Archery

Jacob Wukie was the first archer to begin the day for the US. He took on Jayanta Talukdar of India in the round of 64. In that match Wukie was victorious 6-0 (27-22, 30-26, 29-28). Next Wukie took on Baard Nesteng of Norway in the round of 32. Wukie took a 2-0 lead by winning the first set 28-24 but then lost 3 straight to lose 6-2 (24-28, 29-28, 29-27, 29-26).

Next up was Jennifer Nichols who took on Chekrovolu Swuro of India. The two traded sets and had to go to a shoot off to decide it. In the end Nichols won 6-5 (24-27, 27-25, 25-25, 26-29, 28-25, 9-9 (closet)). In the round of 32 Nichols faced Bishindee Urantungalag of Mongolia. Nichols ended up losing 6-4 (27-27, 26-27, 26-26, 26-25, 28-25).

Basketball

Then USA men took on Tunisia on Tuesday and was only up 21-15 at the end of the 1st quarter and 46-33 at the half. The second half, and in particular the 3rd quarter, was where the US shown and after outscoring Tunisia 39-14 in the 3rd quarter the US went on to win 110-63. Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony led the US with 16 points a piece.

The win helped keep the US atop the table in group A where the US is the only team that is 2-0. The US will next be facing 4th place Nigeria on Thursday.

Beach Volleyball

The first match of the day saw Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers take on Gavira Collado/Herrera Allepuz of Spain. Both teams had won their set in straight sets and were fighting for the top of the group. With a 19-21, 21-16, 15-13 win the US duo moved into 1st place. They face Petr Benes/Premsyl Kubala of the Czech Republic on Thursday. If they win a single set they will guarantee they aren’t passed in the group and will advance to the quarterfinals. A win would win them the group.

In the 2nd match of the day April Ross/Jennifer Kessy took on Marleen Van Iersel /Sanne Keizer of the Netherlands. The win kept the US on top of the group by points ratio and guaranteed they will advance from the group stage. The only thing left to settle is who will win the group. Ross/Kessy or the team they play on Thursday, Elsa Baquerizo MicMillan/Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain.

Boxing

In the boxing competition on Tuesday Jamel Herring took on Daniya Teleussinov of Kazakhstan in the round of 32 of the men’s light welterweight competition. Jerring was behind from the start and lost 19-9 (8-5, 7-3, 4-1).

Equestrian

Tuesday was the last day of the eventing competition, both team and individual. In the first part of the day the first showjumping routines were run. Boyd Martin had to pull out of the competition after an injury to his horse was discovered.  Two of his teammates, Tiana Coudray and Will Coleman, were out of the running for the individual title. Coudray ended up with a score of 11 penalties in the jumping qualifier and a total of 88.6 penalties, placing her in 40th place. Will Coleman had a score of 2 penalties in the jumping qualifier and ended up with a score of 84.7 penalties to finish in 37th place. Philip Dutton was in contention for a spot and had a run featuring 23 penalties. He was able to advance despite his score of 70.1 being in 27th due to the limit on each country of only having three riders in the final. Karen O’Connor was in contention as well and seized the 16th spot by having a perfect ride in the qualifier, giving her 53.8 total penalties.  Coleman, Dutton, and O’Connor combined to give the US the 7th spot in the team competition with a total of 208.6.

In the eventing individual final Philip Dutton started off with a run with 11 penalties. That gave him a total of 81.10 and placed him in 23rd place. Karen O’Connor did much better and another perfect run left her in 9th with 53.8 penalties.  O’Connor was only 9 penalties off of the bronze medal.

Fencing

The first competitor to get the day underway for the US was Miles Chamley-Watson who took on Alaaeldin Abouelkassem of India in the round of 32. Chamley-Watson hung around for a while but lost 15-10 (4-2, 8-6, 3-2).  The next competitor for the US was Alexander Massialas  who faced off against Etienne Lalonde Turbide of Canada in the round of 32. Massialas had a great match and won 15-6 (11-3, 3-4). Massialas then moved on to the round of 16 where he was defeated 15-6 (8-3, 7-3) by Alexey Cheremisinov of Russia. The final competitor for the US was Race Imboden who defeated Guilherme Toldo of Brazil in the round of 32 by a score of 15-5 (12-5, 3-0). Imboden then moved on to the round of 16 where he was defeated 15-9 (9-5, 6-4) by Andrea Baldini of Italy.

Field Hockey

The US had a hugely important game against Argentina in the group stage of field hockey on Tuesday. After losing 2-1 in their first match the US needed a win to try and stay in the group. Only the top two teams advance, so there isn’t any room to spare. The US got the win they needed by defeating Argentina 1-0 in a continuation of their Pan-American rivalry. The win moved the US into a tie for 2nd with Argentina, Australia, and Germany. The US is in 4th due to goal differential. Their score will be improved a lot after they face South Africa (who Argentina defeated 7-1). The US next faces 3rd place Australia on Thursday. Another win there would give the US an even better shot at the medal round.

Gymnastics

Brilliance. Beauty. Dominance. All of those words perfectly describe the US performance in the women’s team final on Tuesday. With the Russians breathing down their necks for 3 of the 4 apparatus the US answered the questions and didn’t flinch. When Russia made mistakes on the floor routine the US didn’t back down and put up a great score to blow Russia away and win the gold by over 5 points. How dominate was the US? Consider their apparatus rankings. In vault they were first. On the uneven bars they were third. On the balance beam they were first. On the floor routine they were third.  They had the three best vault scores in the competition. The first, third and fourth best floor routines. The fourth, fifth and seventh best balance beam routines. Even on the US’s weakest apparatus, the uneven bars, they finished sixth, eight, and 11th out of 24 competitors. The US improved their score from the qualification round, even with all the pressure.  Needless to say it was a routine that will go down in history. The US’s first women’s team gold since 1996 and a set of routines that demonstrated how gold medals are meant to be won: in clear dominant fashion. There was no doubting this one, no relying on someone else to help you out. The US flat out won this medal all by themselves, no one was going to top these girls.

Judo

Travis Stevens was the US competitor in the 81kg judo competition on Tuesday. He started things off in the round of 32 by defeating Aljaz Sedej of Slovenia by getting an ippon with 45 seconds left in the match. Then in the round of 16 he defeated Avtandil Tchrikishvili by getting an ippon at the 1:37 mark of a golden score period. In the quarterfinals Stevens took on Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil and defeated him by scoring a waza-ari half way through the match and holding on to that lead til the end.

In the semifinals Travis took on Ole Bischof of Germany. The match went scoreless the entire eight minutes and the judges ruled Bischof the winner.  I’m no judo expert, so my opinion can’t say much about how close it was. However from the comments I’ve seen from Stevens and his coach and others, it was a surprise they ruled for Bischof. Stevens tried to rally for a bronze but in a match with Antoine Valois-Fortier of Canada he gave up an early yuko and never could get a score to overcome it.  It was disappointing that he couldn’t get a medal after such a good run.

Rowing

In the first rowing event of the day the women’s double sculls crew of Margot Shumway/Sarah Trowbridge were able to make the final by finishing in 2nd place of their repechage by 1.31 seconds. They will now be in the final on Friday.

In the next event the women’s lightweight double sculls crew of Kristin Hedstrom/Julie Nichols made the semifinals by finishing 1st in their heat of the repechages. They are now in the semifinals on Thursday.

Next up was the men’s single sculls quarterfinals. The US finally got some disappointment as Ken Jurkowski finished 5th, a full 16+ seconds out of 3rd and will not make the regular semifinals. Jurkowski will be in the semifinal C/D on Wednesday to help determine rankings.

In the women’s single sculls quarterfinals Genevra  Stone rowed a great race and finished 2nd in her quarterfinal to advance to the A/B semifinals on Thursday.

In the final US event on Tuesday the lightweight four crew was not able to advance to the final as they finished in 5th place, 3.5 seconds out of 3rd place. They will race in the B final on Thursday.

Sailing

In the men’s 49er event on Tuesday Erik Storck and Trevor Moore finished in 16th in race 3 before winning race 4. Their total score is now 33 points as they are in 9th place and they are only 7 points behind 3rd place. Races 5 and 6 will be on Wednesday.

In the laser radial event Paige Railey finished in 12th in race 3 and 17th in race 4. She is now in 9th place with 42 points. That places her 24 points behind the 3rd place spot.  Races 5 and 6 will be on Wednesday

In the finn event Zach Railey finished 2nd in race 5 and 8th in race 6. Zach is now in 12th place with 48 points and is 25 points behind 3rd place. Races 7 and 8 will be on Thursday.

In the men’s RS-X event Robert Willis finished in 7th in race 1 and in 10th in race 2. His combined total is 17 and that puts him in 7th place, 11 points behind 3rd place. Races 3 and 4 will be on Wednesday.

In the star event Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih finished in 8th in race 5 and 9th in race 6. Their total is now 30 and that puts them in 6th place, just 13 points behind 3rd place. Races 7 and 8 will be on Thursday.

In the women’s RS-X event Farrah Hall finished in 22nd in race 1 and 18th in race 2. She is in 21st place with a total score of 40, 33 points out of 3rd. Races 3 and 4 will be on Wednesday.

In the elliott 6m event the US defeated Finland by two seconds and France by five seconds to move to 4-2 in the event. They are tied for 3rd place.  They will face 6th place New Zealand (3-3) and 3rd place Russia (5-1) tomorrow.

In the laser event Rob Crane finished race 3 in 30th place and race 4 in 28th place. His score of 135 places him 36th and is 120 out of 3rd place. He will have races 5 and 6 on Wednesday.

Shooting

Frank Thompson and Vincent Hancock competed in the qualification period of the skeet competition. Vincent Hancock set an Olympic record hitting 123 of 125 and led the group heading into the final. Frank Thompson hit 119 of 125 and was tied for 7th. Only six make the final, so he was JUST outside that group. In the final Hancock was perfect hitting 25 of 25. His total of 148 is a new Olympic record and he won gold for the 2nd straight Olympics. No man had ever won two skeet golds before, let alone in a row. An amazing accomplishment for a very talented shooter.

Soccer

The US defeated North Korea on Tuesday by a score of 1-0 led by an Ally Wambach first half goal. The result gave the US the top spot in Group G and sent them into a quarterfinal matchup with New Zealand on Friday. The US caught a big break as Sweden, France and Japan, the other three quarterfinalists in the last World Cup, along with Brazil, who the US beat in the quarterfinals of that World Cup, are all on the other half of the bracket. Beating New Zealand would earn the US a semifinal matchup with Canada or Great Britain.

Swimming

In the Men’s 100m freestyle Nathan Adrian finished 1st in the heats and Cullen Jones finished 9th, a 100th of a second behind 8th.  Adrian did great in the semifinals winning his heat and finishing 2nd overall, but Cullen Jones was only 14th, missing the final by .22 seconds. Adrian will swim in the final tomorrow.

Next in the women’s 200m butterfly Kathleen Hersey finished 1st and Cammile Adams 8th in the heats to move on to the semifinals. In the semifinals Hersey finished 1st but Cammile Adams was in a slower heat and just made the final finishing in 7th, .36 ahead of 9th. They will swim in the final on Wednesday.

Then in the men’s 200m breaststroke Clark Burckle and Scott Weltz went 6-7 in the heats to qualify for the afternoon semifinals. In the semifinals Weltz finished 4th and Burckle 6th to make the final. Weltz was .79 seconds behind leader Michael Jamieson of Great Britain in the semifinals. They will swim for gold on Wednesday.

In the women’s 200m freestyle Allison Schmitt zoomed into the lead after the 1st turn and never looked back. She blew away the field and finished 1.97 seconds ahead and set an Olympic record with a time of 1:53.61. Missy Franklin was just out touched at the wall and finished 4th by .01 seconds.

In the men’s 200m butterfly final Michael Phelps swam a great race and appeared to have it won, but was beaten to the touch by Chad le Clos of South Africa. Phelps seemed to try to coast in while le Clos finished strong. It was almost a mirror image of Beijing. Phelps did pick up the silver, just .05 seconds back, his 18th career medal, tied for the most all-time. Tyler Clary was well back in 5th place in the race.

In the women’s 200m individual medley Shiwen Ye came on in the final 50m and blew the field away and to overtake Caitlin Levernez.  Leverenz had been in 1st at the final turn but came in 3rd to win the bronze. Ariana Kukors was another .88 seconds behind her in 5th place. Ye sat an Olympic record in the event.

In the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay the US team of Charlie Houchin, Matthew McLean, Davis Tarwater, and Conor Dwyer swam a time 2.43 seconds better than the 2nd place team, France, to put the US into the final. In the final the US turned to a team of Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Ricky Berens, and Michael Phelps to win the gold. They led the entire race and Michael Phelps led it home to win his 19th  medal, a new Olympics record. Incredible story for Phelps, one of the greatest athletes ever.  They were over 3 seconds ahead of France at the end.

Tennis

There was some good news and some bad news for the US on Tuesday. In the women’s singles round of 32 Venus Williams defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-1, 6-3 to move on to a round of 16 match against 7th seed Angelique Kerber of Germany.  Varvara Lepchenko was knocked out by Julia Georges of Germany, 6-3, 7-5 in a round of 32 match.

In men’s singles Andy Roddick saw his tournament come to an end as he lost 6-2, 6-1 to 2nd-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the round of 32.

In women’s doubles top-seeded Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond defeated Agnieszka Radwanska/Urszula Radwanksa of Poland 6-4, 7-6 in the round of 16 to move on to a quarterfinal against 6th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina of Russia tomorrow. Venus and Serena Williams were victorious over Angelique Kerber/Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 7-5 in the round of 16 to move on to a Wednesday quarterfinal against 2nd-seeded Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Finally in men’s doubles top-seeded Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan defeated Nikolay Davydenko/Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the round of 16 to move on to the quarterfinals. Their match will be on Thursday against a yet to be determined opponent.

Volleyball

The men’s volleyball team continue their dominant play as they bounced Germany in three sets (25-23, 25-26, 25-20) to stay atop the group. They and Brazil are 2-0 with all six sets won but the US has a slightly better point ratio. That tie will be broken when the two countries meet on Thursday.

Water Polo

The US men got a huge victory over Romania on Tuesday as they knocked Romania from the top of the group and moved up to 2nd. The US is only behind Serbia who has a goal differential of +18 largely thanks to beating Great Britain by 14 on Tuesday. The US will get a chance to build theirs up on Thursday when they face the British.