Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 2:55 AM

The world's fastest man Usain Bolt collected his third Olympic gold medal when he helped Jamaica smash the world record to win the men's 4x100 metres relay final.

Bolt, who won the 100 and 200 finals in world record times, teamed up with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell to clock 37.10 seconds, slashing 0.30 off the mark set by the United States at the 1993 world championships.

"It's a great feeling. I was really excited to go out there and give Usain his third world record," Powell said.

Trinidad and Tobago finished second in 38.06, about 10 metres behind their Caribbean neighbours, and Japan was third in 38.15.

Britain, the US and Nigeria, the medallists in Athens four years ago, missed out on the final after mistakes in the heats, leaving Jamaica as overwhelming favourites for gold.

While Jamaica's women's 4x100 relay team missed out on a medal after failing to get finish, there were no mistakes for the Jamaican men as they handed over seamlessly with Bolt running the third leg and Powell, the former world record holder, sprinting clear on the last.

The victory stretches Jamaica's dominance in the Games' sprinting schedule while setting the fifth world record on the track.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 10:57 AM

Steve Hooker has won Australia's 12th gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, setting a Games record of 5.96 metres to win the men's pole vault.

It was the first track and field gold medal for the Australian men's team since Ralph Doubell won the 800m at the 1968 Mexico Games, and the first in the field since John Winter's gold medal in the men's high jump at London 1948.

The 26-year-old Commonwealth champion won the competition when he vaulted 5.90m at his third attempt.

He then went on to break American Tim Mack's previous Olympic record of 5.95m, set at the Athens Games in 2004.

He then opted to call it a night, neglecting to push towards the world record of 6.14m, held by Ukrainian Sergey Bubka.

Russian Evgeny Lukyanenko claimed silver with 5.85m and Ukraine's Denys Yurchenko won bronze with 5.70m on countback.

"The whole competition was mentally and physically the hardest thing I've done in my life," Hooker said.

"It was more like boxing than pole vault.

"I was close to missing 5.80m but I made the big jumps when it counted."

The 26-year-old Victorian said setting an Olympic record had not been his goal.

"I'm just happy to put it together when it counts," he said.

"I didn't care if I jumped an Olympic record or 5.50m. It's all about winning out here.

"However, the Olympic record is really special to me. Tim Mack is a really good friend of mine."

Hooker acknowledged that he had done his nerves no favours by leaving himself until the third attempt at several heights.

"I can't believe it. I was not expecting to see more 'O's than 'X's on my scorecard.

"I didn't expect to be there on my third attempt, and to do it three times, it's very draining.

"I should have skipped the second jumps altogether. They were not working for me.

"I should have gone straight to the third.

"I'm starting to feel like a pretty happy guy. You can probably see the look on my face as I go over the bar on the footage.

"It's like nothing I've ever experienced in my life.

"I stood at the end of the runway before that jump, and it was like something I'd imagined when I was a kid growing up."

'Nerve-wracking'


Australian high performance manager Max Binnington admitted it was a nerve-racking experience watching on.

"When he passed at 5.75, we were worried," he said.

"Steve's always been a bit adventurous, and that's what's got him to those heights.

"It was nerve-wracking for us, but he knew what he was doing."

Mr Binnington said he was pleased to see a new generation of athletes coming to the fore.

"It's been terrific," he said. "Our young athletes are the ones who've come through, and they're the ones we're counting on into the future."

"We expected Steve to be amongst the medals.

"If he hadn't won it I think he would have been very disappointed."

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 12:37 PM

Swimmer Stephanie Rice will carry the Australian flag in tomorrow's closing ceremony of the Olympic Games after starring with three gold medals in Beijing.

Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) head John Coates says Rice's brilliant display at the Water Cube was the standout Australian performance of the Games.

Rice says she is surprised she was chosen for the honour.

"He said, I'd really like for you to be the flag bearer and I just thought, oh my gosh. I never even saw that coming at all," she aid.

"I feel so honoured to be given this role and I guess I'm really looking forward to it.

"Because I didn't get to go to the opening ceremony I was really looking forward to going to the closing but now even more so."

Mr Coates says Rice's performance in the pool set the mood for the entire Olympic team.

"That is in recognition of her sensational performance winning two individual and one relay event in the swimming in the first week," he said.

"All of that was very, very important for the encouragement and setting the mood for our team as a whole, the performance of the swimmers in winning 20 medals, and Stephanie leading the way in that regard."

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 1:18 PM

David Beckham will kick footballs from the top of a red double-decker bus as London showcases its plans for the 2012 Olympics during Sunday's Beijing closing ceremony, British media reported Saturday.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis, playing a version of the 1970s band's classic hit "Whole Lotta Love", will join the former England football captain for Sunday's eight-minute handover slot.

The set will start after London Mayor Boris Johnson receives the Olympic flag during the finale at the Bird's Nest Stadium.

An iconic red London bus will then drive into the stadium followed by gold medal-winning cyclists Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, who will be pedalling behind it dressed like regular city riders.

The bus will then stop and be surrounded by dancers before Page and Lewis emerge from the top deck on rising columns. Beckham will appear towards the end of the song and shoot a football into the centre of the field.

The show will reportedly cost around 2.5 million pounds ($5.34 million) and feature a 70-strong cast.

Stephen Powell, its creative director, told the Guardian newspaper that the intention was to put on a typically British show.

"The London bus is an iconic image that will be recognisable to anyone watching anywhere in the world and it will be in complete contrast to what has gone before," he said.

"We wanted to do a show that is irrepressibly British, iconic, eclectic and witty."

Bill Morris, London 2012's director of ceremonies, added that he had been stunned by the scale of the Beijing opening ceremony but said the handover would try to do something unique.

"We will take a London approach and will be different. Our approach is to keep it simple and creative, to make it youthful and diverse, entertaining and fun," he told newspapers.

The closing ceremony will be watched by around 90,000 people in the stadium and millions on television around the world.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 3:18 PM

China's bid for a sweep of all eight diving gold medals at the Beijing Games was under pressure Saturday heading into the final of the men's 10 metres platform.

Huo Liang was the leader after the semi-finals at the Water Cube, with a total of 549.95 points.

But Australian Matthew Mitcham, looking to atone for a poor performance in the 3m springboard, was right behind him, following up a fine preliminary performance by finishing the semi-finals in second with 532.20 points, ahead of China's Zhou Luxin (526.20).

"It's anybody's," world number three Mitcham said of the gold.

"I think one bad dive from anyone and they're out of the competition, that's the high standard of the competition."

Huo, ranked number two in the world, said his semi-final performance was a big improvement on his showing in Friday's preliminaries, and he hoped to do better still in the final.

"I wasn't relaxed enough in the preliminary," he said.

Zhou, on the other hand, was less assured in the semi-finals, with a mediocre final dive - a reverse three-and-a-half somersault - costing him.

"There were some technical deficiencies in my last dive," he said.

"I failed to get my body full adjusted this morning. Hopefully I will get better tonight."

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 3:49 PM

Penny Taylor will join the Opals in tonight's gold medal match against the United States in the women's basketball in Beijing.

Taylor has been under an injury cloud since straining a ligament in her right ankle in a match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday night.

She stayed on the bench during the Opals' quarter-final win over China on Thursday night.

But coach Jan Stirling says Taylor says she is now ready to play for gold against the United States.

"She's trained today," she said. "Got through the training session. Definitely (she'll) play tonight."

Stirling says the experience of having had a question mark over Taylor's fitness has benefitted the team's preparation for the crucial game.

"That negative of not having her has turned into a positive," she said.

"The team are really united and understand that all of us will need to play well to get over the line."

Stirling says Taylor trained this morning and will take to the court even though she is not quite up to speed.

"If you look at our game against China we played a very scary semi-final against the host nation without Penny Taylor and everyone else came and chipped in so we certainly know we got the depth," she added.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 4:17 PM

Argentina claimed back-to-back Olympic football titles with the winning goal engineered by superstar Lionel Messi in a 1-0 win over former champions Nigeria in the gold medal match at the Beijing Games on Saturday.

Messi disentangled himself from Nigeria's tight marking to put team-mate Angel Di Maria clear on goal early in the second half of a final played in sapping midday heat at the National Stadium.

Benfica's Di Maria chipped the advancing goalkeeper Ambruse Vanzekin to break the deadlock and score what proved the winning goal in the 58th minute.

Argentina successfully defended the Olympic crown from its 1-0 win over Paraguay in Athens four years ago.

Nigeria went in with the pyschological edge from winning the corresponding final 12 years ago in Atlanta 3-2 to become the first African Olympic champions.

But although the Nigerians kept the irrepressible Messi in check for the most part, he ultimately sunk them with his exhilarating skills.

Messi, who almost did not play in Beijing with Barcelona wanting him back in Spain in time for the Champions League third qualifying round matches, came close to scoring 13 minutes from the end, but was thwarted by a fearless covering tackle from Nice central defender Onyekachi Apam.

Messi again proved a thorn to Nigeria after bringing them undone in the final of the 2005 FIFA under-20 World Cup in Utrecht when he earned and converted two penalties in a 2-1 win.

Nigeria frustrated Argentina's normally free-flowing attacks, double-marking dangerman Messi and protecting their goal comfortably for most of the opening half.

Penalty shouts


The defending champions began well with Di Maria put clear by skipper Juan Riquelme in the ninth minute and was brought down on the edge of the box.

The Africans came more into the game and Hertha Berlin right winger Solomon Okoronkwo, the only over-aged player in the Nigerian squad, produced some sweet touches to combine well with striker Victor Obinna.

Sergio Aguero, whose two goals destroyed Brazil in Tuesday's semi-finals, was put through by Di Maria but a strong tackle from Apam saw off the threat in the 16th minute.

Messi appealed for a penalty when he surged into the area but it was turned down and at the other end left-winger Peter Odemwingie's header was just over the bar.

The fierce midday heat forced Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai to stop play for a water break on the half-hour and minutes after, Odemwingie skipped around Nicolas Pareja and skipper Promise Isaac just missed connecting with the cross.

The ball came back and Isaac's header was saved by Sergio Romero in Nigeria's best chance of the half.

Argentina did not get its first corner until the 39th minute and just before half-time Apam again saw off another Messi threat and Di Maria let fly with a fierce long-range volley which just missed the right post.

Messi almost scored minutes after the interval flicking the ball around a defender and unleashing a stinging volley that was taken by Vanzekin.

Apam went into the referee's book for a heavy tackle on Di Maria as Argentina began to take more control of the game.

Messi presented Aguero with a great chance 15 minutes from the end but a desperate tackle forced him to lash over the bar.

Messi had a chance moments later skipping clear after winning the ball in a tackle but Apam saved the situation with a great covering tackle on the edge of the box.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 10:15 PM

Australian kayaker Ken Wallace has won Australia's 13th gold medal of the Beijing Games with victory in the men's K1 500 metres.

Wallace, who yesterday won bronze in the 1,000m event, was second at the 250m mark but produced a blistering back-half performance to overtake Canadian Adam van Koeverden in the final 100 metres.

The 25-year-old Wallace finished in a time of one minute and 37.252 seconds, just .378 ahead of van Koeverden.

"I am ecstatic, I didn't really know where I was," Wallace said.

"After the finish line I didn't really want to look but I'm so happy."

Van Koeverden went in as the defending champion and Wallace knew he would be extremely tough to beat.

"Adam's one of those really, really tough guys. You give him an inch and he's all over you," he said.

"I wish that the finish line came faster, the buoys just got from white to red and that's sort of what happens to your body.

"That's how I was feeling."

Briton Tim Brabants, the winner of the 1,000m, took bronze in 1:37.671.

It is Australia's first gold medal in the K1 500m since it was introduced at the 1976 Montreal Games.

Prior to today Australia's best result was silver, with Nathan Baggaley (2004) and John Sumegi (1980) falling short of gold.

In the men's K2 500m, gold went to Spain with Germany taking silver and Belarus bronze.

China took out the men's C2 500m while Maxim Opalev of Russia won the C1.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 11:14 PM

The United States has won gold medals in both the men's and women's 4x400 metres relays at the Beijing Olympics.

The men's team won for the seventh time in a row in an Olympic record 2 minutes and 55.39 seconds.

Beijing 400m Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, 400m hurdles Olympic champion Angelo Taylor, 400m bronze medallist David Neville and two-time world 400m champion Jeremy Wariner broke the old mark of 2:55.74, set by US men in 1992.

Bahamas was second in 2:58.03 with Russia third in 2:58.06.

The Australian team of Sean Wroe, John Steffensen, Clinton Hill, Joel Milburn came in sixth. Australia won silver in the event in Athens four years ago.

In the women's, Sanya Richards surged past her Russian rival in the final few metres to help the United States win the gold medal.

Richards teamed up with Mary Wineberg, Allyson Felix and Monique Henderson to win in a time of 3 minutes and 18.54 seconds.

Russia finished second in 3:18.82 after Anastasia Kapachinskaya started the last leg with a handy lead over Richards.

Jamaica won the bronze medal in 3:20.40.

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 2:52 AM

Australia's men's hockey team has bounced back from a disappointing semi-final defeat to Spain to claim the bronze medal with a 6-2 win over the Netherlands.

After missing the chance to defend their Olympic gold from Athens, the Kookaburras turned on the skill early against their rivals from four years ago.

Young star Eddie Ockenden scored twice within six minutes before Des Abbott added another three minutes later.

The shell-shocked Dutch replied through penalty corner ace Taeke Taekema, his 12th goal of the tournament, and a field goal to Teun de Nooijer.

Australia went into the break leading 4-2 after a goal from Eli Matheson seven minutes before half-time and Rob Hammond added one more soon after resumption to make it 5-2.

Australia completed its scoring spree eight minutes from the end when Luke Doerner banged in a penalty corner.

Captain Bevan George said it was an impressive way to finish the tournament.

"We saved our best till last today," he said.

"I mean we played pretty well all tournament, disappointed with the semi-final (against Spain) but today everything just came together for us.

"I wish we'd played like that in the semi-final but absolutely rapt with the way the boys played today and you couldn't ask for a better finish."

He said it was disappointing not to have participated in the gold medal match.

"I think it was just the one performance really, in the semi-final," he said.

"In the end, we were just beaten by a better team in that semi-final but that's what you learn to live with and it will take a while to get over that performance, but we'll just move on and get on with the next one."

Australia's coach Barry Dancer added: "It took some time coming to grips with the semi-final defeat.

"We grieved for some time, dealt with our emotions and started to refocus.

"This is a team with comradeship, togetherness and unity and is well-placed going into 2010 and beyond."

The win bettered Australia's 6-3 triumph over Pakistan in a similar play-off for the bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The Netherlands failed to win a medal for the first time in four successive Olympics, having won the title in 1996 and 2000 and a silver in Athens.

The loss meant the veteran Dutch trio of Teun de Nooijer, goalkeeper Guus Vogels and captain Jeroen Delmee return home empty-handed from their fourth and final Olympic appearance.

"We let ourselves down, embarrassed ourselves and our country," Taekema said.

"We may be gone, but we need to find players who will be hungry to reach for the top."