegation, gold, silver, bronze and total medals):

G S B T

1 China 51 21 28 100

2 United States 36 38 36 110

3 Russia 23 21 28 72

4 Britain 19 13 15 47

5 Germany 16 10 15 41

6 Australia 14 15 17 46

7 South Korea 13 10 8 31

8 Japan 9 6 10 25

9 Italy 8 10 10 28

10 France 7 16 17 40

11 Ukraine 7 5 15 27

12 Netherlands 7 5 4 16

13 Jamaica 6 3 2 11

14 Spain 5 10 3 18

15 Kenya 5 5 4 14

16 Belarus 4 5 10 19

17 Romania 4 1 3 8

18 Ethiopia 4 1 2 7

19 Canada 3 9 6 18

20 Poland 3 6 1 10

21 Hungary 3 5 2 10

21 Norway 3 5 2 10

23 Brazil 3 4 8 15

24 Czech Republic 3 3 0 6

25 Slovakia 3 2 1 6

26 New Zealand 3 1 5 9

27 Georgia 3 0 3 6

28 Cuba 2 11 11 24

29 Kazakhstan 2 4 7 13

30 Denmark 2 2 3 7

31 Mongolia 2 2 0 4

31 Thailand 2 2 0 4

33 DPR Korea 2 1 3 6

34 Argentina 2 0 4 6

34 Switzerland 2 0 4 6

36 Mexico 2 0 1 3

37 Turkey 1 4 3 8

38 Zimbabwe 1 3 0 4

39 Azerbaijan 1 2 4 7

40 Uzbekistan 1 2 3 6

41 Slovenia 1 2 2 5

42 Bulgaria 1 1 3 5

42 Indonesia 1 1 3 5

44 Finland 1 1 2 4

45 Latvia 1 1 1 3

46 Belgium 1 1 0 2

46 Dominican Republic 1 1 0 2

46 Estonia 1 1 0 2

46 Portugal 1 1 0 2

50 India 1 0 2 3

51 Iran 1 0 1 2

52 Bahrain 1 0 0 1

52 Cameroon 1 0 0 1

52 Panama 1 0 0 1

52 Tunisia 1 0 0 1

56 Sweden 0 4 1 5

57 Croatia 0 2 3 5

57 Lithuania 0 2 3 5

59 Greece 0 2 2 4

60 Trinidad and Tobago 0 2 0 2

61 Nigeria 0 1 3 4

62 Austria 0 1 2 3

62 Ireland 0 1 2 3

62 Serbia 0 1 2 3

65 Algeria 0 1 1 2

65 Bahamas 0 1 1 2

65 Colombia 0 1 1 2

65 Kyrgyzstan 0 1 1 2

65 Morocco 0 1 1 2

65 Tajikistan 0 1 1 2

71 Chile 0 1 0 1

71 Ecuador 0 1 0 1

71 Iceland 0 1 0 1

71 Malaysia 0 1 0 1

71 South Africa 0 1 0 1

71 Singapore 0 1 0 1

71 Sudan 0 1 0 1

71 Vietnam 0 1 0 1

79 Armenia 0 0 6 6

80 Chinese Taipei 0 0 4 4

81 Afghanistan 0 0 1 1

81 Egypt 0 0 1 1

81 Israel 0 0 1 1

81 Moldova 0 0 1 1

81 Mauritius 0 0 1 1

81 Togo 0 0 1 1

81 Venezuela 0 0 1 1

Russia wins rhythmic gymnastics team gold

AP, Beijing

Russia has won Olympic gold in the rhythmic gymnastics all-around group competition.

It is the third straight gold medal finish for Russia. The team scored a 35.550 to edge China, which scored a 35.225 for the silver. Belarus got the bronze with a score of 34.900.

Russia had the high score of 17.750 in the five rope rotation and held onto the lead by posting a competition-high 17.800 on the three hoops and two clubs routine.

It is a gold medal sweep in the competition for Russia after Evgeniya Kanaeva won the individual event Saturday.

China wins first ever boxing gold

BBC Online

Zou Shiming helped China to its first ever Olympic boxing gold with victory over Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj who was forced to retire with an injury.

The Chinese light flyweight, 27, picked up a point in a cagey first round against an opponent who was choosing to keep his right glove low down. It transpired there was a problem with his right side and after 19 seconds of the second round Purevdorj quit. Zou, the double world champion, has now added gold to his Athens bronze.

Mongolia secure first boxing gold

BBC Online

Badar-Uugan Enkhbat won a first Olympic boxing gold for Mongolia with a comfortable victory over Cuba's Yankiel Leon in the bantamweight final. Enkhbat, the Asian champion and world championship runner-up, comprehensively beat his opponent 16-5. He surged into an early 4-1 lead after the first round and then extended it as Alarcon became the third Cuban to lose a gold-medal bout in Beijing.

Bruno Julie of Mauritius and Moldova's Veaceslav Gojan won the bronze medals.

Russian becomes two-weight winner

BBC Online

Russia's Alexey Tishchenko became the first boxer in 30 years to win Olympic gold in two different weight divisions with victory over France's Daouda Sow. The 24-year-old was hot favourite to win his lightweight bout but his taller opponent kept the contest close. The Athens featherweight champion won the first two rounds before Sow fought back to take the third.

He took a 10-8 lead into the last round which was cut by Dow before the Russian scored again to secure the gold medal.

Spain overhaul Croatia for bronze

BBC Online

Spain beat defending champions Croatia 35-29 to win their third men's handball bronze medal in four Olympic Games.

A seven-goal haul from left-wing Juan Garcia and a solid defensive effort put Spain on top. Croatia opened the scoring, were soon up 3-1 and went into the break leading 14-12. But breakaway goal from Demetrio Lozano took Spain ahead 25-22 in the 47th minute, leaving the Croatians chasing the game.

Serbia take bronze in water polo

BBC Online

Serbia beat Balkan neighbour Montenegro 6-4 to take the bronze medal in men's water polo in Beijing. The Serbian victory came despite the absence of their leading scorer Aleksandar Sapic and their usual starting goalkeeper Denis Sefik.

The Serbs dominated the game with strong attacking until Montenegro fought back to score three late goals.

It was the first Olympic showdown between the two countries since Montenegro split from Serbia in 2006.

The USA play Hungary for the gold medal later on Sunday.