MONDAY'S SPORTS ROUNDUP
CANOE-KAYAK
XSeven-time kayaking gold medalist Birgit Fischer of Germany -- trying to become the first woman to win Olympic medals 24 years apart -- had a strong start. Her four-person kayak never trailed in its 500-meter heat. The American women's K-4 boat finished last in the same five-kayak heat but remains in contention. An Olympic format allows boats finishing outside the top three to enter a semifinal.
CYCLING
XThree quick races, about 40 seconds of hard pedaling time, and it was all over for U.S track cyclist Jennie Reed, who was eliminated from the opening rounds of the sprint competition. She finished second in the consolation race, placing her 10th in a 12-woman field. Australia easily defeated Britain for the gold medal in the 4,000-meter team pursuit, adding the Olympic title to its three consecutive world championships in the event.
DIVING
XAlexandre Despatie led the Olympic 3-meter springboard preliminaries, keeping the powerful Chinese out of their customary top spot. Despatie, the first Canadian to win a world title on the 10-meter platform last year, was first with 517.59 points.
Peng Bo of China was second with 495.45. Russia's Alexander Dobroskok was third with 489.75; Japan's Ken Terauchi was fourth with 456.15.
EQUESTRIAN
XDebbie McDonald of Hailey, Idaho, moved into contention for an individual dressage medal with a fault-free round on Brentina that scored 74.840 percent. She moved to fourth overall, with a two-day average of 74.067 percent.
SAILING
XAmerican sailors John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree held onto their lead in the Tornado catamaran class and Paul Cayard jumped up three spots in the Star class. While the Tornados got in their two scheduled races, the Stars got in just one before the breeze died. The boats drifted under the hot sun for about three hours before attempts to start the second race were abandoned.
TABLE TENNIS
XRyu Seung-min beat China's Wang Hao in six games, becoming the first South Korean to win the men's table tennis gold medal since the sport was added at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Wang Liqin of China won the bronze.
MEN'S WATER POLO
XHungary finished preliminaries unbeaten and secured an automatic semifinal place by edging Russia, 7-6. Aleksander Sapic scored three goals to lead Serbia-Montenegro to a 9-4 win over the United States, ending American hopes of making the quarterfinals.
WRESTLING
XSara McMann couldn't hold an early lead in her 1381/2 pounds (63kg) gold medal match with world champion Kaori Icho of Japan and lost 3-2, meaning the United States exited the debut of Olympic women's wrestling without any golds. The Americans, who had four world silver medalists last year, came away with only two medals: McMann's silver and Patricia Miranda's bronze at 1051/2 pounds (48kg).
MEN'S FIELD HOCKEY
XTeake Taekema scored twice for the Netherlands in a 2-1 win over Australia. The Netherlands went undefeated in preliminary round play and will face Germany in the semifinals. Australia placed second in Group B and will face Spain, which topped Group A. Germany needed only a tie to advance to the next round, but trailed late in the second half until Bjoern Emmerling scored in the 66th minute to make it 2-2 against South Korea.
WEIGHTLIFTING
XBulgaria's Milen Dobrev lived up to his top seeding and took the gold medal in the 207-pound (94 kg) division. Junior world champion Khadjimourad Akkaev, a 19-year-old from Russia, took silver with a total of 893 pounds (405 kg). Fellow Russian Eduard Tjukin got the bronze.
WOMEN'S TEAM HANDBALL
XSouth Korea surprised world champion France (2-2) 30-23, as Lim O-Kyeung scored eight goals. France and South Korea both advanced to the quarterfinals. Denmark pounded Angola 38-22 in the other Group B game. Denmark had already clinched the group and ended up 4-0. Angola finished 0-3-1. Ukraine rallied to beat Hungary, 23-22, in a game that decided the top position in Group A. China defeated Brazil, 28-23, putting both teams at 2-2 -- enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
Associated Press