Olympics Recap

Friday, August 15, 2008

Didn't catch last night's Olympics in Beijing? No problem. Catch up here.

• Sisters Venus and Serena Williams crashed at the quarterfinal stage of the Olympics on Thursday. After torrential rain delayed the start of the quarterfinals until late evening, Serena Williams, playing in her first Olympic singles tournament despite winning doubles gold in Sydney eight years ago, lost to Russian Elena Dementieva. Chinese native Li Na beat double Olympic champion Venus Williams, sparking wild applause.

• After waiting eight years, Yang Wei is now an Olympic champion after winning the gold medal in the men's individual all-around artistic gymnastics final. In excitement, Wei leapt onto the podium and thrust his fists in the air while the crowd went crazy. It was a big victory for Wei, who had previously disappointed fans in both the Sydney and Athens Olympics.

• Americans Shawn Johnson--the reigning world champion--and Nastia Liukin went head to head in the women's gymnastics individual all-around, with Liukin claiming the gold. She is the third woman to win the Olympic all-around, following in the footsteps of Mary Lou Retton. This was the first time the U.S. had two women participating in the Olympic all-around.

• Twenty minutes after winning his first individual Olympic gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke, Ryan Lochte-- the primary rival of Phelps in the individual medleys--took him on in the 200 IM but failed to keep up with Phelps Lochte finished third. Currently, Phelps has racked up six gold medals and six world records in Beijing alone.

What's on tonight:
8 p.m. to midnight: Gymnastics
8 p.m. Swimming
8 p.m. Track and field
8 p.m. Beach volleyball

Beijing Gossip:

• Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw down his bronze medal in a rage after his try for Olympic gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as "politics." Abrahamian took the bronze from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium, then announced he was quitting the sport before walking off. "I don't care about this medal. I wanted gold," he said, adding "This will be my last match. I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure."

• The crowd was buzzing with wonder over a mysterious black blotch on American volleyball star Kerri Walsh's right shoulder. Some speculated it covered an unsightly tattoo while others figured it was a tattoo. Another theory was that the splotch was a Nike swoosh. However, the marking just turned out to be black medical tape, a special elastic material designed to support muscles. Since Walsh had shoulder surgery last fall to remove scar tissue, the taping helps stabilize the shoulder and aid circulation. Mystery solved!