Hungary beats Montenegro to reach Water Polo final

Tamas Kasas (L) of Hungary looks to move the ball against Vladimir Gojkovic of Montenegro

The Water Polo semifinal between Hungary and Montenegro took place at the Ying Tung Natatorium on day fourteen of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Hungary beat Montenegro 11-9.

US claims third Olympic Volleyball title

Clayton Stanley of the United States smashes

           The United States claimed its third Olympic Men's Volleyball gold medal after defeating Athens Olympic champion Brazil 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 to complete the tournament with a perfect record. The United States was Olympic champion at Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 and this year won the FIVB World League for the first time.
The first set had many service errors from both sides. Brazil's offense finally prevailed when Andre Heller attacked the middle and closed the first set 25-20.

Spain wins gold in Tornado as Australia loses gamble

(L-R) Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz of Spain fly their national flag

             The three teams in first, second and third in the Tornado (Multihull) entering the final day of Sailing finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the medal race to take gold, silver and bronze. Spaniards Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz led the way with 44 overall points, five points better that World No. 1 Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby of Australia.
The last spot on the podium went to Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola of Argentina on 56 points.

Germany wins Olympic Men's Hockey gold

The German team poses

World No. 2 Germany won the gold medal in the Olympic Men's Hockey tournament on Saturday, defeating Spain 1-0.

Goalkeeper Max Weinhold celebrates.

Spain beats Croatia for bronze

Belaustegui of Spain in action

           After a tight match Spain defeated Croatia 35-29 in the bronze medal match of the Men's Handball competition at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday, August 24.
The first half was close as Spain tightened their defense and Jon Belaustegui was punished with two two-minute suspensions in the first 30 minutes which led to him spending most of the second half on the bench to avoid a red card.
Ivano Balic (Croatia) played well in the first half and scored two goals but in the second half he was almost invisible and only attempted two shots, both of which failed.

China's He Wenna wins Women's Trampoline gold

He Wenna celebrates after claiming the title

He Wenna of China claimed the Trampoline Women's gold medal with a score of 37.80 on Monday.Canada's Karen Cockburn took the silver and Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Khilko took the bronze.

Russia wins third consecutive Group gold in Rhythmic Gymnastics

The Russian team performs in the five ropes contest

        Russia grabbed gold in the Group All-Around final of Rhythmic Gymnastics on Sunday, August 24. China won silver and Belarus ranked third place.
Each group performed two routines -- one using five ropes and one using two clubs and three hoops.
After mistakes on the first day of qualifications, the current world champion Russia rose back to the top in the finals with a score of 35.550 points.
The team's first folk-based performance using ropes ranked them on top, while the second performance secured their gold medal finish.

Gold finally comes for Johnson in the Beam

Shawn Johnson on the beam

       If she did not win gold in the Beam tonight, Shawn Johnson of the United States would have taken four silver medals back to her home state of Iowa. However, Johnson, the sprightly 16-year-old gymnast did not miss her last chance of Olympic gold. She scored 16.225 after a flawless routine, two-tenths of a point more than the silver medalist, Johnson's compatriot Nastia Liukin.

                   Johnson was outscored by Liukin in the Women's Individual All-Around on August 15 and was forced to settle for her second silver medal. Her first was the United States' second place in the Women's Team event, which was won by China. Johnson went within a hair's breadth of winning gold in the Women's Floor Exercise on August 17 – she was 0.150 of a point behind the gold medalist Sandra Izbasa of Romania. 

Britain takes gold, silver in Cycling Track Men's Sprint Final

Chris Hoy competes.

Britain's Chris Hoy took the gold medal in the Cycling Track Men's Sprint final after out riding compatriot Jason Kenney who claimed the silver. Minutes earlier, France's Mickael Bourgain surmounted Levy Maximillian of Germany for the bronze.

Chris Hoy competes.

Mountain Bike Review Absalon and Spitz make history

(L-R) Jean Christophe Peraud, Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter

   
    Julien Absalon of France has become the first male to repeat as Olympic champion, and Sabine Spitz has taken the first Olympic medal by a German in the Olympic Mountain Bike competition.
Absalon rode flawlessly at the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course on Saturday to defend the Olympic title he won at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The four-time world champion pulled away from his rivals on the second of eight laps to win in 1:55.59.
It was France's third consecutive gold medal in Men's racing; Miguel Martinez won at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Strombergs keeps his head to win BMX gold

Maris Strombergs (front) celebrates.

          Maris Strombergs of Latvia kept a cool head in a heated Men's race to carve a narrow victory as BMX made its Olympic debut on Friday, August 22.
Strombergs grabbed the decisive lead in the first corner and rode with smooth confidence to win the gold medal as rivals crashed in his wake.
Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson each avoided a costly spill in the second turn to win silver and bronze, respectively, in the eight-man final.
Strombergs, the reigning world champion, was fastest in the three runs that make up the semifinals to secure the preferred inside gate start position. With Friday's achievement, he notched Latvia's first gold medal of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Spain wins Men's Kayak Double (K2) 500m gold

Saul Craviotto and Carlos Perez of Spain compete

Spain claimed the Men's Kayak Double (K2) 500m title in one minute and 28.736 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.
Germany took the silver in 1:28.827, and Belarus got the bronze in 1:30.005.

Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Review Six golds for six different countries

All competitions of the Canoe/Kayak Flatwater concluded on Saturday, August 23. Six gold medals were evenly shared by six countries, indicating a worldwide progression in this sport over the past Olympic cycle.

(L-R) Adam van Koeverden, Ken Wallace and Tim Brabants

Australia's Ken Wallace won the most difficult race, the Men's Kayak Single (K1) 500 meter. He battled off defending champion Adam van Koeverden of Canada, Friday's K1 1000m winner Tim Brabants of Great Britain and Friday's K1 1000m bronze medalist Eirik Veras Larsen of Norway, to win this gold.

Italian Cammarelle wins Olympic Boxing Super Heavy Weight gold

Italian Roberto Cammarelle beat Chinese Zhang Zhilei to win the Olympic Boxing Super Heavy Weight gold medal here on Sunday.

Roberto Cammarelle (blue) is declared the winner.

US duo Dalhausser/Rogers win Beach Volleyball gold

(L-R) Fabio Magalhaes/Marcio Araujo, Philip Dalhausser/Todd Rogers and Ricardo Santos/Emanuel Rego
Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States defeated Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhaes of Brazil in the Beach Volleyball final at the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
The US athletes won 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4).

US duo Dalhausser/Rogers win Beach Volleyball gold

(L-R) Fabio Magalhaes/Marcio Araujo, Philip Dalhausser/Todd Rogers and Ricardo Santos/Emanuel Rego
Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States defeated Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhaes of Brazil in the Beach Volleyball final at the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
The US athletes won 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4).

United States wins Men's Basketball Olympic gold

Kobe Bryant (No.10) of the United States goes to the basket
The United States defeated Spain 118-107 to take the Men's Basketball gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday.
The bronze medal went to Argentina, who downed Lithuania 87-75.

Japan grabs Softball gold

A general view of action

Japan beat the United States 3-1 to win the gold medal in the Softball competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21.
Silver medal went to the United States, while Australia took bronze.

Moiseev of Russia takes back-to-back Modern Pentathlon Olympic gold

Andrei Moiseev (No. 1) sets off

Andrei Moiseev of Russia successfully defended his Modern Pentathlon gold medal, becoming the second athlete to ever do so in the sport, here on Thursday.
Edvinas Krungolcas of Lithuania was second with 5,548 points, while his teammate Andrejus Zadneprovskis was third, 24 points further adrift.

Netherlands claims the gold in Olympic Women's Hockey

The Netherland team pose for photos

World champions the Netherlands snatched the Olympic Women's Hockey gold with a 2-0 win over China here on Friday.
Maartje Paumen (No.17) goes after the ball

Argentina wins Men's Football gold

Sergio Aguero of Argentina takes on the Nigerian defense

The Men's Gold Medal football match between Nigeria and Argentina took place at the National Stadium on Day Fifteen of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 23, 2008 in Beijing, China. Argentina won the match and claimed the title of the event.

Canadian Lamaze wins Jumping Individual gold

Eric Lamaze jumps with his horse Hickstead over an obstacle

Canadian Eric Lamaze won the Jumping Individual gold medal at the Olympic Equestrian competition here on Thursday.
Rolf Goran Bengtsson of Sweden took silver, and Beezie Madden of the United States got bronze.

Chen Ruolin wins Women's 10m Platform Diving gold

Chen Ruolin of China poses after her win

Chen Ruolin of China won the gold medal in Women's 10 meter Platform Diving at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Thursday.
Chen scored a total of 447.70 points for gold, the seventh diving title for host China. The silver medal was taken by Emilie Heymans of Canada at 437.05. Another Chinese diver, Wang Xin, finished third with 429.90.

Cancellara of Switzerland wins Men's Cycling Time Trial gold

Fabian Cancellara celebrates

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara timed 1:02:11.43 to win the Men's Cycling Time Trial gold medal at the Olympic Games on Wednesday. Gustav Larsson of Sweden clinched silver with a time of 1:02:44.79 and the bronze went to American Levi Leipheimer in 1:03:21.11.

German Spitz wins Women's Cross Country Mountain Bike gold

Sabine Spitz poses with the gold medal

Sabine Spitz of Germany won the Women's Cross Country Mountain Bike gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.
Spitz clocked in 1:45.11 to win the title. Maja Wloszczowska of Poland, 0.41 seconds behind, took silver and Russian Irina Kalentyeva finished third.

Spain wins Men's Kayak Double (K2) 500m gold

Saul Craviotto and Carlos Perez of Spain compete

Spain claimed the Men's Kayak Double (K2) 500m title in one minute and 28.736 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.
Germany took the silver in 1:28.827, and Belarus got the bronze in 1:30.005.

Boxing

Atlanta, 3 August 1996, Games of the XXVI Olympiad. Men's boxing: Cuban Felix SAVON in action versus Canadian David DEFIAGBON during the heavyweight final bout. Savon won the gold. Credit: Getty Images/BELLO Al

Boxing ranks among the Olympic Games' most illustrious sports.
When it first arrived in the Ancient Olympic Games, the tools of the trade were long strips of leather wrapped around boxers' fists. The fight continued until one man or the other went down or conceded. The Romans followed with a gladiator dimension. They used gloves studded with spikes or weighted with lead, and fights often ended in death, like other entertainment of the day.

Brazil wins Men's Beach Volleyball bronze

Ricardo Santos (L) spikes the ball over Renato Gomes

Ricardo Santos/Emanuel Rego of Brazil defeated Renato Gomes/Jorge Terceiro of Georgia to grab the bronze medal for Men's Beach Volleyball.

US duo Dalhausser/Rogers win Beach Volleyball gold

(L-R) Fabio Magalhaes/Marcio Araujo, Philip Dalhausser/Todd Rogers and Ricardo Santos/Emanuel Rego

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States defeated Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhaes of Brazil in the Beach Volleyball final at the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
The US athletes won 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4).

Hooker of Australia wins Men's Pole Vault gold

Steve Hooker celebrates

Hooker from Australia claimed the Men's Pole Vault title with the result of 5.96 meters at the Beijing Olympics on Friday night.Evqeny Lukyanenko from Russia took the silver with 5.85 meters, and Denys Yurchenko from Ukraine got the bronze with 5.70 meters.

Men's race to carve a narrow victory

Maris Strombergs (front) celebrates

Maris Strombergs of Latvia kept a cool head in a heated Men's race to carve a narrow victory as BMX made its Olympic debut on Friday, August 22.
Strombergs grabbed the decisive lead in the first corner and rode with smooth confidence to win the gold medal as rivals crashed in his wake.
Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson each avoided a costly spill in the second turn to win silver and bronze, respectively, in the eight-man final.

Correa Bayeaux is declared winner after defeating India’s Vijender Kumar during their Olympic Games

Cuba’s Emilio Correa Bayeaux is declared winner after defeating India’s Vijender Kumar during their Olympic Games Middleweight (75 kg) semi-final boxing bout in Beijing on August 22, 200

He refused to speak to the media in the morning, put his cell phone on silent mode and tried to shut out the world outside. He knows he has an unfinished job on hand and does not want to be reminded of what happened on Wednesday night. He does not want to revel in the fact that he became the first Indian boxer to ensure the country an Olympics medal. It must have kept coming back to him the night before, flooding his mind with emotions. But that was the night before. Euphoria has been put to rest for now.
‘‘He is focusing on the big fight. He could not sleep last night. Please don’t disturb him. He won’t speak to anyone now. Call in the evening,’’ Sandhu said. There’s nothing new to say anyway. This 23-year-old middleweight boxer from Bhiwani had said what he wanted to after creating history last night. ‘‘I do not want to think about what has happened today. I have a lot of work to do. The Cuban is a strong boxer so I want to ready. I’m going for gold,’’ he had said.

Cejudo claims 55kg gold in Freestyle Wrestling

Henry Cejudo of the United States claimed gold in the Men's Freestyle Wrestling 55 kilogram class after beating Japan's Matsunaga Tomohiro 2-2, 3-0 on Tuesday, August 19.
US wrestlers have won silver medals in the 55kg category in three of the last four Olympics. The 2004 medalist, Stephen Abas, was defeated by 20-year-old Cejudo in the final at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Cejudo got his start in Olympic level wrestling by helping Women's Wrestling 48kg bronze medalist Patricia Miranda train before the 2004 Games. In 2007, Cejudo won his second straight national title, his first Pan-American Games gold medal, and went to his first World Championship where he was knocked out in the first round.

Andrei Aramnau breaks three world records

Andrei Aramnau of Belarus shattered three world records en route to the Men's Weightlifting 105 kilogram weight category title on Monday, August 18.
He lifted 200kg in the Snatch followed by 236kg in the Clean and Jerk to get a total of 436kg.
The 2006 world champion Marcin Dolega of Poland, who also lifted 420kg, missed out on a medal due to a higher pre-competition weigh-in.

Frodeno wins gold in Men's Triathlon

With only 50 meters to go to the finish line, Jan Frodeno of Germany out-sprinted 2008 world champion Javier Francisco Gomez of Spain, Athens 2004 silver medallist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand and Sydney 2000 gold medalist Simon Whitfield to claim the gold in the Men's Triathlon on Tuesday.
Gomez sped up 700 meters before the end to finish the race, but failed to break away from the leading group. Whitfield followed suit, but was caught by Frodeno, who kept the lead till the end. He clocked one hour, 48 minutes and 53.28 seconds. The German had no notable achievement in international tournaments on his resume previous to this Olympic win.

Williams sisters grab the women's doubles gold

Serena Williams and Venus Williams of United States defeated French Open champions Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain to capture the gold medal in the Women's Doubles Tennis at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17.

Russian Dementieva wins Women's Singles Tennis gold

Elena Dementieva defeated Dinara Safina 2-1 in an all-Russian final to win the Women's Singles Tennis gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games here on August 17.
Dementieva scored a 3-6, 7-5 and 6-3 victory for the gold medal.
Earlier, Vera Zvonareva ensured a clean sweep of medals for Russia by beating China's Li Na 6-0 and 7-5 in the bronze medal match.

Nadal grabs gold in Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile to get the gold medal in the Men's Single Tennis at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17.

Taekwondo

Sydney, Sports centre, Olympic Park, 29 September 2000, Games of the XXVII Olympiad: Sun-Hee LEE of Korea (in blue) in action against Trude GUNDERSEN of Norway during the -67kg taekwondo final. Sun-Hee LEE went on to win the gold medal. 
Various Korean forms of martial arts have existed but in the early 20th century, taekwondo became the dominant form. In 1955 a group of Korean martial arts leaders chose taekwondo as the definitive Korean martial art in an attempt to promote its development internationally.

China beats Germany to win Table Tennis Men's Team gold

China beat Germany 3-0 to win the Table Tennis Men's Team gold medal at the Olympic Games here on Monday.Earlier, the Republic of Korea defeated Austria 3-1 for the bronze.

Blanik of Poland wins Men's Vault gold

Polish gymnast Leszek Blanik claimed the Men's Vault title with 16.537 points at the Beijing Olympic Games on Monday.
French gymnast Thomas Bouhail, who also collected 16.537 points, took the silver due to a tiebreak rule.
Anton Golotsutskov from Russia got the bronze with 16.475 points.

China's Wang Jiao wins gold in Women's Freestyle 72kg Wrestling

 

China's Wang Jiao beat Bulgaria's Stanka Zlateva to win the Women's 72kg Freestyle Wrestling gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Sunday.
Zlateva won the silver while Japan's Hamaguchi Kyoko and Agnieszka Wieszczek of Poland both took a bronze medal.

Kazakhstan's Ilin wins Olympic Men's 94kg Weightlifting gold

 

Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilin won the gold medal in the Men's 94kg Weightlifting class at the Beijing Olympics here on Sunday.
Ilin hoisted 180kg in the Snatch and 226kg in the Clean and Jerk for a winning total of 406kg.
Szymon Kolecki of Poland took silver with 403kg and Khadzhimurat Akkaev of Russia grabbed bronze with 402kg.

Australia's two Emmas seize gold and bronze in Women's Triathlon

 

Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt of Australia won gold and bronze medals in today's Women's Triathlon race. The silver medal went to Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal.

Snowsill won the gold with a time of one hour, 58 minutes and 27.66 seconds. Fernandes finished in a time of one hour, 59 minutes and 34.63 seconds, while Moffatt won the bronze medal with a time of one hour, 59 minutes and 55.84 seconds.