Olympic

US on to semis, Aussies eliminated

2009-02-28T05:30:00.001-08:00

Dwyane Wade （L） of the United States drives to the basket （Photo credit： Streeter Lecka/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 20） -- Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament after knocking out Australia 116-85 on Wednesday， August 20.

The US team pressed hard on both ends of the court， grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and 38 defensive rebounds en route to a massive 57 boards， more than double the 28 on the Australian side.

Kobe Bryant led the winning side with 25 points and five rebounds while Lebron James poured in%26nbsp；16 points and nine rebounds. Carmelo Anthony netted 15 points， and Deron Williams and Chris Bosh had 10 apiece.

"We set in a little bit more defensively. Once we made that adjustment， we played much better，" said Bryant. "Our strength comes in waves in the second， third and fourth quarters."

The Oceania champion started fairly well， managing to deal with US full-court pressure in the first half and only trailing 25-24 after the first quarter. The teams went to the main break at 55-43 in the United States' favor.

The third quarter saw the margin further extended as Team USA came up with fantastic coordination to go on a 14-0 run shortly back from the half. Australia was unable to catch up with the US pace， conceding several turnovers which allowed their opponents to score more points on fast-break lay-ups. In the fourth period， a downtown three-pointer by Bryant made it 99-67 before James penetrated into the lane， draining a two-pointer and breaking 100 points.

"There was stage-fright there mate， definitely stage-fright there，" Australian guard Patrick Mills acknowledged. "In the end， you just have to see them （the United States） as ordinary players. You try to come out and put your best foot forward and see what happens."

Mills was the biggest contributor for Australia， scoring 20 points. Glen Saville weighed in with 13 points and Joe Ingles buried all of his attempts on his way to 11 points in 10 minutes.

Photos: Russia beats China for bronze

2009-02-28T05:29:00.003-08:00

Miao Lijie goes up for a shot over Ilona Korstin. （Photo credit： Quinn Rooney/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Russia triumphed over host China 94-81 in the bronze medal match of the Olympic Women's Basketball tournament on Saturday， August 23.

Maria Stepanova lays the ball up over Bian Lan. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）
Chen Nan drives to the basket. （Photo credit： Quinn Rooney/Getty Images）
Miao Lijie goes up for a rebound. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）

Hammon, Russia downs China for bronze

2009-02-28T05:29:00.001-08:00

Irina Osipova （L）of Russia looks to pass under pressure from Chen Nan of China （Photo credit： Quinn Rooney/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 23） -- Chen Nan's game-high 26 points did not help the host team reach the podium as Russia rallied past China 94-81 in the bronze medal match of the Olympic Women's Basketball tournament on Saturday， August 23.

US-born Becky Hammon， who plays for the CSKA Moscow club and chose to compete for Russia shortly before the Beijing Olympic Games started， contributed a team-high 22 points and four assists.

Russia trailed 24-23 in the first quarter but went into the main break 52-39 thanks to 11 points from playmaker Hammon. Though the Chinese managed to narrow the margin to 11 points in the second half， they found themselves unable to shut down the sharp Russian offense and bowed 94-81.

"I feel upset. It is such a psychological fall. But we have done our best，" said a frustrated Sui Feifei of China.

"It has been 10 years （since I joined the national team）. I had thought this would be a chance （for a medal） and we wanted to go further.""

Beside Chen's 26 points， Bian Lan scored 17 points and grabbed six boards for China. Captain Miao Lijie netted 16 points and pulled down three rebounds.

Russia got double-digit baskets from four players with Hammon leading at 22 points. Tatiana Shchegoleva and Maria Stepanova sunk 15 points apiece and Ilona Korstin 11.

"I'm very happy. It was very important for us to win a medal，" said Korstin. "We came here to win the gold medal. We played an unfortunate game against the United States. But we fought for each victory， and we're happy to repeat what we did in Athens."

Photos: China loses to Spain 85-75 in men's basketball group match

2009-02-27T06:32:00.005-08:00

Yao Ming （R） of China goes up for a shot. （Photo credit： Meng Yongmin/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The group B preliminary round game between Spain and China in Men's Basketball was held at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Beijing， China on August 12， 2008. Spain beat China 85-75.

Rudy Fernandez （C） of Spain passes the ball. （Photo credit： Meng Yongmin/Xinhua）
Yi Jianlian of China hammers a dunk. （Photo credit： Wang Lei/Xinhua）

Spain trails, in overtime prevails

2009-02-27T06:32:00.003-08:00

Yao Ming （R） of China goes up for a shoot. （Photo credit： Meng Yongmin/ Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；%26nbsp；

（BEIJING， August 12） -- China stunned Spain with leads as big as 15 points， but ultimately the world champion Spanish Men's Basketball team prevailed in overtime， 85-75， in an exciting group B preliminary match on Tuesday， August 12.

World No. 3 Spain's Pau Gasol was the game high-scorer， netting 29 points and grabbing eight rebounds. His teammate Rudy Fernandez contributed 21 points， eight rebounds and six assists.

China had four players finishing in double digits， including Liu Wei with 19 points， Zhu Fangyu and Wang Zhizhi with 15 points， and Yao Ming with 11 points.

The first half saw the two teams' scores neck-and-neck， reaching 11-10 midway through the first quarter and ending the whole ten minutes with Spain leading 20-18. China did a stunning job in the second quarter， gaining 28 points while Spain scored only 17. China made four three-pointers in this period， with forward Zhu contributing two of them， and Spain was left behind 46-37 at halftime.

China kept in good form in the third quarter， gaining 15 points， five more than the Spanish team. Wang Zhizhi， who came onto the court halfway in this quarter， put away a quick seven points in four minutes.

The fourth quarter， however， saw an increasingly tired China fail to meet a big push from Spain， who grabbed 25 points while China could only net 11. The shooting percentage of the Chinese players decreased sharply in this period，which spelled disaster as Spain jacked up their score. A two-pointer by Wang Zhizhi helped China to pull ahead to one final lead， 72-70， but with only one minute to go Spain was able to equalize the score and propel the game into overtime.

The crowd was behind them in a big way， but China's players could not maintain their performance and energy in the extra five minutes of overtime. On an attempted block against Spain's biggest weapon of the night， Pau Gasol， Yao got called for his fifth personal foul and had to leave the game early. A match that was filled with excitement came to a less than spectacular end， with Spain dominating the overtime and taking the game 85-75.

Men's Basketball Day 2 Review: Spain spreads China thin in overtime

2009-02-27T06:32:00.001-08:00

Spain takes China in overtime， where Yao Ming fouled out （Photo credit： Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 13） -- 2007 EuroBasket silver medal Spain got an overtime win， but European champion Russia did not fare as well， on day two of the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament on Tuesday， August 12.

Spain came back from trailing 14-points to force a tired China into overtime， where Yao Ming fouled out and Spain easily took the victory 85-75. The Chinese team is now 0-2， while reigning world champion Spain is even only with the United States with a 2-0 record in group B.

Spanish guard Ricky Rubio admits his team could have played better. "We started a little bit relaxed， thinking that China wasn't a good opponent for us，" he said. "We are the world champions but anyone can beat us."

China's Forward Li Nan ventured to guess why his team lost in overtime after such a promising second-half lead. "First， it's because of the decreasing physical strength，" Nan said. "Second， at the last moment， we doubted ourselves and hesitated on offense." He also noted that Yao's ankle wasn't completely 100 percent in time for Olympic competition.

While Spain won today， 2007 EuroBasket gold medal Russia was forced to split its record 1-1， as World No. 20 Croatia took its second consecutive game. Russia was leading in most of the first half， but Croatia closed the second quarter 42-36 and ran away with the score from there to an 85-78 final.

Now Croatia and Lithuania stand atop group A with 2-0 records.

Lithuania's game fell more to the category of "blowout." Lithuania beat Iran 99-67 in an even bigger routing than the United States vs. Angola game， which ended 97-76. Coming off a late win against Argentina， Lithuania was behind for the beginning of the match until point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius took over. His basket from in the paint ignited an 18-0 onslaught that carried Lithuania through the game. The 22-point high scorer of that match was Linas Kleiza， but Iran's center Hamed Ehadadi was on his heels with 21 points and nine rebounds.

That the United States took Angola was no surprise， but Angola was particularly handicapped by the absence of their star forward Olimpio Cipriano， who was still suffering from a shoulder injury sustained in his tournament opener against Germany. Angola's Carlos Morais led the game in scoring for 24 points， and the top rebounder was teammate Joaquim Gomes. Dwayne Wade led Team USA with 19 points.

With a strong defense that was able to contain the likes of Chris Kaman， the Greek team powered through an 87-64 pounding of Germany. Greece's Vasileios Spanoulis had a game-high 23 points， while Dirk Nowitzki topped the German team with 13 points and six rebounds.

Finally， defending gold medal Argentina got their first tournament win， defeating Australia 85-68. Argentina went to the final quarter 63-46， but the Boomers staged a terrific comeback to make it 74-64 on a 10-0 run. Manu Ginobili led the winning team with 21 points， while Australia's guard Patrick Mills scored a game-high 22.

US women overpower last-place Mali

2009-02-27T06:31:00.005-08:00

Nagnouma Coulibaly of Mali（R）goes up for a lay up （Photo credit：Mark Dadswell/Getty Images） Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 13） -- The United States thrashed Mali 97-41 in the preliminary round of the Olympic Women's Basketball tournament on Wednesday， August 13.

The defeat was inevitable against the defending Olympic champion， but on top of it Mali had to play without captain Hamchetou Maiga， who averaged 12.4 points in her two-game Olympic appearance. Maiga is out of the tournament for good after sustaining an ankle injury in Mali's game against the Czech Republic.

Despite playing minus-Maiga， the African champion managed to stay only one point behind the United States midway through the first quarter， but soon melted down in front of the aggressive US offense.

The US side got double-digit scoring from five players including captain Lisa Leslie， who led the team with 16 points， while Seimone Augustus netted 12.

"We were just trying to keep our level of play really high，" said US forward Tina Thompson. "We're building up to the medal round so we definitely want to stay at the top of our game.

"Mali is a very athletic team but they're kind of inexperienced in competition of this magnitude， so we wanted to just come out and be ourselves，" Thompson added. Notwithstanding

Aminata Sininta was the biggest contributor for Mali， burying 13 points. Fatoumata Bagayoko and Meiya Tireira had seven points apiece.

Despite the loss， Mali is trying to remain optimistic. ""We still have a chance to qualify because we still have two games to go； we will fight our best to win，" Mali center Meiya Tireira said post-game.

Spain trumps Germany in Men's Basketball

2009-02-27T06:31:00.003-08:00

Raul Lopez of Spain is closed down by Dirk Nowitzki of Germany. （Photo credit： Getty）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 14） -- The World champion Spanish Men's Basketball team reversed a setback by beating Germany 72-59 in an exciting group B preliminary match on Thursday， August 14.

World No. 3 Spain's Jose Manuel Caldergon and Germany's Steffen Hamann were the game's high-scorers， netting 15 points apiece.

Alex Mumbru of Spain contributed 14 points and made all of his three three-pointers. His teammate Pau Gasol took 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Germany's backbone player Dirk Nowitzki got 11 points and five rebounds.

Germany led throughout the opening quarter， reaching its biggest lead of six points and closing 15-12. Spain was not in top form， finishing with a low shooting percentage. Germany managed to lead for most of the second quarter， but Spain caught up and grabbed the lead in the last two minutes， ending 39-36.

The third quarter saw Spain widen the gap over ten points and hold it through the remaining ten minutes. A last second two-pointer from Germany's Patrick Femerling cut the deficit to 11 points. Germany made tough resist in the last quarter， but was effectively contained by Spain， losing the game 72-59.

"They are a good team and they just made better offensive plays than us. We could have beaten them if we had played better." Said center Christopher Kaman （GER）.

Photos: United States beats Greece 92-69

2009-02-27T06:31:00.001-08:00

Dwayne Wade jumps past Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Greece to score. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

United States had no problem beating Greece 92-69 in their Men's Basketball group B clash on Thursday， August 14.

Greece managed to keep the first quarter close， losing just 20-16. However， the United States kicked into gear in the second quarter and extended their lead to 51-32 at halftime. The third quarter was tight again， but the United States won 92-69 in the end.

United States now tops the group with three wins in their hand.

Dimitrios Diamantidis of Greece is closed down by Dwayne Wade. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）
Vasileios Spanoulis of Greece is double teamed by Deron Williams and Chris Bosh. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）
Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Greece holds the ball as Carmelo Anthony plays defence. （Photo credit： Jeff Gross/Getty Images）

Photos: Argentina triumphs over Croatia

2009-02-27T06:30:00.003-08:00

Luis Alberto Scola （C） of Argentina reaches back for a rebound. （Photo credit： Li Jundong/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Defending Olympic champion Argentina cruised past Croatia 77-53 in the preliminary round of the Olympic Basketball tournament.

Argentina's players celebrate winning. （Photo credit： Meng Yongmin/Xinhua）

Photos: China enters quarterfinal beating Germany 59-55

2009-02-27T06:30:00.001-08:00

Sun Yue （R） and Yi Jianlian grab the rebound. （Photo credit： Li Gang/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

China secured a quarterfinal spot after defeating Germany 59-55 in a breathtaking Men's Basketball group B clash on August 16.

Yao Ming tries to shoot. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dirk Nowitzki of Germany is guarded by Yi Jianlian. （Photo credit： Streeter Lecka/Getty Images）
Wang Zhizhi （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Steffen Hamann moves the ball while covered by Zhu Fangyu. （Photo credit： Streeter Lecka/Getty Images）

Defense carries China to quarterfinals

2009-02-26T04:52:00.003-08:00

Chinese players celebrate their win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 16） -- After an ugly but exciting fight， China secured a quarterfinal spot by beating Germany 59-55 in their group B clash on August 16.

Before the match， Germany sat in fourth place in the group with four points. China had the same number of points， but ranked fifth， due to a worse record. The United States， Spain and Greece are the top three teams with six points each. The rules for group matches are： 1） A win gives a team two points； 2） A loss brings just one point； 3） The top four teams move to the next round； 4） If two teams are tied in points， the team that has won their encounter%26nbsp；will move up in rank. Germany and China both had two matches left before Saturday， which meant that the winner of their encounter secured a spot in the knockout round.

Both teams started the game with great efforts on defense. China's Yao Ming locked down the paint， while Germany contested China's perimeter shooting. China took the quarter 19-9 by forcing Germany to miss 14 of their 17 shots. Dirk Nowitzki scored Germany's first seven points and Chris Kaman added two. Yao Ming scored eight points for China， while Sun Yue contributed two fierce blocks.

Germany recovered a little in the beginning of the second quarter， thanks to Sven Schultze's two three-pointers. After a 10-1 run， they reduced the gap to 20-19. China regained control of the game after a three-pointer from Yao Ming. Turnovers from tired Chinese guards， however， cost China its lead. Germany returned with a 22-8 second quarter， leading 31-27 at halftime. Yao Ming contributed 12 points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. China's sharp shooters Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu didn't make a single field goal. Nowitzki carried the German team with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

China returned to their suffocating defense in the third quarter and finished 20-8， regaining a 47-39 lead in the end. China extended their lead to 54-41 three minutes into the last quarter， but Germany cut the gap to just one point with one minute to go after a 14-2 run， including 10 points from Nowitzki. Yi Jianlian then scored his most important basket of the game， bringing the score to 58-55 at the 28-second mark. Nowitzki tried to answer with a three-pointer but missed. Yao grabbed a crucial rebound and got fouled. Although he missed one of the two free-throws， Nowitzki turned the ball over in the next possession and virtually handed the match to China.

Yao played 34 minutes in the game， scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 boards. Yi Jianlian contributed nine points and 11 rebounds. Nowitzki missed 13 of his 20 shots， but still contributed 24 points and 17 rebounds. Kaman added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The defense was what won this match for China. They held Germany to just 29% from the field and forced them to commit 14 turnovers.

Germany will face the United States in their final game and China will play Greece. If Germany can pull out a miracle win and， tie with China or Greece in points， they will still rank fifth because they have lost to both China and Greece （87-64）.

Photos: China advances into top four in Women's Basketball

2009-02-26T04:52:00.001-08:00

Song Xiaoyun shoots. （Photo credit： Li Jundong/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

China advanced into the top four by knocking out Belarus 77-62 in the first match of the Olympic Women's Basketball quarterfinal on Tuesday， August 19.

Volha Padabed drives for a shot attempt against Sui Feifei. （Photo credit： Ezra Shaw/Getty Images）
Miao Lijie （R） dribbles against Tatyana Troina. （Photo credit： Li Jundong/Xinhua）
Anastasia Veremeenko looks to pass the ball against Bian Lan. （Photo credit： Ezra Shaw/Getty Images）

Photos: US wraps up first Basketball round with 106-57 win over Germany

2009-02-26T04:51:00.005-08:00

Carlos Boozer （No. 4） of the United States dunks. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；The United States remains undefeated after trouncing Germany 106-57 on Monday in their final preliminary round match of the Men's Basketball competitions.
Kobe Bryant of the United States reacts. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dwyane Wade of the United States slams dunk. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Michael Redd of the United States drives up. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dwyane Wade of the United States is fouled. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dwight Howard （L） of the United States is fouled by Dirk Nowitzki. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dwyane Wade （R） of the United States dunks against Steffen Hamann. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dwyane Wade of the United States is fouled. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

US Men beat Australia in closest warm-up yet

2009-02-26T04:51:00.003-08:00

Team USA are determined to win gold in Bejing. （Photo credit： CFP）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 6） -- While the United States Women's Basketball team worked out a tough second half against Australia to win the Diamond Ball in Haining on August 5， the US Men's team was also challenged by Australia in Shanghai， where they won 87-76 in their final warm-up game before Olympic competition begins.

The US team was led in scoring by Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade with 22 points and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James with 16， but the team overall performed poorly from the free throw line as well as behind the arc， where they netted only three of 18 attempts.

Patrick Mills and Chris Anstey each scored 13 points for Australia.

The US team relied on a tight defensive effort， allowing only one basket in the last five and a half minutes of the first half， going to the break at 44-29. When they began to allow Australia several three-pointers and opened the lane to drives by players like forward David Barlow， the United States cut their own lead to only four points once in the third quarter， but eventually regrouped to a double-digit advantage.

Guards Michael Redd and Wade scored inside the paint at the beginning of the fourth， moving the United States' lead to 69-55， but Australia went on an 11-2 scoring run and narrowed the gap to seven points midway through the quarter. When Team USA got their feet moving， Wade managed to rack up some more points to finish the game 87-76， their closest friendly yet.

Two days earlier， the United States beat Russia in a warm-up by 21 points， while Australia had a good showing against defending gold medalist Argentina in the Diamond Ball for Men final， leading by 12 points at the half before losing 95-91.

Australia's superstar Andrew Bogut， Milwaukee Bucks%26nbsp；center and No. 1 pick in the 2005 NBA draft， wanted more time to rest a sore right ankle， but expects to be ready by Australia's first Olympic Basketball game against Croatia on August 10.

The United States will face China on their opener that same day.

Photos: Australian Women's Basketball team defeats Belarus

2009-02-26T04:51:00.001-08:00

Belinda Snell （No.10） of Australia fights for the ball with Natallia Marchanka （No.12） of Belarus. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Australia defeated Belarus in the Women's preliminary Basketball game at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium during day 1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 9， 2008 in Beijing， China.

Lauren Jackson （No.15） of Australian shoots a free throw. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Jenni Screen （No.6） of Australia goes up for a shot against Anastasiya Verameyenka （No.10） of Belarus. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

China's defense wins a close underdog victory

2009-02-26T04:50:00.005-08:00

Spain's Elisa Aguilar López （Photo credit： Getty）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 9） -- In their Women's Basketball group B encounter with Spain on August 9， China used tough defense to contain their opponents and win the game despite their 18 turnovers.

Spain ranks fifth in the world， and won the silver in the 2007 European Championship. The Chinese team， although backed by huge home crowd， rank only 10th in the world and were less favored to win.

China had a strong start， pounding Spain 9-0 after four minutes. All nine points were scored inside the paint except for one free throw. Spain quickly called a time-out， after which they responded with a 13-4 run thanks to three three-pointers. Both teams then went on with tough defense and finished the first quarter 18-15 in China's favor.

In the second quarter， China's defense suffocated Spain's perimeter shooting and China only gave up four points after five and a half minutes. Meanwhile， they scored 14 points， five coming from team captain Miao Lijie. China maintained their form and finished the first half 37-24.

Chinese center Chen Nan dominated the paint in the first half， scoring 10 points while grabbing eight rebounds， and Miao shot 80% from the field and contributed nine points. Spanish guard Elisa Aguilar López， who was playing in her 134th game representing her country， scored eight points in the first half.

Spain regained their shooting touch in the beginning of the third quarter. Forward Alba Torrens and Anna Montañana led their offense with sharp penetrations and accurate shooting. Thanks to a 12-3 run， they reduced the deficit to 40-36. China called a crucial time-out after that， coming back to score in all three of the following possessions， bringing their lead back to 46-36. However， several turnovers later on reduced their lead to 52-44 at the end of third quarter.

China started the last quarter with a three-pointer from guard Song Xiaoyun， but they couldn't stop Torrens from scoring nine points in six minutes. More turnovers continued to diminish their lead. After Torrens made her 14th point in this quarter at 1：02 minutes to go， the game was brought to a 65-62 last-minute showdown. However， center Cindy Orquidea Lima's turnover at 14 seconds buried any chance for Spain to come back. After two made free throws， China took the match 67-64.

Torrens was the top scorer of the match， netting 18 points with just 12 attempts. Anna Montañana added 13 points and seven rebounds. China's Bian Lan contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds， while Chen Nan also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. China grabbed 48 rebounds the whole match， 13 more than their opponents. Their defense held Spain to 23% three-point shooting.

Photos: Women's Basketball preliminary round matches

2009-02-26T04:50:00.003-08:00

Anna Montanana （No.12） of Spain goes up for a shot during the match against China. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The preliminary round of Women's Basketball was played at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium during day one of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 9， 2008 in Beijing， China.

Amaya Valdemoro （No.13） of Spain takes the ball forward during the match against China. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Nagnouma Coulibaly （No.12） of Mali shoots over Lisa Wallbutton （No.10） of New Zealand. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Players watch the ball as a basket is scored during the match between New Zealand and Mali. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Photos: Men's Basketball preliminary

2009-02-26T04:50:00.001-08:00

Chris Kaman （No.12） of Germany drives to the basket against Eduardo Mingas （No.15） of Angola. （Photo credit： Phil Walter/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

On day two of the Games， Men's Basketball preliminary matches took place at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on August 10.

Jose Calderon （No.8） of Spain is covered by Panagiotis Vasilopoulos （No.8） and Theodoros Papaloukas （No.4） of Greece. （Photo credit： Phil Walter/Getty Images）
Ali Doraghi （No.4） of Iran shoots over Zakhar Pashutin （No.11） of Russia. （Photo credit： Phil Walter/Getty Images）

World champion Spain still reigns over Greece

2009-02-24T04:04:00.005-08:00

Pau Gasol of Spain posts up Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Greece. （Photo credit： Getty）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 10） -- 2006 world champion Spain crushed Greece 81-66 in a group B match in the preliminary round of the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament on Sunday， August 10.

World No. 3 Spain's Rudy Fernandez was the game high-scorer， netting 16 points and giving one assist. His teammates Jose Manuel Calderon and superstar Pau Gasol also managed double digits， taking 13 and 11 respectively.

Vasileios Spanoulis was the high-scorer for World No. 6 Greece with 15 points， three rebounds and one assist. Dimitrios Diamantidis contributed 14 points and two rebounds.

The first half saw the two teams' scores neck-and-neck， reaching 13-12 midway through the first quarter and ending the whole ten minutes with Spain leading 20-16. Throughout the quarter， Spain could only manage a very small lead， and Greece equalized the score four times. Greece did a better job in the second quarter， but Spain still outscored Greece 15-13 to go to the half 35-29.

Spain delivered their stunning performance in the third quarter， taking 27 points while Greece only sunk 17. In a four and a half-minute span， Greece only managed to add two points while Spain gained 15 points. Though Greece made great effort to catch up， Spain kept the lead to the end of this quarter， closing 62-46. This lead was enough to carry the match， with Spain claiming the final victory 81-66.

When asked to comment on the outcome， Greece's guard Theodoros Papaloukaas acknowledged that Spain is a tough team to challenge. "We didn't come out well，" he said. "With a team like Spain， you don't play for just 20 minutes. You need to play for the whole game."

Meanwhile， Spain's players are looking ahead. Center Marc Gasol said： "It feels great. It's great to start with a win. Now， we will just have to rest up for the next games."

Argentina loses, Lithuania wins on last-second three

2009-02-24T04:04:00.003-08:00

The Lithuania bench celebrates after defeating Argentina （Photo credit： Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 10） -- 2004 Olympic champion Argentina will have to work a little harder to defend its gold spot on the podium， after starting the Men's Basketball preliminary round with a last-second 79-75 loss to World No. 4 Lithuania on August 10.

Argentina only managed to outscore Lithuania in the fourth quarter， 30-28， but it was too little too late. Lithuania got double-digit contributions from five players， led by Linas Kleiza with 13 points and Robertas Javtokas with 12 points and five rebounds. Sarunas Jasikevicius had a great overall game with ten points， eight assists and four rebounds.

Lithuania ended the first quarter with a 14-11 lead， and it was only in the last four and a half minutes of the half where one of Argentina's stars of the game， guard Carlos Delfino， came out strong. Delfino first hit a big three-pointer to narrow the gap 23-20， and later had two in the paint and sunk two free throws when he was fouled after a successful steal。

With 1：02 minutes left in the first half， Argentina's Pablo Prigioni made an unsportsmanlike foul on Jasikevicius， who hit his foul shots plus two more when Progioni again fouled him five seconds later. Lithuania's lead was 32-26 when Argentina's NBA superstar Manu Ginobili took the chance to tighten the score with two made free throws and Scola put up another two points before Lithuania called a time-out. The teams went to the break 34-30， and Lithuania only outscored Argentina by one point in the quarter. Argentina shot eight for eight on their free throws in this half， and Delfino led his team with a big 10 points.

In the third quarter， Lithuania entered and exited on top， but not without fighting through four lead changes. Delfino was relatively quiet in this quarter with just one made free throw， as were Ginobili and Scola with only two points each. Argentina's center Fabricio Oberto had five points with three rebounds

The last quarter got frantic even though Lithuania held the advantage throughout. Argentina did manage to lead in scoring by two points in this quarter， however， and it was free throws by Progioni that started their failed attempt at turning the tide. Prigioni's two turns at the line narrowed the gap to 75-71，and after Lithuania had several scoreless possessions， Argentina was looking to come from behind. They forced Lithuania to call another time-out when Delfino got a board and put back up two points. Lithuania returned with a shot clock-violation and Argentina again capitalized with two points in the paint from Scola to even the score for the first time in the quarter 75-75.

With 20 seconds left and Lithuania's possession， the crowd was on its feet. Forward Kleiza hit a three-pointer leaving just 2.1 seconds for Argentina to make up the difference， not enough time though they tried by stopping the clock with fouls and sending Siskauskas to the line for one more point， ending the match 79-75.

World No. 2 Argentina was led by Ginobili with the game-high 19 points and Andres Nocioni with 15 points and nine rebounds. Delfino ended the game with 13 points and six rebounds.

Photos: Lithuania beats Argentina 79-75 in men's basketball preliminary

2009-02-24T04:04:00.001-08:00

Ginobili （L）， guard of Argentina steals the ball. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Men's Preliminary Round Group A game 10 between Argentina and Lithuania of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games basketball event was held at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Beijing， China， Aug. 10， 2008. Lithuania beat Argentina 79-75.

Players of Lithuania celebrate the victory. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Luis Alberto Scola （front）， forward of Argentina passes the ball. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Ginobili （R）， guard of Argentina vies for the ball. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Fabricio Raul Jesus Oberto （L）， center of Argentina breaks through. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Ginobili （L）， guard of Argentina passes the ball. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Prkacin, Croatia put Australia down under

2009-02-24T04:03:00.005-08:00

Brad Newley of Australia（R） drives to the basket （Photo credit： Getty）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 10） -- Croatia beat Australia 97-82 in their first game of the Men's Basketball preliminary round on August 10.

The Oceania champions came up with an impressive 51% overall shooting accuracy， 60% from the two-point range， but could not deliver enough on defense to contain World No. 20 Croatia， who buried 63% of their two-pointers and sunk a respectable 75% from behind the arc.

"We won the pressure game. I think we have one foot in the quarterfinals now." said Croatia forward Zoran Planinic. "From now on， we are going to rely on our teamwork. We've got no superstars. We know Argentina， Lithuania and Russia are better teams than us， but I'm confident we've got enough to cause an upset in the next matches."

No outstanding shooters emerged on the court as the points were evenly distributed among the top players on the both sides.

Croatian captain Nikola Prkacin went off the bench to lead his lead with 16 points in just 11：28 minutes of play， making all five two pointers and six of seven shots from the foul line. Croatia got double-digit scores from four other players： Marko Banic with 16 points， Marko Tomas and Zoran Planinic with 12， and Kresimir Loncar with 10.

Matt Nielsen was the top scorer for the Aussies， netting 13 points and grabbing five rebounds while David Barlow weighed in with 12 points and Milwaukee Bucks star Andrew Bogut had 10.

Spanish women beat New Zealand in Basketball preliminary

2009-02-24T04:03:00.003-08:00

Aneka Kerr of New Zealand drives against Amaya Valdemoro of Spain. （Photo credit： Getty）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 11） -- The Spanish Women's Basketball team beat New Zealand 85-62 in a group B match in the preliminary round of the Olympic Women's Basketball tournament on Monday， August 11.

New Zealand's Jillian Harmon was the game's high scorer， netting 22 points， grabbing five rebounds and giving three assists.

Spain's Isabel Sanchez was the biggest contributor to her team with 19 points， three rebounds and two assists. Her teammate Anna Montanana scored 18 points and took seven rebounds.

Spain set the pace from the beginning， closing the first quarter 18-7. In a span of five minutes and a half， New Zealand failed to score while Spain gained 10 points. New Zealand did a better job at the beginning of the second quarter and cut the gap to six points midway through， but Spain wouldn't let it go further and extended the gap to 13 points at the end.

The third quarter saw both teams scoring 20 points. The New Zealand team played hard and kept the gap from further widening； however， Spain grabbed a big lead again in the fourth quarter， gaining 25 points while New Zealand only took 15， ending the match 85-62.

China triumphs over Russia at Stankovic

2009-02-24T04:03:00.001-08:00

China's center Yao Ming （left） goes up to the basket during the match against Russia at the Stankovic Continental Cup in Hangzhou， east China's Zhejiang Province on July 20， 2008. China won 72-50. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；
China's forward Yi Jianlian （top） vies for the ball during the match against Russia at the Stankovic Continental Cup in Hangzhou， east China's Zhejiang Province on July 20， 2008 China won 72-50.（Photo credit： Xinhua）

（BEIJING， July 22） -- Hosts China defeated their final opponents Russia by a large margin， 72-50， at the Stankovic Continental Cup in Hangzhou， east China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday， July 20.

China placed second in the tournament with two wins and one defeat， while Angola beat Serbia 68-60 to capture the tournament win.

Center Yao Ming started the game， and put the first two points on the board with a dunk three minutes in. Soon after， Russia responded with a dunk of their own， but this stalemate soon became a blowout with China ahead at the end of the quarter， 20-8.

At the start of the second quarter， China substituted Wang Zhizhi for Yao. China maintained their lead at the half， 35-23. In the first two quarters， Wang Zhizhi led China scoring with ten points， Wang Lei had seven points， Yao Ming contributed six. and Yi Jianlian had four points.

The second half started with two points for Russia， but Li Nan hit back quickly with a three-pointer. Yi sank two free throws， and Li got another three-pointer off a block from Yao.

With Yao and Yi setting the pace， China ran away with a 17-point lead over Russia， finishing the third quarter 55-38 and essentially clinching the win.

China outscored Russia by five points in the final quarter despite substituting many of their top players， and closed the game 72-50.

China's basketball team will go back to Beijing to prepare for the upcoming 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Men's Tournament， where they will face Angola in the opening game.

The Diamond Ball will be played in the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center in Nanjing City， China， from July 29-August 1.

China starts Diamond Ball with win

2009-02-24T04:02:00.003-08:00

Yao shot 80% from the field for China （Photo credit： CFP）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 30） -- Although Angola led by as many as eight points in the first half， China was led by NBA star Yao Ming and guard Liu Wei to an 83-74 victory in the opening night of the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men， on July 29 in Nanjing， China's Jiangsu province.

Angola's forward Olimpio Cipriano led the night's scoring at 24 points， but Yao came in just behind with 21 points on an 80% shooting accuracy. Although the Houston Rockets center was called for an unsportsmanlike foul while fighting for position against Eduardo Mingas， he was a big reason why China took this game， playing 29 minutes and allowing his team to rely heavily on his inside scoring.

Forward Joaquim Gomes tied Yao for 21 points on the Angola side， but beat him on rebounds， crashing the boards for eight as opposed to Yao's five.

China guard Liu led the game with six assists， and scored nine points in the first half along with his teammate Wang Shipeng to give China the lead 40-37 at the break. Although there were times late in the second half where China still only enjoyed a narrow three point lead， they clinched their win with solid defense and four players dropping their shots for double digit scoring： Yao， guards Liu for 18 and Wang for 13， and NBA forward Yi Jianlian with 11 points and six rebounds.

Angola and China last met in day three of the round-robin FIBA Stankovic Cup series in Hangzhou， where Angola squeaked by for a 72-71 win. Both teams will compete in group B in the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament this August.

Australia enters Diamond Ball with a bang

2009-02-24T04:02:00.001-08:00

Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 30） -- Australia defeated China 67-55 in their first game of the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men on July 30， in Nanjing， China.

Coming off a win over Angola， China failed to challenge their Australian opponents in this Olympic warm-up. In practice the day before the game， Australia's coach Brian Goorjian said his team was not anticipating China's moves as much as they were looking to improve their own performance as a cohesive unit.

"We're focusing totally on us，" Goorjian said. "We've had two hours [training] today and we've got two hours this afternoon and we haven't mentioned Yao's name or China."

Although Australia was not overly worried about handling Houston Rockets' center Yao Ming， he was still the day's high scorer， with 14 two-pointers and seven rebounds. Li Nan came in next with 11 points， tied with Australia's Chris Anstey， who also grabbed four rebounds as well.

China's Yi Jianlian， China's other NBA superstar who was recently traded to the New Jersey Nets， surprisingly contributed very little in the game， playing 24 minutes and making three fouls without scoring a single point， though he did grab four rebounds.

Australia opened strong， leading 20-16 at the end of the first quarter. Australia's offense outpaced China early on， although at one point China led 13-12.

In the second quarter， Australia reached a 10 point advantage which they were able to hold all the way to the break. Their biggest scoring run reached eight points， and they went to the half 38-28.

Australia managed to keep the gap of 10 points through the third quarter， ending 55-45， with China once trailing 15 points.

The fourth quarter opened with a turnover apiece for Australia and China， with the first two points made by forward Nan in the paint. Even though China managed to come within six points in this final quarter， Australian was never threatened and won the game 67-55.

The FIBA Diamond Ball began on July 29 and finals will be played on August 1.

Iran edges out Serbia in warm-up

2009-02-23T05:03:00.001-08:00

Hamed Ehadadi （L） attempts a jump shot （Photo credit： CFP）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 23） -- Iran put away Serbia 72-70 in a closely contested game to snatch a second win on Wednesday， July 30， at the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament for Men in Nanjing， China.

On the previous day， Iran pressed defending Olympic champion Argentina hard before falling 71-81 in the curtain-raiser of the tournament.

Wednesday's game was evenly contested with the two sides tying several times and scores remaining close until Iran opened up a minor lead early in the final quarter.

The Serbians， however， refused to back away， closing the gap to just four points with 3：26 to play. Iran had to call a time-out to stem the tide.

Once play resumed， Serbia managed to make it 71-70 with less than half a minute remaining， but a foul handed Novica Veliclovic a free throw， extending Iran's lead to 72-70 before Serbia's Stefan Markovic missed a three-point buzzer-beating attempt.

Power forward Zoran Erceg had 14 points plus seven rebounds to lead Serbia， while Kosta Perovic weighed in with 10 points. Uros Tripkovic and Milos Vujanic contributed nine points apiece.

Compared to a balanced Serbia， Iran relied heavily on Hamed Ehadadi， who played 40 minutes， scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. Javad Davari came just behind with 20 points and one offensive rebound. Hamed Afagh netted 14 points for Iran.

The Serbians might have fared better if they had made more shots from behind the arc： They buried only five of 25 three-point attempts （20%）， compared to four in 12 （33%） for the Iranians.

Iran held off a determined Lebanon 74-69 at the FIBA Asia Championship in Japan to book a place at the Beijing Games. They will compete in group A， taking on defending Olympic champion Argentina and European powerhouses Lithuania and Russia， Oceanian champion Australian， and Croatia， who grabbed one of the last three spots for the Beijing Games on offer at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament （OQT） in Athens.

Group B will witness clashes between host country China， World No. 1 the United States， reigning world champion Spain， African champion Angola， Germany and Greece， who qualified through the OQT in Athens.

Serbia will not go to Beijing， having finished in 14th place at the 2007 FIBA European Championship.

Bruton beats buzzer, Australia beats Angola

2009-02-23T05:02:00.005-08:00

C.J. Bruton%26nbsp；scores a buzzer-beater for Australia （Photo credit： CFP）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 31） -- After Angola's third quarter comeback had them poised for a win late into the fourth quarter， Australia was saved by C.J. Bruton's last-second three-pointer to beat Angola 81-78 in day three of the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men in Nanjing， China.

Andrew Bogut was the high scorer of the game with 32 points， an honor he already held at the end of the first half， where he contributed 14 points in addition to nine rebounds. Australia outscored Angola overall in the first two quarters， going to the break 42-35， and crashed the boards harder with 13 defensive rebounds and seven on offense.

Until the third quarter rolled around， it seemed like Australia was coming off their previous night's win over China and Yao Ming with great confidence. Angola rattled Australia by taking the lead four minutes into the third， after a series of fouls committed by Australia brought high-scoring forwards Joaquim Gomes， Eduardo Mingas and Olimpio Cipriano to the free throw line. Angola was able to keep their opponents in check while adding to their score， and closed out the quarter tied 59-59.

Bogut brought Australia back their lead midway through the fourth quarter， hitting a jumper for 68-67. Two minutes later Cipriano sunk a three to tie， and his team held the advantage until 44 seconds left on the clock， when Bogut hit his foul shot after a made basket for a three-point play， bringing the score even again at 78-78.

With the pressure on high， Cipriano missed a three point field goal attempt and the Boomers were lucky that forward Matthew Nielson got the defensive rebound with only 17 seconds left. Australia took their time with the possession， and point guard Bruton dribbled in place from behind the arc until the clock was almost out before he launched the game winning shot.

Now Australia sits at the top of group A with two wins and no losses， while Angola is left at the bottom with the reverse record， 0-2. Australia will face group B leader Argentina， who also has a 2-0 record in group play， in the finals of the Diamond Ball on August 1 at 7：30 p.m. （UTC/GMT +8）.

Argentina joins Australia with 2-0 Diamond record

2009-02-23T05:02:00.003-08:00

Manu Ginobili leads his team to another victory. （Photo credit： CFP）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 31） -- Argentina took a 75-60 win over Serbia to top group B in the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball for Men on July 31 in Nanjing， China's Jiangsu province.

2004 Olympic champion Argentina came out with all their big-name starters， including NBA stars Manu Ginobili， Luis Scola and Fabricio Oberto. Yet their best man in the first quarter was center Román González， who plays for Mar del Plata's Penarol club. He scored nine points in the quarter， including a three-point play. Vujanic Milos led Serbia's counter attack， scoring five points while dishing out two assists. Argentina led at the quarter's close， 21-18.

Serbia bounced back in the second quarter with a 16-7 run， extending their lead to 34-28 after a three pointer from Novica Velickovic. However， they couldn't stop Argentina's forward Andrés Nocioni from reviving his team. Thanks to five points from him and a field goal from guard Carlos Delfino， Argentina reclaimed their lead with 35-34 going to the half.

Nocioni continued his strong performance in the third quarter. He and point guard Pablo Prigioni led another Argentinean offensive， with Nocioni netting seven points and Prigioni contributing five. Their team scored 20 points in this quarter， while only giving up nine to Serbia， to put the game safely in Argentina's control at 54-42 at the end of the third quarter.

Serbia reduced the deficit to seven points in the middle of the fourth， but their efforts were overwhelmed by a 14-4 run from Argentina's NBA force. Center Oberto and guard Ginobili， both from the San Antonio Spurs， contributed six points and eight points respectively， ending up with a final score 75-60 in Argentina's favor.

Ginobili was the top scorer that night， netting 18 points. Nocioni scored 15 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Branko Cvetkovic was Serbia's top scorer， getting 13 points in 20 minutes. Argentina beat Serbia in a big way on free throw shooting， sinking 19 out of 25 while Serbia only managed to hit 10 of their 23 attempts at the line.

Argentina will face Australia， the group A leader， in the Diamond Ball final on August 1. On the same day China will play Iran， while Serbia will compete against Angola.

Blatt holds spot for Khryapa

2009-02-23T05:02:00.001-08:00

Viktor Khryapa （left） of Russia Men's Basketball Team （Photo credit： FIBA）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 1） -- Russian Men's National Basketball star Viktor Khryapa， a big factor in last year's gold-medal win at EuroBasket， is suffering from an ankle injury and has not been listed on the final roster for the Beijing Olympics. However， his coach David Blatt refuses to let him go.

"The player will be called at the last minute if he recovers from injury. In that case， he would be included in the team." Blatt said.

The name list of 12 players bound for Beijing has been announced by Russian Basketball Federation General Director Sergei Tarakanov， including John Robert Holden， Petr Samoylenko， Zakhar Pashutin， Sergey Bykov， Viktor Keiru， Vitaly Fridzon， Andrei Kirilenko， Sergei Monya， Andrei Vorontsevich， Alexey Savrasenko， Nikita Morgunov and Sasha Kaun. Six of the twelve play for CSKA Moscow.

Ginobili to carry Argentine flag during Games opening ceremony

2009-02-23T05:01:00.005-08:00

Ginobili of Argentina （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 2） -- The Argentine Olympic Committee on June 30 announced that basketball star Emanuel Ginobili （also known as Manu Ginobili） will represent Argentina as the national flag bearer at the Beijing Olympic Games' opening ceremony.

According to a spokesperson for the Argentine Olympic Committee， 15 representatives participated in the vote which gave Ginobili the honor. They had to select among the athletes in the 20 Olympic Games events in which Argentina has qualified.

Ginobili， who plays in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs， scored 8 votes.

Slovenia beats the odds with a huge win over Canada

2009-02-23T05:01:00.003-08:00

Jaka Lakovič scored 19 points for Slovenia on Tuesday （Photo credit： FIBA）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 16） -- Slovenia men's basketball team continued their strong showing in the 2008 FIBA Qualifying Tournament for Men with a blow-out 86-70 win over Canada on Tuesday in Athens.

The Slovenian team ranks 19th in the world， two places lower than the Canadians. While they might have been the underdog， Slovenia was certainly no pushover in this game.

Canada did well at the beginning， taking the lead in the first quarter until guard Sani Bečirovič sunk two free throws， bringing Slovenia ahead 20-18. After taking the first quarter 27-22， Slovenia played more confidently and extended the lead to 41-34 at half time. Guard Jaka Lakovič netted 16 points for Slovenia in the first half， and shot 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.

Canada scored only 15 points in the third quarter， but had difficulty shutting down Slovenian center Radoslav Nesterović and ended up conceding 23 points in this quarter. With a 64-19 lead going into the fourth， Slovenia showed no mercy and finished the game 86-70.

Slovenia's Lakovič dropped 19 points in just 21 minutes， followed by Bečirovič with 15 points， five assists and 14 points， nine rebounds from Nesterović. Rowan Barrett contributed 16 points for Canada.

In a post-game interview， Nesterović revealed Slovenia's winning remedy. "A lot of their （Canada's） game is based on outside shots， so we were really focused on not letting them get into a comfort zone，" he said. Slovenia did focus heavily on defending the perimeter， leaving Canada with 30.8% 3-point shooting accuracy. Canada's offensive rhythm was also thrown， with a paltry five assists the entire game.

With two wins in hand， the Slovenian team tops group C with four points. They will face either Croatia （world No. 20） or Puerto Rico （world No. 12） from group D in Friday's quarterfinal.

Canada must grab a win against Republic of Korea on Wednesday to enter the quarterfinals.

"We still have the goal in front of us， it's still achievable，" said Canadian player Barrett. "We have a few new components in our team， but I think we're better than what we showed today."

Germany easily passes Cape Verde

2009-02-23T05:01:00.001-08:00

Chris Kaman had a double-double against Cape Verde （Photo credit： FIBA）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 16） -- The Germany men's basketball team sent the Cape Verde team home with a comfortable 104-68 win on July 15 in the 2008 FIBA Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens.

Seven-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki contributed 16 points and five rebounds in just 21 minutes. His new teammate， Los Angeles' Clippers' center Chris Kaman， scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.

Germany crushed their opponents in the first quarter 34-11. They began the second quarter with a 12-0 run and went to halftime with a 59-24 lead. Germany came back in the second half showing no signs of slowing down， finishing the third quarter with 41 points lead and eventually winning the match by 104-68.

All 12 German players played and scored in the game. As a team they shot 66.7% from the field and 93.8% from the free-throw line.

Jeff Xavier was the only standout player from the Cape Verdean team， scoring 21 points with 20 attempts.

In a post-game interview， Chris Kaman said he had some difficulty adjusting in the day's game. "I was missing some easy looks，" he said. "I was fumbling the ball. The ball was different. When the ball gets wet in the NBA， it sticks to your hands better. Here， it gets more slippery."

When asked about his new teammates， he said that although they all can speak English， he needed to improve his German. His teammates have been playing together for 10 years.

Germany now qualifies for the quarterfinals from group B. They will have a showdown with New Zealand on Wednesday to decide who tops the group. New Zealand ranks 13th in the world， four places lower than Germany. They beat Cape Verde 77-50 on Monday to enter the quarterfinals.

Puerto Rico advances to the quarterfinal

2009-02-23T05:00:00.001-08:00

Larry Ayuso of Puerto Rico （Photo credit： FIBA）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 16） -- Puerto Rico nabbed their second consecutive win and will advance to the quarterfinals after beating Cameroon 81-72 on July 16 in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens， Greece.

Ranked 12th in the world， Puerto Rico was poised to easily beat 50th-ranked Cameroon， but Cameroon put up a good fight reminiscent of their opening game against Croatia.

Puerto Rico was ahead throughout the game， once by as much as 21 points， but they had a hard time fending off Cameroon power forward Harding Nana， who made an impressive 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Cameroon shooting guard Parfait Bitee helped his team to narrow the gap with two consecutive baskets， including a three-pointer， bringing Cameroon within 6 points of Puerto Rico with 6：45 left on the clock.

At 1：40 remaining， a jump-shot by Nana had his whole bench cheering as the score went up to 70-67.

In response， Puerto Rico's guard Larry Ayuso sank one of his three three-pointers of the day， securing Puerto Rico's spot at the quarterfinals.

Puerto Rico will face Croatia on Wednesday to determine who will be the winner of group D.

Photos: U.S. Olympic basketball team ready for Beijing

2009-02-22T04:40:00.001-08:00

The entire 12 members of 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for men's basketball and their head coach Mike Krzyzewski （1st L） unveil the Nike uniforms that they will wear in the Beijing Olympic Games， in New York， the United States， June 30， 2008. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；
Carmelo Anthony， Dwyane Wade， and LeBron James （from left to right）， members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for men's basketball， unveil the Nike uniforms that they will wear during the Beijing Olympic Games in New York， the United States， June 30， 2008. （Photo credit： Hou Jun/Xinhua）

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Disclaimer Statement

Photos: Women's 4 x 400m Relay first round

2009-02-22T04:39:00.003-08:00

Christine Ohuruogu （R） of Great Britain competes with Indira Terrero of Cuba. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The Women's 4 x 400m Relay first round was held at the National Stadium on August 22， 2008.

The Russian team （R） competes with the team from Great Britain. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
German runners celebrate. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
China's Wang Jinping （R） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Brazil's Higa Maggi wins Women's Long Jump gold

2009-02-22T04:39:00.001-08:00

Maurren Higa Maggi competes. （Photo credit： Jiao Weiping/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Brazil's Maurren Higa Maggi won gold in Women's Long Jump at the Beijing Olympic Games on Friday， August 22.

Defending champion Tatiana Lebedeva of Russia took silver with a distance of 7.03 meters and bronze went to Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare with 6.91m.

Maurren Higa Maggi competes. （Photo credit： Jiao Weiping/Xinhua）
Maurren Higa Maggi competes. （Photo credit： Jiao Weiping/Xinhua）
Maurren Higa Maggi celebrates. （Photo credit： Jiao Weiping/Xinhua）

Photos: Kenya's Langat wins Women's 1500m gold

2009-02-22T04:38:00.005-08:00

Nancy jebet Langat （Front） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Kenya's Nancy Jebet Langat won the Women's 1500 meters gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.

The 27-year-old clocked four minutes 0.23 seconds. Ukraine's Iryna Lishchynska took the silver medal in 4：01.63， and her compatriot Nataliya Tobias won bronze in 4：01.78.

Nancy Jebet Langat crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
（L-R） Khedafi Djelkhir， Vasyl Lomachenko and Shahin Imranov （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Nancy Jebet Langat crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Maryam Yusuf Jamal （R） competes with Nancy Jebet Langat. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Nancy Jebet Langat reacts after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Bekele achieves gold double by winning Men's 5000m

2009-02-22T04:38:00.003-08:00

Kenenisa Bekele （R1） of Ethiopia competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Kenenisa Bekele won the title and set a new Olympic record during the Men's 5000m final at the National Stadium， also known as the Bird's Nest， during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing， China， August 23， 2008.

Kenenisa Bekele （R1） of Ethiopia competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Kenenisa Bekele reacts after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Kenenisa Bekele kisses his left hand. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Andreas Thorkildsen wins in Men's Javelin Throw

2009-02-22T04:38:00.001-08:00

Andreas Thorkildsen competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway took first place in the Men's Javelin Throw final with a throw of 90.57m， setting a new Olympic record in the process.

Andreas Thorkildsen competes. （Photo credit： Li Ga/Xinhua）
Andreas Thorkildsen competes. （Photo credit： Li Ga/Xinhua）
Andreas Thorkildsen gestures. （Photo credit： Li Ga/Xinhua）

Photos: Richards leads US to Women's 4 x 400m Relay win

2009-02-21T06:49:00.005-08:00

Monique Henderson （R） of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Sanya Richards made a thrilling comeback from behind to anchor the win for the United States in the Women's 4 x 400 Meters Relay at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.

Russia took silver in 3：18.82， and Jamaica won bronze in 3：20.40.

Members of the United States on the podium （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Runners of the United States celebrate. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: US storms to 4 x 400m Relay win with new Olympic record

2009-02-21T06:49:00.003-08:00

Angelo Taylor of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The United States won the Men's 4 x 400 meters Relay gold medal with a new Olympic record of 2：55.39 at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.

The Bahamas took silver in 2：58.03 and Russia finished third in 2：58.06.

David Neville （R） of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Angelo Taylor （L） of the United States passes the baton to David Neville. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Hellebaut takes gold in Women's High Jump

2009-02-21T06:49:00.001-08:00

Tia Hellebaut competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Tia Hellebaut won the Women's High Jump gold medal with a jump of 2.05 meters at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing， China， August 23， 2008.

Tia Hellebaut（C） closes her eyes during the awarding ceremony. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Tia Hellebaut celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Tia Hellebaut celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Thorkildsen maintains Men's Javelin Throw gold

2009-02-21T06:48:00.004-08:00

Andreas Thorkildsen competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen won the Men's Javelin Throw gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.

The Athens Games champion successfully defended his title with a throw of 90.57 meters and broke the Olympic record. Latovia's Ainars Kovals took silver with 86.64 meters， and Finland's Tero Pitkamaki won the bronze medal with 86.16.

Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Andreas Thorkildsen gestures during the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Andreas Thorkildsen celebrates after his victory. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Andreas Thorkildsen celebrates after his victory. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Andreas Thorkildsen celebrates with his gold medal. （Photo credit： Julian Finney/Getty Images）

Photos: Taylor of US wins Men's 400m Hurdles gold

2009-02-21T06:48:00.003-08:00

Angelo Taylor competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Angelo Taylor of the United States claimed the Men's 400 meter Hurdles title in 47.25 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.

Kerron Clement of the United States took the silver medal in 47.98， and another US runner， Bershawn Jackson， got bronze in 48.06.

Angelo Taylor （R） celebrates after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Angelo Taylor celebrates after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Women's Long Jump qualifying round

2009-02-21T06:48:00.001-08:00

Brittney Reese of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Clive Brunskill/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The Women's Long Jump qualifying round was held at the National Stadium on day eleven of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19， 2008 in Beijing， China.

Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia competes. （Photo credit： Clive Brunskill/Getty Images）
Keila Costa of Brazil competes. （Photo credit： Clive Brunskill/Getty Images）
Jade Johnson of Great Britain competes. （Photo credit： Clive Brunskill/Getty Images）

Photos: Women's 200m round 1

2009-02-21T06:47:00.003-08:00

Marshevet Hooker （C） of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Guo Dayue/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The first round competition of the Women's 200m took place at the National Stadium， also know as the Bird's Nest， during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19， 2008. Marshevet Hooker， Muna Lee and Rogaya Al-Gassra ranked 1st in their groups with 23.07seconds， 22.71 seconds and 22.81 seconds， respectively.

Muna Lee （R） of the United States checks the result. （Photo credit： Guo Dayue/Xinhua）
Rogaya Al-Gassra of Bahrain sprints. （Photo credit： Li Ga/Xinhua）
Rogaya Al-Gassra （R） of Bahrain lunges to the finish line. （Photo credit： Guo Dayue/Xinhua）

Photos: Russian high jumper Silnov wins Olympic title

2009-02-21T06:47:00.001-08:00

（L-R）Germaine Mason， Andrey Silnov and Yaroslav Rybakov （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Russian high jumper Andrey Silnov， who keeps the season's best of 2.38 meters， won the Olympic title.

Germaine Mason from Britain took the silver with 2.34 meters， and Yaroslav Rybakov from Russia settled for bronze.

Andrey Silnov poses with his medal. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Andrey Silnov poses with his medal. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Andrey Silnov celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Andrey Silnov celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Britain's Ohuruogu wins Women's 400m gold

2009-02-20T05:04:00.005-08:00

Ohuruogu poses with her gold medal. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Britain's Christine Ohuruogu captured the gold medal of the Women's 400 meters in 49.62 seconds at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday.

Jamaica's Shericka Williams took silver in 49.69 seconds and American Sanya Richards took bronze in 49.93.

Christine Ohuruogu celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Christine Ohuruogu reacts after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Christine Ohuruogu （R） crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Christine Ohuruogu reacts after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Estonia's Kanter wins Men's Discus Throw gold

2009-02-20T05:04:00.003-08:00

Gerd Kanter celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Estonia's Gerd Kanter won the Men's Discus Throw gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday.

Poland's Piotr Malachowski took silver and Lithuania's Virgilijus Alekna won bronze.

Gerd Kanter celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: US Harper wins Women's 100m Hurdles

2009-02-20T05:04:00.001-08:00

Dawn Harper （R） competes with her compatriot Damu Cherry. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

American Dawn Harper clocked 12.54 seconds to win the Women's 100m Hurdles gold medal at the Olympic Games here on Tuesday.

Australian Sally Mclellan took silver in 12.64 and Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep got the bronze medal in 12.64.

Dawn Harper（R） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dawn Harper celebrates after her win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Bahrain's Ramzi wins Men's 1500m gold

2009-02-20T05:03:00.005-08:00

Rashid Ramzi （4th， L） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain won the Olympic men's 1500m gold medal in a time of 3：32.94 here on Tuesday.

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya took silver and Nicholas Willis of New Zealand got bronze.

Rashid Ramzi crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Rashid Ramzi crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Rashid Ramzi reacts after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Rashid Ramzi reacts after the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Bolt breaks 200m world record

2009-02-20T05:03:00.003-08:00

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Usain Bolt of Jamaica clocked a new world record of 19.30 seconds to win the Olympic 200m gold medal on Wednesday.

Usain Bolt reacts after breaking the world record. （Photo credit： Adam Pretty/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt poses next to the clock. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Usain Bolt reacts after breaking the world record. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）

Photos: Jamaican Walker wins Women's 400m Hurdles gold

2009-02-20T05:03:00.001-08:00

Melaine Walker （C） competes. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Jamaica's Melaine Walker clocked 52.62 seconds to win the Women's 400m Hurdles at the Olympic Games here on Wednesday.

American Sheena Tosta took the silver and Tasha Danvers of Britain got the bronze.

Melaine Walker （C） competes. （Photo credit： Adam Pretty/Getty Images）
Melaine Walker celebrates after winning the gold medal. （Photo credit： Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Melaine Walker celebrates after winning the gold medal. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）

Walker takes gold in Olympic record

2009-02-20T05:02:00.003-08:00

Melaine Walker celebrates after winning the gold medal. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 20） -- Melaine Walker of Jamaica set an Olympic record to win the Women's 400m Hurdles， emerging victorious over pre-race favorite and rival Sheena Tosta of the United States at the National Stadium on Wednesday， August 20.

Walker， in her Olympic debut， crossed the line in 52.64 seconds to prove that it is not only the Jamaican men who can set Athletics records.

Tosta held on for silver in 53.70， with Tasha Danvers of Great Britain claiming the bronze， her first major championships medal， in a personal best 53.84.

As Walker pulled into the home straight， only Tosta was left to challenge her and the two left the rest of the field behind in a sprint to the line， with Walker pulling away from Tosta over the last 50 meters.

Danvers kicked as she entered the straight but was pushed all the way to the line by Anastasiya Rabchenyuk of Ukraine， who finished fourth， 0.12s behind.

Tiffany Ross-Williams of the United States， the winner of the 2008 US Olympic trials， finished in last place in a disappointing 57.55.

Photos: Russian Olga Kaniskina wins Women's 20km Walk gold

2009-02-20T05:02:00.001-08:00

Kaniskina Olga competes. （Photo credit： Guo Yong/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Olga Kaniskina of Russia won the gold medal of the Women's 20km Walk at the Beijing Olympic Games on Thursday.

The silver medal was taken by Kiersti Tysse Platzer of Norway. Elisa Rigaudo of Italy took the bronze medal.

Olga Kaniskina crosses the line. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）
Olga Kaniskina celebrates her victory. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）
Kjersti Tysse Platzer （R）， Olga Kaniskina and Elisa Rigaudo （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）

Photos: Cuba's Robles wins Men's 110m Hurdles gold

2009-02-19T03:45:00.001-08:00

Robles poses with his medal. （Photo credit：Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Cuba's world record holder Dayron Robles won the Men's 110m Hurdles gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Thursday.

David Payne of the United States took silver in 13.17 seconds， and his compatriot David Oliver won the bronze medal in 13.18.

Robles poses with his medal. （Photo credit：Xinhua）
Robles poses with his medal. （Photo credit：Xinhua）
Dayron Robles（C） competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Dayron Robles （C） reacts after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dayron Robles celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Dayron Robles celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Evora claims gold in Men's Triple Jump

2009-02-19T03:44:00.005-08:00

Nelson Evora celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Nelson Evora of Portugal won the gold medal in the Men's Triple Jump with a jump of 17.67 meters at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Phillips Idowu of Great Britain jumped 17.62m to capture silver， while Leevan Sands of the Bahamas took bronze with a jump of 17.59m.

Nelson Evora celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Nelson Evora competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Women's 4 x 100m Relay round 1

2009-02-19T03:44:00.003-08:00

Torri Edwards （L） reacts as her teammate Lauryn Williams lost the baton. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Lauryn Williams did not get the baton from Torri Edwards， and the United States team was disqualified in round one of the Women's 4 x 100m Relay at the National Stadium， also known as the Bird's Nest， during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing， China， August 21， 2008.

Torri Edwards （L2） reacts as her teammate Lauryn Williams （L1） lost the baton. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Torri Edwards （Back） reacts as her teammate Lauryn Williams lost the baton. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Lauryn Williams （L） of the United States competes again with the lost baton. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Sprinters of the United States comfort each other. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: 110m Hurdles heats of Men's Decathlon

2009-02-19T03:44:00.001-08:00

Bryan Clay of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The 110m Hurdles heats of the Men's Decathlon took place at the National Stadium on day fourteen of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 22， 2008 in Beijing， China.

Roman Sebrle of Czech Republic competes.. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Andre Niklaus of Germany competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Michael Schrader of Germany competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Daniel Awde of Great Britain competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Photos: Italian wins Men's 50km Walk gold

2009-02-19T03:43:00.005-08:00

Alex Schwazer competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Italian Alex Schwazer won the gold medal of the Men's 50km Walk at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Friday.

The silver medal was taken by Jared Tallent of Australia and the bronze medal went to Denis Nizhegorodov of Russia.

Alex Schwazer crosses the finish line. （Photo credit： Chen Kai/Xinhua）
Italy's Alex Schwazer kneels on the track. （Photo credit： Chen Kai/Xinhua）
Alex Schwazer celebrates his victory. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Photos: Valerie Vili of New Zealand wins Women's Shot Put gold

2009-02-19T03:43:00.003-08:00

Valerie Vili celebrates. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Valerie Vili was crowned in the Women's Shot Put final at the Beijing Olympic Games on Saturday evening， giving New Zealand its second gold medal in the tournament.

Valerie Vili competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Valerie Vili celebrates a throw. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Valerie Vili competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）

Dobrynska celebrates Heptathlon gold

2009-02-19T03:43:00.001-08:00

Nataliia Dobrynska celebrates. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 16） -- Nataliia Dobrynska from Ukraine won the Women's Heptathlon gold medal with a combined total of 6733 points.

Dobrynska of Ukraine has done remarkably well in this event considering her low scores in the first two events. She was seventh after the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.44. Then she dropped down to tenth after a high jump of 1.80m. Her stellar 17.29m Shot Put distance compensated for her earlier scores and allowed for her incredible recovery from tenth place. She finished the Heptathlon's Day 1 in second place behind the United States' Hyleas Fountain. Today she finished Long Jump in first place with a jump of 6.63m. Her accumulated lead helped her stay on top through the Javelin Throw and 800m disciplines. The Beijing 2008 gold medalist finished with a combined total of 6733 points， 33 points ahead of Lyudmilia Blonska.

Blonska came up from sixth after the 100 hurdles to third place after the Long Jump discipline. She was fourth and then fifth in Shot Put and 200m respectively but upped her game today. She was third after the Long Jump of 6.48m and the Javelin Throw of 47.60m and then grabbed second place in the final discipline， the 800m where she ran a 2：09.44. Her combined score of 6700 gives her silver， her first Olympic medal.

Fountain took the lead early in this event holding first place for the 100 Hurdles and High Jump. She fell second to Nataliia Dobrynska of Ukraine after Shot Put where she had nineteenth furthest Shot Put distance. This result only bumped her down to second place after that discipline but narrowed the margins significantly. Fountain was fast in the 200m and finished first but she faced her toughest events today. She had the seventh furthest Long Jump， the twenty-fourth furthest Javelin Throw， and nineteenth fastest 800m time. Though Hyleas finished Day 1 with the highest cumulative points， she finished today with the bronze medal.

Photos: Kozmus of Slovenia wins Men's Hammer Throw gold

2009-02-19T03:42:00.001-08:00

Primoz Kozmus celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Primoz Kozmus from Slovenia claimed the Men's Hammer Throw title at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday with a result of 82.02 meters.

Vadim Devyatovskiy from Belarus took the silver with 81.61 meters and his compatriot Ivan Tsikhan got the bronze with 81.51 meters.

Primoz Kozmus competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Primoz Kozmus competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Russia's Galkina-Samitova takes 3000m Steeplechase gold with a new WR

2009-02-18T05:00:00.005-08:00

Gulnara Galkina-Samitova celebrates after her win. （Photo credit： Xinha）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Gulnara Galkina-Samitova of Russia led all the way to win the Women's Steeplechase gold medal with a world record performance at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Sunday.

Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya trailed by 9.60 seconds to claim the silver medal in 9：07.41. Volkova， last year's gold winner at the Osaka world championships， had to settle for the bronze in 9：07.64.

Gulnara Galkina-Samitova competes in the race. （Photo credit： Xinha）
Gulnara Galkina-Samitova competes in the race. （Photo credit： Xinha）
Gulnara Galkina-Samitova celebrates after her win. （Photo credit： Xinha）

Photos: Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser wins Women's 100m Olympic gold

2009-02-18T05:00:00.003-08:00

Shelly-Ann Fraser （F） lunges for the finish line. （Photo credit： Streeter Lecka/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Shelly-Ann Fraser of Jamaica claims the Women's 100m gold in 10.78 seconds at the National Stadium， also known as the Bird's Nest， during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Game， Aug. 17， 2008.

Shelly-Ann Fraser （R） competes. （Photo credit： Streeter Lecka/Getty Images）
Shelly-Ann Fraser reacts after her win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Shelly-Ann Fraser celebrates after her win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Bekele wins Olympic Men's 10000m gold

2009-02-18T05:00:00.001-08:00

（L-R） Seleshi Sihine， Kenenisa Bekele （gold） and teammate Haile Gebreselassie celebrate. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele clocked 27：01.17 to win the Olympic Men's 10000m run here on Sunday.

Kenenisa Bekele celebrates winning the gold. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Athletes compete in Men's 10000m final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Kenenisa Bekele celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Kenenisa Bekele celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: World record holder cruises to next round of Men's 110m Hurdles

2009-02-18T04:59:00.005-08:00

Cuba's Dayron Robles clears a hurdle. （Photo credit： Liu Dawei/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The first round competition of Men's 110m Hurdles took place at the National Stadium， also known as the Bird's Nest， during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing， China， on August 18， 2008.

World record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba breezed to the next round of the Men's 110m Hurdles on Monday morning.

In heat one， Robles clocked 13.39 seconds， followed by Andrew Turner of Britain and Ji Wei of China.

Cuba's Dayron Robles clears a hurdle. （Photo credit： Liao Yujie/Xinhua）
Cuba's Dayron Robles competes. （Photo credit： Liu Dawei/Xinhua）
Cuba's Dayron Robles reacts after the competition. （Photo credit： Guo Dayue/Xinhua）

Photos: Liu Xiang withdraws from Men's 110m Hurdles

2009-02-18T04:59:00.003-08:00

China's Liu Xiang reacts prior to the first round competition. （Photo credit： Li Gang/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

China's Liu Xiang takes off his jersey prior to the first round competition. （Photo credit： Li Gang/Xinhua）
China's Liu Xiang reacts prior to the first round competition. （Photo credit： Liu Dawei/Xinhua）
China's Liu Xiang reacts after his first run. （Photo credit： Li Ga/Xinhua）
Liu Xiang takes off his jersey prior to the first round. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

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Photos: Russia's Isinbaeva retains Women's Pole Vault gold

2009-02-18T04:59:00.001-08:00

Elena Isinbaeva competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Russia's Elena Isinbaeva successfully defended the Women's Pole Vault Olympic gold medal here on Monday.

Jennifer Stuczynski of the United States took silver and another Russian， Svetlana Feofanova， went away with the bronze medal.

Elena Isinbaeva competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Elena Isinbaeva competes. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）
Elena Isinbaeva gestures during the final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Elena Isinbaeva competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Elena Isinbaeva competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Kenya's Pamela Jelimo grabs gold in Women's 800 meters

2009-02-18T04:58:00.003-08:00

Pamela Jelimo （Front， L） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Pamela Jelimo of Kenya clinched the gold medal in the Women's 800 meters at the Beijing Olympics here on Monday night， clocking 1 minute and 54.87 seconds， also her personal best.

Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei， also of Kenya， took silver and Morocco's Hasna Benhassi， runner-up at the Athens Games， took bronze with a time of 1：56.73.

Pamela Jelimo （Front， L） competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Pamela Jelimo celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Pamela Jelimo celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Pamela Jelimo celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Pamela Jelimo （R） celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Long jumper wins Panama first Beijing Olympic gold

2009-02-18T04:58:00.001-08:00

Irving Saladino competes. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Irving Saladino became on Monday evening the national hero for Panama by winning the tiny country's first Olympic gold medal in Beijing.

Irving Saladino reached 8.34 meters in the Men's Long Jump. Panama had previously earned only two Olympic medals， both bronze， won by Lloyd LaBeach in the Men's 100m and 200m sprints in 1948.

Irving Saladino celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Irving Saladino celebrates. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Men's 100m round 1 heats

2009-02-15T07:12:00.003-08:00

Heat 2 of the Men's 100m starts. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Qualifying heats for the Men's 100m were held at the National Stadium on day seven of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15， 2008 in Beijing， China. Tyson Gay of the United States finished the event in first place in a time of 10.22 seconds.

Tyson Gay of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）
Heat 3 of the Men's 100m starts. （Photo credit： Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images）
Sebastien Gattuso of Monaco competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）
Francis Obikwelu of Portugal competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）

Photos: Women's Heptathlon High Jump final

2009-02-15T07:12:00.001-08:00

Hyleas Fountain of the United States celebrates her win. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The Women's Heptathlon High Jump final was held at the National Stadium on day seven of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15， 2008 in Beijing， China. Hyleas Fountain of the United States finished the event in first place with a height of 1.89m.

Kelly Sotherton of Great Britain celebrates a jump. （Photo credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）
Jackie Johnson of the United States competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）
Aiga Grabuste of Latvia competes. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）

Photos: Women's Heptathlon 100m Hurdles

2009-02-15T07:11:00.005-08:00

Shobha Jagadeeshppa Javur of India competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The Women's Heptathlon 100m Hurdles took place at the National Stadium on day seven of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15， 2008 in Beijing， China.

Lilli Schwarzkopf of Germany competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Jolanda Keizer of Netherlands competes. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Rebecca Wardell of New Zealand competes. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Photos: Women's 800m heats

2009-02-15T07:11:00.003-08:00

（L-R） Alice Schmidt of the United States， Yuliya Krevsun of Ukraine， Sviatlana Usovich of Belarus and Jennifer Meadows of Great Britain compete. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Heats of the Women's 800m took place at the National Stadium on day seven of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15， 2008 in Beijing， China.

（L-R） Rosibel Garcia of Colombia， Svetlana Klyuka of Russia， Anna Rostkowska of Poland and Agnes Maryna Samaria of Namibia compete. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
（L-R） Tatiana Andrianova of Russia， Jennifer Meadows of Great Britain and Yuliya Krevsun of Ukraine compete. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
（L-R） Jemma Simpson of Great Britain， Svetlana Klyuka of Russia and Agnes Maryna Samaria of Namibia compete. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Photos: Tomasz Majewski of Poland gets the men's shot put gold

2009-02-15T07:11:00.001-08:00

Tomasz Majewski of Poland displays a national flag of Poland. （Photo credit： Liao Yujie/Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Tomasz Majewski of Poland tossed 21.51 meters to get the men's shot put gold medal on August 15， at the Bird's Nest.

US Christian Cantwell picked the silver with 21.09 meters and bronze medalist is Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus with 21.05.

Tomasz Majewski of Poland competes. （Photo credit： Li Gang/Xinhua）

Photos: Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene wins Women's 10000m gold

2009-02-15T07:10:00.005-08:00

Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene celebrates. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；
Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene celebrates after crossing the line. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）

Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene clocked an Olympic record to win the Women's 10000m gold medal at the Olympic Games on Friday.

（R-L） Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey trails Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene. （Photo credit： Mark Dadswell/Getty Images）
Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene （C） competes during final. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Ethiopia's Dibaba gets gold and new OR Women's 10000m

2009-02-15T07:10:00.003-08:00

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia（C） takes gold in the Women's 10000m in BeijingPhoto Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 15） -- Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won gold and set a new Olympic Record in the Women's 10000m at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15.

Dibaba's time of 29：54.66 was enough to break the old record of 30：17.49 set by fellow Ethiopian Derartu Tulu and hold off silver medalist Elvan Abeylegess of Turkey who ran a time of 29：56.34. Bronze went to Shalane Flanagan of the United States in a time of 30：22.22.

Kenya's Linet Chepkwemoi Masai set a new world junior record as well as a new Kenyan record with a time of 30：26.50， while fifth place getter， Maria Konovalova of Russia set a new personal best of 30：35.84.

Russia's Inga Abitova and Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands finished sixth and eighth respectively， with both setting season best times.

Masai's team mate， Lucy Kabuu Wangui of Kenya finished seventh in a personal best time of 30：39.96.

The world record of 29：31.78 seconds in this event is held by China's Wang Junxia China， set in 1993.

The final of the Men's 10000m will be held at the National Stadium on Sunday， August 17.

Photos: Jamaica's Bolt breaks world record to win Men's 100m Olympic gold

2009-02-15T07:10:00.001-08:00

Usain Bolt gestures on the podium. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record to win the Men's 100m gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here Saturday evening.

Bolt clocked 9.69 seconds to beat his own previous world mark of 9.72 to be crowned the fastest man in the world.

Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago finished second in 9.89 seconds and Walter Dix of the United States got bronze in 9.91 seconds.

Usain Bolt celebrates next to the scoreboard. （Photo credit： Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt （R） crosses the line. （Photo credit： Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Usain Bolt（R） celebrates as he approaches the line. （Photo credit： Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images）
Usain Bolt （R3）（Photo credit： Xinhua）
Usain Bolt celebrates after his win. （Photo credit： Xinhua）

Photos: Jamaica's Bolt breaks world record to win Men's 100m Olympic gold

2009-02-12T06:00:00.003-08:00

Usain Bolt gestures on the podium. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record to win the Men's 100m gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here Saturday evening.

Bolt clocked 9.69 seconds to beat his own previous world mark of 9.72 to be crowned the fastest man in the world.

Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago finished second in 9.89 seconds and Walter Dix of the United States got bronze in 9.91 seconds.

Jenn Stuczynski vaults to Beijing Olympics with new American record

2009-02-12T06:00:00.001-08:00

Jennifer Stuczynski （Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 8） -- Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 4.92 meters at the US Olympic track and field trials to break her own American record in women's pole vault， earning a spot at the Beijing Olympics.

Stuczynski， 26， had a rough start， missing her first two attempts at 4.60 meters， but the two-time USA Outdoor Championships gold medalist successfully made it on the third attempt.

"This is a huge relief. When I was finished， I was probably more relieved at making that （the height） than the American record. It was a huge relief，" Stuczynski told USA Track and Field's official website. "It was exciting because I knew I was on the team at that point. And then I could just jump."

Stuczynski's pole vaulting career reached new heights this year. She won the Indoor US Nationals to participate in the 2008 IAAF Indoor World Championships in Valencia， Spain， where she won a silver medal. Stuczynski cleared 4.90 at the Adidas Track Classic on May 18， breaking the American record she had previously set.

The two other Olympic qualifiers are April Steiner Bennett and Erica Bartolina， who cleared 4.60 meters and 4.55 meters， respectively. Stuczynski was the only vaulter at the trials to clear the 4.65-meter mark.

Stacy Dragila， the 2000 Olympic champion， dropped out of contention with a 4.40-meter jump.

Long-distance runner Lagat aims at twin gold medals in China's first Olympics

2009-02-12T05:59:00.005-08:00

（L-R） Silver medalist Leonel Manzano， gold medalist Bernard Lagat and bronze medalist Lopez Lomong （Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 8） -- On winning the men's 1500-meter championship on the last day of the US track and field trials， Bernard Lagat qualified for a position on the US Olympic team to run in both the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races in the Beijing Games， which open August 8.

Lagat finished the 1500-meter event at the trials with a time of 3：40.37， just 0.53 second faster than second-place runner Leonel Manzano.

Manzano， who is a loyal fan of the champion， was quoted on the official website of USA Track %26amp； Field as saying： "Barnard is an incredible competitor. Every time that guy goes out everybody has a lot of respect for him. He is the man."

Lagat， a Kenyan-American， started competing for the US in early 2005， and won two gold medals in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races at the 2007 World Championships. His personal best in the 1500-meter race is 3：26.34， which he posted at Brussels in August of 2001， according his official biography on the website of the International Associations of Athletics Federations.

Earlier this month， Lagat qualified for the men's 5000-meter competition with a time of 13：27.47. He was quoted on the USATF website as saying the pressure on him has eased a bit since qualifying for the US team heading to Beijing.

The 33-year-old athlete won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games. Lagat has now become America's overwhelming favorite in the men's long-distance races. "The Olympics are the biggest meet. Everyone dreams about going to the Olympics， and to be here on Team USA is unbelievable. I'm going to take the same hunger I had in 2004 and try and bring home the gold，" he was quoted as saying on the USA Track %26amp； Field site.

The third place in the men's 1500-meter qualifying race was seized by Lopez Lomong with a time of 3：41.00.

Russia's Isinbayeva breaks own pole vault record

2009-02-12T05:59:00.003-08:00

（BEIJING， July 12） -- The International Association of Athletics Federations reported on its official website that Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own world record in the pole vault by 0.02 meters， jumping 5.03 meters at the Golden Gala in Rome on Friday. The previous record （5.01m） was set when she won the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki， Finland.

Yelena Isinbaeva during the IAAF Golden Gala in Rome. （Photo credit： Shaun Botterill/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Isinbayeva is considered the world's best female pole vaulter. The Russian has dominated the pole vault since clinching the 2004 Olympic title， winning eight straight gold medals in indoor and outdoor championships and was elected IAAF Female Athlete of the Year in 2004 and 2005， according to a report by the Associated Press.

In the past three years Isinbayeva didn't seemingly make much improvement. However， though Friday was her first competitive appearance this season， Isinbayeva proved to be in excellent form， clearing 4.70m and 4.85m on her first attempt. After emerging victorious with her first two jumps， the Russian decided with her new coach Vitaly Petrov to switch to a record height. She cleared it with ease on her second attempt， quoted from IAAF website.

Isinbaeva celebrates with coach Vitaly Petrovin after setting new world record at IAAF Golden Gala. （Photo credit： Shaun Botterill/Getty Images）

When the 26-year-old Russian was asked whether she could improve even more by an AP reporter after the game， she responded confidently. "I think you know the answer，" she said. "You saw I was not near at the bar， I was higher."

She repeated there her well-quoted intention that her career goal was to "eclipse Sergei Bubka's mark of 35 world records."

The IAAF reported on its website the Russian sensation has set 12 outdoor world records and 10 indoor world records， and is the only woman to clear 5 meters.

Isinbayeva's stunning performance puts huge pressure on rising US vaulter Jenn Stuczynski， who is currently ranked No. 2 in the world after setting the American mark of 4.92m at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Isinbayeva said to a reporter from Associated Press that she was propelled to the new mark by competition from Stuczynski， as she felt the American was eclipsing her.

"Everybody was saying 'Ah OK， Isinbayeva is finished， we have a new star， so today I was really angry，" she said.

Although Stuczynski didn't participate in Rome， the two vaulters will duel this summer in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Bolt wins Athens Grand Prix 200-meter race with personal best of 19.67 seconds

2009-02-12T05:59:00.001-08:00

Usain Bolt （Photo by ： Lisa Coniglio/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 14）%26nbsp；-- World 100-meter record holder Usain Bolt on Sunday won the men's 200-meter race at the Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria 2008， in Greece. The official website of the Athens Grand Prix reported that Bolt was clocked at 19.67 seconds， faster than his previous personal best of 19.75 seconds， which he ran one year ago in Kingston， Jamaica.

The current world record in the 200-meter race is 19.32 seconds， created by Michael Johnson of the USA at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Bolt swept his opponents with incredible speed， and was the only competitor to finish the Athens race in less than 20 seconds. The second-place runner at the Grand Prix， Brendan Christian， finished in 20.36 seconds.

The 21-year-old Bolt set a new world record in the men's 100-meter race with a time of 9.72 seconds in May at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York， according to the official website of International Association of Athletics Federations （IAAF）.

Bolt's main rival at the upcoming Beijing Olympics is likely to be American Wallace Spearmon， who ran the 200-meter event in a personal best of 19.65 seconds at the Colorful 2006 Daegu Athletics Meeting in Daegu， Korea.

Bolt was quoted on the official website of IAAF Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria 2008 as saying： "I am very satisfied with my performance. The crowd helped me a lot. I feel sure I will be very strong at the Olympic Games."

He's so fly

2009-02-12T05:58:00.003-08:00

Tyson Gay， new American record holder for 100m （Photo credit： Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， June 29） -- At the second day of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene， Oregon， a flying Tyson Gay broke the tape at the finish line of the quarterfinals of the men's 100m， clocked at an amazing 9.77 seconds. His run set a new American record， replacing the 9.79 time set by Maurice Greene in 1999.

Gay's record breaking run is recorded on the time clock. （Photo credit： Getty Images）

According to sports.cn， a cautious Gay remarked that although he was happy about his run， he still had the semifinals and finals to get through. He noted his anxiety after barely barreling through the qualifying rounds， but his performance in the quarterfinals on Saturday has given his confidence the extra boost it needed.

His quest for Olympic gold will not be easy； world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica， who flew through the 100m recently at 9.72 seconds， will pose a formidable challenge to anyone hoping for Olympic glory in August.

Allen Johnson -- End of a legendary Olympic career?

2009-02-12T05:58:00.001-08:00

Allen Johnson pulls out of the race. （Photo credit： Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 7） -- Allen Johnson， the gold medallist in the 110m hurdles at Atlanta 1996， lost his chance to compete at Beijing 2008 after pulling out of the preliminary heats at the US Olympic track and field trials in Oregon on Saturday due to a leg injury.

The 37-year-old and four-time world champion will miss his chance of competing in his fourth Olympics. This could well be the cruel end of his legendary Olympic career.

"After the first hurdle， I felt it，" Johnson was quoted by Washingtonpost.com as saying， "and as I kept going， the pain just got progressively worse. I didn't know what to expect. It didn't heal. It didn't hold up."

Johnson， a seven-time US outdoor champion， said he had injured the posterior tibialis tendon in his lower leg in March. And the "sharp pain" became increasingly intense after the Adidas Track Classic in California in May， he said.

"I was hoping for the best， but preparing for the worst，" Johnson was quoted again by Washingtonpost.com as saying. "It's real disappointing， but this is what sports is all about. I've had some great days and some bad days， and this is one of the bad days."

When asked whether he would try to qualify for London 2012， he acknowledged that it would be a long shot at the age of 41 although he would like to do it.

In the men's 110m hurdles final of the US track and field trials， David Oliver， Terrence Trammell and David Payne booked their tickets to Beijing 2008 by finishing in the first three places.

Allyson Felix's dream of Beijing Olympics comes true

2009-02-12T05:57:00.001-08:00

（L-R） Silver medalist Muna Lee， gold medalist Allyson Felix and bronze medalist Marshevet Hooker （Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 7） -- Allyson Felix of the United States finished the 200 meters in 21.82 seconds and secured a ticket to the Beijing Olympics at the US Olympic track and field trials on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Felix won three gold medals in the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka， becoming the second female athlete to win three gold medals at a single edition of the IAAF World Championships after Marita Koch in 1983. Felix took part in the last Olympics in Athens and finished as a silver medalist in the 200 m behind Jamaican Veronica Campbell. Her personal best so far in the 200 m is 21.81 seconds， which she achieved in the 2007 Osaka Championships.

As for the future， "My next goal is not the world record， but a gold in Beijing. I want to take it step by step，" she said.

Muna Lee， who came in second with 21.99 seconds， and Marshevet Hooker， who came in third with 22.20 seconds， took the last two spots for Beijing. Lauryn Williams trailed Hooker by 0.1 seconds in the 200 m， but she had already secured an Olympic spot in the 100 meters.

Lolo Jones hurdles to Beijing Olympics

2009-02-11T06:36:00.005-08:00

（L-R） Silver medalist Damu Cherry， gold medalist Lolo Jones and bronze medalist Dawn Harper （Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 7） -- Lolo Jones， gold medalist in the 2008 Valencia World Indoor Championships， finished the 100-meter Hurdles in 12.29 seconds at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials on Sunday afternoon. Her impressive performance awarded her the first ticket to Beijing in the 100-meter hurdles.

Jones took part in the 2004 US Olympic Outdoor Trials four years ago， but with a disappointing performance， she could not be a member of the US squad at the last Games. She had a breakthrough 2006 season， in which she set her personal best time of 12.56 seconds in the event， and won two meets on the tough European circuit. According to Track and Field News， Jones wrapped up that year in fourth place in US rankings and seventh place in world rankings. Jones kept up that momentum in 2007， winning her first national championship by dominating the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.88 seconds. In Osaka that same year， she secured third place in the 100-meter hurdles at the World Championships.

Jones started the 2008 season with dreams of fighting for the US at the 2008 Summer Olympics. "This just shows not to give up because four years ago I didn't event make the final and now I'm the U.S.A. Outdoor Champion. Really， I never won anything growing up and I finally had victory at just the right time，" Jones said after winning first place.

Damu Cherry ran a time of 12.58 seconds and Dawn Harper came in at 12.62 seconds. They are the other two who have made it onto the US 100-meter Hurdles squad for Beijing. "She （Lolo Jones） did awesome，" Cheery said of Jones. "You can't take that away from her. She ran really， really well， but I know I can run just as fast， too. We have a great team. We are all just going to go there and see what happens in Beijing. We have a really， really good team， so I am really pumped by it."

Athens Games gold medalist Joanna Hayes finished last with 12.96 seconds. With this time， she was nowhere near defending her title earned in 2004， when she clocked 12.37.

IAAF president: Beijing Olympics will be one of the greatest ever held

2009-02-11T06:36:00.003-08:00

The president of IAAF Lamine DiackPhoto Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 7）%26nbsp；-- The head of the International Association of Athletics Federations， Lamine Diack， predicted in an interview with the official website of the 2008 Olympic Games that "the Beijing Olympics will be one of the greatest ever held， not just for athletics， but for all sports."

"I hope they [the Olympics] allow the Chinese people to express the special culture of their wonderful country，" said IAAF President Lamine Diack， who is also a member of International Olympic Committee.

Diack forecast in a cyberspace-based interview that Beijing's elevated temperatures in August could challenge some of the athletes set to converge on the ancient Chinese capital from across the world： "Athletics is a very complex sport which is made up of many different throwing， jumping and running events. So the weather in Beijing， which we expect to be hot and humid， will be excellent for the sprinters and jumpers， but not ideal for athletes in long distance events such as race walk and marathon."

Yet many of the athletes slated to join the Olympic Games， he added， got a foretaste of the weather conditions likely to prevail in the Chinese capital next month when they took part in last summer's IAAF World Championships in Osaka， Japan. He explained that Osaka has very similar climate to Beijing's.

The head of the IAAF is himself a former athlete and one-time university champion in the long jump. He is also a champion when it comes to building a family. The official website of the IAAF states that Diack has 15 children.

The IAAF， the global governing group on athletics， was established nearly a century ago， and is currently headquartered in Monaco. The group organizes competitions that include the IAAF World Championships in Athletics， the World Junior Championships in Athletics and the AF Golden League.

Lamine Diack has headed the group since 1999.

Diack told the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that "IAAF representatives say that the [Olympic] stadium is not only an exceptional architectural monument but also has everything they need to conduct an excellent athletics competition."

"I have no doubts at all that the new track will motivate the athletes to perform at their best highest level，" he added.

The IAAF's Golden League competitions this year， Diack said， have helped an array of athletes prepare for the Summer Games in Beijing. "The IAAF is currently studying the future of the Golden League，" he explained. "Our biggest priority is to extend the circuit outside of Europe and certainly， we fully expect to have competitions from Asia included in the "new Golden League".

Diack also suggested that the Olympic Games， being staged for the first ever by China， have the power to infuse an entire generation of young people with the spirit of global games and interaction： "My wish is that the youth in China benefits from the Games in terms of enthusiasm and motivation."

Beijing Games still on schedule for Tyson Gay

2009-02-11T06:36:00.001-08:00

Tyson Gay （Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， July 8） -- On July 5， 100-meter Olympic qualifier Tyson Gay injured his leg in the quarterfinals of the Men's 200-meter during the US Olympic Trials in Eugene， Oregon， thus failing to qualify for that event at the Beijing Olympic Games. His manager disclosed his recent situation and promised that Gay would still participate in the Men's 100m and the 4X100 Relay in August.

The three-time gold medalist of the 2007 World Championships is lucky that his hurt hamstring won't rule him out of all the competitions at the Games. Even though he will not be running the 200m， he will at least be competing in the Men's 100m， for which he has already qualified with a wind-assisted 9.68 second run earlier on in the Trials. "Getting a gold medal is my biggest motivation and I want to save the best for last. My expectations are huge going into the Olympics，" Gay said after his amazing sprint.

His left hamstring has been diagnosed as a light muscle strain which will take two weeks to recover. According to United States track and field officials， Gay underwent an MRI late Saturday afternoon at Slocum Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Eugene. The MRI showed a mild strain in the semitendinosus muscle. His agent， Mark Wetmore， said that Gay is expected to engage in active rest for up to 14 days， with light physical activity increasing throughout that period， after which the athlete is to resume training.

Gay is considered the main rival of Jamaican talent Usain Bolt in the Men's 100 meters. Bolt is currently the world record holder in the run， clocking 9.72 seconds earlier this year.

Bubba Thornton， coach of the US men's track and field team， is confident that Gay will be ready to take his place alongside Bolt and Asafa Powell （another strong Jamaican sprinter） in what promises to be one of the highlights of the Games. He also insisted that there were no plans to ask for an exception to the selection system to allow Gay to compete in the 200 meters event.

Gay's only confirmed pre-Olympic competition is the 100-meter at the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25.

Republic of Korea archers train with confidence

2009-02-11T06:35:00.005-08:00

Im Dong-Hyun in training （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；
Park Kyung-Mo in training （Photo credit： Xinhua）
Women's team in training （Photo credit： Xinhua）

（BEIJING， August 4） -- The six archers of the Republic of Korea are strongly favored to medal in both team and individual categories at this year's Games. The national team has dominated Olympic competition since 1988， taking three of the four gold medals in both 2000 and 2004.

During a training session at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Monday， team members expressed their confidence for another strong showing in Beijing.

Athens Women's Individual gold medalist Park Sung-Hyun commented on defending her 2004 Olympic title： "I'm not focused on the gold medal. I just want to do my best."

Park's teammate， 26-year-old Joo Hyun-Jung also expressed her confidence： "I feel like I can win， 100 percent， but it depends on the conditions. Fifty percent is ability and 50 percent is good fortune."

Im Dong-Hyun， 2004 Men's Team Olympic Champion， is aiming for both Team and Individual gold at this year's Games： "My target is the gold medal. I have a good sense of shooting. I am feeling comfortable and mentally composed."

Archery competition begins with Men's and Women's Ranking Rounds on Saturday， August 9， Day 1 of the Olympics.

Archery: Republic of Korea is still the team to beat

2009-02-11T06:35:00.003-08:00

Yun Ok-Hee （left） and Park Sung-Hyun in training. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 6） -- The Republic of Korea has won all five Women's Archery titles since the Team competition format was first included in the Olympic Games 20 years ago， and is again expected to be the team to beat at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Winner of the individual title at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games， Park Sung-Hyun leads the national team. Park is ranked No. 2 in the world behind teammate Yun Ok-Hee. Both Park and Yun hold world records.

China is again expected to provide the ROK women with stiff competition. The ROK women beat China in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games on the last arrow of the competition. China is led by Zhang Juanjuan， the winner of the 2006 World Cup Final in Merida， Mexico.

Fourth in the Athens Games， Chinese Taipei has emerged as a real threat in Beijing. At the Leipzig 2007 World Championships， Chinese Taipei took the silver medal， losing to the powerful ROK women in the final.

Other strong medal contenders in the Women's Team event include Great Britain and Poland. Allison Williamson （GBR）， who won the bronze medal at the Athens Games， should play a major role for the British.

Poland， the current European champion， fields Justyna Mospinek， one of four archers set to attend the Archery World Cup Final later this year.

The ROK Men's Team seeks to win its fourth Olympic Gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Winner of the individual title at the Leipzig 2007 World Championships， Im Dong-Hyun leads the men's team.

Joining Im is Park Kyung-Mo who was the individual winner of the Antalya 1993 World Championships and the 2006 World Cup Final. Im and Park also competed in the ROK team at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Two other teams expected to fight for medals are Great Britain and Chinese Taipei， having won silver and bronze respectively at the 2007 World Championships.

Simon Terry （GBR）， winner of the Individual and Team Bronze medal for Great Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games， is expected to play a major role for the British after a 16-year absence from the Games.

The United States of America is aiming for a podium finish in Beijing after narrowly missing out on a bronze medal at the Athens Games， where it lost to the Ukraine by two points on the final arrow of competition.

Returning to the Olympics for the fifth time is Richard Johnson （USA）， who won the Team gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. Johnson and Victor Wunderle （USA） won the Team bronze medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

In the Women's Individual event， Natalia Valeeva （ITA） is expected to challenge the ROK and Chinese archers for a medal.

At 39， Valeeva is one of the eldest archers in these， her fifth Olympic Games. The reigning world champion won the 2008 World Cup Stage in Santo Domingo， Dominican Republic and is ranked No. 3 in the world.

Other potential medalists include Natalya Erdyniyeva （RUS）， Dola Banerjee （IND）， and Jennifer Nichols （USA）. Banerjee was the winner of the the 2007 World Cup Final in Dubai.

Marco Galiazzo （ITA） will be under pressure to defend his Men's Individual gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games while a serious threat to ROK's archers is Baljinima Tsyrempilov， the winner of four individual European championships， including this year's championships.

Tsyrempilov won the gold medal at the 2007 World Cup Final in Dubai and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

Other potential medalists include Romain Girouille （FRA）， Alan Wills （GBR）， and Kim Ha-Neul （AUS）. Kim won the 2007 Good Luck Beijing Test Event.

Archery by the numbers

2009-02-11T06:35:00.001-08:00

At age 52， Richard Johnson （USA） is the oldest athlete to compete in Archery at Beijing 2008. （Photo credit： Xinhua）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 6） -- This is a preview on the Archery competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games based on historical facts and figures.

6，000，000 – Number of archers worldwide.

9，216 – Arrows shot in total by the archers in the qualifying round （128 archers * 72 arrows）.

4，500 – Seating capacity at the Olympic Green Archery Field Court A.

1972 – The year Archery became permanent in the Olympic program.

684 – Olympic points record in the Men's 72 arrows 70m Round， set by Michele Frangilli （ITA） in Atlanta 1996.

673 – Olympic points record in the Women's 72 arrows 70m Round， set by Lina Herasymenko （UKR） in Atlanta 1996.

231 – Men's world record for a 24-arrow Team match.

228 – Women's world record for a 24-arrow Team match.

128 – Archers will compete at Beijing 2008 （64 Men and 64 Women）.

52 – Age of Richard Johnson （USA）， the oldest athlete to compete in Archery at Beijing 2008.

30 – Seconds an archer has to shoot an arrow in the individual matches.

29 – Medals won by USA since 1900， most of any NOC.

14 – Age of Mariana Avitia （MEX）， the youngest archer at Beijing 2008.

11 – Gold medals won by Republic of Korea Women since 1984 （out of a possible 11）.

10 – Rings on the target.

4 – Gold medals to be won at Beijing 2008.

0 – Number of Gold medals won by Republic of Korea in the Men's Individual， the only Archery event not dominated by ROK.

A general view during archery training

2009-02-11T06:34:00.003-08:00

Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

A general view during archery training ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympics at Olympic Green Archery Field on August 6， 2008 in Beijing， China.

（Photo%26nbsp；credit： Michael Steele/Getty Images）

Photos: Republic of Korea wins Archery Women's Team gold

2009-02-11T06:34:00.001-08:00

（L-R） Park Sung-Hyun， Joo Hyun-Jung and Yun Ok-Hee（Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

Republic of Korea beat China in the Archery Women's Team%26nbsp；final 224-215 to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games here on Sunday. France edged Britain for the bronze medal.

（L-R） Joo Hyun-Jung， Yun Ok-Hee and Park Sung-Hyun （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）
（L-R） Zhang Juan Juan， Chen Ling and Guo Dan of China（Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）
Yun Ok-Hee of the Republic of Korea takes aim. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）
Zhang Juanjuan of China takes aim. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）

ROK women win sixth consecutive Team gold medal

2009-02-10T05:28:00.003-08:00

Yun Ok-Hee of the Republic of Korea takes aim. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 10） -- The Republic of Korea women set a world and Olympic record on the way to winning the gold medal， continuing their domination of women's archery and making history by winning their sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Sunday， August 10.

Zhang Juanjuan of China takes aim. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）

The ROK led China by two points at the conclusion of the first end and then continued to increase their lead throughout the remainder of the final.

Only needing a two to win the gold medal with her final shot， Park Sung-Hyun （ROK） nailed the 10 ring， a flashback to her final arrow against China which clinched the gold medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The ROK claimed their place in history with a final score of 224-215. Heavy rain after the semifinals had earlier forced a 30-minute delay before the medal matches could take place.

Earlier in the day the ROK set a 24-arrow world record when Park Sung-Hyun， Yun Ok-Hee and Joo Hyun-Jung combined for a score of 231 out of a possible 240 points against Italy in the quarterfinals.

The ROK score of 231 also established the Olympic record as the 24-arrow format is being featured for the first time in the Olympic Games.

The bronze medal match between France and Great Britain was a tense affair with the two teams staying within a few points of each other for much of the match.

Great Britain did not get off to a good start in the match with Charlotte Burgess hitting just a six on her first arrow.

The French team needed seven points to win with one arrow remaining and Sophie Dodemont withstood the pressure to score an eight， leading France to the bronze medal with a final score of 203-201.

Earlier， Great Britain and China competed in the first semifinal match. The key turning point of the contest came in the third end when Naomi Folkard shot just a six， allowing China to capitalize and eventually win the match 208-202.

In the second semifinal， France faced the ROK in a match conducted in heavy rain and wind. The combination of the inclement weather and the pressure of facing the No. 1 seeded team proved too much for the French who shot a four and three threes in their final eight arrows eventually losing 213-184.

China got the day off to a great start winning their quarterfinal against India 211-206.

Archery Day 2 Review: ROK women take sixth Olympic gold

2009-02-10T05:28:00.001-08:00

ROK team sporting their gold. （Photo credit： Stu Forster/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

The ROK claimed their place in history by beating out the Chinese team with a final score of 224-215. Heavy rain after the semifinals had earlier forced a 30-minute delay before the medal matches could take place.

Earlier in the day the ROK set a 24-arrow world record when Park Sung-hyun， Yun Ok-hee and Joo Hyun-jung combined for a score of 231 out of a possible 240 points against Italy in the quarterfinals.

The ROK score of 231 also established the Olympic record as the 24-arrow format is being featured for the first time in the Olympic Games.

The bronze medal match between France and Great Britain was a tense affair with the two teams staying within a few points of each other for much of the match. The French need seven points for the win with one arrow remaining. Sophie Dodemont met the challenge to shoot a final eight， leading France to the bronze medal with a final score of 202-201.

ROK men set Olympic record en route to fourth Team gold

2009-02-10T05:27:00.005-08:00

（L-R） Park Kyung-mo， Lee Chang-hwan and Im Dong-hyun （Photo credit： Ezra Shaw/Getty Images）Photo Gallery%26gt；%26gt；

（BEIJING， August 11） -- The Republic of Korea men beat Italy and set a 24-arrow Olympic record of 227 en route to their fourth Olympic Team gold medal. The Men's semifinal and medal matches provided an incredible afternoon filled with nail-biting matches that came down to the very last arrow at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Monday， August 11.

In the gold medal match， the ROK and Italy were tied going into the last three arrows when Mauro Nespoli （ITA） shot a seven， handing the gold medal to the ROK （227-225）. For Ilario Di Buo' （ITA）， the loss was a flashback to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games when the ROK defeated Italy in the gold medal match. Di Buo' is the only remaining archer from either team.

Im Dong-hyun celebrates winning the gold medal. （Photo credit： Ezra Shaw/Getty Images）

In the bronze medal match， Ukraine was unable to defend the Team bronze medal they won in 2004. Ukraine climbed back from a six point deficit at the halfway point， only to lose to the crowd favorite， China， on the last arrow， 222-219.

The ROK beat China in an energy-filled semifinal. Halfway through the match， China was tied with the ROK， but the pressure eventually caught up with China and they were unable to deny the ROK's a fourth shot at team Olympic gold， losing the match （221-218）.

In the semifinals， Italy assured itself a Men's Team medal by beating Ukraine， 223-221. To advance to the gold medal final， Italy needed to shoot a nine on the last arrow and it was Nespoli， the newcomer to the Italian team， who calmly nailed a 10 to the delight of the crowd.

En route to the semifinals， the ROK had a bye in the 1/8 Elimination Round and beat Poland in the 1/4 Elimination Round. Italy beat Canada in the 1/8 Elimination Round and Malaysia in the 1/4 Elimination Round. China beat Russia in the 1/4 Elimination round and Great Britain in the 1/8 Elimination Round. Ukraine had a bye in the 1/8 Elimination Round and then beat Chinese Taipei in the 1/4 Elimination Round.

The US lost to Chinese Taipei in the 1/8 Elimination Round.