August 10, 2008 12:50pm

STEPHANIE Rice has won Australia's first gold medal of the Olympic Games, smashing the world record in the women's 400m individual medley final
Rice took it out hard and was under world record pace all the way, setting a new mark of 4min29.45sec.

It was more than 1.5sec under the record set by American Katie Hoff at the US trials in June.

Australia third in women's 4x100m freestyle relay
August 10, 2008 01:28pm

Australia's quartet started poorly but finished strongly for third.
AUSTRALIA have finished third in their defence of the women's 4x100m freestyle relay title won in Athens.
The Australian quartet of Cate Campbell, Alice Mills, Melanie Schlanger, Libby Trickett won the bronze medal behind the word record-holding Netherlands team and the United States.

Australia seemed unlikely to win a medal at the halfway point, but Schlanger produced an outstanding effort on the third leg to improve from seventh to third, and Trickett saw the team to a spot on the dais.