TUESDAY’S OLYMPIC ROUNDUP
By John Cherwa
Chicago Tribune
4:56 PM CDT, August 12, 2008
United States
BEJING – Archery: Khatuna Lorig, who competed for her native Georgia in
2000 and 1996 and the Unified Team in 1992, now represents the United
States. Seeded No. 26, she reached the quarterfinals of the women’s
individual competition by winning twice Tuesday. Her U.S. teammate
Jenny Nichols tied an Olympic record with 114 points out of 120 in
the first round but lost to ninth-seeded Nami Hayakawa of Japan in
the next round to be eliminated. Arrows fly again Thursday.
Badminton: It was a remarkable day for the U.S. team of Howard Bach
and Bob Malaythong as they became the first U.S. team to make it to
the quarterfinal round of men’s doubles. They beat the South African
team of Chris and Roelof Dednam, 21-10, 21-6 to advance. Things get
tough, however, as they play the No. 2 seed of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng
of China on Wednesday.
Basketball: Dwyane Wade scored 19 points for the U.S. team as it
walked through to an easy 97-76 win over Angola. The team seemed
pretty casual about the game as Dwight Howard scored 14 points and
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony each scored 12. The U.S. next plays
Greece on Thursday. In other games, Lithuania beat Iran, 99-67,
Croatia over Russia, 85-78, Greece over Germany, 87-64, Spain beat
China in overtime, 85-75, after Yao Ming fouled out; and Argentina
beat Australia, 85-68.
Beach Volleyball: It was 2 for 2 for the U.S. starting with Kerri Walsh
and Misty May-Treanor beating the Cuban pair of Dalixia Fernandez and
Tamara Larrea of Cuba, 21-15, 21-16 in the day’s first match. In the
evening, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal also won over Julius Brink and
Christoph Dieckmann of Germany, 21-15, 21-13. Walsh and May-Treanor
face Norway’s Nila Haakedal and Ingrid Toerlen on Thursday.
Boxing: The lone U.S. boxer on Tuesday didn’t fare very well. Rau’shee
Warren lost to Lee Oksung of South Korea, 9-8. The U.S. team has been
a bit inconsistent at the Games.
Canoe/Kayak: Michal Martin of Slovakia hadn’t won the gold since
Atlanta in 1996, but he returned to form by winning the whitewater
single canoe competition on Tuesday. David Florence of Great Britain
got the silver and Robin Bell of Australia the bronze. The highest
U.S. competitor was Benn Fraker, who finished sixth. In the single
kayak whitewater slalom event, Alexander Grimm of Germany got the
gold, followed by Fabien Lefevre of France and Benjamin Boukpeti of
Togo. No U.S. kayaker made the finals.
Diving: China continued its medal parade in the women’s 10-meter
platform synchronized event as Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin took the
gold. Briony Cole and Melissa Wu of Australia got the silver and
Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz of Mexico got the bronze. U.S. duo
Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu, both 15, finished fifth.
Equestrian: In Hong Kong, U.S. rider Gina Miles won silver in
the individual eventing along with McKinlaigh. They were second
to Germany’s Hinrich Romeike and Marius. Germany also won the team
eventing, edging Australia. Great Britain won the bronze. The U.S. team
of Miles, Amy Tryon, Karen O’Connor, Rebecca Holder and Philip Dutton
finished seventh. Next up Wednesday is team dressage.
Fencing: The U.S. came within a couple touches of a medal in the men’s
individual saber, but in the end Keeth Smart settled for sixth after
losing to fourth-place finisher Julien Pillet. The winner was Zhong
Man of China followed by Nicolas Lopez of France and Mihai Covaliu
of Romania. Other U.S. finishers were Tim Morehouse in 22nd and Jason
Rogers in 28th.
Field Hockey: The U.S. women’s team continued to surprise with its
second draw in two games. Kate Barber scored the tying goal in the
58th minute in its game against Japan. The U.S. is currently tied
with Argentina for third place with three points in Group B. Japan
and Germany hold the first two spots. The U.S. plays Germany on
Thursday. In other games, Australia beat Spain, 6-1, China topped
South Africa, 3-0 and Argentina and Great Britain played to a 2-2
tie. Gymnastics: Not much was expected of the U.S. on the men’s side of
the team competition. But after three rotations it was in first. After
the fourth rotation, it slipped to second and when it was all over
the U.S. team had a bronze medal. China easily won the gold as it
was the strongest team. Japan got the silver. The U.S. was made up
of Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joseph Hagerty, Jonathan Horton,
Justin Spring and Kevin Tan.
Handball: The men’s draw continued in a plodding manner. In Tuesday’s
play, Croatia beat Brazil, Russia over Egypt, France stopped China,
Spain just got by Poland, South Korea squeezed past Denmark and
Iceland beat Germany.