U.S. is first, but China is gold digger

By Clay Latimer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 24, 2008 at 8:52 p.m.

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Photo by Timothy Clary / AFP/Getty Images

Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing.

The U.S. Olympic team left the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday amid the usual fireworks and lavish pageantry.

What it didn't depart with was the most gold.

The U.S won more overall medals (110) than China (100), as expected, but finished No. 2 in the most precious metal for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games, falling 15 short of China's 51.

It marked the first time in 72 years the country with the most gold medals was not the U.S., the Soviet Union, Russia or the Russian Unified Team.

Germany won 33 golds when it hosted the 1936 Berlin Games, followed by the U.S. (24).

"The magnitude of the improvement has been a little bit of a surprise," U.S. Olympic Committee President Jim Scherr said of the Chinese. "They've broken through in some sports that we thought it would be very hard for them to win medals in. . . . (But) we consider this one of our most successful Olympic Games ever.

"The team will surpass the total medal count in Athens."

The USOC especially was pleased with the Americans' strength in team sports. The men's and women's basketball and men's volleyball teams won gold; the women's water polo, volleyball and softball teams finished with silver.

Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, a record for most won in a single Games, was the underpinning of a 31-medal performance in swimming that included a dozen golds.

Americans won 20 medals in equestrian, fencing, rowing, sailing and shooting, nontraditional sports where success traditionally is scattered.

But the U.S. stumbled in track and field, failing for the first time in modern Olympic history to win gold in any of the six sprint races - the men's and women's 100 and 200 meters and 4x100 relays.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt had a say in that, winning and setting world records in the 100 and 200 and being a part of the world record-setting 4x100 relay team.

"These Games are significantly more competitive than in Athens," Scherr said. "We know some nations devoted significantly more resources in these Games."

Perhaps the biggest blow came in the combat sports.

Heavyweight Deontay Wilder (bronze) won the Americans' lone medal in boxing; Henry Cejudo (gold), of Colorado Springs, and Randi Miller and Adam Wheeler (bronze), of Colorado Springs, were the only medal winners in wrestling; and Ronda Rousey took the only medal in judo, a bronze.

Sport by sport How U.S. Olympic teams fared in Beijing:

* Archery (no medals) - Vic Wunderle knocked off the No. 1 player in the world before finishing fourth. Khatuna Lorig topped expectations by advancing to the quarterfinals, but Jennifer Nichols, of Cheyenne, saw her hopes for a medal end in the second round of individual competition.

* Badminton (no medals) - Not exactly shocking news.

* Baseball (bronze) - America finished third in America's pastime, beating Japan to claim the bronze medal in the sport's last hurrah until at least 2016.

* Basketball (two golds) - The Dream Team redeems itself, and the women's team is the same old machine, extending its winning streak to 33 in Olympic play and winning a third consecutive gold. Coach Anne Donovan becomes the first woman to win gold as a player (1984, 1988) and a coach.

* Beach volleyball (two golds) - A clean sweep, with Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser beating Brazil in three sets one day after Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won their second straight gold.

* Boxing (one bronze) - Dissension. Turmoil. Underachievement. It couldn't get much worse as the U.S. concluded its worst showing with a lone bronze medal, won by heavyweight Deontay Wilder. The Americans won only one medal in 1948, too, but that was silver.

* Canoe-kayak (no medals) - Germany rules; U.S. fades.

* Cycling (one gold, one silver, three bronze) - Track cyclists generated more news walking off their plane with black masks (they said they were concerned about pollution) than in the actual competition. BMX was born in the USA, but Americans failed to win a gold and finished with one silver and two bronzes. The gold came from Kristin Armstrong in the individual time trial.

* Diving (no medals) - American teenagers David Boudia and Thomas Finchum entered with realistic hopes of winning a medal but came up short. Laura Wilkinson wrapped up her career with a disappointing ninth-place finish in 10-meter platform.

* Equestrian (one gold, one silver, one bronze) - The U.S. won gold in team jumping after a jump-off, and Beezie Madden won bronze in individual jumping to set the tone.

* Fencing (one gold, three silver, two bronze) - A huge breakthrough for the U.S., with Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward leading the way with a 1-2-3 sweep in women's individual sabre.

* Field hockey (no medals) - The Americans qualified for the first time since 1996 but couldn't make it to the medal round.

* Gymnastics (two gold, six silver, two bronze) - The women started with a disappointing second-place finish in the team competition but dominated in individual events, with Nastia Liukin winning the all-around and Shawn Johnson winning the balance beam. The men overachieved with a bronze team medal and silver in the horizontal bar by Jonathan Horton after their only experienced athletes bowed out with injuries.

* Judo (one bronze) - Ronda Rousey's bronze was the first medal for the U.S. in women's judo since the event debuted in 1992.

* Modern pentathlon (no medals) - A struggle again in a sport in which the country rarely is strong.

* Rhythmic gymnastics (no medals) - Failed to qualify for a spot.

* Rowing (one gold, one silver, one bronze) - For the first time since 1984 and the second time in Olympic history, the U.S. won gold in the women's eight. It was the highlight of an impressive showing that also saw the U.S. win silver in the women's single sculls and bronze in the men's eight.

* Sailing (one gold, one silver) - Anna Tunnicliffe became the first U.S. woman in 20 years to sail to a gold medal, in the laser radial class.

* Shooting (two gold, two silver, two bronze) - For the second straight Olympics, Matt Emmons, an Air Force graduate, lost a gold medal with a stunning mistake on the final shot of the three-position rifle. But the U.S. still came away with six medals, including gold by Vincent Hancock and Glenn Eller in shotgun events.

* Soccer (one gold) - The U.S. women redeemed themselves after the debacle at the World Cup in 2007. The men failed to reach the quarterfinals.

* Softball (one silver) - After winning three golds and 22 consecutive Olympic games, the American dynasty came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Japan in the Olympic finale until at least 2016.

* Swimming (12 gold, nine silver, 10 bronze) - Michael Phelps' eight golds, a record for most won in a single Games, was the underpinning of a 31-medal performance that included a dozen golds.

* Synchronized swimming (no medals) - Once dominant in the event, U.S. women fail to win a medal, finishing fifth in the team event.

* Table tennis (no medals) - The Americans weren't expected to compete for any medals and didn't.

* Taekwondo (one silver, two bronze) - The Lopez family leaves without a gold medal, but Dana (silver), Steven (bronze) and Mark (bronze) deliver for the U.S.

* Team handball (no medals) - One of only three sports in which the U.S. never has won an Olympic medal. The record remains intact.

* Tennis (one gold, one bronze) - The Williams sisters failed to win gold and silver in singles - as hoped for - much less bronze, but they came back to win doubles gold. Mike and Bob Bryan won bronze in men's doubles.

* Track and field (seven gold, nine silver, seven bronze) - The dominance of Jamaica in the sprints, botched relays and poor overall production in field events prevented the Americans from leaving with their usual haul of golds.

* Trampoline (no medals) - No American has made it past qualifying since it became an Olympic sport in 2000; the record remained intact in Beijing.

* Triathlon (no medals) - Hunter Kemper, of Colorado Springs, led the U.S. with a seventh-place finish; Matt Reed, of Boulder, finished 32nd. Laura Bennett, of Boulder, was fourth in the women's race.

* Volleyball (one gold, one silver) - The men beat Russia in a classic match in the semifinals, then stunned Brazil to win gold, culminating an Olympics that started tragically. The women advanced to the gold-medal match with an impressive showing against Cuba but were no match for Brazil in the final. The silver medal is the first for U.S. women since winning bronze in 1992.

* Water polo (two silver) - The men's team, ranked ninth in the world, came up with its best performance in 20 years with silver. For the third time since women started playing the sport in the Olympics, the U.S. won a medal, but for the third time, it wasn't gold.

* Weightlifting (no medals) - Just like Athens. Cheryl Haworth finished a disappointing sixth in the women's super-heavyweight division, leaving the U.S. without medals for the second Olympics in a row.

* Wrestling (one gold, two bronze) - Henry Cejudo, a Coronado High School graduate, provided one of the most inspirational moments in the Olympics with a win at 121 pounds. But overall, Americans struggled.

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