Major Upsets in Olympic Tennis, Wednesday
There have been a pair of major upsets at the Olympic tennis tournament in Athens, as defending gold medalist Venus Williams of the United States and her second-seeded compatriot Andy Roddick were both defeated in the third round.
Roddick lost 6-4, 6-4, to number 16 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile on Wednesday, while unseeded Mary Pierce of France beat the number six Williams, 6-4, 6-4. Things went no better for Americans Chanda Rubin and Lisa Raymond. Rubin lost to second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-3, 6-1, while Lisa Raymond was eliminated by Alicia Molik of Australia 6-4, 6-4. Taylor Dent was the only U.S. player to advance, as he topped Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4.
In other results, world number one and top-seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium beat Australian Nicole Pratt and fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced past number-10 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland. Also, eighth-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan defeated number 12 Karolina Sprem of Croatia and 11th-seeded Francesca Schiavone outlasted Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia.
Australian Swimmer Sets Record in Women's 100-Meter Freestyle
The day's Olympic swimming events are under way, with Australian Jodie Henry setting a world record in the women's 100-meter freestyle.
Henry won the semifinal with a time of 53.52 seconds -- breaking a record set by fellow Australian Lisbeth Lenton earlier this year.
Four Olympic swimming medals will be decided Wednesday, including the men's 200-meter breaststroke. That event will feature three swimmers who have each held the world record during the past year.
At the start of the day, the U.S. swimming team led the field in both gold medals with five and the overall medal count with 14.
Poland, Japan, Dutch Claim Swimming Gold Medals
Japan, Poland, and the Netherlands have each claimed gold in the Olympic swimming pool Wednesday.
Japan's Kosuke Kitajima earned his second gold medal in four days with a win in the men's 200-meter breaststroke. Kitajima, who won the 100-meter breaststroke on Sunday, set a new Olympic record in the 200-meter with a time of 2:9.44 minutes.
15-year-old Hungarian Daniel Gyurta won the silver, while American Brendan Hansen took the bronze.
Meanwhile, Otylia Jedrzejczak of Poland has won the women's 200-meter butterfly, beating out Australia's Petria Thomas who took the silver and Yuko Nakanishi of Japan who won the bronze.
And Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands has won the men's 100-meter freestyle. The silver went to Roland Schoeman of South Africa, while the bronze was claimed by Australia's Ian Thorpe.
Earlier, Australian Jodie Henry set a world record in the semifinal of the women's 100-meter freestyle.
US Women's Basketball Team Defeats S. Korea in Preliminary Round
Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson played a dominating inside game, as the United States women's Olympic basketball team defeated South Korea 80-57 in preliminary round play.
Leslie scored 25 points despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter and Thompson added 18 in Wednesday's game. It was the third straight blowout for the American women and their 20th consecutive overall victory in the Olympics. Lee Mi-sun led South Korea with 16 points.
In other matches, the Czech Republic beat China 98-83 to avoid its third straight loss, while Greece knocked off Nigeria 83-68.
Lauren Jackson tallied 31 points and nine rebounds to lead undefeated Australia past Japan, 97-78.
US Men Win Gold, Bronze in Cycling Time Trial
U.S. cyclist Tyler Hamilton has won the Olympic gold medal in the men's individual time trial.
Hamilton finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of defending gold medalist Viatscheslav Ekimov of Russia, who claimed the silver this time around.
It was the first Olympic medal for Hamilton, who was forced to abandon cycling's most prized event, the Tour de France, last month due to an injury.
Fellow U.S. rider Bobby Julich took the bronze medal in the 48-kilometer race along the Aegean Sea.
Meantime, the gold medal in the women's time trial went to Leontien Zijlaard van Moorsel of the Netherlands.
She was racing with bruises suffered in a crash during the women's road race on Sunday.
American Dierdre Demet-Barry took the silver medal, while Karin Thuerig of Switzerland finished third for the bronze.
Indonesian, South Korean Advance to Olympic Badminton Semifinals
An Indonesian and South Korean have advanced to the semi-finals of the men's badminton singles competition at the Athens Olympics.
Indonesian Taufik Hidayat upset sixth seed Peter Gade of Denmark, 15-12, 15-12 Wednesday, while number seven Shon Seung-mo of South Korea ousted second seed Chen Hong of China, 10-15, 15-4, 15-10.
In other early round action, the top-seeded women's table tennis doubles team from China beat Japan to reach the semi-finals. The number two seeds, also from China, ousted the fifth seeded duo representing Hong Kong in another quarterfinal match.
Chinese, South Korean Women Table Tennis Teams Reach Olympic Semi-Finals
Two women's teams from China will face two from South Korea in the semi-finals of Olympics table tennis doubles competition.
Top-seeded duo Guo Yue and Niu Jianfeng of China defeated a Japanese team, while the second-seeded Chinese team of Wang Nan and Zhang Yining defeated two players representing Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Lee Eun-sil and Suk Eun-mi of South Korea downed the eighth seeds from North Korea. And number nine Kim Bok-rae and Kim Kyung-ah of South Korea got by a 14th seeded team from Croatia.
In another preliminary event, the South Korean women's volleyball team beat Kenya, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19.
Italian Vezzali Defends Fencing Gold Medal
Italy's Valentina Vezzali has defended her Olympic gold medal in the women's individual foil competition.
Vezzali defeated fellow Italian Giovanna Trillini (15-11) in the final Wednesday, in Athens.
Poland's Sylwia Gruchala claimed the bronze with a (15-9) win over Hungary's Aida Mohamed.
South Korea Takes Women's Archery Gold Medal
South Korea's Park Sung-hyun has won the women's archery competition at the Olympics.
Park's win gives South Korea six straight gold medals in the event going back to 1984.
Top seed Park defeated fellow South Korean Lee Sung-Jin 110-108 in the final Wednesday, to claim the gold.
In the bronze medal match, Britain's Alison Williamson beat Taiwan's Yuan Shu-chi.
Ukrainian Takes Weightlifting Gold
Ukranian Nataliya Skakun has won a gold medal in weightlifting at the Olympics in Athens.
Skakun and Hanna Batsiushka of Belarus lifted the same composite total of 242.5 kilograms in the women's 63-kilogram competition Wednesday.
But Skakun was declared the winner because she has a lighter body weight.
Batsiushka had to settle for the silver despite setting a new world record in the snatch, one of two lifts that make up the competition, along with the clean and jerk.
Batsiushka broke her own world record in the snatch by lifting 115 kilograms.
Another Belarussian, Tatsiana Stukalava, won the bronze.
France Wins Olympic C-1 Canoe Gold
France's Tony Estanguet has won the first gold medal of 21 to be awarded Wednesday at the Athens Olympics, taking the Slalom C-1 Canoe singles event.
Slovakia's Michal Martikan crossed the finish line first, and was initially declared the winner. But officials later penalized him two seconds for touching a gate, which moved him to second place and the silver medal.
Stefan Pfannmoeller of Germany came in third place to earn the bronze medal.
Slovakian Kayaker Wins Olympic Gold
Slovakia's Elena Kaliska has won the Olympic gold medal in women's slalom K-1 Kayak event.
Kaliska finished ahead of American Rebecca Giddens, who earned the silver medal. Helen Reeves of Britain won the bronze with a third place finish.
Kimberly Rhode of US Wins Women's Olympic Trap Shoot
American Kimberly Rhode has won the Olympic gold medal in the women's double trap shoot in Athens.
Rhode edged out South Korean Lee Bo-Na, who came in second place to win the silver medal. China's Gao E took the bronze with a third place finish.
US, Bulgaria Claim Women's Shooting Golds
Bulgarian Maria Grozdeva has won the Olympic gold medal in the women's 25-meter pistol competition.
Grozdeva edged Lenka Hykova of the Czech Republic by four-tenths of a point in the final Wednesday.
Hykova settles for the silver medal, while Irada Ashumova of Azerbaijan finished a close third to take the bronze.
Earlier, American Kimberly Rhode won the gold medal in the women's double trap shoot.
South Korean Lee Bo-Na came in second to win the silver. China's Gao E was third to claim the bronze.
Japan Claims Another Judo Gold Medal
Japan has claimed another Olympic gold medal in judo, with Masae Ueno winning the women's 70-kilogram competition.
Ueno defeated Edith Bosch of the Netherlands in the final Wednesday. Bosch takes the silver, while the bronze medals went third-place finishers Annett Boehm of Germany and Qin Dongya of China.
In the men's 90-kilogram competition, Georgia's Zurab Zviadauri denied Japan more gold by defeating Hiroshi Izumi in the final.
Izumi settled for the silver, while Khasanbi Taov of Russia and the Netherlands' Mark Huizinga took the bronze.
Japan has dominated the judo competition in Athens, winning five golds and seven medals overall.
Germany Re-Claims Gold Medal in Olympic Team Equestrian Competition
Olympic officials have upheld an appeal to allow Germany to re-claim a gold medal in team three-day equestrian competition.
After Germany originally won the event Wednesday, judges ruled that German rider Bettina Hoy had committed a false start. This moved France up into the gold medal slot, while Britain took the silver and the United States the bronze.
But Germany protested, and officials reversed their decision. This returned the gold medal to Germany, the silver to France and the bronze to Britain.
Bettina Hoy also won a gold medal Wednesday in individual three-day equestrian competition. Britain's Leslie Law took the silver, and Kimberly Severson of the United States claimed the bronze.
US Gymnast Wins Gold; South Koreans Take Silver and Bronze
Paul Hamm of the United States has won the men's individual all-around gymnastics gold medal at the Athens summer Olympics.
The 21-year-old American won the competition, Wednesday, with a total score of 57.823. South Korean Kim Dae-eun took the silver and his countryman Yang Tae-young won the bronze.
Paul Hamm and his twin brother Morgan were on the United States team that won a silver medal on Monday, behind Japan.
Iraq Footballers Lose; Italy Through To Quarters, Ghana Out
Iraq has suffered its first loss of the 2004 summer Olympics, falling 2-1 to Morocco on the last day of group stage play.
The Iraqis had qualified for the quarterfinals with victories in their first two games, even before their group D match against Morocco in Patras on Wednesday.
Meanwhile Costa Rica dashed Portugal's quarterfinal hopes with a 4-2 victory in Iraklion.
In group B results, Japan eliminated Ghana with a 1-0 win in Volos. That result means Italy is through to the quarterfinals, despite losing by the same score, Wednesday, to Paraguay in Athens.
The results mean Saturday's quarterfinals will feature: Iraq versus Australia in Iraklion; Mali against Italy in Athens; Argentina against Costa Rica in Patras and Paraguay versus Korea in Thessaloniki.
US Women Maintain Dominance in Olympic Softball
The U.S. women's softball team is dominating the competition at the Summer Olympics in Greece.
The U.S. team Wednesday defeated Canada, 7-0, to post its fifth shutout in as many games and clinch a spot in the Olympic semifinals.
American Jennie Finch pitched a one-hitter, and teammate Lisa Fernandez went 3-for-4 with a home run.
The U.S. team has outscored its opponents by a total of 31-0 in the five games.