American swimmers dominated the Olympic competition Tuesday, with Michael Phelps now three-for-three in his quest to win a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Summer Games.
Phelps took gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a world record time - 1:42.96. The 23-year-old Phelps now joins an elite fraternity that includes Carl Lewis and Mark Spitz, all with nine gold medals.
Phelps' compatriot Natalie Coughlin captured the gold in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 58.96 seconds. Aaron Peirsol took the gold in the 100-meter backstroke with a world record time - 52.54.
Aussie Leisel Jones won the women's 100-meter breaststroke with an Olympic record time - 1:05.17.
In the men's 50-meter pistol event, South Korea's Jin Jong-oh won the gold medal (573.3 points). American Glenn Eller won the men's double trap title.
China added to its gold medal total in two events: men's gymnastics and women's 10-meter synchronized diving competition. The Chinese have won all the diving golds so far.
Michal Martikan of Slovakia won gold in the men's white water canoe singles event. Pak Hyon Suk won North Korea's first weightlifting gold medal in the women's 63-kilogram division, while China's Liao Hui won the gold in the men's 69-kilo class.
German Alexander Grimm won the men's K-1 kayak gold medal. Russia's Nazyr Mankiev took gold in the men's 55-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling event, while his compatriot Islam-Beka Albiev took the top medal in the 60-kilo division.
In judo, the gold medal in the men's 81-kilogram division went to Ole Bischof of Germany, while Ayumi Tanimoto won the women's gold in the 63-kilogram class. China picked up its first individual sabre gold as Zhong Man won the title.
So far, the United States has 21 medals, including seven gold, but host country China has the most gold medals, 13, in its total of 20.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
