August 2008 Archives

Following a four-set victory July 27 over Serbia in the final of the FIVB World League, Highland of Palmdale graduate Ryan Millar said the U.S. men's volleyball team entered the Olympics as the "legitimate No. 3 team in the world."

After Friday's 25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 22-25, 15-13 semifinal victory over No. 2 Russia at Capital Indoor Stadium, the Americans have an opportunity to once again be the best Sunday in the gold medal match against top-ranked Brazil, a four-set semifinal winner over No. 10 Italy.

The U.S., which lost to Russia in the 2004 bronze medal match in Athens and again in the 2007 World Cup final, is seeking its first men's indoor volleyball gold medal since 1988. The Americans won back-to-back gold medals in 1984 and '88 and followed with a bronze in 1992, but haven't medaled since, going winless in 2000.

Reid Priddy led the U.S. with 17 kills and 12 digs, Pierce College alum Riley Salmon added 13 kills and 10 digs, Millar added 12 kills and two blocks, and Clay Stanley recorded 11 kills and six digs for the Americans, who rallied from a 12-11 deficit in the final set. Pepperdine graduate Sean Rooney sparked a six-point scoring run for the U.S. to close out the second set.

The U.S. had an opportunity to close the match out in three sets, rallying from a three-point deficit to tie the score at 24-24 in the third, but Russia extended the match before forcing a deciding fifth set with a convincing win in the fourth.

The Americans swept Brazil 25-23, 25-22, 27-25 in Rio de Janeiro on July 26 to reach the FIVB World League final. Brazil defeated Italy in 2004 in Athens to capture the gold medal.

Brazil beat the Americans in four sets in the 1992 semifinals in Barcelona en route to capturing the gold medal.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh weren't the only American women making history on the volleyball court Thursday in Beijing.

The U.S. women's volleyball team, swept by Cuba on Aug. 11, recorded the most impressive victory of the tournament with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-17 semifinal sweep at Capital Gymnasium.

It marks the first time since 1984 and only the second in the country's history that the Americans will be competing for the gold medal in women's indoor volleyball.

Ironically, the U.S. lost to China in the 1984 final in Los Angeles. One of the stars of the victorious Chinese team was "Jenny" Lang Ping, now the head coach of the U.S. women's national team. Lang Ping coached the Chinese to the silver medal in 1996 in Atlanta.

The U.S., No. 4 in the FIVB world rankings, faces top-ranked Brazil in the final.

Third-ranked Cuba, which captured three consecutive gold medals from 1992-2000 and took bronze in 2004 in Athens, went undefeated in pool play, including a 25-15, 26-24, 25-17 victory over the Americans. In that match, the U.S. never found an offensive rhythm, hitting .450 with only 19 digs. Tayyiba Haneef-Park led the Americans with 12 kills in that contest, Logan Tom added seven kills and Danielle Scott-Arruda contributed five.

In the rematch, the U.S. hit .490 with 31 digs and received much more offensive balance, with five players recording at least five kills.

Haneef-Park led again with nine kills, Tom added seven, Kim Willoughby came off the bench with six and Scott-Arruda and Kim Glass had five apiece. Libero Nicole Davis, an All-American at USC, contributed seven digs and Tom led the Americans with 10.

The U.S. hadn't reached the medal round since 2000, when it took fourth. The Americans' last medal was a bronze in 1992 in Barcelona, losing to Cuba in five games in the semifinals, before rebounding to sweep Brazil in the third-place match.

Flyweight Charlotte Craig of Murietta advanced to the taekwondo quarterfinals after defeating Switzerland's Manuela Bezzola, 4-0, in her opening match. Craig will face Venezuela's Dalia Contreras Rivero in the quarterfinals.

Brenda Villa of Commerce scored three goals including the game winner in a water polo semifinals against Australia.
Villa's goal with a minute left in the game gave the United States a 9-8 win and moved the U.S. into the gold medal game against the Netherlands. It is the first time the United States women's water polo team has been in an Olympic gold medal game since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
The United States is assured of a medal for the third straight Olympics. No other women's water polo team has medaled in three straight Olympics.
"I liked the way we played, both teams know each other extremely well and I just figured it would be this type of game, said Guy Baker, head coach for the U.S. women's water polo team. "I liked the fourth quarter and how we played and how we were able to overcome losing a three goal lead."
Lauren Wegner of Long Beach left the game in the closing seconds with a fractured right hand.
The gold medal game against the Netherlands is Thursday in Beijing.
"We go back tonight and start preparing for the Netherlands," Baker said. "We had a four-day camp with them at Da Xing when we first arrived in China, so we have spent a little time together. They are playing great, they beat Russia to qualify to get here and they are a very good team under pressure."

Brandon Knight of Oxnard struck out five of the first seven batters he faced and was the winning pitcher for the United States in a round-robin game against Chinese Taipei.
Knight gave up five hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 win over Chinese Taipei.
"(Chinese Taipei) was what we expected and I was just very impressed (with them)," said Knight, who made his second start in the Olympics. "I think it is something that I have been through having played in Asia. They really do good job of making adjustments. Their scouting is second to none and they really pay attention to what is going on. The first time through the order I was able to make some good pitches and get some swings and misses. But they made the adjustment. They started taking some good pitches and taking some good swings on others. I was impressed but I also wasn't surprised."
The U.S. team earned a spot in the medal round with the win over Chinese Taipei. The United States plays Japan next in the final game of round-robin play. Both teams have 4-2 records.
Korea is undefeated at 6-0. Cuba is second with a 5-1 record.

Ventura's Troy Dumais' quest for an Olympic medal ended with another sixth-place finish in the 3-meter springboard finals.
This was his third Olympics. He finished fourth in 3-meter synchronized in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He was sixth three times, in 3-meter springboard in 2000 and 2004 and in 3-meter synchronized in 2004 in Athens.
"I went after everything. I didn't hold anything back. I wasn't going to be tentative," said Dumais, a graduate of Buena High School. "My fifth dive is the only thing that bothered me tonight. I've trained really, really hard the past four years, and it's paid off with huge dividends. I did everything I could."
China won its sixth diving gold in six events as He Chong dominated the field with 572.90 points. Canada's Alexandre Despatie scored 536.65 points for silver, just ahead of China's Qin Kai, who won bronze at 530.10.
Dumais earned mark of 9.0 or better on four of his six dives, including earning 91.80 points with his third round dive. His fifth round dive only earned him 57.75 points.

Ventura's Troy Dumais advanced to the 3-meter springboard semifinals in diving at the Olympics, but he is 12th out of the 18 who moved on.
His United States teammate Chris Colwill is seventh after the preliminary round.
Dumais had two high-scoring dives, but his three other dives were executed below expectations.
He had the second highest scoring dives in the second and third rounds, but was in last place after a poorly executed first dive. His scored poorly on his fifth and last dive in preliminaries.
"I didn't perform my dives the way I have the past six or seven weeks. I don't want to have an off day, but I'll change the channel and regroup," Dumais said.
Colwill rallied with his last three dives in preliminaries and was able to erase a slow start.
"I was definitely a little nervous on that first dive, but I felt confident. I definitely could have done a little better, but I can't complain," Colwill said.

The United States will face Australia in the quarterfinals of the Olympic basketball tournament after soundly defeating Germany 106-59 in the final game of pool play.
Kobe Bryant, who scored 13 points against Germany in a meaningless game for the United States as far as seeding goes, said there wasn't much to work on in preparation for the game against Australia.
"You know Australia plays a completely different style of game than we faced tonight," Bryant said. "They run a continuity offense, they're very proficient at it. They run hard cuts, set hard picks, they're very smart. That will be a different ball game. I expect them to play hard, to play tough, they're not intimidated. They won't back down. They'll come ready to play.
Australia (2-3) was the No. 4 team Group A. Spain plays Croatia, Lithuania plays China and Argentina plays Greece in the other quarterfinal games.
The United States (5-0) had impressive wins over Spain and Greece in pool play. Spain won the world championships earlier this year and Greece knocked the United States out of the world championships two years ago.
"We just play the game the way we know how," Bryant said. "That's what we do. We're not out there to embarrass or intimidate anybody. We just go out there and do what we do best. No matter what the score is, you still have to play hard, so that's what we have to do."
American swimmer Michael Phelps visited the United States team after the game.
"We were just talking, shooting the bull," Bryant said. "Nothing of substance. We had a good time."
Bryant said he was going to watch the soccer match between Brazil and Argentina before the United States plays Australia.
"Yes, of course," Bryant said. "I'll be there tomorrow night. I get to see Messi and Ronaldinho go at it tomorrow at 9 o'clock. I will be there."
The gold medal and bronze medal games will be Sunday in China. The gold medal game starts at 2:30 p.m. in Beijing, which is 11:30 p.m. Saturday night in Los Angeles. The bronze medal game starts at noon Beijing time, 9 p.m. Saturday in L.A.
"This is what we came here for. Now it's go time," Bryant said. "All we're trying to do is get better every day and the last few games we've been getting better. Hopefully
we can do that Wednesday."

Looking for its first Olympic medal since 1992 in Barcelona and its first gold since 1988 in Seoul, the United States volleyball team enters the quarterfinals with an undefeated 5-0 record in pool play.
The United States defeated Japan in three games and will face Serbia Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
Ryan Millar of Lancaster and a Highland High School graduate had 10 points, five on kills and four blocks.
"Ryan is having a very good tournament," U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "He is hitting the ball with a lot range, being able to attack a lot of zones. I am very happy with his offensive output. I also think he is doing a nice job defensively with his blocking. He has been serving for a lot of points."

The United States equestrian show jumping team won a gold medal, downing the Canadian team in a jump off in Hong Kong.
The United States and Canada were tied with 20 faults at the end of competition in regulation.
Will Simpson of Thousand Oaks, a 48-year-old making his OIympics debut, rode Carlsson vom Dach in a crucial third round. Simpson and Carlsson vom Dach had eight faults, touching the tape again at the water obstacle, but it was enough to secure the gold medal for the United States.
"I didn't know I'd had the water," said Simpson. "The horse didn't know. I'm disappointed because he put in a great effort. He's such a smart horse. He was jumping so well."
Simpson and Carlsson vom Dach will compete in the individual portion of the show jumping competition which begins Thursday.

Desribed as having a lively round, Will Simpson of Thousand Oaks and Carlsson von Dach made a couple of mistakes in the Olympic show jumping event, but not enough to keep the United States team out of first place.
Simpson and Carlsson vom Dach accounted for eight of the 12 faults committed by the United States four-horse team. The U.S. is tied with Switzerland with 12 faults apiece after the first round of team competition in Hong Kong.
Carlsson vom Dach put a toe on the tape at the water jump at fence four, then did the same thing at the second part of the triple down.
"We had a bobble at the water," said Simpson, a 48-year-old competing in his first Olympics. "Other than that the course rode pretty good. I miscalculated the four stride and ended up too far into the corner before the triple. I was too far away from B, he was a good horse to even try."
The countries with the top eight scores will jump again Monday. Nine countries have qualfied because Germany and Australia are tied with 20 faults apiece.
Simpson and Carlsson vom Dach get another chance at the course and another chance to improve on their score.
"The water comes up quickly with that blind turn early in the course," Simpson said Sunday. "He jumped it fine but just landed on the tape. I think he'll be fine for tomorrow."

Keeth Smart was the hero and Brentwood's Jason Rogers was absent from the gold medal saber match. But the United States won its first Olympic medal in saber competition since 1948.
James Williams fenced in place of Rogers in the gold medal match against France, which won 45-37. Apparently the fencing coaches wanted Williams to win an Olympic medal and changed its lineup against France. Rogers was the No. 3 fencer for the U.S. fencing team in its first two matches against Hungary and Russia.
Smart had to rally the United States in both its matches against Hungary and Russia. The U.S. was trailing both matches entering the final rounds. Smart fenced the United States to one-point victories in each.
"That was the exact opposite of the bronze-medal match at Athens (2004 Olympic Games)," said Tim Morehouse, another member of the United States saber team. "At that match we were up, Keeth versus (Russian Stanislav) Pozdnyakov and Pozdnyakov came back and won. This time we were down 35-40 and Keeth came back and won. Keeth hit the equivalent of two grand slams in the bottom of the ninth today. He's been holding down U.S. Fencing for so long. I'm so happy for Keeth."
Rogers was on the 2004 saber team in Athens that finished fourth and out of the medals. He didn't want to see a repeat of those Games.
"I think we were just bracing ourselves," said Rogers. "I have to give it to Keeth. He was a hero today."

The United States softball team blew it. It needed to tank a game in pool play just to show the rest of the world and the International Olympic Committee that the United States can be beat.
Instead, the team mercy-ruled nearly every one of its oppponents. The only game that went the distance was a 8-1 win over Canada in its second game. At least the United States trailed 1-0 in that game and kept it close until the sixth inning. The U.S. scored all eight runs in the final two innings of the game.
The rest of the games have been five-inning mercy rules, shutouts and no-hitters that only solidify the argument that the United States is too good at softball and the rest of the world has no chance of competing.
Unfortunately, Canyon Country's Crystl Bustos and Camarillo's Jessica Mendoza share some of the blame.
The United States set an Olympic record with 12 home runs. The medal rounds haven't even started yet. Bustos and Mendoza have eight of those 12 home runs. They each homered in an 8-0 win over the Netherlands. One of the bright spots in the record-breaking home run performance is that the United States broke a record shared by Australia and Japan. Until today, that was one Olympic softball record the United States didn't have.
Monica Abbott was credited with a perfect game against the Netherlands which ended after five innings. It was the first perfect game by a United States pitcher in the Olympics. If ever there was a bad time to throw a perfect game, this was it. Perhaps the only time that might be worse is in the gold medal game.
"I am really excited," Abbott said after the game against the Netherlands. "I kind of had a goal to come out and throw one when I was named to the team. I was glad I was able to go out and make some good pitches work and I had some great plays made today by the defense with Lovie (Jung), Tairia (Flowers) and obviously Bergy's (Laura Berg) catch in right field. You can't really ask for much more than that and I was just trying to take it one pitch at a time and stay focused for each one."
The United States (6-0) has one more chance to make it look like it is not the behemoth of the Olympics. The U.S. plays China next, the last round robin game before playoffs begin on Wednesday. What better way to show the world that the U.S. is vulnerable than by losing to the host country.
The least the United States can do is make sure it goes the full seven. Keep it close and maybe softball has a chance to be an Olympic sport again.

Upset No. 2 for the United States saber team. Brentwood's Jason Rogers, Keeth Smart and Tim Morehouse defeated the second-seeded Russian team, 45-44, to advance to the gold medal match in team saber fencing.

Brentwood's Jason Rogers helped the United States saber team advance to the semifinals of the Olympic fencing tournament with an upset win over No. 2 seeded Hungary, 45-44, on Sunday.
Keeth Smart and Tim Morehouse will join Rogers against No.3 seeded Russia in the semifinals.

U.S. middleweight Shawn Estrada of East Los Angeles had a week between his first round boxing match and his second. He lost to Great Britain's James Degale in an 11-5 decision.
"I wasn't even supposed to be here. I'm happy that I'm a Mexican-American representing my country at this weight and there's never been a Mexican-American of this size, this is the first time ever," Estrada said. "I'm making history and everybody sees that I'm a great fighter. I'm a good boxer and I made a mark, I showed the world. I'm pretty sure that everyone will be looking out for me."
Estrada said he kept in condition, trained and relaxed in his week off between fights, but it was difficult to maintain his focus during the layoff.
"I did the same thing that we have been doing since we got here," Estrada said. "It's hard. You want to fight the next day or a day or two. I had seven days off but I don't have any excuses. We fought in there, we were both warriors. This is the not the end of the road for Shawn Estrada."
After a first round in which neither fighter scored a point, Degale took a 3-1 advantage in the second. Degale extended his lead to 6-3 in the third.
"I was trying to counterpunch him and stay relaxed from the outside then I fell behind," Estrada said. "It's hard to play catch up."
Degale took control of the match in the fourth round, winning 5-2 and moving on to the third round.
"The Olympics are over, it's been a long 11 months away from home," Estrada said. "We've sacrificed and I went through two or three qualifiers, it's been a lot. I'm happy with my performance, I can leave here and say that I performed at the Olympics and I'm an Olympian."

The showdown between Tyson Gay of the United States and the Jamaicans never materialized, but an American rose to the challenge in the 100 meter final.
Walter Dix won the bronze in the 100 meters, running in 9.91 seconds.
"It was the greatest race ever, Dix said. "I couldn't be more satisfied. I came out there and medaled. He broke the world record, can't say much more. I didn't start the way I wanted to, but I came on strong at the end. I've got a couple of things to work on."
Usain Bolt of Jamaica set a world record in winning the gold in 9.69 seconds. Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago won the silver in 9.89 seconds.
American Darvis Patton was eighth in 10.03. Gay, a favorite to compete for a medal, did not qualify for the 100 meter final. He finished fifth in the semifinals and failed to advance.
"Toward the finish line I couldn't tell if I made it to the finals or not," Gay said. "I looked up there and realized I didn't. It was kind of devastating. I may have needed more races, but I don't really have any excuses. I just didn't make it. My hamstring feels good, it's not bothering me. I wasn't too overwhelmed with it being the Olympics. It just was one of those things that happened."
Gay has been recovering from a hamstring injury at the Olympic Trials last month.
"Maybe I could have used some more training or more races," Gay said. "I kept trying to get my rhythm through each round. I thought I had a better start than I had the first two rounds. I pretty much ran hard through the finish line. I'm pretty upset. When I get back to the Village, it's really probably going to set in. My family is here, everyone at home is supporting me, and I just feel I let them down a little bit. But at the same time, I did my best and everyone knows I did. When you race in the Olympics and the Trials, you peak your body two times. I was prepared to peak my body twice, but the injury set me back three or four weeks."
Gay said his hamstring is fine, 100 percent healthy, but his fitness is not where it needs to be for the Olympics.
"My legs were behind me a little bit, I think my mechanics weren't where I wanted them to be," Gay said. "I think I just ran out of time. I was getting better and feeling more comfortable each round, it just didn't come together. Definitely I'm interested in running the relay."

Kobe Bryant said the United States 119-82 win over Spain in the Olympics was one of the best games the U.S. has played in international competition.
"It's one of them," said Bryant, the reigning NBA MVP for the Los Angeles Lakers. "We did a pretty good job in the exhibition games, but as far as this tournament goes this is the best that we played."
The United States tied an Olympic record by making 12 3-pointers, won its fourth straight game and remained undefeated. Spain (3-1) lost its first game of the Olympics.
"We started to get our rhythm," Bryant said. "I think that's the difference really. We are starting to get our rhythm, and where the shots are coming from, we are starting to knock them down."
If there was a weakness on the United States team, it was its 3-point and perimeter shooting in the first three games of the Olympics. After its performance against Spain, those shooting woes seem to have disappeared.
Bryant was asked if the United States performance against Spain would put a scare into the other teams in the Olympics.
"Maybe a little bit because everybody knows what a great team Spain is," Bryant said. "I think we sent a pretty strong message tonight."
The United States will be the No. 1 seed in Group A for the medal round quarterfinals. The final preliminary game for the United States is Monday against Germany.

Canyon Country's Crystl Bustos and Camarillo's Jessica Mendoza were part of an record-setting home run display in a 7-0 win over Japan.
The United States set an Olympic record with four home runs in a five inning game against Japan.
Mendoza hit a pair of two-run homers The first came in the first inning and the second was in the fourth. Bustos followed Mendoza with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Bustos has hit a home run in four of her past five Olympic games, dating back to the 2004 gold medal game in Athens.
Natasha Watley of Irvine hit a solo home run in the first inning.
The United States returned to the field hours later to finish a suspended game against Canada. The United State scored five runs in the seventh inning and won 8-1.

Brenda Villa of Commerce scored three goals in the United States' 12-7 win over Russia in women's water polo.
"We knew that they haven't been playing well lately but we wanted to focus on our play," Villa said. "We needed to also focus on our counter-attack and defense. We felt that the game was chaotic but that's how it is when you play the Russians. Really, any day you can beat the Russians is a good day in the office for us."
Patty Cardenas of Commerce added a goal for the United States in the second half.
Russia's Sofya Konukh, who used to play at USC, scored two consecutive goals before halftime.
The United States finished group play with a 2-0-1 record and awaits the result of the match between China and Italy to see who it plays next.
The United States advances to the semifinals and a first-round bye with a China win. If Italy wins, the United States will most likely play the Netherlands in a quarterfinal match.

United States middleweight Shawn Estrada of East Los Angeles will face James Degale of Great Britain in a second round match. It will be the first time Estrada has faced Degale.

Lisa Leslie had a double-double in a 93-55 win for the United States over Spain in women's basketball.
Leslie scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds as the United States (4-0) stayed undefeated in Olympic play. Spain dropped to 2-2.
But the final score was not indicative of the game. The United States had a 19-4 lead in the first half, but Spain cut the lead to five at halftime.
"I think the team said I jinxed them because I told them to look at the clock and the score was like 19-4 with only two minutes left and then they scored 14 points or something," said Leslie, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. "So that really was a let down, I think they had four 3-pointer in that span, we missed some assignments and we didn't have our rotation. But you know, we needed that, that's a wake-up call. Whenever you give a team the day of light and you don't follow what you're supposed to do defensively, it can hurt you and it hurt us there."
Candace Parker, who also plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, had 13 points and five rebounds. Tina Thompson, a player from Los Angeles on the WNBA's Houston Rockets, led five U.S. players in double figures. She had 17 points and seven rebounds.
"The game was great for us because it allowed us to play from a closer score," Parker said. "Obviously we lost our focus a little bit at the end first quarter but we were able to get it back in the second half."
The United States won by 38 points, but the game was much closer than that and Spain gave the U.S. its first test of the Olympics.
"It's good and bad, I think, it's a Catch 22, because you see us win by so much and then every time that lead gets cut a little less you think 'Oh, the USA is not ready to play' or other than that the other team is really good," Lesie said. "For us we have to fight hard for four quarters, really stick with our defensive schemes and I think we'll be OK. I'm sure the games will become a lot more challenging as we face more talented teams."
Leslie was asked after the game what she thinks are important to be a good team.
"Just understanding the principles that our coaches want us to follow and just really sticking to what our defensive schemes are, then offensively making the right reads and reading the defense," Leslie said. "Basketball is not necessarily that simple, but as far as building the chemistry that's probably been the most amazing part of it. The fact that we understand each other; Tina and I have played together a lot so we understand each other in the post, then Diana (Taurasi) and Sue (Bird) have played together a lot so I think that helps as well."

Will Simpson completed a clear round on the first night of equestrian show jumping at the Olympics in Hong Kong. The United States team was the only country with three double clear rounds.
Simpson, a 48-year-old from Thousand Oaks competing in his first Olympics, is riding Carlsson vom Dach, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, and had is described as having made light work of the course.
"We walked the course and talked about some options to better prepare him for later on in the competition because sometimes he can be a handful," said Simpson. "It was one of the thrills of my life. To have a horse like this -- that can do this -- is so special. I'm so lucky. He really wants to jump clean and everything worked out just as we had planned in there. I have a lot of confidence in my horse."
The show jumpers return to the ring on Sunday evening for the first leg of the team competition. They will jump in reverse order by team based on the standings of the top three riders from each team in today's competition.
"I've learned more in the last six months than I have in the last 35 years of riding," said Simpson. "The team work and the dedication is an unbelievable experience."

Chris Colwill and Jevon Tarantino finished fourth in the 3-meter synchronized springboard event on Wednesday, narrowly missing a medal for the United States.
China won another gold, with Russia winning the silver and Ukraine claiming bronze.
Wang Feng and Qin Kai scored 469.08 points to win China's fourth gold in diving. Russia's Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov finished a distant second at 421.98. Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov of Ukraine edged the U.S. team for the bronze with 415.05 points.
"I'm a little discouraged, but at the same time, this has been an awesome experience," Tarantino said. "It was a great competition, and we did everything we could. I just went a little short of vertical on that last dive, and I think that was just me wanting it so much."
Diving competition takes a break Thursday and resumes Friday with women's 3-meter preliminaries.

Canyon Country's Crystl Bustos, a Canyon High graduate, hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning in a 3-0 win over Australia.
It was the third straight Olympic game that Bustos has homered. She homered in the opening game in Beijing against Venezuela and in the gold medal game of the 2004 Olympics.
Her home run against Australia scored Camarillo's Jessica Mendoza, who drew a walk.
Natasha Watley of Irvine had a run-scoring single in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie.
"Today was a lot of fun. Obviously I was pleased with my at bat. These are the situations you dream about and why you play the game," Watley said of her RBI single. "You dream about being able to come through for your team and it's nice when you do especially at a stage like this."
The U.S. improved to 2-0 in the Olympics and have a 16-game Olympic winning streak. Australia is 0-2 in the Olympics, losing to Japan in its opening game.

Brenda Villa of Commerce had two goals and Patty Cardenas, also from Commerce, added a goal in a 9-9 tie against Italy in water polo.
Villa scored one goal in the third quarter and again in the fourth. Her goal in the fourth gave the U.S. a 7-6 lead.
"I thought it was going to be a tight game, a one goal game or a tie and it was exactly that," said U.S. coach Guy Baker. "This game we had more balance in the number of players scoring, we had seven players score nine goals. Overall I thought we played well, after the first quarter we played well enough to win."
Next up for the United States is a match with Russia on Friday. The United States remains in contention for winning Group A.
"We'll prepare for (Russia) exactly the same way we prepare for every game," Baker said. "I'm sure they are going to come to play, while it is great for China to defeat them, it is sad for Russia that they will not be able to move on. I'm sure it will be a great game."

Sacha Kjestan of Huntington Beach scored the lone goal for the United States in a 2-1 loss to Nigeria Wednesday night.
Kjestan scored on a penalty kick in the 88th minute.
The United States is 1-1-1 in Group B play.

Venus WIlliams won in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympics. She defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Williams will face Li Na of China in the quarterfinals.

The United States baseball team blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning and lost to Korea in its opening game of the Olympics.
Korea scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7 Wednesday night. The United States scored three in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead.
But Jongwook Lee hit a sacrifice fly for Korea to score the winning run.
Mike Hessman of Fountain Valley hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth for the U.S. Taylor Teagarden followed with a single and Brian Barden hit a double to put runners on second and third with two outs. Matt Brown knocked in both runners with a single to give the U.S. a one-run lead.
The United States plays the Netherlands next on Thursday.

Santa Monica's Ronda Rousey became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal in judo, capturing a bronze on Wednesday night.
Women's judo was introduced to the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. Rousey won five matches in the 70 kg division and had one loss, to Edith Bosch of the Netherlands, in overtime.
"I think I fought my absolute best today," Rousey said. "The match I lost was a great match. I didn't even feel myself being thrown, but when I looked at it later, it was actually a pretty good throw."
She defeated Annett Boehm of Germany in the bronze medal match. She threw Boehm with a sode (sleeve throw) and for a yuko score to win the match.
"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be able to come here and throw lefties with sode. That was the throw I used against Bosch in the semis at Worlds so I would've thought people would have scouted it out, but I got it off a couple times today," Rousey said.

Kobe Bryant is more popular than he even imagined in China. The Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA MVP who's playing for the United States men's basketball team said he was surprised by how many fans he has in China.
"I was running around yesterday, and I was telling my friend that I don't know when this happened," Bryant said after the United States beat Angola. "We come out here every summer to do clinics and stuff like that, and I have always been pretty popular, but I don't know when this happened."
The United States handily beat Angola 97-76 for its second win in the Olympics. Bryant said the fans in China have gone to some extreme lengths to catch a glimpse of him and the players from the United States.
"The other day it was pouring down raining, and there was still a group outside of about 100 kids, just waiting, chasing the bus in the rain," Bryant said. "They're dedicated."
Bryant did not make a shot in the first half against Angola, going 0-for-5 from the field, but scored eight points in the third quarter and was impressed with the way Angola played.
"I think they did a good job," Bryant said. "They were able to knock down shots and stay in the game. It wasn't like we blew them out by 40 or 50 points."
Bryant's Lakers teammate Pau Gasol is on the Spanish basketball team. Bryant said he was able to visit with Gasol before the basketball games started.
"One of the first days I came over here I went over to the village, and I took about 30 minutes with him, just talking and catching up," Bryant said. "It just felt like the first time you've seen your brother in a long time. That's how I feel about him. I care about him a lot, and I want him to do well."
Next up for the United States team is Greece, which beat the United States two years ago in the semifinals of the world championship in Japan.
"It's a match up we are looking forward to," Bryant said. "They are a tough team, and last time we faced them they beat us, so we are looking forward to it. It will be a great opportunity for us to see how much we've improved since we last played them."
Greece, a team with no NBA players, beat the United States, which was loaded with NBA all-stars.
"Basketball is such a global sport, you really don't have to have NBA players," Bryant said. "You can be a great basketball player and never play one game in the NBA. That's just how it is."
After the game against Greece, the United States plays Spain, which is also 2-0 in the Olympics. Spain beat China in overtime for its most recent win. Bryant said he does not think the United States should be considered a favorite to beat Spain when they play.
"No I don't think so," Bryant said. "I mean we haven't done anything, we haven't proved anything. We still have a lot of work to do here."
Bryant was held scoreless in the first half and the United States made five of 21 3-point shots against Angola. The U.S.'s 3-point shooting appears to be the team's only weakness after two games of Olympic play.
"It's been a struggle," Bryant said. "We have to adjust to being spot up shooters. All of us are not acclimated to being spot up shooters. That is something that we have to tweak a little bit and get used to. But when big games come around, they are going to fall."

Haley Ishimatsu of Seal Beach and Mary Beth Dunnichay saved their best dive for last, but it wasn't enough to overtake the strong team from China.
China won its third gold medal in diving. The team of Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin finished with 363.54 points. Australia's Briony Cole and Melissa Wu took the silver with 335.16 points, and Mexico's Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz scored 330.06 for bronze.
Ishimatsu and Dunnichay, the youngest members of the United States team at 15, scored 80.58 points on their final dive to push them to fifth in the final standings with 309.12 points.
"We just stayed calm. The last time we were here (for the World Cup in February), we did that last dive for 80 points, so we knew we could do it," Dunnichay said.
Ishimatsu will dive again next week in the individual 10-meter contest, which begins Aug. 20.
Synchronized diving competition wraps up Wednesday with Chris Colwill of Brandon, Fla. and Jevon Tarantino of Boca Raton, Fla. in the men's synchronized 3-meter contest.

Brentwood's Jason Rogers lost to U.S. teammate Keeth Smart in the round of 32 in the saber competition. Smart had a first-round bye, then defeated Rogers 15-3.
"It's rough to come to the Olympics and have to fence your teammate," said Rogers. "We train together, so we know each other well. He's quicker than me, so he just jumped on me (in that bout)."
Smart lost in the quarterfinals to France's Julien Pillet, 15-13, and was eliminated from the tournament.
"I've got to keep it in perspective," said Smart. "I'm really fortunate to have come this far in the competition at the Olympics. I would have liked to win a medal obviously but I'm pleased I could have gotten this far. I wanted to put the pressure on him but I made a strategic error after the break. I should have finished the match when I was up 9-5, but I'll learn from this."

Jeff Holguin of Yorba Linda, competing in his first Olympics, hit 42 targets, went from third to fourth in the final round of the double trap competition and out of the medals.
"I got off to a bad start and couldn't really figure out what I was doing wrong," Holguin said. "I came here to win; my goal wasn't just to make the team. I am disappointed, but hats off to Glenn who is not only my teammate, but a good friend."
Glenn Eller of Texas won the gold medal in double trap and set two OIympic records. His qualification score of 145 and his final score of 190 targets are Olympic records.
"I was so happy after I won, but I didn't know whether to cry, smile or jump up and down," said Eller. "After my performances in the last two Olympics, I really wanted to come here and bring home a medal for the U.S. This is definitely one of the greatest moments of my life so far."

After making it into the third round of the Olympic tennis tounament in singles, Venus and Serena Williams won their first round doubles match in three sets over a team from the Czech Republic.
The Williams sisters,who won gold medals in doubles in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, defeated Iveta Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The second-seeded Williams sisters trailed 4-6, 1-3 before winning 12 of the next 15 games.

USC product Amy Rodriguez scored a goal for the U.S. women's soccer team in its 4-0 win over New Zealand on Tuesday.
"Today was a special moment for our team," Rodriguez said. "Scoring four goals was a great feeling and getting my first Olympic goal was exciting. I'm so proud of the team and how we performed out there."
The United States advanced to the quarterfinals with the win and are the top team left in the Olympic tournament. The United States and Norway each have six points after pool play, but because Japan beat Norway 5-1, the United States earns the top spot based on goal differential.
Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley and Angela Hucles also scored for the United States.
The next U.S. match will be at Shanghai Stadium on Friday.

Jenny Finch and Monica Abbott combined on an 11-0, five-inning, no-hitter over Venelzuela in the Olympic softball opener for the United States.
Crystl Bustos of Canyon Country and a Canyon High graduate homered for the United States, a solo shot in the third inning.
Natasha Watley hit a two-run home run and Caitlin Lowe hit an in-the-park home run in the second inning.
Next up for the U.S. is Australia on Wednesday.

Lindsay Davenport of Palos Verdes and Liezel Huber won their first round doubles match in straight sets.
They defeated Poland's Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska, 6-2, 6-1, and will play the winner of the match between Estonia's Maret Ani and Kaia Kanepi and Victoria Azarenka and Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus.

Khatuna Lorig, an archer from West Hollywood, advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's competition with two wins on Tuesday.
She defeated the 26th-seeded Virginie Arnold of France by two points and then the seventh-seeded Alison Williamson of Great Britain by three points. Williams won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and is a five-time Olympian.
Lorig will next face No. 10 seed Ana Maria Rendon of Colombia on Thursday morning.

Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo, the tops seeds in the OIympic tournament, won their first round doubles match in straight sets.
The Bryan brothers defeated Mark Knowles and Devin Mullings of the Bahamas, 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes. They will face either 2004 silver medalists Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuttler of Germany or Austria's Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer in the second round.
Venus and Serena Williams each advanced to the third round in singles competition.
Fourth-seeded Serena defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-2, 6-0, in 44 minutes and will meet Alize Cornet of France in the round of 16.
Venus Williams advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday afternoon. Her next opponent will be the winner of the match between Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

The 100 meters in the Olympics looks like it will be a showdown between Tyson Gay of the United States and Usain Bolt of Jamaica. Add in Asafa Powell, and the 100 meter race in the Olympics becomes the U.S. vs. Jamaica.
Gay talked to reporters in Beijing on Monday about his status -- he is nursing an injured hamstring -- and his preparation for the Olympics.
"My hamstring is 100 percent now," said Gay, who injured his leg trying to qualify for the 200 in the Olympic trials last month. "It took about four weeks for it to get fully recovered. I've basically been getting rehab on it and doing some light training in the process.
"I don't feel any aches or any twitching or anything like that. I've been staying hydrated and treating my body very well so I'm really confident that it's gonna hold up."
He took some time off before the Olympics to heal his legs and get ready for the Beijing Games.
"I'd rather be a 100 percent coming into the Olympics than risk being 85 percent going to a meet just to see where I'm at," Gay said. "I had a few chances in practice to see where I'm at and that kind of gave me a confidence booster.
"I went to Germany to see Dr. Muller-Wohlfarth, a famous doctor, and he works with a lot of soccer stars and football stars and other great athletes. He has a lot of experience with hamstring injuries and that is why I went there. I basically saw a great massage therapist and did some great rehab. I had access to a weight room and anything that I needed so this was the best option for me."
Gay will face two of the fastest men in the world in Bolt and Powell. Bolt is the world record holder in the 100 and Powell had the world record in the 100 before Gay beat him last year.
Gay knows how important it is for the United States to fare well in the Olympics.
"I came into the track scene around the Maurice Greene and Michael Johnson era so those are some of the Olympians I'm familiar with and that's not that long ago," Gay said. "Watching those guys run and watching the opening ceremony when I was younger inspired me to want to do this one day. I always ran track for the fun of it."
Gay said there are other Olympians who are concerned about his hamstring and are wondering how healthy he will be once competition begins.
"I met Kobe Bryant and he came up to me and asked me how my leg was doing and that was like crazy," Gay said. "He said he was going to come and check out the track meet. This is the best experience I've ever had in my life."
Gay said he expects the start of the 100 will be important, but not the deciding factor in the race.
"I think the start will be very crucial but I don't believe the person who gets out first will necessarily be the winner of this race," Gay said. "I think anything is possible. After four rounds you don't really see world records being broken too often. I think this is one of the hottest 100 meter dashes in history."
The air pollution has been a topic in Beijing before the Olympics began. The United States cycling team arrived in China wearing masks and Allyson Felix, a member of the women's track team, apparently went outside the city to train in preparation for her races. But Gay said he has not experienced any problems with air pollution.
"The weather has been great," Gay said. "I haven't had any problems and haven't worn a mask or seen anyone around me wearing a mask. Everything has been good."

Tina Thompson from Los Angeles led all scorers with 27 points in the United States' 108-63 win over China in women's basketball pool play on Monday. Thompson plays for the Houston Comets in the WNBA.
Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think our defense is definitely improving, we're making good adjustments for each team, but we have to stay focused," Leslie said. "Usually it's just that one game when you're not shooting well that catches up with you so we're really trying to prevent that. I think we have a really deep bench and what's good is we're not having any drop off."
Her Sparks teammate Candace Parker had 12 points. The Americans shot 57 percent from the field.
"It says a lot about our mentality and how hard we're willing to play from start to finish, no matter what the score is," Parker said.
Thompson made 10 of her 14 shots, including two 3-pointers. Four Americans scored in double figures.
Parker said the United States team is improving with each game.
"Yeah, it's getting a little better," Parker said. "Obviously today we got better playing defense and running the floor. When things aren't going your way you have to work on that, running the floor, getting hands on balls, being active, things like that. I think our starters started it off right and our bench kept it going and took it up a notch."
The U.S. is 2-0 and continues Group B play on Wednesday when they face Mali.
"You can always get better," said DeLisha Milton-Jones, another member of the Sparks on the U.S. women's team. "One thing that we stressed at halftime was that China had a lot of offensive rebounds. They were able to get put-backs and that put us in trouble because normally in that situation you end up fouling. Anytime you see a score like that at halftime, believe you me our coaches are going to find something for us to work on."

American Robby Ginepri lost to the third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets in the first round of the Olympics tennis tournament.
Ginepri lost 6-4, 6-4 at the Olympic Green Tennis Center on Monday night in China.
Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks lost his Olympic debut to Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-4, 6-4. He and James Blake will face Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko in first round men's doubles later tonight.

Serena Williams from Lynwood defeated Olga Govortsova of Belarus in straight sets in the first round of the Olympic women's tennis tournament.
The match was suspended Sunday because of rain with Williams leading 6-3, 2-1. Williams went on to win the match 6-3, 6-1.
The next opponent for Williams will be Samantha Stosur of Australia, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Sara Errani of Italy in opening-round play.

Cuba handed the United States women's volleyball team its first loss of the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Cuba swept the Americans, 25-15, 26-24, 25-17, and dropped the United States to 1-1 in Pool A play. The United States will face Venezuela on Wednesday. Venezuela lost to China 3-0 in its first match of the Olympics and plays Japan Monday.

Only three African-Americans have won Olympic medals in swimming for the United States. Cullen Jones of Irvington, N.J. became the third on Monday.
Jones won gold as part of the men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay team. He is only the second African-American to win a gold medal in swimming for the United States.
Anthony Ervin, a Hart High of Newhall graduate, was the first African-American to win a gold medal in swimming when he won the 50-meter freestyle in a dead heat with Gary Hall Jr. in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
Maritza Correia won a silver medal in Athens in the 4x100m freestyle relay to become the first African-American female swimmer to win a medal for the U.S.

The United States Olympic Committee issued a statement from Hugh and Elisabeth McCutcheon on the condition of Barbara Bachman, who was attacked while visiting the Drum Tower in Beijing on Saturday. Bachman is the mother-in-law of Hugh McCutcheon, United States Olympic men's indoor volleyball coach. Bachman's husband, Todd Bachman, who was the father of Elisabeth McCutcheon, was killed in the attack by a knife-wielding assailant. Elisabeth McCutcheon was with her parents at the time of the attack, but was not injured.
The following is the statement released by the McCutcheon's:

The United States Olympic Committee is extremely pleased to announce that the condition of Mrs. Barbara Bachman has been upgraded from critical to serious but stable.
Hugh & Elisabeth McCutcheon Open Letter
During this tremendously difficult time, we have been blessed to be surrounded by a tremendous support system of caring individuals and organizations. We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of assistance and generosity that we have received and hope to convey our appreciation to everyone who has supported us and kept us in their thoughts and prayers.
The long list of people who have offered their assistance, kind words and prayers to us has been incredible. This letter cannot do justice in acknowledging the love and support we've felt. However, to begin with, we'd like to express our deep gratitude to the following:
First, we'd like to thank our family and friends, who have been ceaseless in sending their prayers and love to our families.
We'd like to thank the talented and caring staff and physicians at the local hospital that is working around the clock to attend to the recovery of our Mom. We'd also like to express our gratitude to the officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mayor of Beijing, and their staff members who have been with us here at the hospital.
We'd like to thank President Bush and Ambassador Randt for their kind words and strength. We also thank the U.S. Embassy and its staff for everything they've done.
We'd like to thank the USA Volleyball family for their never-ending support. It is a close-knit family that is close to our hearts and close to the hearts of our parents, Todd and Barbara.
We'd like to thank the United States Olympic Committee for their immediate assistance and willingness to attend to all of our needs, and for being with us here at the hospital throughout.
We'd like to thank the generous sponsors who have made their resources available to us without question, specifically Johnson & Johnson.
We'd like to thank the FIVB for its flexibility and support of our coaches and athletes.
We'd like to thank the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee for their support throughout this tragedy.
And finally, we'd like to thank everyone who has kept our families in their thoughts and prayers throughout our difficult time. We send a special thank you to the people of Beijing, the people of New Zealand, and of course, the people of America. We have been lifted up by the outpouring of support and love we've received from around the world.
Hugh and Elisabeth McCutcheon

There was a U.S. male backstroker who broke the 53-second barrier Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center, but his name wasn't Aaron Peirsol.

Peirsol, the world-record holder at 52.89 seconds, saw several challengers creep closer to his global standard in the semifinals at "The Water Cube", one of which was American teammate Matt Grevers.

After producing an Olympic record 53.41 in the prelims -- taking down Peirsol's mark of 53.45 from Athens in 2004 -- Grevers saw Russia's Arkady Vyatchanin and Australia's Hayden Stoeckel both produce faster times in back-to-back heats, with the 6-foot-8 standout sandwiched in between.

Vyatchanin clocked 53.06 to win his heat, then Stoeckel responded with a 52.97 in the second semifinal, with Grevers qualifying third in a lifetime-best 52.99, lowering his mark from the U.S. Olympic trials by two-tenths.

Aschwin Wildeboer of Spain qualified fourth in 53.51 and Peirsol was fifth in 53.56.

Peirsol, who lowered his world record at the U.S. Olympic trials, is attempting to become the first repeat Olympic gold medalist in the event since Germany's Roland Matthes in 1968 and 1972. Americans have captured the past three gold medals in the event, with Lenny Krayzelburg winning in 2000 and Jeff Rouse in 1996.

Warren Paoa Keahola is the only American to win back-to-back gold medals in the 100 backstroke in 1920 and 1924.

Michael Phelps wasn't in first at the end of his 200-meter freestyle semifinal heat Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center.

But he was in the right heat, as seven of the eight qualifiers for the championship came from his heat inside "The Water Cube."

American Peter Vanderkaay, the last man to defeat Phelps in the 200 free, recorded the fastest qualifying time of 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a little more than three-tenths off his best time from last year's summer nationals in Indianapolis.

South Korean star Tae Hwan Park, who captured the gold medal in the 400 free Sunday morning, was second in 1:45.99 and South Africa's Jean Basson (1:46.13), the winner of the first semifinal heat, qualified third.

Phelps, who was more focused on leading off the Americans' 400 free relay later in the morning, cruised to the fourth-fastest time of 1:46.28, well off his world record of 1:43.86, set at last year's World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

Since taking third behind Australia's Ian Thorpe and Dutch legend Pieter van den Hoogenband in the 200 free in 2004 -- one of his two bronze medals in Athens -- the Beijing Games mark the 19th time Phelps has competed in the event. He has only lost in the championship heat twice.

Phelps took third behind Andy Hunter of Scotland and former USC All-American Klete Keller in the final of the Eric Namesnik Grand Prix, on May 19, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was defeated by Vanderkaay -- 1:46.78 to 1:47.09 -- on April 4 at the Toyota Grand Prix at The Ohio State University in Columbus.

But Vanderkaay, Park and Bilson are going to have to produce the best swims of their lives to prevent Phelps from becoming the first American to win gold in the event since Bruce Furniss led an American sweep in Montreal.

Natalie Coughlin's last loss in a championship heat of the women's 100-meter backstroke was Aug. 17, 2006, at the Pan Pacific Championships in Canada.

The defeat is significant because it might be used as a reference point should Coughlin come up short in her bid to become the first repeat Olympic champion in event history Tuesday morning.

Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, who attended Auburn and regularly trains in Texas, took down Coughlin's world record Monday morning, clocking 58.77 seconds in the semifinals at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Coughlin, who has won seven consecutive championship races since losing to Japan's Hanae Ito two years ago, won her heat in 59.43. But Coventry -- who finished a second behind Coughlin that day at the Pan Pacs in Canada -- produced a mark that was two-tenths faster than Coughlin's former global standard, set at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Coughlin also lost to Ito in the semifinals at last year's World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, before rebounding to set a world record en route to winning gold.

But the semifinals marked the second consecutive race that Coventry, a former world-record holder in the 200 backstroke, posted a faster time than Coughlin, including a head-to-head victory in Sunday night's prelims, in which Coventry produced an Olympic record of 59.00.

Coughlin defeated Coventry 1:00.37 to 1:00.50 in the final in Athens.

Only five women recorded sub-minute times in the semifinals, with Japan's Reiko Nakamura putting herself in the medal hunt with a 59.64. Russia's Anastasia Zueva took second in Coventry's heat, albeit a second slower (59.77), and American Margaret Hoelzer -- the 200 backstroke world-record holder -- also appears to be capable of challenging for the bronze after clocking 59.84.

Great Britain's Gemma Spofforth was third in the first heat (59.79) behind Coughlin and Nakamura.

It took the greatest anchor leg in Olympic history to keep Michael Phelps' pursuit of Olympic history alive.

Jason Lezak, an Irvine High and UC Santa Barbara graduate who trains in Pasadena, clocked 46.06 seconds on the anchor leg of the men's 400-meter freestyle relay to rally the Americans to a gold medal, a world record and, perhaps most important of all, another win for Michael Phelps.

Lezak outdueled French star Alain Bernard down the stretch to lift the U.S. to victory in 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds, just ahead of France (European-record 3:08.32), which had never medaled in the event before Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Phelps, who added to his world-record effort in the 400 individual medley Sunday, captured his 10th Olympic medal and his eighth gold. He was on the 400 free relay in Athens in 2004, which resulted in one of his two bronze medals.

Phelps led off in an impressive 47.51 (a new American record), but the U.S. found itself in second as Australia's Eamon Sullivan set a 100 free world record -- which can only be achieved on the leadoff leg -- of 47.24 en route to a bronze-medal finish of 3:09.91.

Olympic rookie Garrett Weber-Gale, who won the 100 free at the U.S. Olympic trials, moved the Americans into the lead over the French at the midway point with a 47.02 split, before giving way to Cullen Jones, the only swimmer who competed on the U.S.' world-record effort of 3:12.23 in the prelims.

Jones clocked 47.65 on the third leg as the U.S. fell back to second after France's Fred Bousquet, who warned the Americans they'd be in jeopardy following the prelims, split an exceptional 46.63 to put the French ahead 2:21.59 to 2:22.18.

But Lezak, a member of the silver medal relay in 2000 in Sydney that took second to the Australians and a part of the bronze medal relay in 2004 that placed third behind South Africa and the Netherlands, wasn't going to be denied this time on the anchor.

Lezak's split was 0.67 faster than Bernard, the previous world-record holder at 47.50 before Sullivan's leadoff swim, to help the Americans win their eighth gold medal in the 10 Olympics in which the event has been contested -- and, more important, keep Phelps' pursuit of eight gold medals alive.

A 19-year-old rising superstar captured the gold medal Monday morning in the women's 400-meter freestyle.

Just not the one most people have heard about.

Rebecca Adlington produced an incredible surge in the final 20 meters to defeat American Katie Hoff and capture the first Olympic gold medal for Great Britain in the event at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Adlington, who was in fourth place with 50 meters remaining, won in 4 minutes, 3.22 seconds, a mark well off the Olympic record of 4:02.19 set in prelims by Italy's Federica Pellegrini, who also holds the world record at 4:01.53.

Hoff, the leader from the midway point of the race until Adlington passed her in the final strokes, took second in 4:03.29, adding a silver medal to her bronze in the 400 individual medley. Adlington's countrywoman, Joanne Jackson, rallied from last place at the midway point to take bronze in 4:03.52.

Sarah Hardcastle (silver) and June Croft (bronze) were Great Britain's last medalists in the event in 1984.

Pellegrini, looking to become Italy's first gold medalist in the event, was in third with 100 meters remaining, but slipped to fifth in 4:04.56, also trailing France's Coralie Balmy (4:03.60).

Frenchwoman Laure Manaudou, the defending Olympic gold medalist, led for the first 150 meters, but fell well off the pace by the midway point, taking eighth in 4:11.26. Manaudou was attempting to be the first swimmer to repeat in the 400 free since American Martha Norelius doubled in 1924 and 1928.

Her winning time in Athens was 4:05.34.

Hoff's silver medal marked the third consecutive Olympics the U.S. medaled in the event after being shut out for only the third time in 20 Olympic Games in 1996.

After the United States was shut out in the event for only the third time in Olympic history, Christine Magnuson made sure the Americans' drought in the women's 100-meter butterfly didn't continue Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

The reigning NCAA champion in the 100-yard butterfly at Tennessee, Magnuson took silver in the 100-meter event in 57.10 seconds, just off her American-record performance of 57.08 in the semifinals.

Libby Trickett became the second Australian in a row (Petria Thomas in 2004) and third ever (Lyn McClements in 1968) to win gold, challenging Inge de Bruijn's 2000 world record of 56.61, before just missing in a lifetime-best 56.73. Trickett and de Bruijn are the only two swimmers under 57 seconds in event history.

It was the first individual Olympic gold for Trickett, who took bronze in the 50 freestyle in 2004. Trickett, then Libby Lenton, did capture gold as a member of Australia's 400 free relay in Athens.

Australian Jessicah Schipper, the world-record holder in the 200 butterfly, took bronze in 57.25.

Magnuson was bidding to become America's first Olympic champion in the 100 butterfly since Amy Van Dyken in 1996.

USC senior Rebecca Soni was only allowed to swim the 100-meter breaststroke after Trojan Swim Club teammate Jessica Hardy withdrew from the U.S. Olympic team following a positive test for Clenbuterol.

Soni, a 200 breaststroke specialist, continued to make the most of her opportunity Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center -- aka "The Water Cube" -- by winning her semifinal heat in 1 minute, 7.07 seconds to qualify second for the championship heat behind Australian star and world-record holder Leisel Jones (1:05.80).

Jones set the bar high with an Olympic record 1:05.64 in the prelims, sending a message that she would be ready to challenge her world record of 1:05.09 set at the Australian Olympic trials in March.

Although it appears the 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2004 bronze medalist cruised through the semifinals, becoming the first woman to post a sub-1:05 clocking in the final is not out of the question.

Soni, who qualified fourth after the prelims with a 1:07.44, demonstrated that a medal in the event is also a strong possibility following her semifinal effort and the fact that she clocked 1:06.87 in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic trials.

Austria's Mirna Jukic qualified third in 1:07.27, ahead of Australian Tarnee White (1:07.48), who clocked 1:06.04 at the Australian trials in March to become the No. 2 all-time performer in event history.

Russian teenage standout Yuliya Efimova, who was second behind Jones after the prelims with a European record 1:06.08 -- No. 3 all-time performer -- backed off a bit and qualified in 1:07.50.

China's Sun Ye, the surprise of the prelims, qualified for the final in 1:07.72 and Megan Jendrick, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, kept her dream of another medal alive by clocking the seventh-fastest time of 1:08.07.

Japan's Kosuke Kitajima took down Brendan Hansen's world record in the 200-meter breaststroke two months before the Olympics started.

Kitajima regained his 100 breaststroke world record with Hansen in the same pool Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Hansen turned slightly ahead of his rival at the midway point, but Kitajima produced an incredible surge in the final 50 meters to become the first man under 59 seconds, winning going away in 58.91 to become the first repeat gold medalist in the event in Olympic history.

Norway's Alexander Dale Oen -- the leader at the 50-meter mark -- took silver in 59.20 and France's Hugues Duboscq (59.37) captured his second consecutive bronze medal following a third-place effort in Athens in 2004.

Hansen, a silver medalist in Athens, took fourth in 59.57.

Hansen had defeated Kitajima in their two head-to-head meetings since the 2004 Olympics, winning by a second at the Pan Pacific Championships in Canada in 2006 and 59.80 to 59.96 at last year's World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. But the potential thrilling rematch from their race at Athens never materialized down the stretch Monday.

Dale Oen, who clocked 59.16 in the semifinals to close in on Hansen's previous world record of 59.13, took the race out in 27.85, with Hansen right behind in 27.97 and Kitajima in third in 28.03.

But Hansen, who posted his 10th sub-minute clocking since setting the world record in Aug. 2006 in Irvine including a 59.24 at the Olympic trials semifinals, didn't do much to challenge his international rivals late in the race.

Duboscq, who was seventh at the 50-meter mark, put the Americans out of a medal in the event for the first time since 1988.

Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks faces Igor Andreev of Russia in his first Olympic tennis match at Beijing.
Mardy Fish, who was on the 2004 Olympic tennis team for the United States in Athens, had high expectations for Querrey. Fish was asked after his semifinal match at the Countrywide Classic tennis tournament at UCLA about his thoughts on Querrey.
The Countrywide Classic had a few young, tall players, including 6-foot-6 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina who beat Fish to advance to Sunday's final at UCLA.
"Sam Querrey is another one of those guys that's 6-5 and can hit the crap out of the ball and moves real well," Fish said. "Sam can beat anyone. He's only 20 or 21 years old. He's got a bright future for sure. I expect him to be in the top 20 relatively soon. He's just gradually gotten better and better and better."
Another young, although not-so-tall, American playing in the Countrywide Classic was Donald Young, who upset eighth-seeded Tommy Haas in the first round at UCLA.
"Don Young probably has a little more work to do," Fish said. "He can't necessarily rely on a huge game like Sam can. He's talented; he's really talented. He moves real well and lefties are real tough to play. Jury's still out a little bit on him, but he can certainly play. He showed here, he beat someone like Tommy, who I haven't figured out ever."

Kelci Bryant and Ariel Rittenhouse, the first women from the United States to compete in 3-meter synchronized diving in the Olympics, finished fourth Sunday at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing.
Bryant and Rittenhouse were in medal contention until the last dive of the meet. They finished 4.5 points behind the German team of Heike Fischer and Ditte Kotzian.
"I never look at the scores, and she never lets it out," said Rittenhouse, 17, form Santa Cruz. "It's tough to be so close, but it makes us want to come back for more in 2012."
The United States did not compete in women's 3-meter springboard in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
China's Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia scored 343.50 points for gold, and Russia's Julia Pakhalina and Anastasia Pozdnyakova were second at 323.61.
"We're disappointed, but we're young," said Bryant, 19, from Chatham, Ill. "This is our first time at the Olympics. We could have done better, but we'll come back in 2012."
Diving competition continues Monday with David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis) in the men's synchronized 10-meter contest.

Kim Rhode, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in shooting from Monrovia who is competing in her fourth Summer Games, is nursing a twisted knee, but says it shouldn't bother her when competition begins next week.
During a world cup shooting event in Germany last month, Rhode said she fell and hurt her knee between the first and second day of the competition. She was leading after the first day and ended up fourth.
Rhode won her two Olympic gold medals in double trap. She is competing in skeet at the Beijing Games and the world cup event in Germany was a skeet competition.
She was in China for the opening ceremonies Thursday, has been working out in Korea preparing for the Olympics and said she is still a little sore.
"I can't put any weight down on it," Rhode said. "If I need to get down on one knee, I can't do that. As far as walking, I'm doing OK in that sense. It's not really affecting my shooting now. It's just one of those things that kind of there."
Rhode's first day of competition is Aug. 14.

The Netherlands just missed lowering their own world record in the women's 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday, but they didn't leave the National Aquatics Center empty-handed.

The Dutch quartet set an Olympic record 3 minutes, 3.76 seconds en route to capturing their first gold medal in the event since 1936, denying the Americans the title for the second consecutive Games after they won three in a row from 1992 to 2000.

Dara Torres, a 1985 graduate from Westlake School (now known as Harvard-Westlake of Studio City), produced a stellar anchor-leg split of 52.44 -- second only to Libby Trickett of Australia's 52.34 -- to help the U.S. produce an American record of 3:34.33, but it wasn't enough to catch Dutch star Marleen Veldhuis, who brought the relay home in 52.58.

Trickett anchored Australia, the reigning Olympic champion and previous record holder, to a bronze medal in 3:35.05, nearly a second below their winning time from Athens.

Natalie Coughlin, the American record-holder in the 100 freestyle, led off in 54 seconds flat, followed by Lacey Nymeyer in 53.91 and Kara Lynn Joyce in 53.98, but the Americans never led, as the Dutch rallied from seventh after the leadoff leg to move into second at the midway point and then pulled ahead for good following Femke Heemskerk's 53.42 third leg, which set the table for Veldhuis' anchor.

Germany, which featured an Olympic-record 53.38 leadoff split by Britta Steffen, led at the halfway point, before falling to fifth (3:36.85), behind China (3:35.64), which set an Asian record to take fourth.

Torres' silver medal was the second of her Olympic career, giving her a total of 10, moving her into a tie for fourth all-time among swimmers, joining American sprinter Gary Hall, Jr., and Germany's Franziska van Almsick.

Americans
Natalie Coughlin, Lacey Nymeyer, Kara Lynn Joyce and Dara Torres

Australia
Cate Campbell, Alice Mills, Melanie Schlanger and Libby Trickett

Netherlands
Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis

Germany
Britta Steffen, Meike Freitag, Daniela Gotz, Anje Buschschulte

Brendan Hansen said following his preliminary heat in the men's 100-meter breaststroke that the three-race gauntlet was like a poker game and he didn't want to show all his cards too soon.

"I know I've got a good hand, I'm just waiting to see what comes up on the river," Hansen told NBC's Andrea Kremer in an on-deck interview following his Beijing debut.

For the second consecutive race, Hansen played his hand conservatively, while Norway's Alexander Dale Oen went "all-in" and again came up aces.

After lowering Hansen's Olympic record of 1:00.01 from Athens in 2004 to 59.41 in the prelims, Dale Oen pulled even closer to Hansen's world-record of 59.13 set in August 2006 at the ConocoPhillips Summer Nationals in Irvine with a 59.16 in the semifinals Sunday at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, won his heat to qualify second in 59.55. Australia's Brenton Rickard recorded the third-fastest time entering the finals at 59.65 and France's Hugues Duboscq -- the bronze medalist in Athens -- clocked 59.83 and Hansen, the silver medalist in 2004, was fifth in 59.94.

Even with Dale Oen's performance, Hansen still boasts four of the five fastest times in event history, with the Norwegian now ranking No. 2.

American Mark Gangloff, who qualified 16th after the prelims, improved to seventh entering the final after posting a 1:00.44.

Kitajima 59.55
Brenton Rickard 59.65
Mark Gangloff 1:00.44

Alexander Dale Oen 59.16 was 59.41 for OR in prelims

Katie Hoff entered the Olympic women's 400-meter individual medley final as the world-record holder.

The Baltimore area native finished the race as the bronze medalist, with Australia's Stephanie Rice and Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry both eclipsing Hoff's previous standard set June 29 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb.

Rice, who set the world record of 4:31.46 in March before Hoff lowered it to 4:31.12, regained her global standard in emphatic fashion, holding off a determined Coventry to prevail in 4:29.45. Coventry took silver in 4:29.89, the No. 2 all-time mark in event history.

There was discussion before the Olympics that Hoff had a shot at winning six gold medals, which would've been the female equivalent to Phelps' pursuit of eight golds.

Although Hoff, 19, captured her first career Olympic medal after being shut out in 2004, she couldn't duplicate Phelps' feat of winning gold and setting a world record for his first Olympic medal in the 400 IM in Athens. It was her first loss in the 400 IM in the past four years.

American Elizabeth Beisel, 15, the top qualifier in the prelims ahead of Hoff, finished fourth in 4:34.24. Beisel took second to Hoff at the Olympic trials in 4:32.87.

Former USC All-American Larsen Jensen rallied from fifth place with 150 meters remaining to capture the bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, lowering his own American record -- set in the prelims -- to 3 minutes, 42.78 seconds.

South Korean star Tae Hwan Park, 18, expected to contend for a gold medal in the 1,500 free, set an Asian record to capture the gold medal in a lifetime-best 3:41.86, the No. 9 mark in event history with world and Olympic record holder Ian Thorpe of Australia responsible for the top eight. Park, who was disqualified for a false start in the 400 free prelims at age 14 in Athens, captured the first swimming gold medal in South Korea's swimming history.

China's Lin Zhang moved from sixth to second in the final 50 meters, surging past Jensen to capture silver in 3:42.44, the 11th-fastest mark ever and the first male swimming medal in his country's history. Jensen's mark ranks 15th in event history.

American Peter Vanderkaay was fourth in 3:43.11 -- one-hundredth off Jensen's previous U.S. record and Thorpe's gold medal time from Athens -- and Tunisia's Ous Mellouli, an All-American at USC, finished fifth in 3:43.45.

Reigning NCAA 100-yard butterfly champion Christine Magnuson of Tennessee took down Natalie Coughlin's American record in the 100-meter butterfly Sunday in the semifinals en route to qualifying second for the championship heat behind Australia's Libby Trickett (57.05 seconds).

Magnuson clocked 57.08, lowering Coughlin's mark of 57.34 set last March at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

Singapore's Tao Li produced an Asian record of 57.54 to qualify fourth, just behind Australia's Jessicah Schipper -- the 200 butterfly world-record holder -- who clocked 57.43.

Stanford's Elaine Breeden clocked 58.55 and missed qualifying for the championship heat.

Michael Phelps got his pursuit of an Olympic-record eight swimming gold medals started in impressive fashion Sunday, lowering his world record in the 400-meter individual medley by more than a second to win in 4 minutes, 3.84 seconds at National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Phelps' 25th world-record performance might have been his most dominant of all, certainly on par with his 200 butterfly effort at last year's FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, when his feet were ahead of the electronic world-record line shown on TV. He lowered his Olympic record of 4:07.82 -- set in Saturday night's prelims -- by nearly four seconds.

Hungary Laszlo Cseh took silver in a European record 4:06.16, the fourth-fastest mark in the history of the event.

American Ryan Lochte, expected to be Phelps' toughest challenger, fell to 0-9 all-time head to head against his close friend and rival, including 0-8 in championship races, by taking third in 4:08.09. Lochte took second to Phelps (4:05.25) at the U.S. Olympic trials June 29 in 4:06.08.

Lochte stayed within three-tenths of Phelps through 250 meters -- or the first half of the breaststroke leg -- but Phelps stretched his lead over Lochte to nearly a second entering the freestyle leg and only built on his advantage from there. Cseh made a late charge in the final 75 meters to overtake Lochte for the silver.

Phelps' victory gave him seven career gold medals -- trailing Mark Spitz's nine and Matt Biondi and Jenny Thompson's eight on the American all-time list -- and nine total, moving him into a tie for seventh in Olympic history with Australian legend Ian Thorpe and former Russian world-record holder Aleksandr Popov.

Dealing with the emotions of the loss of Todd Bachman, father of former U.S. women's national team player Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon who was stabbed to death at the 13th-century Drum Tower in Beijing, the Americans recorded a 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21 Pool A victory Saturday over Japan at Capital Indoor Stadium.

The members of the U.S. women's national team were informed of Bachman's death, as well as potential life-threatening injuries to his wife Barbara, before the match. Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon is the wife of U.S. men's national team coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Libero Stacy Sykora was Bachman McCutcheon's roommate during the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"It was a reaction that I don't even have to describe. You have to understand what Liz Bachman is to USA Volleyball. She's probably the nicest person in the entire world, her and her family," Sykora told the Associated Press. "Her family is like our family because they traveled with us, she fought in the 2004 Olympics with us."

Danielle Scott-Arruda led the U.S. with 16 kills and six blocks, Tayyiba Haneef-Park added 14 kills and four blocks, and Logan Tom and Kim Willoughby contributed nine kills apiece for the Americans, who rallied from a 19-18 deficit to score the final seven points in the third game before fighting back from 20-19 down in the fourth to close out the match.

Tom, who has been playing the past couple of years on the AVP tour before returning to train with the women's indoor team, was also a teammate of Bachman McCutcheon in 2004 in Athens.

"It's hard to put it in words," Tom told the Associated Press after the match while fighting back tears. "That's not something that's supposed to happen."

The U.S. women's soccer team shook off a 2-0 loss in its opening Olympic match against Norway to record a 1-0 victory Saturday over Japan in Pool G competition.

Carli Lloyd scored in the 27th minute for the Americans, who play New Zealand on Tuesday, needing a victory to advance to the single-elimination playoffs.

After becoming the first American in a century to capture an Olympic fencing gold medal when she won the women's sabre competition in 2004 in Athens, Mariel Zagunis of Beaverton, Ore., became the first U.S. athlete to secure a gold medal in Beijing, defending her title with a 15-8 victory over fellow American Sada Jacobson (Dunwoody, Ga.).

Another Beaverton resident, Becca Ward, took the bronze, giving the U.S. the sweep and an Olympic-leading three medals following the first day of competition.

The second-seeded Ward rebounded from a 15-11 semifinal setback to Zagunis -- her fencing club teammate in Oregon -- and a 6-1 deficit against Russia's Sofiya Velikaya to rally for a thrilling 15-14 victory in the third-place match.

Jacobson, the tournament's top seed, defeated No. 6 Velikaya 15-11 in the semifinals to assure herself a medal for the second consecutive Olympics, following a bronze in 2004. But the 23-year-old Zagunis, the No. 5 seed, built an 8-4 lead after one period en route to her most lopsided victory of the tournament.

Zagunis defeated former world champion Tan Xue of China 15-9 in the 2004 final.

Only three other female fencers have ever repeated as Olympic champions, but Zagunis is the first in the sabre competition, since it was introduced for the first time in 2004 in Athens.

Hungary's Ilona Elek-Schacherer accomplished the feat in the foil discipline in 1936 and 1948, an achievement matched by Italy's Valentina Vezzali in 2000 and 2004.

In the women's individual epee, only Hungary's Timea Nagy (2000 and '04) has repeated as Olympic champion.

Four men have repeated as individual sabre gold medalist, the most recent being France's Jean-Francois Lamour in 1984 and '88.

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers' bid for a beach volleyball medal didn't end Saturday, but the top American duo has a lot of work to do to reach the medal round following a 21-19, 21-18 loss to Latvia's Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs in the first preliminary match in Pool B.

Dalhausser and Rogers, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will have to defeat teams from Argentina and Switzerland to automatically qualify for the 16-team single elimination playoffs. Another loss could jeopardize their chances to move on.

Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, the No. 5 seed in the women's draw, were pushed by the Netherlands' Rebekka Kadijk and Merel Mooren before prevailing 21-19, 27-25 in a Pool E contest. Branagh and Youngs have upcoming matches against Cuba and Germany before the single-elimination playoffs begin.

Although the American women didn't produce any Olympic or U.S. records on the opening night of competition from the National Aquatic Center, aka "The Water Cube", it was still a very successful debut for Team USA's female contingent.

Elizabeth Beisel and Katie Hoff produced the top two qualifying times in the 400-meter individual medley, with Beisel winning her heat in 4 minutes, 34.55 seconds and Hoff -- the world-record holder -- doing the same in 4:34.63.

Australia's Stephanie Rice, a former world-record holder, shared the third-fastest qualifying mark of 4:35.11, along with Italy's Alessia Filippi.

Hoff set the world record of 4:31.12 on June 29 at the U.S. Olympic trials, taking down Rice's mark of 4:31.46, recorded at the Australian trials in March. Beisel went 4:32.87 to take second to Hoff at the U.S. trials, a mark two-hundredths under Hoff's world-record performance last April at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne.

In the 100 butterfly, Australia's Jessicah Schipper, the second-fastest swimmer in the event in her country, led all qualifiers by clocking 57.58 in the prelims, with American Christine Magnuson -- the reigning NCAA 100-yard butterfly champion from Tennessee -- and China's Zhou Yafei both finishing in 57.70

Stanford's Elaine Breeden qualified sixth in 58.06 and Australia's Libby Trickett posted the 12th-fastest time of 58.37, well off her personal-best 56.81, which is two-tenths off the world record set by Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

In the 400 freestyle relay prelims, the American quartet of Kara Lynn Joyce, Julia Smit, Emily Silver and Lacey Nymeyer won their heat in 3:37.53, the third-fastest qualifying time behind China's 3:36.78 -- good for an Asian record -- and Germany's 3:37.52. Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin, the top two finishers in the event at the Olympic trials, are expected to swim for the U.S. in the final.

The Netherlands, who set the world record of 3:33.62 at their trials in March, was fourth in 3:37.61, France qualified fifth in 3:37.76 and reigning Olympic champion Australia advanced to the final in 3:37.81.

Brendan Hansen entered the prelims of the 100-meter breaststroke as the world and Olympic record holder, but he'll only have his world mark to protect when he swims again in the semifinals, as Norway's Alexander Dale Oen clocked 59.41 seconds to become the first man to swim under 1 minute at the Olympic Games.

Hansen's 59.13 from the 2006 ConocoPhillips Summer National Championships in Irvine still remains the global standard, but Dale Oen's mark surpassed Hansen's mark of 1:00.01 from Athens in 2004 and moved him into fifth all-time on the event performance list, just ahead of 200 breaststroke world-record holder Kosuke Kitajima of Japan, who clocked a personal-best 59.44 in March.

Kitajima produced the second-fastest qualifying mark of 59.52 and three other swimmers -- Hugues Duboscq of France (59.67), Brenton Rickard of Australia (59.89) and Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa (59.96) -- all eclipsed the 1-minute barrier.

Hansen tied for 10th with Australia's Christian Sprenger at 1:00.36.

Michael Phelps wasn't the only American swimmer turning in record-setting performances Saturday on the first night of competition at the National Aquatics Center, aka "The Water Cube."

Former USC All-American and NCAA champion Larsen Jensen lowered his own American record in the 400-meter freestyle by clocking 3 minutes, 43.10 seconds to post the top qualifying time in the prelims.

Jensen set the previous American record June 29 with a 3:43.53 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

"I didn't want to take any chances with the last heat going all best times and leaving me in the dust, so I put a lot into it," Jensen said. "I didn't really have much choice."

China's Zhang Lin set an Asian record to qualify second in 3:43.32 with South Korean star Tae Hwan Park clocking the third-fastest mark of 3:34.35. Park made his intentions known before the Olympic Games that he would be going after the world record of 3:40.08, set in 2002 by Australia's Ian Thorpe in Manchester, England.

Russia's Nikita Lobintsev qualified fourth (3:43.45) and Australia's Grant Hackett, the 400 free silver medalist in Athens, was fifth in 3:44.03, ahead of American Peter Vanderkaay (3:44.22).

Jensen's mark tied for the 14th-fastest all-time in event history -- matching Thorpe's gold-medal effort from Athens -- with Hackett and Thorpe responsible for the other 13.

As John Lohn of Swimming World Magazine wrote: "The most-hyped story of the Olympic Games opened without a hitch Saturday."

Michael Phelps began his quest to pass Mark Spitz's record haul of seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics by taking the first step toward eight golds with an Olympic-record performance of 4 minutes, 7.82 seconds in the prelims of the 400-meter individual medley.

"I am pretty surprised (to break the Olympic record). I didn't think that I'd be first to get it, not until the finals," Phelps said. "I wanted to be first to win tomorrow. I just wanted first in the heats."

Phelps clocked a then-world-record 4:08.26 en route to capturing his first gold medal in Athens in 2004.

Phelps lowered his own global standard with a 4:05.25 on June 29 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.

He was under world-record pace through 150 meters and only two-hundredths off (1:57.34) at the midway point, before cruising through the breaststroke leg at 3:09.48 en route to his third-fastest time. It was the first of 17 expected swims for Phelps during the nine-day competition.

In an on-deck interview with NBC's Andrea Kremer after the race, Phelps said: "I didn't think I was going to be that fast above the other prelims to get into the finals, so it looks good though. It's gonna be a great race between three or four of us tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it.

"It's just the first race jitters, you know, getting that first race under your belt, it really means a lot. So, you know being able to come in here and do that this morning ... I keep thinking it's the morning, but tonight, I was definitely pretty pleased with it."

Ryan Lochte, who took second to Phelps at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 4:06.08 -- the No. 2 all-time mark in the event -- qualified fourth for the final in 4:10.33.

"That was my morning swim so I can start my meet now," Lochte said. "That was not my best but I'm happy with it."

Hungary's Laszlo Cseh, the bronze medalist in Athens, qualified second in 4:09.26 and Italy's Luca Marin -- who competed in the same heat as Phelps -- was third in 4:10.22.

"I'll try everything but that will be hard (to beat Phelps)," Cseh said. "If somebody wants to win this race, they need to have a 4:05."

The Olympics in Beijing begin in 1 day, 12 hours 45 minutes and 29 seconds! Opening ceremonies are tomorrow night. If you're not going to be home, set your DVRs for 7:30 p.m. The 3 1/2-hour ceremony should promise to be interesting. Lopez Lomong will carry the flag for the U.S. Read the inspiring story about Lomong, who grew up in Sudan.