Olympic Updates

BEIJING - When it comes to Olympic sprints, nobody does it better than the Jamaicans. Yeah, mon.

BEIJING - As Rafael Nadal stood in front of the medal podium, his nation's flag draped across his back like a cape, he looked a little like a Spanish Superman.

BEIJING - Another game, another rout.

BEIJING - Romania's Sandra Izbasa grabbed the gold medal on floor away from world champion Shawn Johnson at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday night.

BEIJING - Monica Abbott pitched five perfect innings, Crystl Bustos, Jessica Mendoza and Tairia Flowers homered and the U.S. Olympic softball team extended its winning streak to 20 with an 8-0 win over the Netherlands.

BEIJING - Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China have knocked Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh out of the Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals, improving to 5-0 against the U.S. pair and eliminating the chances of an all-American final.

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush praised Olympic champion Michael Phelps on Sunday for his performance in the swimming pool and outside it.

BEIJING - The U.S. track and field team's protest of the women's 100-meter final at the Olympics was rejected Sunday night.

BEIJING - Britta Steffen of Germany has defeated 41-year-old American Dara Torres by 0.01 seconds to win the women's 50-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics.

BEIJING (AFP) - Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser led a Jamaican clean-sweep in the Olympic women's 100 metres final here on Sunday to continue the Caribbean island's dream track and field campaign.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Michael Phelps held his arms aloft on Sunday after surpassing Mark Spitz as the most successful swimmer and Olympian of all time, relief written on his face after he won an unprecedented eighth gold at one Games.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has emerged from the core weekend of the Beijing Olympics with a huge lead in the medals table and it appears nothing can stop the host country from winning the most golds at a Games for the first time.

BEIJING (AFP) - The oldest female gymnast at the Beijing Olympics stormed to a silver medal on the vault Sunday against rivals who were not even born when she began competing internationally.

BEIJING (AFP) - Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia defended his 10,000m title medal at the Olympics on Sunday, producing a devastating burst of speed on the last lap to see off any pretenders.

Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games. Of his five individual races and three relays, Phelps set world records in seven and an Olympic record in the eighth.

BEIJING (Reuters) - World record holder Kenenisa Bekele secured what he hopes will be the first leg of the long-distance double when he retained his Olympic 10,000 meters title with a devastating last lap on Sunday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Shelly-Ann Fraser surged to Jamaica's first Olympic women's 100 meters gold medal on Sunday and led compatriots Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart to the event's first national podium sweep.

BEIJING - Kenenisa Bekele has successfully defended his Olympic 10,000 meters title in a games record, leading teammate Sileshi Sihine again in an Ethiopian 1-2 finish.

BEIJING - Once more, the gold medal was within Shawn Johnson's reach. Again, it was snatched away.

BEIJING (AFP) - Michael Phelps cemented his place in Olympics history Sunday, capping a sensational week by becoming the first athlete ever to win eight gold medals in one Games.

BEIJING - Francoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon has successfully defended her Olympic triple jump title, setting a games record of 15.39 meters.

CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Sunday telephoned Michael Phelps and told the US Olympics swimming sensation "if you can handle eight gold medals, you can handle anything," the White House said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - World welterweight champion Demetrius Andrade blamed the judges after sealing the U.S. team's worst ever Olympic boxing performance on Sunday.

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a message of congratulations Sunday to Britain's "superb" Olympic team, which has enjoyed a surprise gold rush in Beijing over the last two days.

BEIJING - Shelly-Ann Fraser completed a gold-medal Jamaican sweep of the 100-meter dashes at the Olympics on Sunday, winning the women's race in 10.78 seconds. Teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart tied for second.

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Sunday ensured its home Olympics will go down as its greatest ever after the hosts' eclipsed their previous best tally of 32 gold medals at Athens in 2004, ending the day with 35.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Keeth Smart beat back a rare blood disease that nearly killed him four months ago then inspired the U.S. men's saber team to an unexpected silver medal at the Olympics on Sunday.

BEIJING - Guo Jingjing has won a gold medal on 3-meter springboard diving at the Beijing Olympics, becoming the most decorated female diver with her sixth career medal.

BEIJING - China's Lin Dan has won the gold medal in men's singles at the Olympic badminton tournament, defeating Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in straight sets.