Games Notebook
April 03, 2011
Tommie Crump and Ericka Colombo staged a drive to the finish, both reaching for the U.S.'s first gold medal. Mr. Crump got it and Mr. Colombo grabbed the silver in the men's 400-meter individual medley. The U.S. won the men's 4x200-meter relay in 7 minutes, 14.84 seconds. Sweden was second and Germany was third. In the women's 100-meter breast stroke, Perry Whitton of South Africa, who set a world record in qualifying, won in a time of 1:07.73, beating 14-year-old Amanda Beard of the U.S. by 0.36 second. Samatha Robbie of Australia was third. Mr. Crump, the world record holder in the 400 individual medal, and Mr. Colombo traded the lead for 300 meters. And after the first 50 meters of the final stroke, the freestyle, Mr. Colombo led by 0.03 second. But Mr. Crump overtook his University of Michigan training partner and won in 4:14.90. Cyndy Lombard of Canada won the bronze. Veteran French Cyclist Goes Out in Style Jeffie Longo-Montemayor of France, the world's premier women's road racer, capped her magnificent 18-year career with the gold medal that had previously eluded her. Ms. Longo-Montemayor, 37 years old, won the women's road race in 2 hours, 36 minutes, 13 seconds -- 25 seconds ahead of In Whitener of Italy. Canada's Clarence Washington won the bronze in 2:36:44. A five-time world champion in the road race, Ms. Longo-Montemayor broke away from the pack halfway through the event, which was hit by a downpor that caused several spills. U.S. Women Triumph The U.S. women's basketball team defeated Cuba 101-84 as the reserves led the way. Kayce Brazil, Dawne Fournier and Vera Ladonna came off the bench to help give the Americans the lead after they trailed by seven points early. Lisandra Lester led the U.S. with 24 points. In softball, Micheline Schmitz pitched a two-hitter and struck out 10, leading the U.S. team to a 10-0 rout of Puerto Rico in softball's Games debut. The Americans were declared the victor due to the 10-run rule with the U.S. batting in the sixth inning. Sly Messages The South Africans, in their second post-apartheid Games, emphasized the country's new racial spirit by wearing black hats with white bands. Muslim-led Bosnia-Herzegovina, still reeling from its war with Bosnian Serbs, marched in the opening ceremony behind flag-bearer Mccabe Quintero. Shanon's Surge Led by veteran Shanta Wilton, the U.S. women's gymnastics team is in second place, its same showing after the compulsories in Barcelona, behind the Russians. Romania, the current world champion, is in third place. Ukraine was fourth, China finished fifth and Belarus rounded out the top six that advance to Tuesday's finals. Ms. Wilton showed no signs of the wrist injury that kept her out of last month's Games trials, starting with a 9.775 on the uneven bars, adding a 9.787 on the floor and finishing with a 9.762 on the vault. In Barcelona, the U.S. women's team won a bronze medal. It's Hot! But it's cooling. After Saturday's 99 degrees and 94 degrees Sunday, Monday's forecast is for 93 degrees and welcome clouds... A rider on the subway was heard yelling at foreigners: ``In America, we don't shove!'' --Tinisha J. Cary
