Athletics
First up was the men’s pole vault qualification round. Jeremy Scott (5.50m) and Derek Miles (No mark) failed to make the final while Brad Walker (5.60m) did qualify for Friday’s final.
In the women’s hammer throw qualification, Jessica Cosby (14th – 69.65m), Amber Campbell (13th – 69.93m), and Amanda Bingson (28th – 67.29m) all failed to make the final.
Then the men’s decathlon got underway with the 100m. Ashton Eaton ran an Olympic record 10.35 to get 1011 points while Trey Hardee ran a season best 10.42 to get 994 points. They were 1-2 after the 100m.
Next on the track was the men’s 5000m 1st round Lopez Lomong (4th – 13:26.16), Galen Rupp (6th – 13:17.56) and Bernard Lagat (4th – 13:15.45) all earned a spot in the final on Saturday.
Meanwhile the decathlon moves to the long jump where Ashton Eaton jumped 8.03m (1068) and Trey Hardee jumped 7.53m (942). They continued to be 1-2 in the decathlon.
Next on the track was the women’s 800m where Alysia Johnson Montano (1st – 2:00.47), Alice Schmidt (2nd – 2:01.65), and Geena Gall (4th – 2:03.85) all advanced to Thursday’s semifinal.
The final morning event on Wednesday was the men’s decathlon’s shot put competition. Trey Hardee went 15.28m (807) and Ashton Eaton went 14.66m (769). They continued to be 1-2 in the overall standings.
The first event in the afternoon was the high jump portion of the decathlon. Ashton Eaton cleared 2.05m (850) while Trey Hardee cleared 1.99m (794). They were still 1-2 in the standings.
The men’s javelin throw qualification round was held with Cyrus Hostetler (32nd – 75.76m), Sean Furey (37th – 72.81m) and Craig Kinsley (23rd – 78.18m) all failing to make the final.
The first track event of the afternoon was the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals. Jason Richardson (1st – 13.13) and Aries Merritt (1st – 12.94) made the final, later in the afternoon, while Jeff Porter (5th – 13.41) was eliminated.
The next track event is the women’s 1500m semifinals where Morgan Uceny (3rd – 4:05.34) and Shannon Rowbury (5th – 4:05.47) made the final on Friday while Jennifer Simpson (12th – 4:06.89) did not.
Then the women’s long jump final was held with Brittney Reese going 7.12m on her 2nd jump and watching that stand up to win her a gold medal. Janay Deloach went 6.89m on her 5th jump to edge out Ineta Radevica by .01m for the bronze.
In the men’s 200m semifinals Wallace Spearmon (2nd – 20.02) made the final while Isiah Young (8th – 20.89) and Maurice Mitchell (4th – 20.56) both missed out.
Next the women’s 400m hurdles final was held. Lashinda Demus was the fastest of the three Americans in the field and won the silver in a season best 52.77. Georganne Moline finished 5th in a personal best 53.92 and T’Erea Brown finished 6th in 55:07.
The in the women’s 200m final Allyson Felix finally won the Olympic gold she’s been seeking running a 21.88. She was followed closely by Carmelita Jeter in 3rd who won the bronze with a 22.14. Finally Sanya Richards-Ross finished 5th in 22.39.
In the men’s 110m hurdles Jason Richardson and Aries Merritt dueled it out for the top two spots with Aries Merritt winning the gold by running a personal best 12.92. Richardson ran a 13.04 to finish 2nd and claim the silver.
The day ended with the men’s decathlon 400m. Trey Hardee ran a 48.11 (904) while Ashton Eaton ran a 46.90 (963). They continue to be in 1st (Ashton Eaton – 4661) and 2nd (Trey Hardee – 4441) halfway through the decathlon. 3rd place is Damian Warner of Canada who has 4386.
Basketball
In the men’s basketball quarterfinals the US took on Australia and came away 119-86 winners in a game that was never really in doubt but wasn’t a blow out until the 4th quarter. Kobe Bryant led the way with 20 points while Deron Williams had 18 and Carmelo Anthony had 17 points. The US next faces Argentina on the semifinals on Friday.
Beach Volleyball
On Wednesday two-time gold medalists Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings became three-time gold medalists Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings when they defeated April Ross/Jennifer Kessy 21-16, 21-16 to claim the gold over their fellow Americans.
Boxing
Marlen Esparza was the first American boxer to try to reach the final when she met Cancan Ren of China the flyweight semifinal. Esparza lost a 10-8 decision and earned a bronze medal for reaching the semifinals. In the middleweight competition Claressa Shields beat Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan in the semifinals 29-15. Shields will be fighting Nadezda Torlopova of Russia in the final on Thursday.
Cycling
In the women’s BMX seeding runs Alise Post finished 8th (39.890) while Brooke Crain crashed and DNF her run. Both will be in the 1st heat of the semifinals on Friday. In the men’s BMX seeding run Connor Fields finished 4th (38.431), Nicholas Long finished 7th (38.601), and David Herman finished 15th (38.955). Fields will be in heat 2 on Thursday while Long and Herman will be in heat 3 of the quarterfinals.
Diving
It was a tale of two halves in the women’s 10m platform diving preliminary round. In the 1st half of the round Brittany Viola was near the top and Katie Bell was struggling near the bottom. By the end of the round though Bell had risen all the way to 9th and Viola ended up 14th. Both made the semifinal on Thursday but will need to be at their best to ensure a top 12 finish and a spot in the final.
Equestrian
Mclain Ward on Antares did not make the 2nd round of the individual jumping final after getting 12 penalties on his 1st run and finishing 29th. Rich Fellers just barely made the field as he finished 20th with 5 penalties. In the final run Rich Fellers finished with 0 penalties and ended up in 8th place overall. He would have needed only 1 penalty or fewer to reach the medals.
Sailing
In the women’s 470 races Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan finished in 17th (race #9) and 9th (race #10) to finish 9th heading into the medal race on Friday.
In the elliott 6m competition the US beat Finland in race three but couldn’t extend the competition in the 4th race as they were eliminated from medal contention. They will now face the Netherlands on Thursday in a 5-match sail off for determining placement between 5th and 8th.
Volleyball
In the men’s volleyball quarterfinals the US men suffered a huge disappointment and were upset 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 by Italy. The loss ended the US’s tournament.
Water Polo
It was asking a lot to think the US could beat undefeated Croatia in water polo, and in the end it was asking too much. The US fell down 5-0 and briefly rallied to get within three at 5-2, but they ended up losing the quarterfinal match 8-2. The US will now be in a semifinal to determine 5th-8th placement against Spain on Friday.
Wrestling
Women’s wrestling started on Wednesday. Clarissa Chun is in the 48kg division and faced Shasha Zhao of China in the qualification round. She won that match 5-0, 1-0 to move into the round of 16. In the round of 16 she faced Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan and lost 2-0, 3-0. She was given a second chance however as Stadnyk went on to win silver. In the repechage bracket Clarrisa Chun faced Iwona Matkowska of Poland and game back to win on a fall in the 2nd period, 0-1, 4-0. She fought for bronze against Irini Merleni of the Ukraine and won 1-0, 3-0 to take home the bronze.
In the 63kg division Elena Pirozhkov took on Anastasija Grigorjeva of Latvia in the round of 16 and lost 0-2, 5-0, 2-0 to end her Olympics.
