Olympic medal events roundup
Wu Minxia is close to crowning herself China’s new diving queen.
Wu and partner He Zi won the first diving gold medal of the London Olympics on Sunday, putting the country on a path toward a possible sweep of the eight medals.
They led throughout the five-dive round and totaled 346.20 points in the 3-meter synchronized event.
‘‘It’s kind of if they mess up, then you have an opportunity,’’ American silver medalist Abby Johnston said. ‘‘Anything can happen in this sport, so you still have that possibility.’’
It was Wu’s fifth Olympic medal, one short of countrywoman Guo Jingjing’s record of six. Guo was China’s superstar diver until her retirement 1½ years ago.
Wu has three golds, one silver, and one bronze. She could earn another in the individual springboard event, where she has medaled twice before and will compete against He.
‘‘It feels normal,’’ Wu said in Mandarin. ‘‘I really don’t have that many emotions.’’
China won seven of eight golds as the host country four years ago in Beijing and swept the golds at last year’s world championships in Shanghai.
Johnston and Kelci Bryant finished second with 321.90 points, ending the country’s diving medal drought that extended to the 2000 Sydney Games. It was the first Olympic synchro medal for the Americans. After receiving their medals, Bryant cried and Johnston smiled broadly on the podium.
Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel (316.80 points) earned the bronze for Canada’s first medal of the Games.
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands powered through a driving rainstorm on The Mall, sprinting clear of rivals Elizabeth Armistead of Britain and Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya and winning the women’s road race. Armitstead settled for silver for the host nation’s first medal, while Zabelinskaya coasted across for bronze.
‘‘It was a hard race today with the weather conditions,’’ Vos said, ‘‘but then I felt good. We made the race hard with the Dutch squad, early attacks, and that was the plan.’’
A former Olympic gold medalist in track cycling, Vos had grown accustomed in the past few years to finishing just off the top step in major road races. She’s been silver medalist five straight years at the world championships and had never stood on the podium in an Olympic road race.
The South Koreans stayed perfect in women’s team archery, winning their seventh straight gold medal â€" every one since the sport debuted at the Olympics.
Ki Bo-bae, Lee Sung-jin, and Choi Hyeon-ju hugged and pumped their fists in the air after Ki’s final arrow sealed their 210-209 victory in the rain against China, which settled for silver for the third straight Olympics. Japan won the bronze for its first-ever medal in women’s archery.
The American team, second in the ranking round Friday, fell, 218-213, to the Chinese in the quarterfinals. China scored five 10s (bull’s-eyes) in the final round, while the Americans got only one.
An Kae Um won North Korea’s first gold medal in London in the women’s judo 52-kilogram category. An defeated Acosta Bermoy of Cuba in the final, which went into overtime. An won in the final minutes with a decisive throw that landed Bermoy on her back.
Lasha Shavdatuashvili of Georgia won the gold medal in the men’s 66-kilogram category, defeating Miklos Ungvari of Hungary in a tense final.
Aron Szilagyi of Hungary won the gold medal in the men’s individual saber, beating Diego Occhiuzzi of Italy, 15-8, after the top four seeds all stumbled out before the semifinals.
© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company.
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