Photo: Meng/Yang of China retain Men's Canoe Double (C2) 500m gold

(BEIJING, August 23) -- Defending champions China's Men guo liang and Yang wenjun successfully won gold again with a time of 1:41.025 minutes in the final of the Men's Flatwater Canoe Double (C2) 500 meter on Saturday, August 23.
Russia's Sergey Ulegin and Alexander Kostoglod finished 0.257 seconds after for a silver medal, and third place went to Germany's Christian Gille and Thomasz Wylenzek.
The Chinese pair kept the lead throughout the whole 500m. The Russian pair ranked fourth in the first half and sped up to second place in the latter half.
This is the first Olympic experience for Russia's Ulegin, but the fifth time for his partner Kostoglod, who claimed bronze in this event in Athens.
The German pair maintained third place throughout the race. They ranked fifth in this event in Athens.

Chinese Zhang Yining wins Olympic table tennis singles gold

Zhang Yining of China returns the ball during the women's singles gold medal match of Beijing Olympic Games table tennis event against her compatriot Wang Nan in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Zhang Yining

BEIJING, Aug. 22 -- World number one Zhang Yining won her fourth Olympic gold, beating teammate Wang Nan 4-1 in an all-Chinese women's singles table tennis Olympic final here Friday evening.
Zhang won 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3, becoming the third Chinese table tennis player to pocket four Olympic golds, after legendary Deng Yaping and Grand Slam veteran Wang.
It was also the 19th Olympic gold medal that China won in table tennis since its national sport was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Games.
With a 4-2 win over Singapore's Li Jia Wei, China's Guo Yue finished third, a disappointment for the world champion who had rarely finished lower than second in international singles tournaments in the last two years.
Guo failed to reach the final because of her 4-2 loss to "Big Sister" Wang, who is going to retire and determined to win as much as possible at her last Olympic Games.

Chen Ruolin wins Women's 10m Platform Diving gold

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.

Elsewhere, the USA displayed the value of team work, by taking two team sport titles and a one, two, three on the track…just don't mention the words "baton" and "drop" to them though.
But where else can we start Day Thirteen's review than the National Aquatics Centre where 15 year-old Chen Roulin produced one of the stellar displays of Beijing 2008 by not just by winning the Women's 10m Platform gold medal to keep China's indomitable quest for eight gold medals on track, but by showing the true mark of a champion - by performing best when it mattered most – under pressure.
Chen may be World No. 1 with an Olympic Team gold medal safely tucked inside her kitbag, but when Emilie Heymans of Canda put in a remarkable fourth round dive worth 95.20, it was looking like as if Day Thirteen would prove unlucky for Chen and for China –this was the very same gold medal that evaded the country's clutches at Athens in 2004.
That is when Chen responded like a great. A dive of 89.10 left her behind, going into the final round behind Heymans, who couldn't quite repeat the magic of her previous effort. But it still looked good enough to win, that is, until Chen produced a near perfect dive with the last leap of the competition.
Despite the almost intolerable pressure mounted on such young shoulders, Chen's final dive earned an amazing 100.30 points – enough to take the title with ease.
Disappointed Haymens could only look on with frustration – she leaves with yet another silver medal while Chen's teammate wang took bronze…….so now it is China all down the Men's 10m platform on Saturday (August 23). Surely they won't miss out now, will they?
Another great story also happened in water today – this time, of human triumph over adversity - with a major surprise as Maarten van der Weijden of the took the Men's 10km Marathon Swissming gold medal at a rainy Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

China's Wu Jingyu wins gold in women's taekwondo 49kg category

Wu Jingyu of China celebrates after defeating Buttree Puedpong of Thailand during the women’s 49kg gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games taekwondo event in Beijing, China, Aug. 20, 2008. Wu Jingyu won the match and got the gold medal.

BEIJING, Aug. 20 -- China's Wu Jingyu claimed title in the women's 49kg category taekwondo event on Wednesday, beating Thai Buttree Puedpong 1- (-1).
With the deafening cheerings from home fans, Wu launched aggressive attacks as soon as the final began and scored one point with a side kick and made the opponent get a warning penalty.
She took the lead into round 2, and in the third round, her furious attacks made Buttree almost give up counterattacks, which lead to another warning penalty and finally an one-point reduction.
The responsive fans made countdowns in the last six seconds and roared to the newly-crowned who burst into tears.
The 21-year-old won the preliminary round and quarterfinals both with a seven-point advantage. She stepped into an intense competition with old rival Yang Shu-chun of Chinese Taipei, who beat her at the Asian championships in April.
Although Wu took a two-point lead from the beginning as she successfully loaded an axe kick on Yang's head, Yang kept making defensive kicks and managed to get one point in the second round. However, Yang failed to score more points in rest of the game and was defeated by Wu with 1-4.
With the victory against Yang, it seemed the final is not a big deal for her.
Yang lost her last opportunity to get a bronze as she lost the repechage game to Cuban Daynellis Montejo, who settled for the bronze together with Dalia Contreras Rivero of Venezuela.
According to a rule newly introduced at Beijing Olympics, losers to the finalists can play in the repechage to compete for two bronze medals

China's Yin Jian wins gold in in women's RS:X windsurfing

BEIJING, Aug 20 -- China's Yin Jian won gold today in the women's RS:X windsurfing. Italy's Alessandra Sensini won silver and Great Britain's Bryony Shaw claimed bronze.

(Beijing, August 19) -- China's dominance in Diving continued at the Water Cube on Tuesday, August 19, with He chong winning the Men's 3m Springboard with 572.90 points. The host nation has won all six Diving competitions contested in Beijing thus far and has won the Men's Springboard in three consecutive Olympic Games.
Alexandre Despatie of Canada continued a streak of his own, winning silver in the event for the second straight Olympic Games. He Chong's compatriot,Qin kai , won bronze.
He Chong finished on top of the field in the preliminary round and semifinal, showing from start to finish why he is ranked No. 1 in the world. He punctuated his performances with a final dive -- a 5156B -- that earned him a 100.70, the highest individual score of the final.
Three-time Olympian Alexandre Despatie won his second Olympic silver with a consistent performance in the final, following closely behind He Chong from the second dive to the end.
Qin Kai, who, like He, was also making his Olympic debut, won his second medal of the Games. He won gold with partner Wang Feng in the Synchronized Springboard event.
Legendary diver Dmitry Sautin of Russia an eight time Olypmic Medal ist, finished in fourth -- falling short of the podium despite a spectacular 99.75-point final dive. Sautin won silver in the Synchronized Springboard last week.

Chinese Lu Chunlong wins men's trampoline Olympic gold

China's Lu Chunlong competes during trampoline men's final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Lu claimed the title of the event with a score of
BEIJING, Aug. 19 -- Chinese Lu Chunlong won the men's trampoline gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday.

Lu scored the winning 41.00 points, while Canadian Jason Burnett had the silver in 40.70 and Dong Dong of China got the bronze in 40.60.

Zou Kai of China wins horizontal bar gold medal

China's Zou Kai competes during men's horizontal bar final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Zou Kai claimed the title of the event with a score of 16.200.

China's Zou Kai celebrates after his performance in men's horizontal bar final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Zou Kai claimed the title of the event with a score of 16.200.

BEIJING, Aug. 19 -- Zou Kai of China won the horizontal gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday.
Zou Kai scored 16.200 points for the gold, the ninth for the Chinese gymnastics team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The silver medal was taken by Jonathan Horton of the United States at 16.175, followed by Fabian Hambuechen of Germany in the third place at 15.875

Li Xiaopeng of China wins parallel bars gold medal

Li Xiaopeng of China competes during men's parallel bars final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Li Xiaopeng claimed the title of the event wit.

Li Xiaopeng of China competes during men's parallel bars final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Li Xiaopeng claimed the title of the event wit
BEIJING, Aug. 19 -- Li Xiaopeng of China won the gold medal of parallel bars with a winning result of 16.450 points at Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday.
The silver medal was taken by Yoo Won-chul of South Korea at16.250, followed by Anton Fokin of Uzbekistan in the third place at16.200.

China looks to win first gold in Women's Trampoline final

(Beijing , August 17) -- He Wenna of Cjina leads the way into the Trampoline finals after two impressive routines earned her the highest score of qualifications (67.20) at the National indoor Stidium Saturday.
She will be the only woman representing her country. Fellow Chinese trampolinist Huang Shangshan the bronze medalist in Athens-2004, failed to advance to the finals after falling during one of her two routines in qualifications.
If He Wenna wins gold, it will be a first for China in Trampoline at an Olympic Games.
Irina Karavaeva of Russia enters the finals with the second-highest qualification score (66.40), despite a small slip after her Voluntary routine. Karavaeva, gold medalist in the first-ever Olympic Women's Trampoline competition at the Sydney Olympic Games, failed to make the final at Athens 2004 after she mistimed one of her routines in the qualifications.
Canadians Rosannagh Maclennan (66.00) and Karen coudcon (65.60) claimed the next best qualifications scores. Cockburn, who won bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and silver in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, impressed the judges with her high degree of difficulty.
Anna Dogonadze of Cermany earned the chance to defend her Athens 2004 gold medal as she advanced to the final with high execution scores on her Voluntary routine.
The top eight women from the qualifications advance to finals. Men's finals will be held August 19 at the National Indoor Stadium.

Chinese gymnast He Kexin wins uneven bars gold

He Kexin of China performs on the uneven bars during women's uneven bars final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games gymnastics artistic event at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 18, 2008. He Kexin claimed the title of the event with a score of 16.725

He Kexin of China performs on the uneven bars during women's uneven bars final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games gymnastics artistic event at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 18, 2008. He Kexin claimed the title of the event with a score of 16.725.

BEIJING, Aug. 18 -- Chinese gymnast He kexin claimed the women's uneven bars title with 16.725 points at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Nastia Liukin from the United States, who also collected 16.725 points, had to stand second according to a tiebreak rule.
Yang Yilin from China got the bronze with 16.650 points.

Chinese gymnast Chen wins men's rings gold

Chinese gymnast Chen Yibing claimed the men's rings title with 16.600 points at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
BEIJING, Aug. 18 -- Chinese gymnast Chen Yibing claimed the men's rings title with 16.600 points at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Chen's compatriot Yang Wei took the silver with 16.425 points, while Oleksandr Vorobiov from Ukraine got the bronze with 16.325 points.

'Super Dan dan' lives up to his World No.1 rank

(Beijing August 17) -- Men's Singles World No. 1 Lin dan of China thrashed Malaysia 's World No. 2 Lee-kong- wei 21-12, 21-8 to win the gold in the Beijing Olympic Badminton tournament on Sunday, August 17.
The anticipated heart-pounding dream final turned out to be a frustrating exit for Lee, who was bidding for Malaysia's first Olympic gold.
"I suffered a lot of pressure tonight but I do not want to use it as an excuse for my defeat," he said.
Maybe it was the pressure that made a normally sharp Lee lose his edge on court and essentially provide no match for Super Dan's quickly-adapted strategies and crosscourt smashes.
In the first game Lin raced into a 7-1 lead. Eager to close the gap, Lee made too many unforced errors, enabling the World No. 1 to stretch his winning margin to 16-8 before closing out the game 21-12.
Lin continued to attack Lee in the second game, opening up an 8-0 lead and forcing his opponent to chase shuttles to all four corners of the court before killing rallies off with his smash. As the game progressed, Lee simply had no answers to Lin's speed and the Chinese left-hander closed out the match in just 41 minutes.
"I have tried my best but Lin Dan played perfectly tonight," said Malaysian sport icon Lee. "I couldn't match his shuttle speed. He was much stronger than me and controlled the whole match."
"At the end of the match it is not who is playing at a higher level, it is all about who is mentally stronger," Lee commented on his loss.
"I felt a lot of pressure playing in front of my home crowd," said an exhilarated Lin. "I thought it would be difficult to play the match and the pressure of the crowd might even be to my disadvantage, but I played well.

Untouchable China grabs Women's Table Tennis Team gold

(Beijing August 17) -- The first gold medal ever for the Table Tenias Team event went to China at the Pecking unviersity Gymnasium, Sunday, August 17. The silver medal went to Singnpore who staged a hard fight against the determined host.
Olympic veteran Wangnan of China played the first match against Singapore's Feng Tianwei winning 3-1. World No. 1 Zhang yining (CHN) faced a determined Li Jiawei (SIN) in the second match. After losing the first game to Li, Zhang found her pace and ultimately overtook the Singaporean 3-1. In the doubles match, China's Zhang Yining joined forces with teammate Guo yue and claimed a 3-0 victory.
The win had not come as easy as hoped. With Chinese President Hu Jintao and international Olympics committee President Rogge among the cheering crowd, the pressure for the Chinese team to win was tremendous.

China's Diving queen reigns supreme

(Beijing, August 17) -- Defending Olympic champion Guo jingjing gave China its fifth Diviing gold of the Olympic Games, winning the Women's 3m Springboard with a score of 415.35 in the final. Julia Pakhalina of Russia, bronze medalist in Athens and gold medalist in Synchronized Springboard in Sydney, finished in second place with 398.60 points. Wu mingxia of China, who won gold with Guo in Synchronized Springboard, finished third with 389.85 points.
Guo won her fourth Olympic gold and her sixth Olympic Medal, breaking Fu Mingxia's record of most Olympic medals by a Chinese female diver. Her score of 415.35 is the highest score ever in the event and her victory extends China's two-decades of Diving dominance – the nation has won the Women's 3m Springboard in six straight Olympic Games. The 27-year-old Chinese diver has previously stated that she will retire after competing in Beijing.
Three-time Olympian Julia Pakhalina, who turns 31 in September, won her fifth Olympic medal with a consistent performance throughout the competition. She finished the semifinals in second-place and was one step behind Guo through the entire final.
Wu Minxia moved into third place after an 85.50-point fourth dive that topped the field. She finished more than 15 points clear of Blythe Hartley of Canada to win her fourth Olympic medal. She finished in second place in Women's Springboard in Athens.

China's Pang Wei wins gold in the Men's 10m Air Pistol

(BEIJING, August 9) -- Young Chinese shooter Pang Wei stormed home to win the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Pistol in Beijing on August 9. Pang shot a final score of 688.2.
Pang, who is only 22 years old, was unthreatened in the final round and ended up winning by the wide margin of 3.7 points. The Republic of Korea's Jin Jong-oh won the silver medal with a final score of 684.5.
The battle for the bronze medal was a tightly contested affair between Kim Jong-su of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States' Jason Turner. Kim nailed the bronze medal with a strong finish, shooting 10.3 and 10.0 for his last two shots, which gave him a final score of 683.0.
Turner's last two shots were poor and he finished in equal fourth place with his compatriot Brian Beaman at the end of the final round. Both men shot a final score of 682.0. Turner was officially awarded fourth place after wining a shoot-off between the two Americans, shooting 10.5 to Beaman's 10.3.
Pang shot a score of 586 in the qualification round, which was two points higher than the next best score, shot by both Jin and Kim.
Pang's coach Wang Yifu, was the gold medalist in the event at Athens 2004.
One of the favorites for the event, France's Franck Dumoulin failed to qualify for the final round. Dumoulin won the gold medal for the event at Sydney 2000.

Chinese Xiao Qin wins men's pommel horse Olympic gold

China's Xiao Qin performs on the pommel horse during the men's apparatus final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Xiao Qin claimed the title of the event with a score of 15.875.

China's Xiao Qin performs on the pommel horse during the men's apparatus final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Xiao Qin claimed the title of the event with a score of 15.875.

BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- Chinese Xiao Qin won the men's pommel horse gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Sunday.
Xiao scored his winning mark of 15.875 points, Croatian Filip Ude took the silver in 15.725 and British Louis Smith settled for the bronze in 15.725.

Chinese Zou kai wins Olympic men's floor exercise gold

China's Zou Kai performs on the floor during the men's apparatus final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Zou Kai claimed the title of the event with a score of 16.050.

BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- Chinese gymnast Zou Kai won the Olympic men's floor exercise with a score of 16.050 points here on Sunday.
Spain's Gervasio Deferr claimed the silver with 15.775 points and Russian Anton Golotsutsko took the bronze with 15.725.

China's Wang Jiao wins gold medal of women's 72kg freestyle wrestling

Wang Jiao (red) of China fights against Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria during the women's freestyle 72 kg gold medal match of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Wrestling event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Wang Jiao beat Stanka Zlateva and grabbed the gold.
BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- 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 Kyoko Hamaguchi and Agnieszka Wieszczek of Poland both took a bronze medal.

China wins women's quadruple sculls gold

Tang Bin, Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang of China scull strokes during Women's Quadruple Sculls Final A of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games rowing event at Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, Ch
BEIJING, Aug. 17-- China claimed the women's quadruple sculls rowing title at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, clocking six minutes and 16.06 seconds in the final.
Britain took the silver in 6:17.37, while Germany got the bronze in 6:19.56.

BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China clinched the gold medal in the Olympic event of women's quadruple sculls with a sold win here on Sunday, the first rowing gold medal for China in Olympic history.
The Chinese crew finished the 2,000-meter race with a result of 6 minutes 16.06 seconds, some half a length ahead of the second boat. The British and German boats won the silver and bronze medals with results of 6:17.37 and 6:19.56 respectively.
The British boat took the lead in the first 1500 meters. The Chinese crew hastened its stroke rate in the sprint and hit the finish line amidst the deafening applause of audience.
"Our coach told us before the final that we should relieve our pressure and show our normal capability. We rowed in unison and would never give up," Tang Bing said after the race.
On her feelings after winning the gold medal, Tang said: "It's just like a dream."
Germany is very strong in the event because it has claimed all the four Olympic gold medals in the event from 1992 to 2004.
The Olympic best time for the event was created by an British crew at Athens Olympics in 2004 with a result of 6 minutes 15.60 seconds. But the world best time of 6 minutes 10.80 seconds was made by Germans on a home course in Duisburg of Germany in May 1996.

Qiu Jian of China wins men's 50m rifle 3 positions gold

Qiu Jian of China competes during the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Qiu Jian grabbed the gold with a total of 1272.5.

Matthew Emmons of the United States competes during the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Matthew Emmons won the 4th with a total of 1270.3.

BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- Chinese Qiu Jian won the men's 50m rifle 3-positions gold medal of the Beijing Olympic Games here on Sunday.
Qiu scored a total of 1,272.5 points for the top honor, while Jury Sukhorukov of Ukraine got the silver in 1,272.4 points, and Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia had the bronze in 1,271.7.
American Matthew Emmons scored 4.4 points in his last shot to finish fourth in 1,270.3 points

Zhang Ning wins Women's Badminton Singles Olympic gold

Zhang Ning beat Xie Xingfang 21-12, 10-21 and 21-18 to take the Women's Badminton Singles gold medal in an all-Chinese final at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.
Earlier, Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia beat Chinese Lu Lan 11-21, 21-13 and 21-15 to take the bronze medal.

World No. 1 Xie Xingfang's journey to the final was much easier than Zhang's. Conceding just one game in four matches, Xie came to the final as the favorite. In contrast, World No. 7 Zhang's stamina had been questioned since the beginning of the tournament. Even after Zhang battled to the final, few believed she could win on tired legs.
However, Zhang was the first player to turn on the gears in the final. In the first game, Zhang countered Xie's attack with precise crosscourt flights and hairpin shots. She stayed ahead most of the game and won a comfortable 21-12.
Xie made a second-game comeback as expected, using smashing combined with drops to put pressure on Zhang Ning's exhausted legs. When Xie took the second game 21-10, most thought Zhang's chance of winning this match was running out.

But Olympic-gold-medal-proven Zhang showed the crowd she had the heart of a champion. In the last game, Zhang continued her precise shots and drops, leaving little room for Xie to operate. Zhang led the game from start to end winning the game with a final score of 21-18. After such an outstanding performance, it's hard to believe Zhang is a 33-year-old Badminton veteran.
This year's Games may be Zhang's last Olympic appearance having already planned to retire after her Athens gold. She is also the eldest Badminton Women's Singles Olympic champion in history.