The world’s fastest and strongest women were crowned at the Olympics in Athens on Saturday as United States swimming sensation Michael Phelps etched his name into history with a sixth gold medal.
Doping controversies and wrangles over judging bubbled away on the sidelines but for once it was sporting stories that dominated on a day that saw 32 gold medals won and the US’s basketball ”Dream Team” beaten again.
Yulia Nesterenko of Belarus won the last of the day’s golds when she blasted to victory in the women’s 100m in front of a capacity 70 000-strong crowd at the Athens Olympic Stadium.
The win was the first by a non-American winner for 24 years, Nesterenko taking full advantage of a field missing banned US stars Kelli White and Torri Edwards, both serving drug bans.
Nesterenko’s victory followed a gold medal for Sweden’s Carolina Kluft, who confirmed her status as the world’s best all-round female athlete with a comfortable victory in the heptathlon.
The down-to-earth 21-year-old celebrated by hugging her mother before leading her fellow competitors around the stadium on a joint lap of honour.
”It was two long days but I am very satisfied. The crowd and the competition were remarkable,” said Kluft, the reigning world champion and best heptathlete since 1992 and 1996 Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
While track and field events were getting into full swing, the curtain came down on the swimming with American teenager Phelps making history — without even getting into the pool.
Phelps earned his record-equalling eighth medal of the games as his teammates in the US 4x100m medley relay squad recorded victory with a new world record of three minutes and 30,68 seconds.
The 19-year-old, who was awarded a relay medal by virtue of taking part in the early rounds, now stands alone with Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin, who also won eight at the 1980 Moscow games.
At the end of day eight, the US led the medal tables with 19 golds, one ahead of China, who added to their tally with wins in weightlifting, badminton and table tennis.
While Nesterenko finished the day as world’s fastest woman, there was no doubting who was the strongest. That honour went to superheavyweight Chinese lifter Tang Gonghong, who won gold with a world-record-breaking display.
The 25-year-old Tang, the reigning Asian champion who tips the scales at just under 120kg, won with a jaw-dropping total of 305kg, which beat her own world record set earlier this year by 2,5kg.
Later on Saturday the US basketball players suffered their second defeat of the Olympics and only the fourth in 115 matches in their history when they lost 94-90 to Lithuania.
The win handed Lithuania a place in the quarterfinals but the Americans should still qualify with victory over Angola next week.
In other action, British rower Matthew Pinsent made sure of his place in the pantheon of Olympic greats by winning a gold medal for the fourth consecutive games in the men’s coxless fours.
The British rowers pipped Canada by just eight-hundredths of a second to take gold. Pinsent (33), who helped Steve Redgrave to his fifth gold in Sydney four years ago, has also won golds at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Games.
Britain earned another gold — in the court-room — when they won their legal battle to have the topsy-turvy result of the three-day eventing equestrian competition overturned.
Leslie Law was promoted to individual gold medallist while France were awarded the team gold after the two nations, as well as the US, went to arbitration to have Germany removed as winners.
In the men’s soccer tournament, both Iraq and Italy earned 1-0 wins over Australia and Mali respectively to reach the semifinals.
Iraq play Paraguay in the semifinals while Italy face favourites Argentina.
Belgium, meanwhile, earned their first gold medal of the Games thanks to tennis star and world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne, who defeated Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-3.
But away from the sports arenas the weightlifting drugs crisis showed no sign of ending as two more failed dope tests were confirmed.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said superheavyweight Russian woman weightlifter Albina Khomich had tested positive as Greek officials confirmed results of bronze medallist Leonidas Sampanis.
A total of 13 athletes — including nine weightlifters — have now failed drug tests since July 30. — Sapa-AFP
Special Report: Olympics 2004