Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 2:56 AM

The United States has swept to a fourth successive Olympic women's basketball gold medal with a crushing win over world champion Australia in Beijing.

The predicted fireworks failed to materialise as the Americans obliterated their fierce rivals 92-65 in a totally one-sided Beijing final to win their sixth Olympic title.

Not even Australia's WNBA trio of Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips could stem the US tide.

Taylor and Phillips had skipped the first half of the US pro season to prepare for the Games, while Jackson left the Seattle Storm early to train with her teammates.

Jackson finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Australia, while Belinda Snell scored 15, all in the first half.

"America was better than us tonight," Jackson said. "We tried hard to get there, but that's the way it goes."

Australia's Kristi Harrower said the scoreboard did not tell the whole story.

"The scoreboard doesn't really show how good we are," she said.

"And that's what hurts the most. I'd rather lose by 20 than two, but it's still disappointing.

"Defence has been our strength the whole tournament and we just let them have 90 points. That's not Australian basketball."

European champion Russia took bronze for the second consecutive Olympics by overpowering tournament hosts China 94-81.

Winning streak


The United States carried an astonishing 32-0 winning streak into Saturday's gold medal showdown, a run that was never threatened by an Australian team who came out flat.

The Opals shot a woeful 22 per cent from the floor in the first half to go back to the locker room trailing by 17 points.

The Americans, who had been crushing their opponents by an average of just under 40 points, were led by 15 points from Kara Lawson, while Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker added 14 each.

"It has been a blessing for me to be out on this court," Leslie said.

"It's my fourth Olympics and my fourth gold.

"I haven't necessarily played great during this tournament. Tonight I got into some foul trouble as did Diana (Taurasi) and Katie (Smith).

"But we fought hard and we beat Australia."

Australia, which barely improved its field goal shooting during a scrappy final two quarters, took silver behind the US women for the third straight Games.

The United States claimed its sixth gold medal in the past seven, having only missed out in Barcelona in 1992 when they took bronze behind the Unified Team.

The Russians, who were beaten by the United States in the Beijing semi-finals, had too much firepower for China, with American-born guard Becky Hammon providing the spark with 22 points.

"The medal is the icing on the cake," said Hammon, whose decision to play for Russia triggered dismay in the United States.

"I fell in love with these girls. They're sweethearts."

Centre Chen Nan carried the fight with 26 points for the Chinese, who last won an Olympic medal in women's basketball when they finished runners-up the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 10:00 AM

Australia's Matthew Mitcham has snatched gold from Chinese favourite Zhou Luxin on his final dive to win the men's 10 metres platform and deny China a sweep of all eight diving golds at the Beijing Games.

The 20-year-old trailed Zhou through the first five dives and was more than 30 points adrift prior to the final dive.

Zhou, perhaps feeling the weight of a nation's expectations, fluffed his final dive, a reverse three-and-a-half somersault.

World number three Mitcham nailed a sublime back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists, with a 3.8 degree of difficulty, achieving four perfect 10s.

He finished with 537.95 points to claim the gold and Zhou was left with a silver medal with 533.15 points.

"It's going to take a while to sink in," Mitcham said.

"My cheeks hurt from smiling, my face hurts from the chlorine, my legs are sore from jumping up and down.

"I'm in pain and I'm tired, but I'm so happy."

Zhou admitted he had started to become nervous in front of his home crowd.

"At the beginning I wasn't nervous, so I started well," Zhou said.

"The last dive was not as good as I could have done because I started to get nervous."

World champion Gleb Galperin of Russia snagged the bronze with 525.80 points as China's Huo Liang, first after the semi-finals, was shut out of the medals in fourth.

China, with seven titles already in the bag, was trying to become the first country since 1952 to win every diving gold on offer at a Games.

Australia's other competitor Mathew Helm finished in sixth, unable to add to his silver medal in the event in Athens four years ago.

Mitcham has become the first Australian man to win a diving gold medal since 1924.

Mitcham says he is completely surprised by his win.

"I'm going to watch the footage when I get home and I suppose I'll be impressed then because I don't even know how I dived, I don't even know what scores I got," he said.

"Because you just, you're not really in there. In the moment. You're just concentrating on your dive so much."


Australia's Matthew Mitcham has snatched gold from Chinese favourite Zhou Luxin on his final dive to win the men's 10 metres platform and deny China a sweep of all eight diving golds at the Beijing Games.

The 20-year-old trailed Zhou through the first five dives and was more than 30 points adrift prior to the final dive.

Zhou, perhaps feeling the weight of a nation's expectations, fluffed his final dive, a reverse three-and-a-half somersault.

World number three Mitcham nailed a sublime back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists, with a 3.8 degree of difficulty, achieving four perfect 10s.

He finished with 537.95 points to claim the gold and Zhou was left with a silver medal with 533.15 points.

"It's going to take a while to sink in," Mitcham said.

"My cheeks hurt from smiling, my face hurts from the chlorine, my legs are sore from jumping up and down.

"I'm in pain and I'm tired, but I'm so happy."

Zhou admitted he had started to become nervous in front of his home crowd.

"At the beginning I wasn't nervous, so I started well," Zhou said.

"The last dive was not as good as I could have done because I started to get nervous."

World champion Gleb Galperin of Russia snagged the bronze with 525.80 points as China's Huo Liang, first after the semi-finals, was shut out of the medals in fourth.

China, with seven titles already in the bag, was trying to become the first country since 1952 to win every diving gold on offer at a Games.

Australia's other competitor Mathew Helm finished in sixth, unable to add to his silver medal in the event in Athens four years ago.

Mitcham has become the first Australian man to win a diving gold medal since 1924.

Mitcham says he is completely surprised by his win.

"I'm going to watch the footage when I get home and I suppose I'll be impressed then because I don't even know how I dived, I don't even know what scores I got," he said.

"Because you just, you're not really in there. In the moment. You're just concentrating on your dive so much."

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 1:16 PM

The bitter rivalry between the Australian and US women's basketball teams has bubbled to the surface again following last night's gold medal match.

Australia turned in its worst performance of the Games to lose by 27 points, but the celebration by American centre Lisa Leslie has upset the Opals.

Leslie wore her gold medals from the three previous Olympic Games on the medal podium and Australian point guard Kristie Harrower says it annoyed the Opals.

"That was the first thing everyone noticed, the three gold medals already around her neck and we said 'what its that for' and we just looked at each other and said a few things in Australian language, and I won't make those comments here but we just couldn't believe it, could not believe it," Harrower said.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 6:37 PM

The United States has won the Olympic men's basketball gold medal, defeating Spain 118-107 in the championship game.

Dubbed the "Redeem Team" after missing out on gold at the last three major international tournaments, including the Athens title in 2004, the Americans were pushed hard by Spain but held on to score a hard-fought win.

Dwyane Wade top-scored for the US with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Lakers star Kobe Bryant hit 20 points and six assists.

LeBron James contributed 14 and Carmelo Anthony scored 13 for the US squad.

Wade, James and Anthony were all reserve members of the US team that had to settle for bronze at the 2004 Olympics, sparking the golden quest of this side.

Rudy Fernandez scored 22 to lead Spain while big man Pau Gasol, Bryant's NBA team-mate at Los Angeles, added 21 points.

Earlier, Carlos Delfino scored 20 points and Luis Scola added 16 to lead 2004 Olympic champion Argentina past Lithuania 87-75 in the bronze medal game.

Argentina, playing without injured NBA star Manu Ginobili, seized a 46-34 half-time lead, jumping ahead 35-27 on a 9-0 run, and never looked back, maintaining control throughout the second half.

Andres Nocioni added 14 points while Alfredo Quinteros and Leonardo Gutierrez each contributed 11 for Argentina, which collected only its second Olympic medal in the sport.

Ramunas Siskauskas scored 15 points to lead Lithuania, which also had 14 from Rimantas Kaukenas.

August 24, 2008 12:58pm

CUBAN taekwondo exponent Angel Valodia Matos has attacked a referee at the Beijing Olympics and faces a lifetime ban from international competition.
Swedish referee Chakir Chelbat required stitches to a cut lip after being kicked in the face by Matos after he was disqualified in a men's quarter-final bout.

The 31-year-old Cuban erupted when he was sent off for taking too much injury time in the middle of the second round of his +80kg bout against world silver medallist Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan.

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) immediately said that Matos and his coach, Leodis Gonzalez, would be barred permanently from all championships it promotes and sanctions.

"This is a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympic Games," the stadium announcer said reading from a World Taekwondo Federation statement.

"The sanctions are the following and are effective immediately: Lifetime ban of the coach and athlete in all championships sanctioned by the World Taekwondo Federation and at the same time, all records of this athlete at the Beijing Games will immediately be erased."

But WTF secretary general Yang Jin-Suk said later the expulsion was "not final" but would be recommended to the International Olympic Committee as the incident occured during an Olympic event.

"But at the same time, we as the WTF will look, in conjunction with the IOC, to see what legal action we could impose on these individuals, separately from the IOC," Yang said.

Gonzalez added further controversy to the incident by claiming the match was fixed, accusing the Kazakhs offering bribes for Matos to lose.

Gonzalez said the referee was to blame.

"(Chelbat) was too strict," Gonzalez said.

Chilmanov was surprised at Matos's "unsportsmanlike manner" and did not believe the Cuban would have been able to continue after failing to recover within the regulation one-minute injury time.

"He got injured in the bout. To me it was obvious he was unable to continue. His toe on his left foot was broken," said Chilmanov who went on to win the bronze medal.

A women's bout also ended in controvery when China's two-time champion Chen Zhong had her quarter-final victory overturned on appeal.

Britain's Sarah Stevenson claimed she'd been robbed when the judges failed to award her two points for a high-kick to Chen's head 10 seconds from time, and the Chinese went on to win 1-0.

"They're blatantly robbing me of going into the semi-finals," Stevenson said immediately afterwards.

"There's one thing I hate about this sport is that the judges can control people's lives and can take points away and they can do whatever they want."

But she lodged an appeal and for the first time since the high-speed martial art made its debut at the 2000 Games the jury reversed the result and Stevenson went on to win a bronze medal.

South Korea won their fourth taekwondo gold medal from their fourth outing in the Games when
Cha Dong-Min beat Athens silver medallist Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece 5-4 in the +80kg heavyweight final.

It was the first major international title for Cha who celebrates his 22nd birthday on Sunday.

It was also South Korea's first sweep of all divisions they contested, after they won three in Sydney and two in Athens.

Countries are restricted to a maximum four fighters, two men and two women, with the quota originally introduced to prevent South Korea, the homeland of the sport, monopolising the medals.
World champion Maria del Rosario Espinoza beat Norway's Nina Solheim to win the women's +67kg heavyweight gold, giving Mexico its second Olympic title after Guillermo Perez triumphed earlier in the men's -58kg competition.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 9:28 PM

Australia's Olympians met expectations and provided an "outstanding" performance at the Beijing Olympics, according to John Coates.

The Australian Olympic Committee president says Australia's final medal tally of 46 is well within predictions, and reflects a result on par with Australia's past Games performances.

"We optimised our opportunities and we optimised our performance," Mr Coates said.

"The great majority of athletes had the opportunity to compete at their best and they did so.

"(I have) immense pride in the performances of these athletes. An outstanding performance."

Mr Coates said Australia had improved on its medal performance in Athens and looks set to finish sixth in total gold medals and fifth in the overall medal tally.

Australia had joined other countries improving on their performance - including Great Britain and the United States, while countries like Russia, Germany and France had performed below expectations.

Mr Coates said among his games highlights were James Tomkins's humility after he and the rest of the rowing eight failed to win a medal in his sixth Games; the domination of Australia's women swimmers in the pool, including Stephanie Rice's three gold medals; Steve Hooker's gold in the pole vault; and Ken Wallace's late rush to win bronze in the K1 1,000 metres kayak and gold in the K1 500m kayak.

Mr Coates says the emotional high point of the games was Matthew Mitcham's diving gold in the 10m platform.

"The poise and the focus of Matthew, and what he achieved was simply outstanding," he said.

'Well prepared'


Mr Coates said the team had been well-prepared for the Games and had benefited from special efforts to deal with Beijing's heat and pollution.

He says the next summer Games in London will be easier for Australian athletes - and he says bettering Britain's medals tally in Beijing will be a key motivation for the team.

"We don't have as great issues as we had here," he said.

"We knew the heat and humidity and pollution and those things were going to be a big issue.

"We are used to competing in Great Britain. All of our sports do it regularly.

"And the other great advantage that we have is that many of our sports have a base in Europe from which they can move across to London close to the Games."

The AOC predicted Great Britain would be better at these games but admit they have been surprised by just how good they have been.

The Brits have won 47 medals including 19 gold.

Mr Coates says he is determined to reverse the results in 2012.

"Great Britain isn't going to stay ahead of us. If they beat us in the Ashes, you want to go back and get them don't you?" he said.

"So that's going to be our goal in London."

Chinese challenge


Mr Coates paid tribute to the quality of venues prepared by the Beijing Games organisers.

But he repeated earlier criticism of ticketing policies, suggesting that it had robbed some events of crowd atmosphere.

He also expressed relief that Australian athletes had not used the Olympics to highlight human rights issues in China.

And he said Australia should not fear the continuing emergence of China as the dominant power at the Olympics.

China dominated the Games, finishing well clear of the United States on the medal tally.

Mr Coates said Australia should embrace the opportunity to compete against the best.

"Well we shouldn't be scared of competition, I think we should be very pleased to be engaging with China in sport," he said.

"A legacy of these Games is that Australians must have a better understanding of China.

"There would have been a lot of perceptions that would have been blown away."

Australia's team will depart on two chartered jets tomorrow and arrive back in Sydney on Tuesday morning with the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expected to speak at a team reception at Sydney Airport.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 11:19 PM

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge has declared the Beijing Olympics officially closed, bringing down the curtain on a glittering 16-day long sports extravaganza.

"These were truly exceptional Games!" Mr Rogge said at the end of the first Olympics organised by China.

The Beijing Olympics, which opened on August 8, saw China for the first time emerge as the dominant sports country at the Games, taking 51 golds to 36 for the United States and 23 for Russia

They were also a massive landmark showcasing China's full emergence as a world political and economic superpower.

Presiding at his second Games, Mr Rogge said at the conclusion to a lavish closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium that through the Beijing Olympics "the world learned more about China and China learned more about the world".

"New stars were born. Stars from past Games amazed us again. We shared their joys and their tears, and we marveled at their ability. We will long remember the achievements we witnessed here," he said.

"As we celebrate the success of these Games, let us together wish the best for the talented athletes who will soon participate in the Paralympic Games. They also inspire us.

"To the athletes tonight: You were true role models. You have shown us the unifying power of sport.

"The Olympic spirit lives in the warm embrace of competitors from nations in conflict. Keep that spirit alive when you return home.

"These were truly exceptional Games!

"And now, in accordance with tradition, I declare the Games of the 29th Olympiad closed, and I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in London to celebrate the Games of the 30th Olympiad.

The Olympic flag was then passed on to London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Monday, August 25, 2008 - 12:28 AM

Around 40,000 people including record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps have gathered to celebrate 2012 host London taking over from Beijing as the Olympic city.

The spectators watched the Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing on giant TV screens set up on the Mall near Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II, before enjoying a pop concert.

The crowd roared their approval when the big screens showed the Mayor of London Boris Johnson taking possession of the Olympic flag during the ceremony in Beijing.

The cheers grew even louder in London when, thousands of miles away in the Chinese capital, England football star David Beckham kicked a football from the roof of a red London double-decker bus.

The "Party Like It's 2012" event in London, which took place in bright sunshine after the morning rain cleared away, also featured a fly-past by the Red Arrows, the British Royal Air Force's aerobatics team.

Their jets also swooped over the British capital on the day in July 2005 when London was awarded the 2012 Games.

The star attraction at the party was Phelps, the 23-year-old from the United States, who won eight gold medals in the pool, the highest number ever by one competitor at an Olympics.

He promised that he would be back in Britain in 2012 in search of more gold.

"I still have things that I want to do in the sport, I've never competed over here in London and I'm looking forward to really experience more of the city and be able to prepare myself to hopefully swim some fast times," he said.

Olympic handover parties took place in other British cities, including the central English city of Birmingham, which will host some of the Olympic football matches.

The British team's success at the Beijing Olympics, where it won 19 gold medals and finished fourth in the overall table, has taken many by surprise and some commentators say it could help dissipate some of the cynicism about how much the London Games will cost.

The original budget was 3.4 billion pounds ($7.3 billion) but has already risen to 9.3 billion pounds ($19.9 billion).

Even the Queen has been caught up by Olympic fever - she said she had been following Team GB's successes "with great interest and admiration".

"As a nation, we now look forward to holding the Olympic Games in London in 2012," the monarch said in a statement.

"The golden triumphs of the present British team can only serve as further inspiration to those who will be working hard over the next four years to make the London games a shining example of Olympic success."

Organisers say the London Olympics will not try and emulate the scale of the Beijing extravaganza but aim to be a "sustainable" Games which leave a lasting legacy for the deprived area of east London where they will be based.

Monday, August 25, 2008 - 12:48 AM

The Beijing Olympics, played out against a background of political intrigue and featuring 16 days of compelling and controversial action, has drawn to a spectacular close.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge described the Games as "truly exceptional" in a lavish closing ceremony at the Bird's Nest Stadium, which culminated in the handing over of the Olympic flag to Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, which will host the 2012 edition.

"Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world," Mr Rogge said.

"These were truly exceptional Games."

The appearance of David Beckham on top of a red double-decker bus that unfolded into a hedge-clipped silhouette of London sent 91,000 fans into a frenzy in the futuristic Bird's Nest stadium.

The former England football skipper booted a ball off the top of a London bus before the Olympic flame was extinguished.

Kaleidoscope of colours


The London segment was woven into a spectacular ceremony that wrapped up a $US43 billion Games designed to showcase China's might, modernity and sporting prowess.

A ring of fireworks exploded round the rim of the stadium. Two giant drums were hoisted into the sky with two pairs of suspended drummers thumping out a hypnotic beat.

The stadium was turned into a kaleidoscope of glittering colours with 200 acrobats taking giant leaps and somersaulting across a stage on spring-heeled stilts.

Thousands of athletes poured in from all four corners of the stadium, blowing kisses and waving flags.

The towering figure of Chinese basketball player Yao Ming was seen grinning from ear to ear.

Beckham, brought up in east London, hailed Beijing's success but said before the ceremony: "I'm sure we will be better than them, without a doubt."

Britain's eight-minute chance to tell the world what the London Games would offer the world in 2012 featured guitarist Jimmy Page, who launched into the riff from 1970s classic "Whole Lotta Love".

He was joined in the Led Zeppelin classic by TV talent show winner and chart-topping singer Leona Lewis.

Queen Elizabeth also sanctioned a choral version of "God Save The Queen" backed by lush string arrangements.

Mr Johnson, his normally dishevelled blond hair carefully coiffed for the occasion, took over the Olympic flag and waved it proudly, especially after Britain's best gold medal performance for a century.

"This is a short, sharp shock that fires the starting gun for London," said organiser Martin Green, who rehearsed the British show for two weeks at a private airfield outside Beijing.

The Games saw China depose the United States as the new sports superpower.

At the end of the 16 days of competition and 302 events, China had 51 gold medals, 15 more than the United States on 36, with Russia winning 23 and Great Britain 19.

Australia finished with 14 gold medals.