Olympics Briefs | Equestrian: Amy Tryon disqualified

Duvall's Amy Tryon and the U.S. equestrian team's hopes of another Olympic medal took a big hit Monday after Tryon fell off her horse during the cross country portion of the eventing competition in Hong Kong, according to KING (Channel 5).

Reports from the course say Tryon walked off under her own power and that her horse, Poggio II, appeared to be OK. Under the rules, if a rider cannot complete the course, he or she is disqualified.

The loss of Tryon also means big penalty points for the U.S. Team.

USA was in third place heading into Monday's competition. Tryon was 24th in the individual standings.

Tryon, riding Poggio II, was part of the U.S. team that won bronze in Athens in 2004.

Rowing postponed

The men's and women's eights were postponed because of inclement weather. Heats in the eights were rescheduled for 11:50 p.m. PDT Sunday. The women's pair repechage has been moved to Tuesday and the women's eight repechage will now be held Wednesday. The men's eight repechages will still be held on Tuesday.

U.S. boxing setback

Commerce, Calif., teenager Javier Molina was overwhelmed by Bulgaria's Boris Georgiev, 14-1, in a first-round light-welterweight bout at Worker's Gymnasium. Molina was outclassed from the opening bell — and appeared to get worse as the fight went on. Afterward U.S. boxing coach Dan Campbell let on why.

"They discovered, day before yesterday, that he's got a hole in his lung," Campbell said.

Dr. Bill Kuprevich, physician for the U.S. boxing team, likened the condition to subcutaneous emphysema, which occurs when air gets under the skin covering the chest wall or neck. Molina is the second U.S. boxer to have an acknowledged medical problem. Gary Russell Jr. was considered a strong medal contender before he collapsed in his dorm room Thursday after becoming dehydrated trying to get down to 119 pounds.

Russia, Georgia to stay on

Russia's Natalia Paderina, after receiving the silver in the 10-meter air pistol, embraced and kissed bronze medalist Nino Salukvadze of Georgia, a symbolic gesture as Russian warships headed toward Georgia in an escalation of a conflict over the South Ossetia region.

"People should sit down and talk instead of going into war," Salukvadze said. "People don't start confrontation and wars. Politicians do."

By Sunday, the conflict between Russia and Georgia had left hundreds dead. The International Olympic Committee said that officials from Georgia and Russia had confirmed they will stay at the Games.

Notes

• Rafael Nadal made a successful debut in Olympic singles Monday, overcoming numerous missed chances by sweeping the final four games to beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Seeded second, Nadal will supplant Roger Federer atop the rankings next week, regardless of the outcome at the Olympics. Federer was to play his opening match later Monday.

Serena Williams won all four games when her match resumed after an overnight wait to complete a rain-interrupted victory over Olga Govortsova of Belarus, 6-3, 6-1.

• Only seconds away from a momentous victory over the Netherlands that would have clinched the team a spot in the men's soccer quarterfinals, the U.S. gave up a free kick goal to the Dutch in the 93rd minute and had to settle for a 2-2 tie in Tianjin, China.

• Contrasting the men's race that was run in sultry conditions 24 hours earlier, the women in the cycling road race had to contend with torrential rain.

The downpour lashed Nicole Cooke of Britain as she was presented with her gold medal at the Great Wall.

• U.S. sprint star Tyson Gay revealed further examination in Germany showed his injury was more serious than what was originally thought to be just a mild hamstring strain.

"I had a real specific MRI, and [doctors] even said I had a slight strain in my tendon," Gay said.

In a workout, he covered the 100 in about 10 seconds, according to a couple of stopwatches.

• Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno is excluded from the Games after a positive hormone test.

• Abhinav Bindra secured India's first individual gold medal in Olympic history in the men's 10-meter air rifle. India's previous eight Olympic golds came from its field hockey team, which failed to qualify for the Beijing Games.